Preschool Curriculum

[phankao]

iggy:

phankao:

[quote=\"Han Seo\"]
Earlier does not mean better.

Why can't the child have understood the fundamentals before advancing? Preschoolers should not be underestimated, I feel?

And from experience, I do know that \"earlier\" means they would have had a deeper understanding and gained more knowledge as a result. This is from my observation of my own 4 kids which comprise of early and late developers.

I personally struggle with the dilemna. A simple illustration (maybe not the best). My toddler can read \"3 little pigs\" using an abridged text. however she may never ever pick up the original when she is older thinking that she already knew the story and will be bored if i try to revisit it. This can be a missed opportunity to appreciate the original writting, learn more advanced vocab (of corse there are other books) or moral of the story. Earlier is better, not always.[/quote]Sorry for my ignorance - may I know what the original 3 Little Pigs looks like (any link? - possible to find in our library?). I'm just being kaypoh. Bc suaku me has never even thought of an Unabridged version of 3 little pigs even though we've read many different books on the story.

[iggy]

http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/kindergarten-reform-it-takes-village#inside


Interesting article on early childhood education in Today 2 days ago

[iggy]

Phankao

I honestly dont know which version is the original. How do you get your kid to read the different books on the same story?

[phankao]

iggy:

Phankao

I honestly dont know which version is the original. How do you get your kid to read the different books on the same story?

Different pictures, different books, etc? Some chinese, some english?

[Han Seo]

phankao:

Han Seo:

Earlier does not mean better.

Why can't the child have understood the fundamentals before advancing? Preschoolers should not be underestimated, I feel?

And from experience, I do know that \"earlier\" means they would have had a deeper understanding and gained more knowledge as a result. This is from my observation of my own 4 kids which comprise of early and late developers.

I don't know whether we are on the same page but I am referring to understanding of concepts, which is much more complex. Jean Piaget, one of the \"Giants\" in early childhood education, said there are 3 kinds of knowledge:
1. social knowledge - This refers to social conventional knowledge e.g. days of the week, names of colours and objects etc. This kind of knowledge requires 'telling' e.g. you tell the child the name of the flower (e.g. rose).

2. Physical and logical-mathematical: This kind of knowledge requires the learner to make connections in his mind and to be able to see relationships between concepts and ideas
An example is number concepts. Number concepts involve the following sub-concepts:
i. cardinality: That the last number counted represents the total number of objects
ii. one-to-one correspondence: This refers to matching of one word with one object in counting.
iii. conservation of number: This refers to an understanding that the number of objects do not change even though the objects are moved, rearranged or hidden.
iv. number sense and relationships: This refers to developing a sense of different quantities and the relationships between them e.g. 6 is 1 more than 5; I have 5 and I need 2 more to make 7 etc.

In order to develop all the above, children mus have varied experiences that involve the use of real objects over a long period of time.

[insider]

Han Seo:

I don't know whether we are on the same page but I am referring to understanding of concepts, which is much more complex.

Han Seo

I believe we share the same kind of 'powerless', that what is actually good for young children is not what is required by most parents, that many early childhood educators have to bend and stretch the kids unnecessarily for short term benefits over long term...

[keroppi]

phankao:

iggy:

Phankao

I honestly dont know which version is the original. How do you get your kid to read the different books on the same story?

Different pictures, different books, etc? Some chinese, some english?

Not forgetting the fractured ones too (the wolf and the big bad pigs or something like that) which are just as interesting. They had fun laughing over the wolf's version of the story. And the story of the Ugly Duckling who grew up to be an Ugly Duck ...

[Fiona Lim]

I was directed to this page and saw so many good comments on the sharing by INsider but i simply cannot find his sharing. Can anyone direct me to the link?

[simshjason]

One of the subjects that most parents are concerned is Chinese. Chinese unlike any other subjects is one of the subjects that most students find it difficult to master or even like. However, like it or not, it is a subject which is being considered in the examination.


Chinese is unlike other subjects. It is not about memory work...it is about understanding. Most kids do not like Mandarin because the environment was not appropriately set for them. Exposure of Chinese must be done as early as possible. Not when they are in school, but way before that. Surveys have shown that children who are introduced to Chinese later, usually have a dislike for the language and will not score well even after spending a lot of money on tuition.

This is where I can help. I am dealing with a bilingual program that help parents create the required environment at home to build up the liking for Chinese in a fun and interactive way. Please contact me and I will meet up with you personally to go through this program and make your children love Chinese. I can be contacted at [email protected] or at 82002287.

[Mikenmei]

Hi, I am looking for the original post by Insider as well. Can someone point the link to me?