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Feature
IC NEWSLETTER -
SUMMER 2009
8
There’s been a lot of excitement lately in Ras Beirut and Ain
Aar preschools. Dozens of four-year olds have been very
busy strutting around the schools using fancy terms like
“architect”, “designer,”“carpenter”, “needs”, “cooperation”, and
“measurements.” They are taking themselves very seriously.
For indeed, their mission is quite serious: they have chosen
to build something. And not just anything. Something that
they “need not just want,” explained one little boy very
knowingly.
To satisfy those budding needs, nothing would have been
easier than just commissioning a carpenter to undertake
the projects.
But it’s not the IC style.
In a true show of democracy, every class had to vote for
its project. The children themselves tallied the votes. The
winning project was adopted by all.
The projects are part of the PYP theme “how we organize
ourselves.”The idea was to get preschoolers to understand
that a community is made up “community helpers” and
their interdependency on each other.
In Ras Beirut, one class decided that they absolutely needed
a puppet theatre. It was getting very tiresome waiting for
their turn to use the school’s puppet theatre.
It was up to them to figure out how to produce this theatre
from beginning to end.
“The project is coming out with a solution and thinking
about the process and living the process of helping each
other,” explained Jana Nassar, KGI teacher. And there was
much to do. They had to co-design the theatre (with an
architect), visit the carpenter, the seamstress, the welder
and the painter. They also had to take the measurements
themselves anddraw thenecessarymap. Basically, explained
Nassar “they used a lot of thinking skills and research.”
Meanwhile, in a KGI class of Ain Aar, the children were
holding yet another brainstorming session.
“We all have topaint together or it’s not fair,”declares Isabelle
Sayegh as group sat in a circle around their teacher.
Maybe, joins in Mark Bou Malhab, “we’ll make patterns on
our closet.”
Ryan Chidiac was nodding emphatically and eagerly thrust
his hand up. Unfortunately, he forgot what his brilliant idea
was. “I need more time to think,” he finally declared.
But Ryan Mezher jumped in with his own idea. “I know!” he
said. “We’ll put our names on the closet and the KGII will
know that we made it!”
Or, added Isabelle, “we’ll draw Mr Tanios on it.”
(Tanios el Hachem and Ahmad Shayto, the school
carpenters, have suddenly gained much popularity in both
schools. “I’ve never felt more loved,” said Shayto as swarms
of preschoolers hug him enthusiastically).
Teacher Hiba Kobeissi smiled at her students. Since the
project began, she found herself holding several voting
sessions as her charges couldn’t decide on which project
to choose, then the shape of the closet they had chosen,
and then again on were to place the closet. “I told them it’s
all right to change their minds as long as they all vote on it,”
said Kobeissi. “They learned to accept other people’s point
of view and see how decisions are taken.”
The next step was to invite architects to class. Together,
they took the needed measurements, wrote down the
data and drew the designs.
Next, the children had to write, email, or make an
appointment with the directors of the schools to seek
permission for their projects.
As carpenters began implementing the designs,
preschoolers visited to make sure that all was going as
“planned”.
The Very Busy
KGI