From August 3 to 7, 2020, the project teams of The HUMANA PEOPLE TO PEOPLE Preschool of The Future (POF) ushered in the first reunion after the pandemic. We gathered in the meeting room of Tanxiaoyuan in Kunming to hold the quarterly meeting.

Group photo of the POF teams

In addition to the projects’ news and achievements sharing, production plan making and documentation evidence inspection, the project service center and training team arranged trainings in how to use the indoor and outdoor toys and teaching aids manual and how to avoid primary school type top-down teaching. In group discussions, we summarized the latest developments of The Preschool of The Future (POF). At the news sharing meeting, the project coordinators of the Yunnan Low-Carbon Green School Pilot Project and the Community Development projects of HPP in Yunnan Province also shared  the activities of the project with others.

News sharing

Documentation evidence Trace data inspection

In the last quarter, the project teams successfully carried out the programs, such as teacher training, weekly theme activities, homeschooling, class room environment innovation, etc. Among them, The project of Preschool of The Future in Ning'er was preparing for the comprehensive evaluation grading of the kindergarten. The POF Huize project team coordinated many times with the local education department and central school to finish the renovations of the last 21 class rooms

From the end of May to the beginning of June, after inspections by the local education departments, Humana People to People Preschools of The Furture resumed class in turn, and the teaching activities returned to normal. In view of the online teacher training and weekly theme activities organized during the epidemic closure of the classes, each project staff made feedback according to the realities, and put forward better suggestions for the later project activities.

Resumption of schooling

Teacher training

At present, some common phenomena exist in preschool education, such as the tendency of primary school type blackboard or rote teaching in kindergartens, the reverse development of primary school teaching, and the poor connection between kindergarten and primary school. Therefore, the trainer Zheng An led us to correctly understand the importance of  preschool education to children's development, and explored the teaching methods by comparing the characteristics, differences, values and significance of preschool and primary school (grade one).

Futher Zheng An introduced the 3-year teacher training program, studied the methodology of "review", summarized the project periodically and discussed on its development. Through understanding how to offer better teacher training program, analyzing and summarizing the project activities, the team learned how to improve the ability of teachers in the future, and how to carry out the project on the basis of the previous achievement. A project is bound to have both advantages and disadvantages, but the strategy of the project will become clear if the team know how to funnel resources and efforts into where their strengths and most opportunities lie.

Trainer Zheng An is training teachers on quarterly meeting

How to make simple equipment for indoor and outdoor Play-Based learning was edited by Luo Ruhong and Dao Junwei from Ning’er County POF project team during the production of toys and  teaching aids of indoor and outdoor. Feng Li from the Project Service Center acted as chief editor of the manual, which then was distributed among POF as internal textbook.

Feng Li also shared the specific contents, production methods, matters needing attention and other contents in the manual at the quarterly meeting. He hoped that the project team would lead the preschool teachers to apply the manual to practice, enrich and improve the toys and teaching aids for indoor and outdoor activities, and bring more fun to the children.

How to make simple equipment for indoor and outdoor Play-Based learning

Quarterly meetings are held to bring project staff together to share experiences and learn from each other. Each project team shared the results and problems in the project activities carried out in the last quarter. Lead by the project service center, we thought and summarized, and brainstormed ideas for better development of the next quarter. In addition, after summarizing the last quarter's project activities and participating in the group's training, each project team worked out the next quarter's production plan according to the actual situation, which would be implemented after the project service center and project leaders repeatedly reviewed and approved.

Each project team worked out the next quarter's production plan

 During project implementation, we can better promote the further development of the project by continuous learning, phased analysis and summary.