Dare to Care!
With the spirit of giving back to the society and to care for the environment, on July 25th 2017 the K1 children went to Firefly Park which is in our neighbourhood to pick ...
Learning through stories and Real life situations
To enhance the learning of language and literacy, teachers engage the children with fun and exciting tales. For the theme on Animals, the teachers touch on topics related to wildlife as well as endangered species, which are introduced to the children through interesting stories. After storytelling, the children form a circle to discuss what they have gathered and gained from the session. They would form groups to do post-activities related to the book, such as designing a poster or crafting three-dimensional models. Thereafter, the children present their artworks to the class, and acknowledge each other’s efforts.
With the current hype of the arrival of pandas in Singapore, the centre collaborated with parents to come up with a campaign along the lines of extinction. The children pitched in to come up with artworks and drawings to support their cause. Artworks include the use of mixing paint to produce different textures and tones, which allowed the children to learn about how various colours can be combined to form another colour.
The Centre has also worked in partnership with volunteer organizations such as Children’s Village, to hold story telling sessions at the centre.
Music Toolbox Programme
The centre engages the children with a value added music program called Music Toolbox. Through developmentally appropriate creative music experiences the child’s life is advanced emotionally, physically and cognitively. Music Toolbox successfully deepens bonds between parents and children and has shown to develop the children’s social and motor skills. The aim is to use music to stimulate the child’s learning and to equip them with musical skills for further formal instrumental instruction. It also provides music competence for your child in a fun and innovative step-by –step process while ensuring that the child receives a layer approach towards achieving a solid musical foundation. At the centre, the children use pails and sticks to create rhythmic beats, akin to the STOMP musical.
Hands-on Projects
The K1 children get first-hand experience on being a junior chef. During cooking lessons, they will be able to learn more about ingredients used in a particular dish and taste different types of foods. While the teachers demonstrate the cooking process, the children will figure out what happens next.
The older K2 children get their brain juices going in Science Based Projects. The children take the role of Little Scientists to cultivate their own plants. To enforce greater environmental awareness, the children use egg shells instead of pots for growing their plants. It was not only cost effective, but allowed the children to understand the importance of recycling and how discarded items may still be of value. Throughout the project, the children will pen down their observations and organize the information into charts. Sometimes, they encounter problems and go through a trial-and-error process which teaches them that perseverance and commitment are essential to reach the finish line.
The centre also implements extended activities which exposes children to current issues where they can debate and articulate their thoughts and opinions with their peers. The teachers will facilitate and supervise the discussion to probe higher order thinking and keep the topic on track. To further enhance their thinking, the children can go into small groups to brainstorm and tap on their creative writing skills.
For an arts and craft activity, the children did a papier-mâché of a piggy bank balloon, which involves cutting, pasting, adhering glue on the paper strips, and finally coating the object with a layer of paint.
Excursions and Fieldtrips
The children have endless opportunities to develop their motor skills and take on numerous outings. Every term, the K1 and K2 cohort are brought on at least one excursion. In November, the children had a blast at Pastamania, a Pizza restaurant, where they were given hands on experience on how to make Pizza and learnt more about the process involved. These excursions bring about a wholesome and enjoyable learning journey for one and all. On one lesson where the topic covered was on Fruits, the children were brought on supermarket trips. In another lesson on Nature and the Environment, it was more than a walk in the park as the children brought back with them memories of the great outdoors. Such learning journeys allow the children to play and learn at the same time.
