Education Indonesia Project #57955

Loving Pre-School Education in Java, Indonesia

by Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara

Project Report | Feb 6, 2026
The Joy, and Importance, of Learning

By Christopher Drake | Project supervisor

Dear friends and kind supporters of Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara Foundation,

Warmest greetings for the new year, which we hope has started well for you, notwithstanding the many tensions, tragedies and uncertainties within our fractured world. This backdrop puts into context the inevitable challenges that we all face in daily life and all of us within our school community have many reasons to be grateful and appreciative of the lives we are able to live. We are also constantly reminded of the importance of education in preparing young learners for life ahead in a world that we hope can be more peaceful, harmonious, caring, respectful and responsible. Academic teaching is at the centre of what a school does but at least of equal importance is the learning that takes place within the heart and soul and the shaping of individual character and personality.

And as machines, technology and artificial intelligence increasingly affect our lives, it has never been more important to understand what it means to be a human being, to learn about personal relationships and to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship with nature. For our young learners, blessed as they are with the innocence and simplicity of childhood, it will be some years before they fully engage with these issues and yet the foundations of how well and successfully they do so are being laid now. This outlook and approach are a crucial part of all that we do and seek to bring into every child’s experience at school within a happy, caring and warm-hearted atmosphere.

Joy was definitely in the air as the new term started after the holidays, with smiles, excitement and enthusiasm all round. And nothing attracted more enthusiasm than a cooking session in which the children learned about traditional Javanese food in a very practical way by preparing, cutting, mashing and cooking various vegetable ingredients and then having their patience tested as they waited for teachers to serve the dishes once cooked. After enjoying eating what they had prepared, washing up was surprisingly good fun as it became an excuse for splashing water around in the classroom wet area.

Water was also front and centre of the day when, in order to give an introduction about fire fighters and their important job, we invited staff from a nearby fire station to come and visit the school, with their fire truck. The children were only too happy to experience first-hand how fire hoses work and how much water they can spray!

Collaboration with other schools and childhood education centres is something we’ve always been keen to foster as a contribution to the overall improvement of the quality of education and so we were pleased to host a Practical Life Skills workshop for staff from a nearby school in which our trainers shared important principles for preschooler education. We’ve also joined a teacher support community, named Gerakan Sekolah Menyenangkan or Happy School Movement, that aims to support teachers in creating a happy learning environment and we look forward to hosting them soon.

And of course we would be delighted to welcome you to our school too! In the meantime, we thank you again for your past support and would be very grateful for your continuing support as we simply couldn’t do what we do without you. In particular, with the building essentially complete, we have slowly started stocking our community library with books and would warmly welcome some help with this. Please do also pass the message on to friends and others who might be interested and note that from 14.00 GMT on 17th March 2026, GlobalGiving’s Little by Little campaign will, for a limited time, provide 50% matching on the first US$50 of eligible donations.

With much gratitude and warmest wishes from all of us at Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.

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Nov 4, 2025
Learning Never Stops!

By Lilik C Trirahayu | School Principal

Dear friends and kind supporters of Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara Foundation,

Warmest greetings! The first term of this new academic year got off to a good start and the new students settled in quickly and well, bringing our total number of students to over 140. It’s been delightful to see the children make new friends as students, parents and teachers get to know each other and the school community grows and embraces new member.

The break before the new school year went by quickly and we made use of the time when the students were away to let builders in and continue to carry on some of the remaining work, including installing shelves and desks for the library. The next task is to fill the shelves with books and other publications; we have made a start on this and are on the look-out for assistance and would be most grateful for any support you can provide, including of second-hand books. Another useful addition is the new school car park which, after some preparatory work and installations, we were able to start using as the term began.

Mini-trips are always popular with our students and we took preschoolers to Taman Pintar to explore science displays and learn about the universe while the toddlers visited Rumah Dongeng – The Story-telling House – for fun activities and story-telling. Continuing on the theme of stories and books, we brought International Literacy Day to life by encouraging all children and teachers to dress up like one of the characters in a favourite book of theirs and then read about the character they had chosen. There was a lot of learning and also a lot of fun!

From the early days of The Lilliput World we have welcomed interns and were happy to receive another cohort in recent months. We seek to ensure that internships are not only about assisting in the classroom but also about understanding children’s growth and, by working closely with teachers and children, engaging in lessons beyond textbooks, learning about patience, observation, listening and how to guide without pressure. In turn, we benefit from their help and the knowledge and experiences that they share.

While our student body continues to grow, we still have room for more and recently held two Open House days. Parents and little ones explored our Montessori classrooms, observed classroom activities, met our dedicated teachers and experienced first-hand how learning through independence and curiosity takes place every day at The Lilliput World in a warm and joyful atmosphere, nurtured through purposeful guidance. Existing parents and supporters were closely involved in both days and we are most grateful to them for making this event such a meaningful celebration of learning and community.

We continue to place a strong emphasis on continuous professional development for our teachers and organised for them a two-day training programme with Viji Clinic which focused on deepening understanding of child development and building responsive, supportive classroom practices. Other events for teachers have included workshops on The Living Values Education Approach and on Learning, Sharing and Growing Together. There have also been talks for parents on Raising Respectful and Empathetic Children, Turning Conflicts into Learning Moments and Montessori for Babies while an Emotion Coaching Session for parents with Ms Rani from The Bridge Academy provided a chance for parents to pause, reflect and reconnect with their children’s emotions.

Reflecting was also a theme in September as we stopped for a moment and celebrated The Lilliput World’s 4^th anniversary! Looking back, we saw how each day brings its own opportunities to learn and grow together; from a small beginning to a flourishing community, every step has been made possible by the trust and love of our parents, the achievements of our alumni, the dedication of our teachers and staff and the support of our donors.

We are deeply grateful for your partnership in shaping a place where children grow with independence, confidence and joy in learning and hope that we may continue to thrive with the benefit of your kind support. In that regard, we’re pleased to let you know that in a few weeks there is a great opportunity to boost the value of donations during GlobalGiving’s special Fundraising Day of GivingTuesday. This will start at 05:00 GMT on 2 December and run until 17:00 GMT on 3 December and GlobalGiving will distribute bonus funds on each donation of up to USD2,500 made that day via our page at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/loving-pre-school-education-in-java-indonesia/. Your support would be much appreciated.

Thank you once again for helping to make life-changing education available to young learners in Indonesia. Please let us know if you are in the region and would like to visit; we’d love to welcome you!

With much gratitude and warmest wishes from all of us at Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.

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Jul 7, 2025
Graduation and the Palace of Learning

By Lilik C Trirahayu | School Principal

Dear friends and kind supporters of Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara Foundation,

Warmest holiday greetings! We are writing during a relatively tranquil break as the 2024-2025 academic year has just ended and we still have ten days to go before opening the school doors with a warm welcome to our beloved children – including a good group of newcomers who will be starting their school life with us.

The last few months of term saw a flurry of activity leading up to a wonderful Year-End Celebration, and our third graduation, in late June. We wanted to do something special and conversations with members of the local Indonesian heritage management team resulted in us holding the event in the grounds of Ratu Boko Palace, now a beautiful archaeological site with a history and both Buddhist and Hindu elements dating back well over a thousand years. With the backdrop of a charming stone gateway and other ancient structures the celebration was also a picnic and garden party with delightful dances and songs by our students. A highlight was the drama performance that brought to life the long history of this tranquil and beautiful site, named after the legendary King Boko. This made it not just fun but also an educational moment and tangible expression of our wish to support children, and their parents, in learning about the rich cultural heritage of the area.

We were blessed with good weather and teachers and other colleagues worked tirelessly together to do a magnificent job in arranging food and drinks for about 300 of us as we sat on the grass terrace being entertained by the children’s performances. There was joy in the air and a feeling of accomplishment for the twelve students who graduated and this dispelled any sadness at them leaving us as they move on to the next leg of their educational journey. Parents were also very much involved and supported us throughout, participating in the plans and preparation and thoughtfully creating lovely costumes and props for performances, helping to make it the unique and memorable occasion that it was

Equally important in successfully completing the year, we have also been busy with Parents’ Group Discussions, Student Progress Reports and evaluations as well as preparation for our new students, who will join us in mid-July and bring the total student numbers to around 130. Meanwhile, we’ve continued to welcome visitors and friends from schools, universities and foundations who come to learn from our lead teachers and Bridge Academy team about Montessori Apparatus practice and how to apply the Montessori approach, and use Montessori apparatus, in a pre-school setting.

As well as sharing our experiences and insights with other educators and institutions, we also ran teaching training sessions for our own teachers to support them in their on-going professional development. One such event was a full-day workshop on Living Values Education, which helped teachers deepen their skills at keeping values at the centre of their practice and students’ learning while another was a session on Montessori Beyond the Academic by Montessori Haus Asia.

We greatly appreciate your partnership in our work and, as we do depend on donors to help make this possible, would be most grateful for your continuing support. In that regard, later this month GlobalGiving is running its July Bonus Day. Donations of $100 or more will be matched during the campaign, which runs for 24 hours starting at 14.00 GMT on Wednesday 16 July. In addition to matching funds, your donation will help get us closer to unlocking an additional bonus prize of up to US$1,200. Donations may be made at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/loving-pre-school-education-in-java-indonesia/. We’d be most grateful for your support – and if you could pass the message on to friends!

Finally, if you are in the Yogyakarta area, do please let us know as we would warmly welcome your visit and the chance to show you what you have helped make possible. In the meantime, thank you very much again for your support and joining us in our endeavours.

With much gratitude and warmest wishes from all of us at Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.

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