When I was a young girl of 10 years and attending Nakasero Primary School, I, together with my late sister, Remie Wamala really    admired the children who attended Kampala Kindergarten. This school was a stone’s throw away from our school so we had an opportunity to see how these children behaved. The children were always smart, they spoke fluent English and were very confident. We often passed by this school as we used the road from All Saints Church to Nakasero Primary School. That was before the road was closed for ‘security’ reasons.

Eventually, we grew up, got married and had children of our own. When it came to thinking about their schooling, Kampala Kindergarten (KK) was definitely our first priority. I am not very easy to convince, so finding something or anything that can work for me can be a challenge. However, I can confidently say that Kampala Kindergarten has more than exceeded my expectations because of a number of reasons.

KK children always stand out

   My greatest satisfaction with this school is with the noticeable impact they have had on my children; my first son, Taj, who is now in primary school, and currently, my four-year-old daughter. Wherever I go, my children stand out. They are confident, loving, fluent and calm. People are always asking me how I taught them these skills but I always tell them that it is the school where they go that is responsible. This kind of foundation in the life of a child is very important and I am glad that Kampala Kindergarten serves them well.

Diaries

   I like the idea of the diaries which the children carry in their bags and I am glad to utilize this opportunity to communicate with the teachers. I engage the teachers through the diaries and they also make sure to give me the feedback I need through these diaries. They will always tell you that a circular has been given to the child so you don’t miss it and a lot more. For example, I may ask the teachers to watch my daughter a little more closely if I feel that she left home looking sickly. And they will be sure to give me feedback at the end of the day about how she spent her day. Much as my daughter is asthmatic, I must say that she has not had to miss school a lot because of this kind of communication. For example, they will tell me if she spent the day coughing a lot more than usual. This helps me to deal with an impending attack before it gets too serious. I am very grateful to the teachers for this.

Constant and Personal Feedback

   Other than the diaries, the teachers will call if there is something they want to be sure about. For example, my daughter’s second name is quite long. She’s more comfortable writing her first name. Tired of writing it out each time, she told her teachers one day that her father had told her ‘to stop writing that long name.’ The teachers told me what Aliyah had said.  I just laughed my lungs out and off course told them she just had trouble writing the long name. My daughter also loves swimming but when it is cold, I tell her not to swim because this sometimes sparks our asthma. There are times when she really wants to swim, so she tells her teachers that I have given her a go ahead. However, they always call just to be sure. When the weather is fine, I sometimes compromise and allow her swim or put her legs in the water. I also engage the teachers whenever I feel that my child is doing excellently in an area, yet she has been awarded a plain ‘good’. I always get satisfactory answers.

Loving and committed teachers

I must say that the teachers are so loving and this love can be felt through the children. I have had the privilege of having at least one of my children’s teachers staying in my neighbourhood. This means that I can give them a lift once in a while whenever I find them. I really enjoy those times because I am amazed at how much they know about my children. This interaction gives me an insight into who my children are at school. The teachers also get to know who my children are at home.

Etiquette and good manners

   The impact that these teachers have on my children also surprises me. They take everything they are told at school as the only truth that cannot even be debated.  As long as she mentions; “my teacher said…” there is nothing you can say against what her teacher said. For example, my daughter cannot eat anything without washing hands. Even if someone buys biscuits and gives them to her, she will tell them “I need to wash my hands.” She keeps telling her friends in the neighborhood that they will eat ‘germs’ if they don’t wash their hands before eating. My children know how to take care of their nose whenever they have a cold and I have been impressed by how quickly their toilet manners have improved , thanks to the teachers and the ‘jajjas’ (grannies).

   Still on the teachers’ impact, there is a time, my daughter’s class was asked to bring some of the clothes they had outgrown to be given to needy children, who she refers to as ‘poor children.’  I had given out all their old clothes in my neighbourhood, so I gave her teacher some money as contribution towards this cause but Aliyah would not hear of it. She wanted clothes because that is what the teacher had said. She sang it everyday however much I explained. One day, she came back home with some of her clothes in the bag and when I asked her about it, she said he was taking them to the needy children. She had packed them to give them out but she forgot them. I could not believe it. She met her aunties and told them how I had refused to give her clothes to take to poor children yet her teacher had said so. The aunties asked me why and told them the whole story. They just gave her clothes to take to the’ poor children.’ 

Emphasis on wholesome growth.

   Kampala Kindergarten also has educative programs that teach what I would never have been able to teach my children. While I am a Muslim, I find it had to teach my daughter how to say a particular prayer in Arabic, but she prays perfectly and I am really impressed.

The children can also learn aerobics, swimming, piano lessons and participate in Cubs and Brownies club activities. A parent can choose which club his/her child belongs to. I am happy that these co-curricular activities are taken seriously. The school also have this club called Amazon where all such activities take place and Teacher Scovia, “the Queen of Amazon” has really done a good job of getting my daughter to convince me to pay for Amazon.

The science fairs are a great opportunity for the children to learn about, plants, crops, poultry, animals, gardening, water among other aspects of science so they do not think some of these fruits ‘grow in fridges.’

I like the way the teachers communicate to us through the children and how they make it easy for the child to deliver the message.  When my daughter tells me that her teachers told her to bring a certain colour of money for an activity, I get the message. She will say, “My teacher said I bring ‘blue money.’ I quickly understand that she is referring to Shs2,000. It could be ‘green money’ (Shs5,000) or ‘purple money’ (Shs10,000).”

Children at Kampala Kindergarten are also taught how to socialize, how to negotiate, how to communicate well, skills that are extremely important in life.  We have come a long way. From saying ‘bited’ to bitten, ‘teared’ to tore, from ‘bet’ to beaten and a lot more, I can see the return on my investment.

Challenges

   Saying that the school has more than exceeded my expectations does not mean that I have no challenges. For example, my four-year-old daughter, Aliyah, who is currently studying at the school has some issues with who I am. When his brother was at the school, the teachers used to call me Mummy Taj. Some of these teachers still refer to me as Mummy Taj. But Aliyah doesn’t like it. She wants the teachers to call me Mummy Aliyah. She keeps correcting them but it is hard for some of them to change because the name ‘had stuck’. It is an understandable situation but somehow, it leaves her a little frustrated.

All in all however, we have experienced wholesome growth at Kampala Kindergarten. Indeed like my daughter says, it’s “the best school in the world.” In fact, my third child will be joining Kampala Kindergarten Association (KKA) in baby class next year.