Volunteer's Story: Jens, Norway   - Shanghai MingHang Kindergarten

Hi, my name is Jens C.B. Nygaard and I'm a volunteer worker from Norway. I arrived in Shanghai the 28th of June and I'm going to stay here until the 1st of September. For two months I am working as an English teacher at the MingHang Kindergarten in Shanghai. My class is called "K1" and it has 13 children, all 4 or 5 years old. My main job is to help the children develop their English abilities.

Differences Between Chinese & Norwegian Kindergartens

About 3 or 4 days ago, I was asked me if I could write a little about the differences between Norwegian and Chinese kindergartens. This article is to give the other volunteers from Norway or elsewhere some small pointers of how it is to work in Ming Hang kindergarten.

For starters I can say that the kindergarten isn't that different in the way they are educating the children in my home country. It’s similar to our way, like gathering them in a circle when you are reading a book, singing songs or just in every kind of situation. For 3 weeks now, they have always started the day with what we call “navn opprop”, name list of the children, where they have to say their name and say a phrase (that I don’t understand). All this is very similar to the pedagogic methods of some kindergartens in Norway. So, for those who have some experience in this field, you will quickly see the similarities. The biggest difference is the kindergarten routine for the children. For those who don’t have any experience in this field, don’t get too used to the routine. And for those who have experience, like me, you will find the daily routine a little bit strange.

This kindergarten has its own cantina (cafeteria) for the workers. We are served 2 meals: lunch and dinner. Lunch is served at 11am and dinner is served at 4pm. This is a private kindergarten that has around 200 children (I have never counted them so this is a guess :-).

The normal work day is from 9am to 4pm and it is very important to arrive on time, the first general rule for working there :-). Just as a pointer, there is something called rush hour here, and you will probably experience it. So don’t get too relaxed and I’m saying this because I have been squeezed into the subway train.

From 9 to 11am it’s education time. Here they have all different activities: from English, Chinese Chess, Chinese Character, swimming lesson, gymnastics or Physical Exercise (PE). You will get a timetable for your class and you will see it’s a very interesting timetable. From 11am its lunch, preparation for nap, and then nap time starts. This is where the big difference from our kindergarten in Norway begins. All the children in the kindergarten sleep for 2.5 hours, it doesn’t matter what age. The reason they have this kind of routine is based on a culture thing and maybe a little bit deeper meaning. So for me this is all new and very different, because I have never had so much time to relax or to do what ever I desire. In mostly every kindergarten in China every child up to the age of 6 years sleeps for 2 and a half hours. So its not only here in Shanghai they have their power nap. While they are sleeping, you will have 3 hours of break or preparation time, for the next day's lessons. As an volunteer worker and a tourist in Shanghai, I strongly recommend that you should finish preparing the lesson for the next day in that timeline. This is because it’s nice to have the evening for sightseeing or relaxing, because sometimes the day can become long :-).

After the long break they have snacks and that can be anything from candy to crackers. But before they get the snack they are eating some porridge, but I am not 100% sure if it’s actually porridge they are eating. After snack time they can actually do whatever they want. This could be a nice time for you as a foreigner to maybe teach them some games from your country. You can always teach them more English but it’s nice to play some games with the children as an icebreaker.

Well I hope I have given you some pointers and haven’t scared you, hehe. If not, you will always have your project leader or co-volunteers in the flat to ask. The kindergarten is a very nice institution for children and you will easily get to know the children. For the communication part, don’t worry - you always have your body language. They are very smart, so don’t underestimate them, they can easily trick you (I'm guilty! :-).

I hope you will enjoy your volunteer work in the Ming Hang kindergarten, and I wish you the best luck. Regards Jens C.B. Nygaard

Jens's Photo Gallery                  Email Jens