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Fantastic 4.54rating (29)
  • Quality Education

Kindergarten Assistant for 3 to 6 Year Olds

location
4 - 20 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+
Verified

Highlights

  • Assist local kindergarten teachers with children aged 3 to 6, in classes of 20 to 30 where one adult cannot possibly reach everyone.
  • Run the things that make early years work: basic English, educational games, singing and dancing, crafts, and pre-reading skills.
  • Take the planning seriously - 2 to 3 hours a day at the centre plus 4 to 5 hours a week preparing, using the in-house teaching library.

Highlights

  • Assist local kindergarten teachers with children aged 3 to 6, in classes of 20 to 30 where one adult cannot possibly reach everyone.
  • Run the things that make early years work: basic English, educational games, singing and dancing, crafts, and pre-reading skills.
  • Take the planning seriously - 2 to 3 hours a day at the centre plus 4 to 5 hours a week preparing, using the in-house teaching library.
  • Work with children in the years that shape everything after, at kindergartens whose teachers are underpaid, overworked and short of materials.
  • Live across the road from Unawatuna Beach with three meals a day every day, and transport to the centre included.
    • You don't have to pay anything yet

    Especially good for

    Age 18+
    Singles
    Couples
    Groups

    About the program

    Assist teachers at underfunded kindergartens in southern Sri Lanka. Classes of 20 to 30 three to six year olds, and one teacher trying to reach them all.

    The years between three and six decide a surprising amount. Whether a child arrives at school able to hold a pencil, recognise letters, sit with a group, sort objects by shape, follow a two-step instruction — these are the foundations everything else is built on, and a child who misses them starts ...

    About the program

    The years between three and six decide a surprising amount. Whether a child arrives at school able to hold a pencil, recognise letters, sit with a group, sort objects by shape, follow a two-step instruction — these are the foundations everything else is built on, and a child who misses them starts school already behind.

    In the rural communities around Galle, the kindergartens that serve low-income families are chronically underfunded. Teachers are underpaid and overworked, materials are scarce, and classes hold twenty to thirty children with one adult in the room.

    That is the arithmetic this placement changes. Not dramatically — you are one extra pair of hands — but a class of thirty with two adults is a fundamentally different place from a class of thirty with one.

    What the work actually looks like

    You assist the local kindergarten teachers rather than running your own class. In practice, most of your time is with small groups pulled out of the larger class: basic English (speaking first, then reading and writing), educational games, singing and dancing, arts and crafts.

    A good deal of it is pre-reading work that does not look like reading at all — matching, sorting, seriating, patterning, categorising. If those words are unfamiliar, they will not be by week two, and they are the actual substance of early years teaching.

    An education coordinator travels with you to the centre and helps you work out where you are most useful.

    Planning is part of the job

    Sessions run 2 to 3 hours a day, usually mornings but sometimes afternoons depending on the centre, and there are 4 to 5 hours a week set aside for lesson planning. There is an in-house library of manuals, books and teaching materials at the volunteer house.

    Three-year-olds are unforgiving of a session that has not been thought through. Volunteers who use the planning time have a much better placement than those who wing it.

    Who this suits

    People who genuinely enjoy very small children and are not fazed by noise, mess and the occasional complete collapse of a carefully planned activity. No teaching qualification is required. Early years experience, childminding, nursery work or younger siblings all count for more here than a degree does.

    Volunteer World applies a four-week minimum to placements involving children. With children this young that is the right floor rather than an obstacle — three-year-olds take a fortnight simply to decide you are a fixture rather than a visitor.

    Typical day

    Saturday — Arrival. Met at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) and driven to Galle on the shared transfer. Check the timing before booking: two shared transfers each Saturday, morning and afternoon/evening. Outside those windows a private transfer costs USD 100.

    Sunday — Settle in at ...

    Typical day

    Saturday — Arrival. Met at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) and driven to Galle on the shared transfer. Check the timing before booking: two shared transfers each Saturday, morning and afternoon/evening. Outside those windows a private transfer costs USD 100.

    Sunday — Settle in at the volunteer house in Unawatuna.

    Monday — Orientation: welcome presentation, health and safety, cultural briefing, a session on the kindergarten and how the classes run, and an area tour. You are shown the teaching library and helped to plan your first sessions.

    Tuesday to Friday — the working pattern:

    • Breakfast at the house
    • At the kindergarten — 2 to 3 hours, usually mornings. The education coordinator travels with you by air-conditioned van or tuk tuk
    • Rest of the day — Lesson planning and preparing materials, then free time
    • Evening — Dinner at the house with the other volunteers

    Some centres run afternoon sessions instead, depending on their own timetable, and the team will tell you which you are on.

    Extras the house runs — weekly rooftop yoga, weekly film nights, a monthly bike tour through the paddy fields, a monthly barbecue. All included.

    Weekends — Free. Unawatuna Beach is across the road, Galle Fort twenty minutes away, and Mirissa, Ahangama, Tangalle, Yala and Sinharaja all within a weekend.

    Sri Lankan school terms and public holidays move the timetable; the team gives you notice.

    Free-time activities

    Sessions are short and usually in the morning, so you have most of the day. Unawatuna Beach is across the road, the snorkelling off the point is good, and surf lessons are cheap and plentiful.

    Galle Fort is twenty minutes away and repays several evenings: Dutch colonial ramparts, small museums, good ...

    Free-time activities

    Sessions are short and usually in the morning, so you have most of the day. Unawatuna Beach is across the road, the snorkelling off the point is good, and surf lessons are cheap and plentiful.

    Galle Fort is twenty minutes away and repays several evenings: Dutch colonial ramparts, small museums, good food, and a sunset the whole town turns out for. Mirissa runs whale-watching from November to April; Ahangama and Tangalle have the better surf.

    Inland, Sinharaja rainforest and the Yala and Bundala national parks are all weekend-sized, and the hill-country train to Ella is worth a long weekend.

    The volunteer house runs weekly rooftop yoga, weekly film nights, a monthly bike tour through the paddy fields and a monthly barbecue, all included.

    Requirements

    Requirements

    Minimum Age: 18 years

    In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

    Education Requirements

    at High school level

    Criminal Background Check

    required

    Required Documents

    Criminal background check, parental consent form if under 18, passport copy and travel and medical insurance

    Nationality Restrictions

    No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

    Other Skills

    No teaching qualification is needed. Early years experience counts for far more here than a degree: nursery or childminding work, playgroups, younger siblings, scouting or anything involving keeping small children engaged. Bring picture books, flashcards, crayons, stickers and simple puzzles if you have room - early years materials are the scarcest thing at these centres. Fluent English matters since you are modelling it. A clean criminal background check is required.

    Time Commitment

    Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 08:30 - 12:00

    What's Included

    What's Included

    On-site Services

    Included in the programme fee:

    • Accommodation in a volunteer house in Unawatuna, with Wi-Fi
    • Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, including weekends
    • Shared arrival transfer from Colombo airport on Saturdays within the set time windows
    • Orientation and training on arrival, including a session on the kindergarten and its approach
    • Local transport to and from the kindergarten by private air-conditioned van or tuk tuk
    • An education coordinator who travels with you and supports session planning
    • Access to the in-house teaching library
    • Guaranteed placement, experienced bilingual operations team, staff on 6am to 8pm, 24/7 emergency support
    • Weekly rooftop yoga, weekly film nights, monthly bike tour through the paddy fields, monthly barbecue
    • Comprehensive pre-departure information and a certificate of participation on request

    Not included:

    • International flights
    • Sri Lankan ETA (visa) fee
    • The return transfer from Galle to Colombo — arranged for you but paid locally
    • A private arrival transfer if you land outside the Saturday windows
    • Travel and medical insurance, which is mandatory. Buy it through us at extra cost, or bring your own and send a copy
    • Vaccinations
    • Weekend travel and personal spending

    The price shown already includes your application fee – there is nothing further to pay us on arrival. Payment can be split into interest-free instalments, with the balance due 45 days before you start.

    Airport Pickup at Bandaranaike International Airport

    Read this before you book your flight. The arrival transfer is included, but with conditions that catch people out.

    You are collected from Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) and driven to Galle, about two and a half hours south. The included transfer is shared, on Saturdays only, within two set windows — one morning, one afternoon or evening.

    • Land on a Saturday inside a window and it costs you nothing.
    • Land outside the windows, or on any other day, and a private transfer costs USD 100.

    Timing your flight to a Saturday window is the easiest hundred dollars you will save on this trip.

    The return transfer from Galle to Colombo is not included. The team arranges it and you pay locally in Sri Lanka at the end of your placement.

    Accommodation

    You stay in Unawatuna, in one of two volunteer houses about a hundred metres apart, both overlooking Unawatuna Beach and the Indian Ocean.

    The beachside house is directly across the road from the beach: twelve bedrooms of varying sizes, all en-suite and air-conditioned, most with an outdoor balcony, plus a dining area, lounge, terrace, small garden and an office with permanent staff on site. CCTV throughout and an overnight security team.

    The larger house has thirteen en-suite bedrooms, most with ocean views, a private forty-foot swimming pool, three kitchens, three common rooms and a large dining area.

    Rooms are shared and all have Wi-Fi. Which house you are in depends on availability.

    The in-house teaching library lives here — manuals, books and early years materials you will draw on during your planning hours.

    Food & Beverages

    Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week, weekends included — unusual on volunteer programmes and worth noticing when comparing prices.

    Meals are cooked at the volunteer house and lean Sri Lankan: rice and curry in its many forms, dhal, coconut sambol, hoppers and string hoppers, fresh tropical fruit, and western options in rotation. The fish on the south coast is excellent.

    Tell the team about allergies and dietary requirements before you arrive. Vegetarians are very well served in Sri Lanka; vegans and anyone with a serious allergy should flag it early so the kitchen can plan.

    Internet Access

    Good access at the project site
    You don't have to pay anything yet

    What's NOT included?

    What's NOT included?

    Flight Tickets

    The nearest airport is Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) in Colombo. We assist you to find cheap flights to Sri Lanka. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

    Travel Insurance

    Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Sri Lanka provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

    Vaccines

    If you are intending to volunteer in Sri Lanka you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Sri Lanka. VACCINE CHECKER

    Details on arrival

    Start dates — Weekly, year-round, arriving on a Saturday.

    Getting there — Fly into Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB). Galle is about two and a half hours south on the expressway.

    Transfers — read before booking your flight

    • The arrival transfer is included, but only as a shared transfer on Saturday inside two set windows: one morning, one afternoon/evening.
    • Outside those windows, or on any other day, a private transfer costs USD 100.
    • The return transfer from Galle to Colombo is not included — arranged for you, paid locally at the end of your stay.

    Bring, if you can — picture books, flashcards, crayons, stickers, simple puzzles and shape sorters. Early years materials are the scarcest thing at these centres and the cheapest thing for you to pack.

    Dress — Modest clothing with shoulders and knees covered, and something you do not mind getting paint on.

    Visa — Sri Lanka requires an ETA for most nationalities, applied for online before travel. The fee is not included.

    When to come — The south coast is driest December to April. May to September brings the southwest monsoon: rain in bursts, fewer tourists, cheaper travel. Kindergartens run year-round with term breaks.

    Availability
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    Program Fees

    $301 per week 4 - 20 weeks Age 18 - 50+

    Payment methods

    Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

    NO CREDIT CARD FEES

    Duration

    4 - 20 weeks

    Deposit

    Reserve your spot with just a few clicks and a small, secure deposit. You can pay by credit card, PayPal, or other convenient methods.

    Final Payment

    You’ll agree on the final payment method with your local organization during the application process. This final payment is only due closer to the start of your trip.

    You don't have to pay anything yet
    4.5
    Top Pick
    One of the top picks on Volunteer World, according to travelers

    Location

    Asia > Southern Asia > Sri Lanka > Galle

    Meet your project coordinator

    Sahil
    29
    reviews
    4.54
    Fantastic
    2007
    Founded

    Verified

      Below average response rate
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    Volunteer Abroad  >  Education  >  Primary School in Sri Lanka
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    Travel dates

    1. - 1. Jan 1

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