The theme for our centre’s SSDB project is ‘Diverse but United’ where the children learned about Singapore’s multiracialism and the importance of mutual understanding and cohesion.
The children were introduced to the different races and cultures we have in Singapore. We also touched on the people coming from other countries to work in Singapore.
The N2 children focused on the Indian and Chinese culture. The children understood more about the Indian culture through the creation of Diya Lamps. They painted the Diya Lamps sprinkled glitter to decorate them.
The Chinese culture were introduced during the Dragon Boat Festival where the children took part in creating a dragon boat with cardboard boxes. They helped the teachers to tape the cardboards together to form the silhouette of a dragon boat before painting it with their friends.
The K1 children were introduced to the Chinese, Malay and Indian Culture. We used the opportunity to educate them more about the Malay culture during our Hari Raya Celebration. The children worked together to create Malay traditional food. The children were excited to create the food models using air-dry clay and had fun manipulating and shaping the clay to make their Malay traditional food.
As for the Chinese culture, the K1s had the opportunity to create traditional Chinese oil-paper umbrellas. Oil-paper umbrellas holds a significant position in the Chinese culture and has a long and rich history.
In addition, the K1 children understood more about the Indian culture as they created traditional Indian bracelets usually worn during special occasions or celebrations. The teachers also incorporated Numeracy concept as they arranged the paper roses according to AB pattern.
The K2 children focused on the Malay, Chinese and the Philippines culture. The K2 children created their own Batik designs with washable glue and paint. Through this activity, they learned the long history of Batik and understood the meticulous process of making them.
The K2 children got the opportunity to understand the traditional Chinese opera through the creation of their own Colourful Beijing Opera Masks. The teachers explained the use of bright colours on the mask and the meaning behind each colour. Through this project, the K2 children were able to understand more about the Chinese culture.
Over the past few years, foreign workers have been increasing in Singapore. Thus, it is important for the children to learn and understand their cultures as well. The K2 children were introduced to the Bayanihan culture which is a fundamental aspect of the Filipino culture. In the Phillipines, the Bayanihan spirit is one of communal unity where they help each other without expecting rewards; to achieve a certain goal. In the old days within the countryside, people will work together to move houses during monsoon/ flood seasons. The K2 children created their own Bayanihan house and carried it with their friends to understand the Spirit of Bayanihan and the importance of working together.
