SSDB Launch by PCF Sparkletots Preschool@BLK 246
Introduction
In today’s society not many people appreciate the work and sacrifice of builders and construction workers. Construction workers and builders must work in the blazing sun, the rain and the wind. They must work through all the different elements. And there can be many side effects to this, colds and illness and even more serious things such as skin cancer. In reality, an incredible 55% of skin cancer patients are builders or construction workers!
Carrying heavy equipment and materials around all day isn’t only tiring but also can cause injuries. Back issues are just one of the many problems that can arise from working in the construction industry. The risk of electric shocks falls and hand-arm vibration syndrome. These daily risks alone warrant some appreciation.
That’s not all though, alongside the physical strain of the job, construction workers also must battle with customers too. Whether this is in terms of the time, it is necessary to complete the job and task on time!
This is the 3rd year that our centre PCF Sparkletots Preschool@ Braddell Heights Branch BLK 246 has participated in SSDB. As Singapore marks it’s Bicentennial, our centre chose construction builders and buildings whereby children will research on buildings from the past, present and construct buildings of the future.
Launch Party 26 April 2019
For our SSDB launch this year, we created a huge puzzle piece together with our children of the iconic colourful flats at the Rochor Centre which was torn down in 2016 for a new expressway. In the process of creating our puzzle pieces, children discovered the concept on structures and construction. They are also beginning to understand the work or builders/construction workers in our community. Along the way we we hope that children will come together to create an awareness that the act of building involves collaboration and appreciation.
Activites conducted in our preschool to engage and arouse curiosity in our children….
Objective:
o Appreciating the works of builders and construction workers in our community.
o Creating an awareness that the act of building involves collaboration and appreciation.
Start Small Dream Big: Phase 2 - Field Trip to Diggersite and Living Space
Diggersite
Visit to Diggersite & Café Suntec City, located at 3 Temasek Boulevard, #03-348/349 (East Wing) Singapore 038983 on Tuesday, 16 July 2019. Diggersite is a brand-new destination, offering a unique experience for families and kids! It is one-of-a-kind edutainment centre that provides realistic experience in operating small-scale construction machinery.
Children got to put on construction safety helmets, looking like real construction workers. They also got to know the roles and responsibilities of construction workers based on the colours of the helmet worn. In addition to that, they also got to build small blocks and operate a construction digger. This provided the opportunity to educate the children through interaction, engagement and experience. Through this hands-on experience they got to experience how hard it was to operate the machines. This activity also nurtured the development of life skills, establishing confidence and inspiration.
Living Space - Behind the Block: Singapore’s Public Housing Story
Visit to Living space, located at HDB Hub, 480 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Singapore 310480 on Thursday, 25 July 2019. Named ‘LIVINGSPACE’, the gallery comprises 8 distinct areas that brings us through the stories ‘behind the block’, revealing the work that goes into planning and realising the vibrant living environments that Singaporeans call home.
Through this trip children got to understanding that creating a building consists of a lot people coming together for planning. As a home task activity, we got our children to create models of buildings of their interest. We displayed their creativity in our classroom with description for our finale. We had a good response!
Finale Phase:Dump everything and join the crew!
We had a planning for a grand celebration. We sent letters and invitation to all our parents to come and view our findings and research about construction, builders and buildings. We invited Mr Mike from diggersite on Saturday 24 August 2019 to give children and parents a special talk on builders and safety at the construction site.
We had power point presentation on our project with videos of our children at work, children sang the song ‘Bob the Builder’ for their parents and special guest. We also prepared various hands on stations for parents to explore with their children. We ended the celebration with our ambassadors presenting at their respective stations and served the invited guests and parents with catered buffet lunch.
Feedback from parents…
