Preschool Curriculum

[Chatwoman]

Just to add on, after my Berries experience, I personally feel they are more suitable for kids who are already exposed to Chinese at home and standard is better than children who are English-speaking. So their once weekly class is really an enrichment in a language that the kids are already speaking and exposed to it daily.

[Chatwoman]

Oh I just remembered, I actually sent my dd to Eduplus too after I stopped her Berries. How forgetful! It wasn’t very memorable as you can probably tell. Their standard is quite high and my dd seems even less confident after every class and she’ll forget everything soon after. It was stopped once I started her on the new kindy.

[Off123]

Anyone knows what is the curriculum for YMCA?


I do not know how to `get’ the information out from the principal as I found I get lead to other areas of discussion. Was often told PG not much learning as they cannot concentrate for more than 10mins.

They will have play, music, movements. But is that all I should be expecting for PG class?

Any parent with kids in PG class - please share what your child’s programme in a typical day at CC.

Thanks!

[kiasu_practical]

Off123:

Anyone knows what is the curriculum for YMCA?


I do not know how to `get' the information out from the principal as I found I get lead to other areas of discussion. Was often told PG not much learning as they cannot concentrate for more than 10mins.

They will have play, music, movements. But is that all I should be expecting for PG class?

Any parent with kids in PG class - please share what your child's programme in a typical day at CC.

Thanks!

Hi,

I do not know the curriculum in YWCA. I can share with you the curriculum we planned for our PG class in my new childcare centre.

Different school define PG differently. To clarify, PG is for children turning two that year and N1 is for children turning three that year.

In PG, we have the following segments:
- Letterland phonics
- Mathematics in the form of introducing colours, shapes, simple sorting
- Science through cookery
- Chinese language through songs
- Music and Movement and Art and Craft
- Much focus will also be in play. This is where they learn how to share, say their \"please\"\"and \"Thank you\", take turns, imitate....
As their attention span is low as the principal had rightly put it, we need to have activities that are hands-on and make it like \"play\" to them. Teachers should be able to adjust according to the children's interests.

Our N1 students are also having similar curriculum, but, they will have more project time as they are able to converse and express their thoughts better. Projects will allow them to learn a certain topic with more depth.

There's so much to talk about with just projects. We have an open house next Saturday. Visit us and we can discuss in greater detail.

More information is available in: http://www.facebook.com/amebaschoolhouse or send an email to [email protected]

[Sopmama]

Hi Anyone reading newspapers to your 4 years old

[sembgal]

Sopmama:

Hi Anyone reading newspapers to your 4 years old

I read newspapers and verbally will say out the words to my child when she was an infant. Nowadays, it's more on discussion of newspaper articles such as the escalator accident when a child got hurt. It's relevant and provokes a child's thought why it happened, how it happened and how it could be avoided.

[insider]

Oh, they coming up with new 'framework' again. Must have been spending millions again (every framework costs millions).


Actually this framework is not useful coz they cannot change most parents' mindset.

Maybe they should give FREE SOLID early childhood courses to all pregnant women or women with kids below 3 years old to let them really understand what is Early Childhood Development coz if parents cannot have a good understanding of this, most will keep over-feeding their kids unnecessarily...



PRE-SCHOOL education is not about \"gaining numbers and words\"; it's about gaining an attitude and an aptitude, said Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah yesterday.

She was speaking at the launch of the Ministry of Education's (MOE's) updated Kindergarten Curriculum Framework, which is targeted at children aged between four and six.

\"There's an idea that (has) persisted over decades that the more knowledge you put into a child's head, the better it is for the child. But that's not necessarily the case,\" said Ms Indranee, on the sidelines of a visit to Ascension Kindergarten in Potong Pasir.

The refreshed framework gives parents and pre-schools a clearer idea of what children should be able to do by the end of Kindergarten 2. For instance, they should be able to write their names and rote count to at least 10.

These goals are grouped under six learning areas, like numeracy, and social and emotional development.

Crafted in consultation with early-childhood experts, and primary and pre-school educators, the framework is aimed at smoothening the transition from pre-school to Primary 1.

The new guidelines will be distributed to all kindergarten and childcare centres to help teachers plan their curriculum better, and not to \"over-teach\", said Ms Tan Ching Ting, MOE's lead specialist for pre-school education in the education-services division.

Mrs Dianne Seet, principal of Ascension Kindergarten, said research has shown that over-teaching children when they are not developmentally ready may not be beneficial.

For instance, kids should understand the concept behind multiplication tables before memorising them.

She explained: \"You shut them down in thinking, in the learning, in the asking. We want a child to be motivated when it comes to learning new things.\"

For Mrs Daphne Tan, 36, who runs a cafe, these new guidelines will assure many parents that there will be a level playing field for their children before they enter Primary 1.

This is especially so as children come from different family backgrounds and pre-schools.

Mrs Tan - whose five-year-old daughter, Meredith, is in K1 in Ascension - said learning social and life skills is as important as acquiring academic knowledge.

She highlighted the values of resilience and confidence as being crucial. While these may not be apparent at K1, she said that \"the traits could surface later in the children's lives\" and help them cope better when things get tough.

Mr Tong Ming Xi, 34, who runs a business selling and servicing violins, echoed Mrs Tan's sentiments.

He has twin boys - Jian and Kang, aged five - who are in K1 at Ascension.
Ultimately, \"it is important that they learn at their own pace\", he said.
Check out the framework on MOE's website.

What children should know at the end of kindergarten

The updated MOE Kindergarten Curriculum Framework has defined a new set of learning goals in six learning areas.

Here's an example of what children should be able to do by the time they complete Kinder-garten 2.

1. Aesthetics and Creative Expression

Recognise elements of art such as lines, colours and shapes
Recognise sounds from a variety of sources, such as chirping birds, ambulance sirens and musical instruments

2. Discovery of the World

Use their senses to explore objects, materials and the environment - for instance, by observing how a snail moves

Be aware of the importance of responsibility, care and respect for living things and the environment

3. Language and Literacy

Recognise and write their own names

Recognise upper- and lower-case letters of the alphabet

Read with understanding and for enjoyment

4. Motor Skills Development

Participate in and enjoy a variety of physical activities, such as skipping and running

Demonstrate control, coordi-nation and balance in gross motor tasks - for instance, balancing on one foot

Use eye-hand coordination to perform fine motor tasks, such as using a scissors to cut shapes with straight and curved lines

5. Numeracy

Rote count to at least 10

Recognise the four basic shapes: circle, square, rectangle and triangle
Match, sort and compare things by one attribute, such as colour, shape or size

6. Social and Emotional Development

Develop confidence in carrying out simple tasks

Work and play cooperatively in a group

Communicate thoughts, ideas and feelings effectively with others through words, gestures and actions

Source:
http://www.omy.sg (somehow can't copy the link and therefore can't paste...)

[sembgal]

The early childhood curriculum is not perfect. There will be parents who over-teach and who can stop these parents? Some children are really slow academically, whereas some are so smart up there in the brain that they pick up so fast. Which parent wants the child to be lacking behind but face it, the teacher student ratio is too high here compared to Finland preschools. Let’s face it, this is Singapore. Not UK, Australia or USA or whatever European countries. Eventually, the children will have to go primary school to cope with the high academic demand.

[Karl12]

Agree. Saw the papers today on the expectation of primary one. The things they mention sound simple. How many parents will only let their child learn the basic. The last we want is for our kids to feel demoralize, detest school and inferior. Everyone will try to go over and above the basic, especially when there are kindergarden out there that teaches primary 2 work!


My SIL send her child to one of these centers. Basically it's a 3 hour class each day but the things they learnt is pitch at a high level. The school has no playtime as the lessons are conducted back to back. Her K2 son is reading chapter books now. He knew 500 sight words when he was in K1. Chinese idioms, di zi gui, San zi Jin all these were covered in K1. I dunno what he is learning this year as I am not updated yet. Was told that this year his school will cover primary 2 work. Even though the school sounds taxing, it has long waiting list.

As compared to my DS's school who's learning through play, the curriculum is a vast difference. My DS goes to playground everyday. He is happy in school now even though he can't read simple words. Will he continue to be so happy when he goes primary one? should i rely on the school to teach or should I go for english enrichment now? These are things that are constantly in my mind whenever my SIL brag about her DS ability. Of course, during our weekly visiting day, her son will be the 聪明的孙子 while mine is labelled as 玩太多不读书 even though in school, my son is considered a good performer. This is just a family environment. Imagine being look down in school on a daily basis for being \"stupid\". :gloomy:

I meant to give my DS a carefree and happy childhood. But there is a constant fear of being not enough since there are so many parents out there who over teach.

[Han Seo]

Everyone assumes that by over-teaching the child, he will be able to cope with the primary school syllabus. This is an assumption that is taken as truth. What happens if the child finds the work too tough (teaching P2 at K2 level)? Repeated failure is not going to make him grasp the concept. Worse, it may just kill his self-esteem and dampen his love for learning. Once this sets in, it is difficult to "un-do" in the later years.


Or the child may seem to "understand" the concepts at a superficial level and parents and the teachers think he has grasped the concept. So, they skip more fundamental skills and then lo and behold, find out one day that the child is still at Level 1 despite all the intensive teaching? Worse, he has already "tuned" out?

Earlier does not mean better.