To better compete, think about implementing some of the following enrichment programs that can give your school or facilities a value edge :

Education Testing
Foreign Language Classes
Tutoring
Martial Arts
Theatre Programs
Gyms (Indoor)
Dance Programs

Parent Lecture Series

Supervised Playgrounds

These are just some amenities that will make your program more appealing against your local competition. If you can’t compete on cost, position your program as a well rounded “educational experience” which has more of an emotional pull to parents than cost might.

You can further lower your cost structure and give your facility a competitive edge by implementing risk management techniques which substantially lower your insurance costs , often far less than your peers who don’t have risk management for nursery schools or risk management for day care facilities in place. For more advice contact an advisor today at Metropolitan Risk Advisory. We specialize in the needs of child care and day care facilities. We can also help increase your profit margins with day care insurance and targeted risk management techniques.

only because i don't see mummy much

After the birth of my child, my mother started asking questions about nannies and wanted to make arrangements to send a girl to come live with me.

Despite how tempting it was to have someone help, I caught myself saying, ‘no’ even before she completed her sentence. I just couldn’t picture a girl – a stranger, looking after my son, what will I be doing while she’s feeding him, changing his nappy, bathing him, soothing him. Where will I be!? Ah! The answer had to be a no. My concession was, unless it’s a maid you’re sending me, please don’t send me any nanny. And if I’m getting a maid it has to be a woman not a girl, but the thing with that is, I may have problem giving orders for menial tasks to someone older than I am. I’ll probably end up doing all my chores myself because I’ll feel guilty watching this woman running errands for me – see my dilemma?

I’d rather have someone help me with laundry, wash dishes, mop the floor, make the beds etc, all those mindless tasks that seem to take a whole Saturday morning and afternoon to get done – yet can not be ignored. But for someone to come and look after my child in my own home – NO! I refuse.

If I could have all the time in the world to gaze into my son’s eyes I’d be the happiest person in the world. I love the way he crawls all over my face and body in the mornings, playfully pawing over my eyes and nose. I just love the way he cuddles up to me and how sometimes I know I’m the only one in the world that can soothe him when he cries. I like that it’s my husband and I who bathe him, feed him and change his nappies – and he’s always looked after by family.

I’m fearful of having another woman in my home share these joys and responsibilities with me. Its bad enough I have to share him with the in-laws who are totally besotted by him. I’ll be honest with you, I feel super jealous for a split second when I see him bond with his aunties and grand parents, but immediately I catch the smile on his face when they cuddle him, the jealousy melts into relief and joy – it’s all ok – he’s surrounded by love and he loves them back – I wouldn’t have it any other way.

it's not fair...

I know there’s some sort of middle ground somewhere perhaps getting a teenager or someone in their early twenties, but you see, I’m a youth mentor, a youth leader, there is no way I’ll let someone young person just be working for me when she could be out there pursuing her destiny – what are the odds that the person I’m given will claim her purpose in life is to be my maid- please I don’t want to get in the way of a young person’s progress. I know it’s weird because it could be a means of helping…. But…

I get very uncomfortable when I see or hear of young girls barely out of school working as child minders/maid/ washing machine/ security guard. They are the small girls you see carrying baby bags and following obediently after their madams. I feel extremely uncomfortable when I see these girls running errands to help a grown woman look after her baby, ‘ go and boil water for me, go and change his nappy, go and bring his food, carry this, carry that.!’ Good Lord! Some of these girls are very unfortunate to be stuck with lazy women who not only tell them off, but beat them as well. This is what gets to me – the fact that such a young person is in your care, and you have a child, yet you treat the person in a way you’d never allow for your child to be treated – shame on you!

Some women have been known to seek out little girls as maids as opposed to grown women, their reason being they are easier to control and are more obedient – that’s just whack on so many levels, it’s unfair and manipulative – you’re looking for someone who is so poor and in need that their best choice in life is to mop your kitchen floor and wipe your baby’s bottom. Shame on you! I feel for the parents for whom this is an option – their child missing an education and working as a domestic help because they are unable to care for her – God help us!

People tell me these young girls are better off doing these jobs than being at home. They tell me these girls come from poor homes and they are working to support their families and siblings. Some women tell me of how they pay to have these children go to school or learn a trade. For whatever reason these young people find themselves as maids, or nannies, I find that the least a woman can do is treat her well, mother her and care for her. Is it wrong to think that a mother who employs a young girl would care for her?

People tell me good help is hard to find – that if you show too much compassion, the person will take you for granted and undermine your authority – but surely this sounds to me like an excuse to be partial and unfair. When you show your child love, does your child undermine you? Yes I’m saying treat your child and the little girl that is working for you the same! That’s right! I said it, your child and you house girl treat them the same, see if you can slap your daughter because she broke a plate, tell me if you would scold your daughter for bringing you a kettle instead of a flask. Come on ladies, all I’m saying is have a heart.

i know it’s tricky and if most parents had a choice they’d stay home with their child as much as they can and not hire a nanny, but i worry that outside of nursery and family, having a nanny will undermine my role as a mother – I should be the primary care giver, not a paid substitute. Besides when I get back home from work, dinner , bath and bed time are all I’ve got with him, why pass that on to someone else? I know it sounds silly, but i struggle with the concept of having a nanny. In so many circumstances it can’t be helped, you’ve got to go to work and make sure you can feed the child, it’s the lesser of two evils really. And I know I probably feel this way because I’m not yet at the top of my career and the demands on my time though many, could much worse.

I don’t know though, it’s probably clear cut to some people, but for me, it’s a dilema – nanny or no nanny.

Tell me where do you stand, nanny or no nanny?

Here’s a glimpse :-

A:   APPLE

B:   BLUETOOTH 
     
C:   CHAT

D:  DOWNLOAD

E:  E  MAIL 
   
F:   FACEBOOK

G:   GOOGLE

H:  HEWLETT  PACKARD

I:      iPHONE

J:   JAVA

K:   KINGSTON

L:    LAPTOP

M:   MESSENGER

N:   NERO

O:   ORKUT

P:   PICASSA

Q:  QUICK  H EAL

R:   RAM

S:   SERVER

T:   TWITTER

U:   USB

V:   VISTA

W:   WiFi

X:    Xp

Y:  YOU  TUBE

Z:   ZORPIA

Thank God …. A is still Apple

About 125 pupils of Kigali Starlight School were left in shock as their school was demolished by Kimironko sector authorities on Wednesday.

The school is owned by Seed of Hope Association and run by Hope Mutesi, who said that she never got a chance to discuss with the authorities what the problem was.

“I just got the demolition letter two days back. If I was warned or advised before, I would have complied with whatever instructions they would have given me,” she said.

Mutesi explained that she has all necessary documents authorizing her to operate the school, including a letter from the Ministry of Education.

She added that she was also in possession of a letter from Gasabo District authorizing her to carry out construction works on the school.

Mutesi said the construction had cost over Rwf30 million.

When The New Times reached the scene on Wednesday, the demolition was going on while pupils were in classrooms studying.

The sector leaders at the scene said the school was demolished because the school authorities did not seek permission before they started construction works.

“We are demolishing several illegally constructed structures, and this one is encroaching on the roadside. The owners of the school do not even have a construction permit,” said Robert Habimana, the Executive Secretary of the sector.

“They have to stop pupils from studying because the status of the school is confusing, it started as a nursery school and it is now a primary school.”

Habimana said the school was supposed to start operating after completing the construction works.

“You cannot continue with the construction while pupils are studying, this is not allowed,” he noted.

The same thing happened with pre-school. I went on word of mouth and enrolled her in a playgroup in the next village. Her trial day was great – one-on-one attention from a carer, lots of help and advice and she loved all the activities. When she started officially however, she was left on her own for long periods of time and was invariably beside herself when I collected her. She went on to a smaller, local group which she loves. It may not be as flashy or have the funding of the larger group but there’s more love to go round and much happier children.

Recent inspection reports have their value but nothing beats personal recommendation – from a friend with a similar parenting style to yours. What suits one child and family may very well not suit another – don’t be afraid to go your own way even if it means your child is separated from a close friend – they’ll soon make new ones and there’ll be lots of opportunities to have playdates outside of nursery.

Not only must your childcare suit your child however, it must also suit your lifestyle – so if you work long hours or have to travel to get to work make sure the one you choose offers ‘wraparound care’ – meaning those hours before and after the usual working day of 9am-5pm. Whether you choose a setting near your work or near your home is up to you but if grandparents or friends are likely to be collecting or dropping off, spare a thought for their travel times too.

And finally, although it’s fantastic to have beaming smiles and hugs when you go to pick your child up, it’s just as lovely to see them run into the setting without a backward glance. It may smart a bit at first but it does mean you’ve found the right place…

Jim Vetuno of the Associated Press reports from Texas today that the State Legislature is working to pass a bill to allow guns on College campuses.  The need is clear for State Senator, Jeff Wentworth, who said the bill will prevent a situation, “…where some deranged suicidal madman goes into a building and is able to pick off totally defenseless kids like sitting ducks.”  As a Texas A&M senior is quoted as saying, “Gun-free zones are shooting galleries for mass murderers.”

Now, our own investigative reporter, Smokey Diamond*, heavily armed and dressed in the latest body armor, has braved the gun-free zones still out there to get the rest of the story.  He spoke with John Wayne Heston, national spokesperson for the NRA, who said, “The Texas law is good news of course, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough.” “We feel the best place to start protecting defenseless kids is in the nation’s nursery schools.”  Heston went on to say, “We look at 3 to 5 year olds as our target group.” “We realize that early childhood education of these toddlers will be needed to make them responsible gun-toters as quickly as possible, and we believe that Federal Governments should pony up for the cost, as this represents a clear Homeland Security issue.”

Heston went on more conversationally to say, “Kids of that age are learning to use a knife and fork—how much more difficult could it be to teach them to draw and shoot?”  “Also, toddlers are always bumping heads.”  “They are quick to anger and rage and, being armed, they will be able to face up to these feelings as men.”  “What better learning experience could we ever ask for? “Finally, Heston noted, “As toddlers do not have a past worth checking, we will save a small fortune on any of these ridiculous mandatory background checks for weapons ownership—once approved, always approved.”

*Happily, Smokey made it back to our studio without getting gunned down this time.

I’m not 100% sure what I expected to see when I got to Logan’s new school.  What I saw was pretty impressive:

• Kids in an enclosed play area, lots of them, all playing together.
• Logan jumping out in the middle of no-where, wide smile on his face and a couple of  ”maatjies” all around him saying hello to me. 
• Teachers (yes plural) knowing my kid’s name and giving me a brief and honest update on how his first day was.
• Staff saying goodbye to my child when we walked out of the school
• It is refreshing that you can speak to a staff member and read their name on a name-badge

As we walked out of the school I asked him how his day was.  I received the very male-like answer fine and decided to pursue the matter.  So I asked:  “Do you want to go back to *name of the previous school* or do you want to stay at *name of the new school*” 

His answer was simple.  His excitement levels and enthusiasm was confirmation of his answer.  “I want to stay here”

Naturally I needed to tell him that he cannot stay right now, that we were going home.  But that he could stay at  the new school!  

There is no comparison.  Even on day one, there is no comparison.  I am so happy I have taken him out of the previous school, I am so pleased with the new school and tomorrow night we, Kobus and I, will attend our very first OOV (parent-teacher’s organisation or something like that anyway) meeting!

 So very exciting :)

* Photos taken at Kobus’ place. Probably the first and last photos we will have taken there *

At first I was upset with the previous owner of the school.  This certainly is not the right way to go about things!  In after-thought I felt that maybe this is an opportunity.  The teachers seemed excited about the change and so I thought that I might just wait it out and see.  Slowly the new owners/ principle of the school started making adjustments.  Some were good I believe, some were terrible.  They fired one of the staff member – no, not Logan’s teacher (whom by the way I am still not very fond of) – they moved classes around without consulting the teachers.  The worst for me was that the owner would see parents fetching their kids and instead of introducing herself, she would really ignore them.

We were given a new contract to complete and new rules to comply with – understandably!  All of the rules were fairly standard apart from one that said that the rules could change without prior notification and parent needed to comply.  This I had never seen in a school-contract before and it bothered me a little.  Another thing that I was on the look out for was the school fees.  No-where on the new contract it stated the school fees.  My instinct was to wait a bit…

In last week I started making a decision.  An insider gave me a bit of info regarding a soon to be implemented increase in school fees (a pretty steep one at that.)  And finally the principle introduced herself in last week and apart from the attempted performance, she didn’t make a good impression.

So I did what I needed and drove to the school Logan should have gone to, from the beginning of the year in order to ask whether they have space for him.  This will of course force me to wake up half an hour earlier in the mornings - yet it is a small sacrifice compared to Logan’s education!!  (Excuse the little pep-talk) 

They were full.  I was depressed and spoke to my friend who managed to pull some strings!

So now from the first of June, Logan will be attending a new school once again. 

* On the glass-half-full side of things: for the first time this year the book actually comes home now!

We headed to St James Primary first thing to interview a few of the older children one to one (or in our case, two to one). Most of these kids were great, they told us a little about their daily routines, their aspirations and their hobbies. We also tried to ascertain how MM has affected their school life.

Once we were finished here we headed over to Our Lady of Fatima Nursery in time for morning break at 10am.

Morning meal at Our Lady of Fatima nursery school

We were met by the head teacher, Regina Kasamba, who took us on a quick guided tour of the nursery school.

A few of the older classes (5 years old) kindly drew a picture each which we will be sending to Dalmally shortly.

At 10am the children lined up to recieve their morning meal of porridge (made from maize flour and milk) and a donut (no jam!). We took plenty of photos and videos here and hope to be able to share these soon.

Hazel and I also had the pleasure of trying the childrens food. We had half a cup of porridge each and were so full we could barely fit in our donuts! It is promising to know that the children are going into the remainder of their day with full stomachs.

http://www.findmyschool.co.uk/schooldetails.aspx?id=80050

The two links above are both very good tools.  They show you all the Nursery Schools in the W11 area in distance-order from your doorstep (W11 2AA).

There are a number of very established nurseries in Notting Hill which are notoriously difficult to get into. Some people hire ‘schooling consultants’ who can find ‘gold dust’ places at the top nurseries & schools.  Top tier are Acorn, Minors, Ladbroke Square and Strawberry Fields. The next tier down you get Dr Rolfes and Miss Delaneys.  There are however other choices and the directgov link gives you an idea of nurseries with immediate vacancies as well.From looking at the mumsnet forums in the Notting Hill area, nurseries mentioned frequently are St Peters, Kids Unlimited and Holland Park Pre-School all within walking distance of Ledbury Road.

You will see on the listings there are a number of Montessori Schools – I’ve attached a link which explains the philosophy of Montessori Schools. The method of education is characterised by emphasising self-directed activity on the part of the child to stress the importance of adapting the child’s learning environment to his or her development level, and the role of physical activity in the child’s absorbing abstract concepts and learning practical skills.

http://www.montessori.org.uk/about_the_organisation

• Harley’s House Nursery – 0141 237 7634 – 99 Thornwood Drive, Broomhill, G11 7PR
• Dowanhill Nursery School – 0141 334 8741 – 30 Havelock Street, G11 5JE
• Fortrose Nursery School – 0141 339 1808 – 74 Peel Street, G11 5LR
• Anderson Street Nursery School – 0141 339 2388 – 20 Anderson Street, G11 6AZ
• Head Start Nursery – 0141 337 3145 – 20 Lawrence Street, G11 5HQ

Nursery school or preschool is a place where children will need to learn a mixture of educational things as well as life-skill things in order to prepare them for kindergarten and other educational experiences. Therefore, as a nursery school teacher, you are going to need to become aware of the things that children need to be taught and then figure out ways to teach them these things. Nursery schools are independent of schools for older children. Nursery classes are attached to primary schools, which means the head teacher of the nursery runs the main school too. Nursery school is clearly a school. A preschool is like a day care center or day nursery. Nursery schools in India, like elsewhere, lay the foundation for a pool of educated future citizens. This underscores the need for appropriate Nursery School Text books integrated with multimedia that can be delivered even in the small cities and towns across India. Nursery school classes and a training course for parents were organized. From this beginning grew today’s Co-op. Nursery schools and classes cater for preschool children up to five years. Most take children from three, but some include younger children. Nursery school teachers can also concentrate on developing their classroom expertise to become advanced skills teachers (chartered teachers in Scotland). They can move into related work, eg teacher training, or running a playgroup, small private school or nursery. Children are encouraged to develop their interests, but discipline is included to avoid random activity. Everyone is given an opportunity to express his or her feelings, to share and to learn. Children learn through experimentation, manipulation, observation, and social interaction. Teachers plan the curriculum to address the needs of both the group and the individual child. Children have ample opportunity to express themselves through art materials, clay, collage, music, rhythms and stories. By entering into dramatic play and through retelling of experiences, children build language skills and the ability to communicate with others.