Under the supervision of the Education Department – on Thursday 5th March – the pre-schools on Anguilla hosted a Parent/Child Literacy Evening at Campus B. It was an opportunity for parents to have a fun evening with their children and to foster an understanding of what literacy is all about.
In explaining the evening’s activity, Head Teacher of the Bethel Methodist Pre-School, Londrina Hughes, said that they had put together a variety of items which reflected literacy in the curriculum. These included puppet shows, rhymes, jingles, dancing, alphabet time, music, drama and other things that deal with literacy. “We’ve asked the parents and children to come… It’s like a pajama party… See, all the children are dressed in their pajamas with their pillows and pillow pets and blankets. They are all going to lie or sit down and they are all going to be actively involved in whatever we do – so they are going to be answering questions, and doing the corresponding actions that we want them to do and, as for the parents, they can take part too… This is like an awareness of Literacy in the curriculum. It’s all about language: listening, speaking, reading and writing. We need parents to be more aware… [of what] happens at pre-school level and to be aware of some of the things we do in the Literacy programme at the school.”
Due to the success of Literacy Evening last year (2014), this year it was held in the comfort of a bigger hall – at Campus B.
Some parents reflected that the event was an excellent idea in that it:
– Demonstrated to the parents how to make literacy more enjoyable so that they can put it into practice at home.
– Increased the social skills of the children. They were excited and did some things they never did before. As one parent commented: “This is the second time I’m bringing my daughter and she was not as shy.” Another parent observed that the children get an opportunity to socialize with others they have never met before. Teachers get an opportunity to work with other teachers they don’t normally work with and parents get to meet and have fun with other children and teachers.”
– The evening’s activity showcased the excellence of teachers in Anguilla, and fathers in particular, were urged not to become marginalized in this aspect of their children’s lives.
