MANILA, Philippines - Miggy sits patiently as a team of little doctors gathers around him, taking his temperature and checking his heartbeat with a toy stethoscope. At the adjacent table, Aleinah practices counting with Teacher Ai. On the floor behind them, Sabrina is busy putting together a 46-piece puzzle, oblivious to the buzz of activity around her.
In the Dramatic Play Area, Sam feeds the baby doll then lays it on the crib; then she puts on a firefighter’s hat and starts playing with the construction tools. Ethan goes around pushing the baby stroller, then joins the girls in preparing make-believe meals. Meanwhile, Reese has her face buried in her favorite books, reading quietly by herself in the Reading Corner, even as her classmates play animatedly with the nuts and bolts nearby. Gabbie is busy painting, then proudly hands over her finished work to Teacher Lian, who hangs them up to dry along with many other art works that adorn the classroom.
Such is a typical free play period in a preschool class at OLL Child Development Center (OLL CDC), where children are given a few minutes each day for child choice activities before they gather for more structured activities like circle time, story time, and work play.
A lot of learning takes place during playtime. The children learn social skills like sharing, cooperation, and taking turns. They improve their concentration when playing with puzzles, develop their pre-writing skills when working with arts and crafts, and hone their pre-reading skills when browsing through books of their choice.
Besides helping young children develop their basic skills, OLL CDC is dedicated to teaching preschoolers what it means to be part of a bigger community. The school puts great emphasis on the need for a strong home-school partnership to teach young children how to share, play fairly, and respect the members of the community they live in —their parents, siblings, caregivers, and teachers, among others.
Established in 1957, OLL CDC was founded by the late educator and civic leader Dr. Beatriz Pablo-Ronquillo in her home in Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City — long before preschools mushroomed all over the country. She had returned two years earlier with a doctorate degree in Education from Columbia University and fresh ideas on child education. “She envisioned a learning environment in a garden setting, bringing out the best in each child through play and fun, and always keeping pace with the latest pedagogical trends and providing good teachers and appropriate teaching materials,” shares OLL CDC director Ana Maria Ronquillo-Nemenzo, the founder’s daughter.
Ana Maria’s husband, Dr. Francisco Nemenzo, has been connected with the academe for more than half a century, and was president of the University of the Philippines from 1999 until his retirement in 2005.
“We were in Australia from 1982 to 1985 and our house was right beside a preschool,” recalls OLL CDC assistant director Lian Nemenzo-Hernández, who currently teaches the 3’s and 4’s Class. “My mom would hear the children in the classrooms always singing and having fun. She went to the school to look around and she saw the classrooms were very bright and cheerful, and the kids were all happy and laughing and talking. What also impressed her were the creative activities of the children who used what might be waste materials from home and school and turned them into ‘works of art.’ She wondered, ‘Why are our classrooms not like this? Our children are just seated and formally reciting, but here they seem so happy and free and eager to respond to the teacher.’”
Upon her return to Manila, Nemenzo set out to institute some changes in her preschool. She observed that only very few schools in Metro Manila were applying the progressive method of teaching.
This year, still in its original location along D. Tuazon, Quezon City, OLL CDC celebrates 55 years of providing quality early childhood education. It is inviting former students to attend the grand alumni homecoming titled “OLL at 55: Let’s Be Kids Again!” on Friday, Nov. 30. For details, call Teacher Lian at 740- 1820 or 09228560053, or Teacher Osang at 09228560055.