Mokokchung, June 3: As part of the World Environment Week, tiny tots of Treehouse- a neighborhood preschool located at Tongdentsuyong Ward- today accompanied by their teachers cleaned the Mokokchung Park.
Mokokchung Park Hill, located in the middle of the town, is one important landmark in the town which is visited by many and locals alike to overlook the panorama of Mokokchung town.
The children and teachers collected litters and trash in the vicinity of the park and also conducted other activities.
Proprietor of The Treehouse preschool, Arenla Lemtur, while speaking to media persons on the sidelines of today’s outside activity, disclosed that the school decided to conduct the cleanliness drive to infuse sense of cleanliness in the children from a young age.
“We aspire to teach these children to maintain a clean lifestyle, not only in the place they live or stay, but also in their neighbourhood also. It is our belief that if these children can understand about cleanliness, then surely the adults would try to maintain a healthy environment and even learn from these young children,” said Arenla Lemtur, a well-known personality in the society especially as a host for different shows, the most popular being the erstwhile Naga Idol (now Naga Orpheus Hunt) reality show.
On being asked why she chose to open a preschool in Mokokchung and not in Dimapur where she was previously based, Arenla Lemtur simply said she has an emotional attachment with Mokokchung town since she grew up here. Besides, she said Dimapur has lots of good preschools and other educational institutions.
However, Mokokchung, as a growing town and with many working mothers, there was a growing need for more preschools so that the children, instead of staying at home, could be together with their age-groups while their parents are away at their workplaces. Besides, in these modern times, with the children growing very quickly and becoming more inquisitive, it is pertinent to train them the basics of life-skills, teach them the basics of alphabet and other important values of life so as to prepare them as they enter the formal educational institutions, said Arenla Lemtur.
Meanwhile, right after the cleanliness drive, there was a storytelling activity followed by lunch and a short time with the fathers of the children. During the later part of the activity, the children presented songs, read Bible verses etc to their fathers. The idea to have the time with the fathers was keeping in mind the forthcoming Father’s Day on June 19, said Arenla Lemtur.
The school, which started its classes from 2016, currently has sixteen students of the age group 2 ½– 4 years. The proprietor disclosed that she aims to expand the school in the days to come.