My Niece's Sunday Class

April 25, 2022

Yesterday, I had no choice but to accompany my niece as she attended her class. Again, it is a class sponsored by UNICEF. I don't know the real purpose of the said activity as I wasn't there when they visited our barangay but maybe they aim to give the kids new meaningful memories and lessen the trauma that they have experienced during the onslaught of super typhoon Rai.

My sister wasn't at home since she also accompanied grandma to the hospital. Mom attended the prayer and fasting and my brother also had a class. So, even if I don't want to be outside at 1 pm under the scorching heat of the sun, I had no choice but to accompany my niece to school.

We were there fifteen minutes before the class is supposed to start. There were kids and moms already. Some young girls are sitting and behaving and their moms are talking non-stop. The boys were playing on the slide braving the scorching heat of the sun. The atmosphere was so hot and I'm not exaggerating. Mom's we're louder than the kids. The noise made the atmosphere more unbearable. I thought of going home with my niece and spending the afternoon sleeping but I waited patiently and see how would my niece behave in class.

The teachers were thirty minutes late. But still, the class didn't start immediately. They went on asking first who wasn't able to attend the first session. They separated the kids who were able to attend the first session. It was supposed to be their recognition day but UNICEF advised that all the kids must complete and attend all the classes. So, they proceeded to discuss again the topic intended for the first session. There were three teachers. The age range of the children is from 3 to 5 years old.

They were taught about different kinds of faces and body parts. They were also tasked to draw happy faces. My niece first drew a heart as a face and drew small circles as eyes. She then drew a curve line and coloured her drawing yellow.

My niece kept on roaming around, checking on other kids' toys. She would also raise her two hands whenever their teacher asked something. Even when her teacher announced that they won't allow kids that were not seated to have snacks, still she didn't budge. She was the only kid who kept on hopping to another table. And I just let her be. I didn't want to be a nagging aunt that would add to the noise pollution. I was just happy to see my niece playing with other kids.

I'm very happy and proud of her. I'm blessed to have witnessed such milestones in her life.

Thanks for your time. Until the next read!