00:00 [Music]
00:16 Hi Smart Parenting fam! I'm Judy Santiago Aladin, Editor of Smart Parenting
00:21 and welcome to the SP Guide to Preschools in Metro Manila.
00:25 [Music]
00:31 Today we're here at the Raya Play School here in Mandaluyong City and joining us
00:36 today is our guest, Student Lea! Tara, let's check out the school!
00:40 [Music]
00:47 The Raya Play School is located in Mandaluyong City.
00:51 It offers two vertical classes, one for younger kids in the morning and another
00:55 for the older ones in the afternoon.
00:57 [Music]
01:03 So can you give us a short background about Raya and when did it start?
01:07 So Raya started in her 11th year of school.
01:12 It started when our two founders, Dr. Annie Rosa Almario
01:20 and Dr. CP David, finished their PhDs and
01:25 Dr. Annie finished her Master's in Stanford.
01:28 They talked and said that it would be great to have a school
01:34 that is thrust with the love of country.
01:37 Our original branch was in Fairview.
01:40 We catered to pre-nursery all the way up to grade 12.
01:45 So we have senior high.
01:47 But here in Twin Oaks, we decided that okay,
01:50 maybe we can also cater to families because Fairview is a bit far.
01:56 So why did Raya become a mother?
02:01 Being a mother is what Raya values because we are Filipinos.
02:07 So what Raya wants is to teach the kids about their origins,
02:16 to get to know their roots.
02:18 [Music]
02:24 The Raya Play School is also the laboratory school of the Adarna House.
02:28 [Music]
02:32 The laboratory school, this means that Adarna, when they develop their materials,
02:37 they work with the Raya children.
02:39 So we test their books or the materials that they develop.
02:46 So the children here in Raya, they're really exposed to books.
02:50 So we do story time and then in the classroom also,
02:54 we have a lot of books for them to read even during free play.
02:57 [Music]
03:02 We are part of the progressive spectrum of education.
03:05 So meaning that when we teach, we make sure that it is child-centered, child-led.
03:11 The teacher is a facilitator.
03:13 When we teach concepts, we make sure that it's very experiential.
03:18 The experiential learning is when we give them actual things to work with.
03:24 So if we're going to teach them about the different types of soil,
03:27 we'd want them to be able to touch, to smell, to feel,
03:32 to work with the different types of soil.
03:34 So you don't just say, "This is a loam soil,"
03:37 and then you give them a textbook definition.
03:39 You actually want to make them touch it, feel it, and work with it.
03:45 [Music]
03:47 The Raya Play School is also a bilingual school.
03:50 [Music]
03:51 Half the time, we give our instructions in English.
03:55 And half of it is in Filipino.
03:58 So we have chunks of time that we call.
04:01 Because we really want the child,
04:04 if he's a first-language Filipino speaker,
04:07 after a year, he'll have his second language, which is English.
04:12 If it's the other way around, for first-language English speakers,
04:16 after a school year, our hope is for the child to be able to speak
04:20 and think in Filipino as well at the end of the school year.
04:24 Can you describe the flow of the class?
04:26 So in preschool, we always start with free play.
04:30 It's very important to honor that free play
04:32 because you want them to be able to move.
04:35 And without, well, quote-unquote "rules,"
04:39 meaning they get to pick their toy for the day,
04:43 or if they want to run and run with friends, they can do that.
04:48 So we enjoy the extra energy.
04:50 They can spend it before we proceed with circle time.
04:54 So during circle time, they do song time.
04:56 They greet each other. We check attendance.
04:59 And then we talk about the routines for the day.
05:02 Okay, for the very young children, we have eight students to one teacher,
05:11 one main teacher, but there's always a second teacher in the classroom
05:14 or a teaching assistant.
05:16 Do your students have homework?
05:18 We don't have homework.
05:19 The homework that we know of, the answer pages, like this to this page,
05:25 we don't have that, but we ask them to do certain tasks at home,
05:29 like help nanay sweep the house, the sala, or...
05:33 This is their favorite, setting tables.
05:36 They have a checklist.
05:37 And then when it comes to grades, do you have a numerical grading?
05:41 In the preschool, there's no numerical grades,
05:44 but we do issue learning stories.
05:46 So we actually, the teachers actually write a story
05:50 about what your child enjoyed in class or in a month.
05:55 What is your favorite activity?
05:56 Or maybe the teacher may also write about a challenge
05:59 or something that your child finds challenging,
06:03 that you may actually help your child with at home.
06:06 So it's really communication with the parent.
06:09 In Raya, we're always asked if we have a religion.
06:13 Raya is a non-sectarian school, but we teach values using citizenship.
06:20 We teach Raya values in terms of citizenship.
06:23 Because if you're a good citizen, you're a good person.
06:27 And vice versa, if you're a good person, you're a good citizen.
06:31 What I love about Raya Play School is that their curriculum
06:50 is focused on developing two things that kids need more of these days.
06:54 A love for reading and a strong sense of being Filipino.
06:58 They also champion fun and experiential learning activities for the kids
07:03 to help them become independent and open-minded at a young age.
07:07 So I say I became a guest student again.
07:14 This is Raya School and I have made a picture frame.
07:19 And my teacher told me Filipino.
07:24 Now I know Filipino.
07:27 Did you have fun today?
07:28 Yes. And I will say that I had a lot of fun.
07:34 Okay, so if you can give stars to Raya, one to five stars, how many will you give?
07:40 And that's it for our day here at Raya Play School.
07:46 So if you have any preschool in mind, comment them below.
07:49 To be featured here in SB Guide.
07:51 Thank you to our guest student, Leah.
07:54 Bye SB Fam.
07:56 Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.
08:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments