Every morning at 8, the children would come into the classroom. They dawned their beat up CSM uniforms and backpacks two-times their size. They would give us high-fives, stare up at us with their big brown eyes and grin through half rotten teeth. It was enough to make your heart melt.
From 8 to 9 we played. We had three play options: colored cube blocks, regular blocks of all shapes and sizes and counting cubes (which just got used to build with). The counting cubes were by far the most popular option.
After playing we would sing a couple of songs. The most popular were Tutti Tat and Olay Lay. They just thought those were a riot.
From 9 to 9:45, the students would get up in front of the classroom in pairs. They would stand at attention and count from 1-50 in Khmer and then in English (the younger kids would only count to 20), then they would sing the ABCs in English and they would end by singing the Khmer Alphabet. This was the highlight of my day. They know so much at so young. Everyday I would look forward to hearing all of them practice.
From 9:45 to 11, we had stations. One station was a game, either Candyland, to practice colors, or Farm Bingo, to practice naming animals. The second station was either learning colors or counting, depending on the student’s level. I often ran this station. My favorite was hearing them practice the word “Green,” which they pronounce like they are Scottish. The third station was practicing the English Alphabet. The last station was practicing the Khmer Alphabet and the tones that go along with their symbols.
At 11, preschool was over. The teachers would fill their backpacks with their notebooks and snacks and off they went.
We would often see them around the slum, when we would go to get something from the market. Without hesitation they would run up and hug us. It never failed to make my heart explode.
As someone who has self-proclaimed that I do not like that age range, I think I was the one on my team who looked forward to pre-school the most. I loved playing with them, taking pride in their knowledge, and teaching them new things. As a teacher, it breaks my heart that for some of them, this will be the only formal education they may ever get.
I loved these children as hard as I could. That’s all they wanted. They just wanted to be loved. They wanted to lay in your lap and have you rub their back, or look through a book with you. I always happily obliged.
The Cambodian children stole my heart. There is a piece of me that will forever remain in that classroom, with each one of those students. I miss them everyday.
To learn more about Cambodia Slum Ministry visit: http://www.reactsministries.org/cambodia-slum-ministry.html
To Donate to Cambodia Slum Ministry visit: https://app.easytithe.com/g3/
–Caitlin
