Observing in the Creches

You have all been very patient with me (if anyone is indeed reading this) while I write about my weekends and ignore the bulk of the work I have been doing here. It has been really challenging trying to put into words the experiences I have been having every day. 

We climb into the van at about 9am each weekday, and head out into the township. Even after paying really good attention for a week and a half I still have no idea where anything is, so it's good that I don't have to find the places myself. We pull up outside a creche, I get out, and Mojalefa introduces me to the matron (like the boss/principal) and the teachers. I make sure he tells them in Sotho that they should not do anything different from a normal day before he leaves, and I think they listen about 50% of the time.

I find myself a little perch on the floor somewhere out of the way, and settle in to watch until about 2pm. During this time I pay very close attention to the physical space, the materials (toys/furniture etc.), the schedule of the day, and the interaction between teachers and children. The creches vary in age group and group sizes. Today I was in a creche with only 12 children between 1-5 years old. In other creches they may have 20 babies under 2, 20 two-year-olds, and 50 3-4 year olds. Rarely is there enough space for these numbers, but there is demand and the creches try to meet it.

Throughout the day I am invariably offered "bush tea," which I quite like (thank goodness, it would be rude to decline) and occasionally lunch with the matron or teachers. Their staple food here is pap (wikipedia) - which is a ground up grain that tastes kind of like grits and kind of like nothing. So far I've had pap and cabbage, pap and cream, pap and meat that tasted like sloppy joes, and pap and lamb. Mind you, I have never been asked if I am hungry or if I would like lunch before I am presented with the largest plate of food you have ever seen. When I first arrived it was very difficult to force-feed myself the giant portions, and I fear I may have offended with leaving some behind. Now that my stomach is adjusted to the time, the travel, and the pap, however, I can usually leave my plate sparkling clean.

The creches vary wildly in quality, along all of these dimensions. Sometimes the nicest facility may come with the least individual interaction, and sometimes a facility that is falling apart will have the most wonderful teachers inside. I have learned not to make any judgments until I have watched for a few hours, because I keep being surprised with the innovative ways some teachers make use of their environment. For example, today I saw old coffee cans being used as blocks, and an old bedspring being used as a trampoline.One thing they do a lot of here is singing (notice a trend?) and the teachers usually start my day with a little performance for me. I have seen the South African national anthem (which I am trying to capture on video), twinkle twinkle, and dozens of unknown Sotho songs involving some awesome dance moves.  What has been difficult are the centers where there is truly nothing for the kids to play with. In these centers, I am generally the greatest attraction just by sitting on the floor and interacting with the kids, as there is nothing else besides riding each other (literally) and running around for them to do.

It's our hope that when we are done refining this tool, we will have a document that can help point the teachers and matrons in the right direction with regard to early childhood care, especially for infants and toddlers. There is very little training available, and everyone really does seem to be trying as hard as they can.

I will let the pictures tell the story now. I had some qualms about posting photos of children on the blog, but since its purpose is to share what I have been seeing, I have come to terms with it. Don't spread them all over the internet, everyone.

This baby and I hung out all day at one center:

Without toys or furniture, there is plenty of room for elaborate songs. Here the 3-4 year olds lined up on the outer wall and the babies sat in the middle for some songs.  

 This little guy just got too tired and fell asleep right next to me:

 We do a lot of hand-holding:

This is one of my favorites. This little girl was tired so she found a spot to sleep under the crib. This other little boy then came along, took off her shoe, and played with it:

 When they have the materials, I get to see some awesome pretend play. Here a teacher has helped tie a baby doll onto this little girl's back, simulating how women here carry babies.

 This is an old bedspring being used as the awesomest trampoline. Can you imagine trying to pull this off in New York?

This little boy couldn't help falling asleep during story-time. I have shortened the video and lowered the quality in the hopes that it will upload here, our internet is slow. I hope it works!

I will write more soon, and probably include more photos and videos. They are just too cute!