Preschool education covers letters, numbers, drawing, cutting and pasting, socialising and sharing.

In their early formative years, children absorb information like a sponges and master several developmental skills all at once. These wonder years don’t last for long so parents want to make the most of this absorbent, effortless stage of learning.

While your child may have learned to count and know his alphabet from his exposure to learning at home, a preschool education will properly equip your child with the additional social and intellectual skills that he will need to be successful in formal schooling.

RELATED: Getting a solid start on education

Preschool education in Singapore

The preschool curriculum in Singapore is divided into several basic areas, these are letters and their sounds, numbers and basic counting, drawing, cutting and shapes, colors and objects, socializing and sharing.

Parents can do their part at home to enhance what has been learnt in school.

Letters and their sounds

Preschoolers are taught how to recognize all the letters in the alphabet in both their uppercase and lowercase variation. They will also be taught how to recognize each letter’s sound (phonics).  Your child should be able identify his/her own name and will be taught how to write it in addition to other simple words. Your preschooler should progress to writing and reading words with blends and digraphs such as ‘ch’ and ‘sh’.

For parents; At home, read to your preschooler and follow the words with your fingers as you read. Choose books with large clear print such as the Spot series (Where’s spot? by Eric Hill). Don’t use baby language when you explain everyday situations, for instance at the zoo don’t say the lion eats meat, say the lion is a carnivore, that means a meat-eating animal. Encourage your child to write words often by giving him/her fat crayons or chalk to write with as they are easier for their little fingers to manage. You can buy these at most stationery or book stores such as evergreen or popular.

Numbers and basic counting

In line with national guidelines, preschoolers in Singapore are also taught how to identify numbers from one to 10 and to count up to 10 objects. Apart from recognizing numbers,  children will also be taught how to write numbers properly.

For parents : At home, make counting part of your everyday routine by asking how many eggs can be found in the fridge, how many steps the child has climbed or how many fruit slices are on the table, etc. Make counting fun by asking your child to give you 3 pencils or 7 blocks, and then asking for one more or one less. Numbers are everywhere and your child should be exposed to numbers and their patterns (one more, one less) as often as possible in everyday situations.

More about what your child learns in preschool on the next page. Read on.

RELATED: Parents speak up on Singapore preschool education

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Like most Singaporean parents, I started my son at Julia Gabriel at 15 months.  By the time he was 3, he was enrolled in art, music and swimming enrichment classes.  By 5, he has additional enrichment classes in abacus, Chinese, phonics, soccer and MPM.  On top of that, he has a full social calendar of play-dates and birthday parties (I became his personal secretary, so busy was he).

These activities all took place after his regular 3-hour preschool/kindergarten program.

Whew!! Just thinking about it now is enough to make my head spin.

“At 3.5 years old, is it necessary to send for enrichment class?” Joeline asks, worried that her child may feel stress & loses his childhood freedom.

Nicki, a mother of 3 doesn’t think so.  “At this stage, it’s more important to give them the chance to try different things that they might be interested in – sports, music, art etc.”

But what if he cannot catch up with the rest?

This eternal question fuelled by the fear of parents that they have not prepared their young ones well enough, has resulted in a multi-billion dollar enrichment industry in Singapore.

Whatever you dream for your child to excel in; there is a class for him/her to take.  Select from a wide plethora of choices to enrich your child in – art, dance, music, sports, reading, writing, mathematics, science, brain-training, motivation, or a combination.

Jean, a mother of one, said that “3.5 years is not young already. They already understand and can absorb what they are taught. This is the best time to feed them with info. Don’t ever under estimate them; you will be surprised on how fast they pick up things. At the end of the day, you are the only one who knows your child best and you are the only one who knows whether he is ready or not… cos every child has different learning patterns and pace.”

Elaine, another mom agrees.  She enrolled her child for right brain training at 18 month and felt that was kind of late.

Short-changing or over-scheduling their childhood

So, are we short-changing our children if their post-school time consists of nothing more than watching TV, a snack and some plain old-fashioned playtime, rather than a round of ‘enrichment’ activities? Or is over scheduling more detrimental to their development, leaving them with little idea of how to entertain themselves?

Child psychologist, Dr Harriet Tenebaum, said that “research suggests extra-curricular activities are related to improvements in children’s confidence and academic achievement.  However, it is important not to over-schedule children because they need time to play and be spontaneous too. 

Spontaneous play helps children learn how to self-regulate their emotions and wishes, increase their imagination, contribute to their cognitive development, and help them learn how to act in different situations with a variety of different people.”

A mother of one, Dr. Tenebaum holds a degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz and has a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Education among her other luminous accreditation.

So, what can you do?

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Things your child should not do in school.

1. I’m not your maid

Teach your P1 child independence and highlight that the teacher is not a maid. Do not ask your teacher to pick up your pencil from the floor or take your water bottle out of your school bag for you. If you dropped something, raise your hand, ask for permission and do it yourself.

2. Peeping and pooping in class

Some P1 students may not dare or be too shy to ask the teachers for permission to go to the toilet, and hold it in, until they could no longer do so and end up peeing or pooping in class.

Teachers have to interrupt the class to clean up the mess and the soiled child.  They also have to leave the rest of the students alone while they do so. In addition they have to deal with the child who is upset and embarrassed for soiling him/herself. Teachers ask that parents train their kids to ask for permission to go to the toilet before its too late.

3. No toilet manners

Teach your child to practice good toilet manners by aiming properly into the toilet bowl and flushing after use. Of course, they should also wash their hands after each visit and dry them.

4. Drinking water in class

Teachers generally do not allow students to drink water in class because the combination of spilled water, wet floor and young children is an ideal recipe for accidents, not to mention the extra work of cleaning up.  P1 kids may also try to read and drink water at the same time – again, not a good combination. They should get into the habit of drinking during their breaks. This rule is usually relaxed as the children get older.

5. Challenging your teacher with arrogance and defiance

As more families here adopt more liberal discipline methods, teachers are reporting an increased backlash from defiant students.  Citrix Chee, a former primary school teacher who taught Mandarin and now counselor at Kang Ren Group shares this story:

A student was sent to her Chinese remedial class for getting 8/100 marks in his Chinese test. When she caught him doing his Kumon work, she requested that he put it away to concentrate on the Mandarin lessons.

When she turned her back, the other students reported that he was doing his Kumon book again.  She repeated her request again, only to be greeted by 3-worded Hokkien vulgarities from this P4 student.

The other children were watching her reaction, so she had no choice but to report the boy to the principal.  The boy continued to be defiant and even threatened to get her fired by complaining to MOE.

Parents, please teach your child the basic rules of respect. And please do NOT tell your child that no matter what wrong he or she has done, you can write a letter to complain to MOE to get the teacher fired. This allows the child to be very defiant and arrogant towards the teachers.

Related: Letter from a preschool teacher to her parents

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My First Skool child abuse footage upsets preschool teachers

Victimised teachers

It seems little Yusuf’s family are not the only ones affected by the child abuse. Another group of people—the preschool teachers in particular—have felt the need to voice their concerns as well. Upset over the condemnation, several preschool teachers are revolted by how members of the public are associating them with educators in My First Skool. Others, scrutinised under parents’ worried gazes are feeling increasingly pressurised on their first day back at school.

RELATED: Boy treated nastily by teacher, left shin fractured

Confidentiality

Certainly, using the most recognised social media platform in the world has proved effective—exceedingly so in fact. However, preschool teachers have urged Facebook to remove the My First Skool videos this morning, in hopes of protecting their reputation.

Here are some comments.

“please exercise caution and discretion in what you post on social media.”

RELATED: Parents enraged over My First Skool child abuse

Still positive

There are others however who are more positive about the matter. Preschool teachers are encouraging members of the public to report cases of abuse, physical and verbal, should they find anything amiss.

Preschool teacher Yuting Gekteng posted an insightful essay on Preschool Teachers Network Singapore (PTNS), explaining her optimistic stance. She affirms that most teachers are not doing it for the pay. They are in fact doing it for the love of nurturing young ones. This is what she said.

“I believe that there are more than just one culprit out there whom has done similar abuse acts but gets away with it by solving it internally.”

“I believe we as teachers, should do reflections more.”

Another teacher by the name of Amalina Esuope talked about continuing to give children their best, encouraging despondent preschool teachers to stop feeling reserved about showing their love and support.

Simply put, almost all preschool teachers mean well for their students. They dedicate their lives to showering little children with love while guiding them to betterment. And judging by how people are slamming the preschool education system seems a little unfair.

Public menace

Regardless of preschool teachers’ plight, some members of the public are infuriated that a few preschool teachers have been justifying Siti Hadijah’s (preschool teacher perpetrator under arrest) actions. This is what one social networker said.

“How can anyone give the benefit of the doubt to the teacher?”

After the My First Skool incident, anxious parents are urging for the Ministry of Education to do more investigation in preschools, for fear that their children remain in jeopardy. Like this parent, we agree that Siti Hadijah’s atrocities should be brought to justice.

It is also understandable that parents are reacting in this manner. We recognise also that your children’s safety remains well above everything else. However, preschool teachers should not be looked at in bad light just because of this My First Skool incident.

As Yuting Gekteng mentioned in her post, “why worry about how parents would look at the whole early childhood education system locally just because of this one issue, IF we have done enough to assure them before?”

The post My First Skool footage upsets some preschool teachers appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

A worksheet got us wondering what children learn about race at school.

A worksheet at a local kindergarten got us wondering if our children are being taught racial awareness or racial stereotyping at school, preschool to be exact.

A friend sent me this picture that had been posted on Facebook by an irate mum. Nothing new you think? Mums seem to always be irate about something these days. Schools seem determined to upset parents on a daily basis.

Well, this one was a little unusual and it got our office talking. The picture in question was of a worksheet. The exercise was for 3-4 year olds at N2 level. It required them to match the child with the food. Innocent enough you say? Well, yes and no.

RELATED: Kids can pick up racism in a matter of minutes

The children were pictured in their traditional clothes and shaded in various shades of grey to indicate ethnicity. Clearly they were meant to be Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian. The children were even sized in proportion to their race’s proportion of the overall population in Singapore i.e. Chinese biggest, Eurasian smallest. The foods listed were a burger, noodles (incorrectly in the singular noodle), chapati (mis-spelt as capati) and satay. The child in question clearly understood what was required from the exercise and even got a star for his correct answer.

Does this type of stereotyping help or hinder racial harmony?

But was there really a correct answer to this very imperfect question? Indians eat noodles, Malays eat chapati, Chinese people eat satay and doesn’t everyone eat burgers?

Read on for our thoughts on this type of teaching at our schools.

The post What are our children being taught about race at preschool? appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

I’m not a mum (yet) but they surround me. And on a daily (if not hourly) basis, I get a very informative feed via Facebook wall posts – and now even on my WhatsApp – of issues that keep them awake at night: Childcare costs, tuition necessity, school admission wars, domestic helper issues, mother-in-law woes, and sexual (or lack of) frustration, just to name a few.

And while most of you would like me to skip to my analysis of the last issue, I say, one crying toddler at a time, let’s start with discussing Childcare Costs, (because when you hear about the cost of having and raising a child, it might put you off sex! Haha.)

Lots of chatter out there right now that daycare/childcare is eating up the lion’s share of family expenses in the Lion City, so I do a little bit of digging around.

Through speaking with my sister who is, imho, a prototype good Singaporean and a loving, responsible mother-of-two, I learn of a list of necessary expenses (food, pacifier, vaccinations), unnecessary expenses (aerodynamic pram, supersonic dual breast pump, tap dancing classes), and some unforeseen expenditures (destroyed iPads and new ones needed) that come with having a kid.

In fact you can go ahead and slap on another $1400 (less $800 working mum subsidies) for daycare (and already she is opting for the more affordable centres*).

I immediately think how I could better spend that money.
$1400… that’s a year’s worth of yoga classes; 20 sessions of nail art; an all-in week-long holiday in Bangkok…

Read on to find out why there’s a need for the 6th C – Childcare costs and what it really takes – dollar wise.

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What is the difference between preschool and primary school?

New beginnings

Whether your child’s transition to primary school was full of tears or a no sweat walk in the park, parents are unlikely to forget their child’s first day of primary school. It seems like it was only yesterday that they were babies in diapers who could barely walk, what more spell and count.

Now your child is all immersed in the first grade of the new school, made lots of new friends and comes home with plenty of new stories to share.

As a parent, you recognise that shift from preschool to primary school is a big one. But what exactly would your child be experiencing, emotionally as well as in terms of the actual physical changes?

RELATED: Phase 2C for the Primary One Registration Exercise

It pays off if your kid can read

Face it, parents – Primary One just isn’t the way it was back in our day. Some of us may recall not being able to read yet at that age. Now? Kids are being asked to “write letters to Mr Pig” and to be imaginative about it, if you please.

If you child is already able to read simple sentences or at least most common words used in primary school textbooks, then you’re in luck. Otherwise, be prepared to roll up your sleeves and dig in – eithre into your wallet for some enrichment phonics lessons or to put in the hours coaching your child into literacy.

Read the next page to find out what kind of skills to prep your child with before primary one.

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Preschool is a big change in your child’s life that he or she may reject at first.

Preschool is probably the first time your child will be away from home for a set number of hours on most or all weekdays. This is big change in any toddler’s life and the significant shift can be the cause of countless tears and tantrums for those who prefer being at home or simply don’t like school for some reason. Having to face a new environment and people he is not used to is quite a tall order for a little bub, who might also be missing you. While a little tears are expected during the first stages of separation anxiety, continual crying could affect your child’s social and emotional development. Here are some ways you can make your child like preschool.

Getting to know you…

Most people whatever their age fear the unfamiliar. It is the same for your child who might be reluctant to go somewhere strange and new, especially if he doesn’t have a choice about it! Thus it is important to orientate your child before he formally enters preschool. Take him for a casual visit to the school and show him around. Introduce him to the staff as well if you get the chance. You can also point out the school to him every time you walk or drive past it and make it a familiar part of his landscape. All this will help your him acclimatise on that first day and go some way to make your child like preschool.

Make your child like preschool by making preparation for it exciting.

Make prep-time exciting

Before the start of the school year, get your child excited by involving him in the going-to-school preparations. Take him to the department store to pick out his schoolbag, stationery and lunch box. Let him choose some if not all of the items as this decision-making process will encourage a sense of ownership about the act of going to school.

Find out more tips on how to make your child like preschool…

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We make choosing a preschool for your child simple with a checklist of what to keep in mind when doing so.

Singapore currently has over 1000 childcare centres, more than 500 kindergartens and several playgroup centres. With such diverse options, how do you choose the “best” preschool for your child? There’s no need to be overwhelmed when you know what you and your child need from a preschool education. Here’s a checklist of what to keep in mind when choosing a preschool for your child. 

Type of Preschool

Based on your child’s age and your work arrangements, you can decide which type of preschool might work well for you and your child.

Child Care Centres provide full-day and half-day care programmes to children below the age of 7. This is a good option for mummies who are working full time and need reliable care services, but at the same time, are looking for developmental early childhood programmes.

Kindergartens provide a structured 3 to 4 year preschool education programme for children aged 3 to 6, covering Nursery 1 & 2, Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2. Kindergartens function daily, 5 days a week, with schooling hours ranging from 3 hours to 4 hours each day. Some also offer full day programmes.

Playgroups offer toddlers their first experience of formal learning through structured play-based programmes. Most playgroups function 5 days a week, and programmes usually last about 3 hours per class. For parents with children below the age of 3, and with home care support, playgroups are a great way to let your child experience communal learning without the need to spend long hours at “school”.

RELATED: The difference between preschool and primary school

Set your search criteria when choosing a preschool

After deciding on the type of preschool you need, you need to know if you would prefer the preschool to be near your home or workplace, what your budget is and at what age you want your child to start preschool.

Do your research

Based on the criteria above, do a search for childcare centres on the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA’s) Child Care Link portal (www.childcarelink.gov.sg), or kindergartens on Preschool Connect portal (www.preschool.edu.sg).

All childcare centres in Singapore are licensed by the ECDA for 6, 12 or 24 months. Childcare centres are subject to a rigorous licensing assessment. Those that receive a 24-month licence tenure are of excellent quality as they have exceeded the minimum licensing requirements.

To better gauge if your chosen preschool is of good quality, check if it has got the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework (SPARK) mark. SPARK is a quality assurance framework introduced to raise the quality of preschools in Singapore.

More on the practicalities of choosing a preschool for your child on the next page.

The post The ABCs of choosing the best preschool for your child appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

Take some of the anxiety away from preparing for preschool for the first time with these tips.

Preparing for the first day of preschool: it’s a big event in your child’s life and one that you might have even been worrying about for some time. Going to preschool for the first time is often your child’s first experience away from you. So it can be quite scary for your child and even you. Here are 9 steps to banish those fears and prepare your child (and yourself!) for a positive first day at preschool.

1. Bring your child to visit the preschool

Even if you have decided on the preschool, it’s a good idea to bring your child to visit the preschool and get familiarised with the environment and the teachers. By preparing for preschool in this way and watching how your child reacts, you’ll have a better idea whether she will have issues adapting to the new environment later on. End the visit with a sense of anticipation for the child. “Do you like the school? Would you want to come here again?”

RELATED: How to get government help for chidcare costs

2. Engage your child in preschool-related activities

To prepare her mentally for life in preschool, engage her in activities or discussion related to preschool. Read her a book on ‘My First Day in School’. Try out some fun ‘pretend preschool’ activities at home like getting her involved in preparing a healthy lunchbox, or role play where she is the teacher and you are the student. Do this at least 3 days before her first day at preschool.

Make preparing for preschool fun!

3. Involve your child

One day before the big day, let your child pack her own bag and lunchbox. Ask for a copy of the class timetable, and go through the sequence of events while you pack the bag with your child. “You will need this when you take your nap. When you wake up, you are going to need that…” When you get her involved in the whole process of preparing for preschool, she is likely to be well mentally prepared of what to expect in school.

RELATED: Make your child like preschool

More tips on preparing for preschool on the next page.

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Is homework for preschoolers really necessary?

After a hard day at work, you find yourselves rushing home to prepare dinner and then sit down with your child to coach him with homework.

What’s so strange about this scenario? It’s quite normal for parents to help their kids with homework after all.

But what if your child is still a preschooler?

The homework in question is typically worksheets — copying or colouring letters/numbers, name-writing practice or spelling. Nonetheless, homework is still homework.

While many parents agree that the idea of preschool homework is absurd, most go along with it anyway for for fear their child will not be on par with his or her classmates and lag behind.

They are also worried that in today’s rush to get young children ready for primary school, their children will fall behind once they start school. Because of this, most parents choose not to complain about preschool homework,

RELATED: Are we over-scheduling our kids? 

Learn more with no homework

Research has proven that the first 3 years of life are critical to a child’s healthy development. Here are some of the things that happen to our kids during this period:

• They are discovering who they are and how others respond to them;
• They are finding out what it means to express their feelings;
• Their brains are being “wired” into patterns for future emotional, social, physical, and cognitive development.

With this in mind, the focus of preschool education should be on providing a young child with the opportunities to learn through play, and develop soft skills and positive learning dispositions.

Children benefit most when teachers engage in interactions that support learning and at the same time are emotionally supportive.

Homework that is inappropriate for the child’s age and cognitive levels will only result in a passive form of learning, which may not be beneficial for the child.

Age-inappropriate homework could do your child more harm than good.

Learning how to read and write during preschool hours is fine. But age-inappropriate homework may take away valuable play and family time.

RELATED: Childhood games boost learning

What some mums think

I asked some mothers about their opinions on homework for preschoolers. Here are some of their comments:

“After a long day in school, why are we bringing home more work for the barely potty-trained? We should not rob them of their childhood.”

“At this rate, many kids would get burned out by the time they get to primary school… if not, it’d be the parents who get burned out first.”

RELATED: Choosing a preschool for your child

Find out more about how to handle homework for preschoolers on the next page. 

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Not sure what to do during the December holidays? Send your kids for one of these holiday programmes in Singapore.

The post Exciting December Holiday Programmes appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

Understand the differences between full-day and half-day childcare

Can’t decide whether to place your child on a full-day or half-day childcare programme? Here is a quick checklist on the factors you should consider before making your decision. 

Most  centres provide both full-day and half-day childcare programmes.

• A full-day programme runs between 7am and 7pm, from Monday to Friday; with some ending later than 7pm.
• A half-day programme runs from 7am to 1pm. On Saturday, centres operate from 7am to 2pm.

RELATED: Choosing the best preschool for your child

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Is your 4 year old a whiz with a smartphone? Does she swipe your smartphone screen and press buttons like she was born to do exactly that? If the answer is ‘yes’, your child is not the only tiny tech whiz out there.

Children under the age of 6 years old have a way with technology. It’s not uncommon to see children as young as 2 intuitively swiping screens and confidently pressing buttons.

It’s unusual to see a kid these days who is not tech-savvy!

You can make this attraction to technology work for you. Kids are already drawn to it, all you have to do is make sure that the time they spend on devices is not wasted. Learning is best when they’re having fun. So pick fun learning apps that your kids will want to learn from.

To help you with that, we’re sharing some of our best tips on how to make the most of the time your child spends on smart devices.

Choose quality Apps

It’s not just a case of handing over your phone or tablet; it’s finding the right quality of apps that is important. Pick ones which feed your child’s interests and strengths, while pushing the boundaries to support them to explore and learn new things. Take the time to do the research (or just take our advice!) and test them out. Choose a variety of activities – stories, puzzles, music, phonics, maths, role-play, art etc.

Get involved

Handing a phone to a wailing child maybe an easy way to get a few minutes of peace whilst you get a job done.  But do try to dedicate some time to use technology together with your child. Watch your kids playing a game or navigating a website. Ask them questions to spur their learning and encourage critical thinking. If they are stuck on one level that’s become too easy, ask if they know how to move up and help if necessary.

Get involved with your kids when it comes to technology!

Keep reading – more great advice on handling kids and technology on the next page!

The post How to choose fun educational apps for your child appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

The post Best websites to teach your child the alphabets appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

As far as kids go, if it isn’t cool math they’re learning, then the lesson is over even before it begins. Counting games for children–how important are they and are your little ones getting most out of their math games?

While it is fair to say that calculus and algebra are not something every person needs to function in life, there are certain basic mathematical concepts that everyone needs to be proficient in. And the sooner you introduce your children to these concepts, the better.

RELATED: Promote brain development

Math games for kids 0-3 years of age

Counting games for 0-3 year olds will consist of the most basic elements of counting to five and 10. Children this age will memorise numbers before they understand the concept of numbers. In other words, 1-2-3 will be memorised before they fully understand how much 1, 2 or 3 is. The math games you can play include:

• Counting fingers and toes
• Counting games in the form of nursery rhymes
• Books that teach numbers and basic counting
• Naming and counting the people in your family

Math games for kids 4-7 years of age

Children this age will understand simple number values and the concepts of more/less and big/little amounts and numbers. Therefore, it is very important to keep math games as easy to learn as possible.

Kids in this age bracket will enjoy sorting and grouping, figuring out which group has more and having more than someone else. Counting games, math apps, and activities suitable for this age group include:

• Simple board games like Candy Land and Trouble
• Storybooks that focus on counting
• Sorting and counting shapes, blocks, coloured candies, socks–basically, anything ‘countable’
• Setting the table and counting out the number of plates, napkins and table service needed
• Age-appropriate worksheets including those that focus on addition and subtraction

Check out theAsianparent’s list of Facebook Community groups in Singapore to see which suits you:

• Pregnancy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pregnantsingapore/
• Breastfeeding: https://www.facebook.com/groups/206216689392950/
• Baby led weaning: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1412241078993710/
• Single parents: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SGsingleparents/
• Adoptive parents: https://www.facebook.com/groups/530934253643019/

Have fun with kids around Singapore! Join these groups and keep up with what’s happening around town:

• Dining out with kids: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SGfamilyrestaurants/
• Fun for kids: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SGfamilyfun/
• Preloved baby goods: https://www.facebook.com/groups/142574732522966/
• Bulk Purchase: https://www.facebook.com/groups/124757881027909/
• Kids Enrichment: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SGKidsEnrichmentClasses/

Have kid’s different ages? Join the group thats best suits you and help us help you:

• 2013 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/354255834686759/
• 2012 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2012mums/
• 2011 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/191679294196879/
• 2010 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/200085540003103/
• 2009 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/128278550577556/
• 2008 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/105272352886302/
• 2007 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/197448523617163/
• 2006 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/196567467039802/
• 2005 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/191562817540724/
• Primary 4 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/primary1/
• Primary 5 Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/primary2/
• PSLE Mums: https://www.facebook.com/groups/primary3/
• Sec 1 Parents:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/190045324351297/
• Sec 2 Parents: https://www.facebook.com/groups/148234148571017/
• Sec 3 parents: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PSLEmums/

Do you have suggestions of any other Facebook communities or groups in Singapore that you would want to join? Drop us an inbox on our Facebook page. 

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My curious 1-year-old taking her toy to explore our home.

Lately, I noticed that my 1-year-old is extremely curious about her surroundings and is starting to pick up the things that we teach her really quickly. While hubby and I are really pleased with her development thus far, we are also toying with the idea of enrolling her in a Playgroup programme, where she’d join in a play-learn session for 3 hours every morning at a preschool near our home.

I’m hoping that this will help stimulate her mind and allow her to interact with other toddlers her age, instead of being around only adults when she’s at home.

So when we were invited by Mrs Rachel Ding, the founder of Red SchoolHouse, to head down to all 3 branches of their preschool to do a review, the timing couldn’t have been any better.

The Red SchoolHouse Story

The entrance of Red SchoolHouse Katong at Margate Road.

Rachel left her stable job as a banker in 2004 to pursue one of her greatest passions: to start up the preschool of her dreams. This courageous move led to the beginnings of Red SchoolHouse, at a corner terrace in Pemimpin.

When I asked Rachel why she chose the name Red SchoolHouse, she told me this: “Because red is the colour of love, and this school should feel like home for both the kids and teachers where there is joy and laughter all around.”

A cosy learning corner at Red SchoolHouse Katong.

Red SchoolHouse gradually grew over the next few years, as more parents chose to enrol their kids at the school. By early 2007, the school was operating at full capacity and additional centres were opened at various locations in Singapore.

In 2011, Rachel made the move to consolidate all existing Red SchoolHouse centres in Singapore by setting up a ‘model’ preschool centre at Midview City on Sin Ming Lane. This was followed by 2 new centres in 2014 at Woodlands and Katong.

With Red SchoolHouse Katong being the newest addition to the family, we decided to kickstart the series of reviews by heading down to the bungalow on Margate Road.

Find out more about the SPICE curriculum offered at Red SchoolHouse on the next page.

The post Preschool Review: Red SchoolHouse (Katong) appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

Hope this article on recommended preschools and kindergarten within East of Singapore was informative.

Here are some other Preschool articles that you might like:

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How to save for your child’s education despite financial difficulties

List of Preschools and Kindergarten (Central)

The post List of Preschools and Kindergarten (East) appeared first on Singapore Parenting Magazine for baby, children, kids and parents.

The entrance of Red SchoolHouse Woodlands at the new Woodlands 11 commercial centre.

After our last review of Red SchoolHouse Katong, the next stop on our list is the centre at Woodlands, which opened its doors in January this year. As Red SchoolHouse Woodlands is located quite close to my home, I took the opportunity to bring my 1-year-old along with me. She’s currently quite shy around strangers, so I hope that by exposing her to new places and people, she’ll slowly learn to accept things that are unfamiliar – without bawling her eyes out!

My little girl looking a little cautious of the new environment during our visit.

We were greeted by Ms Kate Ho, the Director of Red SchoolHouse Woodlands, who took us around for a tour. The place was buzzing with activity at that time, as lessons and playtime were in progress at every corner. According to Kate, Red SchoolHouse Woodlands adopts an ‘open concept’ classroom style to make learning more fun and unstructured, while providing more space for all the learning corners.

Lessons in session: Red SchoolHouse Woodlands adopts an open-concept classroom style to make learning fun for the teachers and kids.

Mrs Rachel Ding, the founder of Red SchoolHouse, was also there at Red SchoolHouse Woodlands to tell us a bit more about the programmes and upcoming plans for this centre.

About Red SchoolHouse Woodlands

This storytelling corner gave us a warm feeling the moment we stepped into the centre.

Red SchoolHouse Woodlands started operations on 7 January 2014 and has been growing steadily since then. Today, there are more than 50 kids and infants enrolled at the centre who are placed under the care of 13 staff.

When we asked Rachel the reason why Woodlands 11 was chosen as the location to set up this new centre, she told us it was mainly due to the large population of young families in the area, which called for the need for childcare and infant care services. In addition, the area around Woodlands 11 had been reported as one of ‘hot spots’ that is set to grow rapidly in the near future.

A teacher and an 8-month-old infant enjoying the feet painting activity together.

Although things have been running quite smoothly at Red SchoolHouse Woodlands since its official opening, Rachel has greater plans in place for the kids and teachers at the centre. Some of these include the extension of the infant care services and the offering of dance classes as part of the daily programme for kids.

Find out more about the specially-designed SPICE Curriculum offered at Red SchoolHouse on the next page.

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