Chen Li Kindergarten / My First Skool

As part of the Cedar Social Innovation (CSI), all level 4 classes have embarked on an initiative to spread environmental awareness to young children! Our class has chosen two organisations to work with: Chen Li Kindergarten and my First Skool. In order to enlighten preschool students on the importance of protecting the environment and inculcate good habits of recycling and not littering, we have planned out an exciting schedule with activities to empower the children to become environmental ambassadors in their own way. Through the reading of two books “Responsible Roy” and “Stubborn Stacey”, we hope to bring the characters to life through role play, allowing the children to understand what role they play in protecting the environment.

To gain a deeper sense of our organisation’s needs, some members from our groups made a trip down to Chen Li Kindergarten and My First Skool to find out what the kindergarten wish for us to do for the children:)

About Chen Li Kindergarten:

Mission: To provide children in their care access to meaningful child-centred learning.

Vision: Inculcating a heart for learning and nurturing that heart for community caring

Philosophy: We believe that all children possess a capacity to learn and deserve to learn alongside with each other.

Chen Li: K1 Classroom where the storytelling session will take place

Chen Li: K1 Classroom where the storytelling session will take place

With relatively small classes that comprise 10 students per class, we need to show greater care and concern needed in engaging each child, as well as take note of whether students may have any special needs.

Next is My First Skool!!

Vision: A joyful and inspiring early learning experience for all that fulfils the promise of each child.

Mission: Making quality early childhood care and education services affordable and accessible to families.

Learning Philosophy:

At My First Skool, we empower our children to learn through a pedagogical approach, called PETAL© - Playing, Exploring, Thinking, and Applying Learning. This approach provides facilitated play experiences that aid your child's learning and development.

After visiting my First Skool, we were able to understand the needs of the children there much better. From our enquiry, there will be 20 children in K2 and 23 K1 children. Amongst the K1 children, there are a few kids who will need special attention as they suffer from physical disabilities such as ADHD and autism. As for the K2 children, they might be hyper and also require simple explanations when it comes to instructions. We also believe that we should always be attentive to those who need special care and the safety of every child. To ensure that our plan runs smoothly, we should try our best to engage the children and make sure that activities are interactive. We should also incorporate a visual and kinaesthetic approach in order to capture their attention, ensuring that they maximise their potential. In addition, we should always cooperate and communicate with the teachers to create the safest and conducive environment for everyone. Lastly, we realised the importance of not pushing or forcing a child if he or she is unable/unwilling to do something. Conclusively, we hope that through this short session with the children, they will be able to gain insights and become environmental superheroes!

As we approach 25 May, 4I will continue to put in their utmost effort in ensuring that the kindergarten students can have a fruitful learning process!:)

- Kimberley Ang

#4I