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When I was doing my B. Ed and training to be a high school teacher, my sister finished her nursery teachers training and started her own nursery school at home. Seeing all those tiny children crying, laughing, playing, singing and learning I decided to join my sister and trained to be a nursery teacher.  After completing my B. Ed. I trained under my sister and worked with little children for 7 years till I got married. For the next 20 years, I devoted my time to our 2 lovely children. In June 1998, I started a nursery and play school at our home.

The youngest child to enroll was 2 ½ years old. By God’s grace, I find I am able to communicate with them at their level – to be able to play with them, to listen patiently to their discoveries and to be able to understand them. The most awesome thing about these small children that struck me so many years ago was their pure and unconditional love. During my years of association with them, they have taught me to love the way they love. There have been times when I would have to scold a child. But amazingly, within a few minutes, they would forget all about it and come running to me and hug me. I learned that children never hold a grudge. It’s almost as if they respect and love you even more after you correct them. There are a few of them who are very stubborn, but they soon learn that I do not compromise on obedience. I have learned to respect them as individuals. I let them grow in their own nature and gently try to blunt the sharp corners in their personality.

Teaching these small children to pronounce, write and draw gives me a tremendous sense of satisfaction. It’s the little things they do that give the greatest joy; when they learn to hold the pencil or brush correctly, when they pronounce the alphabets correctly, when they learn to say “please” and “thank you” and when they learn to say “sorry” when they are wrong. These tiny children are not ashamed to laugh or cry. There are never 2 children, who react in quite the same way. I have found that children are so unique, that it is impossible to compartmentalize them. I have to handle each child in a different way. Among these tiny persons, some are shy and quiet, some are hyper active, and some are very sensitive. Some need my constant attention, some need to be encouraged, some need a hug, some love to sit on my lap for a while, some talk a lot and some are very silent. Almost all of them love to talk about their families. They talk about all that happens in their homes, from family outings to the fights they had with their siblings. Most importantly, they all love to come to school. I love them all. I believe that these children keep me young at heart. Children are indeed God’s greatest and best gift to us. Mrs Priscilla Babu e-mail: babu@md2.vsnl.net.in

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