Dahlia Cabristante (left), focal person of the Children's Program of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office of Negros Oriental, and Jennifer Catan Tilos, Philippine Information Agency-Negros Oriental Infocen manager. (Video screengrab from PIA)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) is leading its counterparts in the local government units (LGUs) in Negros Oriental in ensuring that the learning and development of the daycare school children are not hampered during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
During the "Kapihan sa PIA" forum here on Thursday, Dahlia Cabristante, focal person of the PSWDO’s Children’s Program, said despite the absence of face-to-face classes, daycare pupils are made to participate in activities that mold them and improve their learning abilities.
The PSWDO is holding this November an extended observance of Children’s Month, which was held in October during the previous years.
Cabristante said technical assistance was given to child development teachers and workers province-wide to equip them with knowledge on the standards of the delivery of the daycare program during the pandemic.
The PSWDO went to the LGUs for on-site training, focusing on how to deal with children amid the health crisis.
They were provided technical assistance on the center-based program implemented in alternative venues wherein the daycare teachers/workers adjusted the weekly learning plan which parents would implement with their children.
The references for the adjusted weekly learning plan are the standards from the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) council, Cabristante said.
She said to date, the PSWDO has accredited 804 daycare centers and 769 child development teachers or workers providing standard programs and services.
In the absence of in-person classroom instructions, daycare children are encouraged to participate in the observance of Children’s Month through various activities, she said, but limited to the 19 municipalities as the five cities in the province have their separate celebrations.
One of these is for them to participate in the production of video presentations such as through singing, drawing, TikTok videos, or any dance number.
The children have until November 15 to submit their entries at the provincial level where the best will be selected and submitted to the regional level of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for the culmination of Children’s Month.
Incentives will be given to those who participate in this activity, Cabristante said.
This year’s theme for the Children’s Month celebration is “New Normal na Walang Iwanan: Karapatan ng Bawa’t Bata Ating Tutokan”. (PNA)
