The Word Learning Centre  Pte Ltd

Is there a difference between a child that has attended a structured preschool curriculum and one that attends a child care programme majoring in the care of a child?

From to 2 to 7 years the neural development in a child is amazing . The child exposed to a household with three languages is able to pickup all three languages . Athletes like swimmers and musicians  start training for the sport and music at age 2 . This  illustrates the capacity of the human mind and what it is capable of. 

Parents who do not capitalise on this are  wasting  their opportunity to impact their child positively. Time is  a precious commodity . 

At TWLC we had, had the opportunity to see siblings who had joined us from the different child care and those who had been with us from age 2 . The difference between behavior , intelligence, discipline and confidence based on comparing at the same ages was markedly clear. 

Some parents wrongly attributed it to genetics. Unfortunately, language,  oratory skills, etiquitte has to be  taught and genetics takes a minor role in these . Their preschool experience impacts their gauge of what is available to them as they age and the associations they have with others.  It is available to parents who value these compared to purely academic achievements. 

Languages are harder learnt as they grow older . Many having negative impact with languages at age 2 to 6, and  find it harder to learn it when they reach 7 and above. 

At TWLC using multiple intelligences ,the lessons are tailor made for each child in order to maximise learning without leaving any negative effect. The child enjoys the learning process and is only challenged when they have been built up , to prepare them for primary school .

Nevertheless , preschool is only the start of the learning journey. The blog on education will give you rough outline of what is expected in the Singapore school system.

What aboutthe Singapore school system that makes education for preschool almost compulsory?

The Singapore Education system has one of the highest standards in the world. Language , math and Science skills are highest in the world. It needs to be , to be competitive globally. So preschoolers will need to be able to read and write in two languages and do math .Preschool education is to ensure that. Some parents feel it’s too much too early . However, doing it later adds greater stress to the child’s growing up years and has poorer outlook due to their inability to adapt.

Weighing all these, TWLC has customised our curriculum to meet Singapore’s needs. We can’t say that theReggio, Waldorf or Montessori methods will be able to prepare them such unless it has been modified to cater to the local system. Equipping the preschoolers with the tools of primary school without compromising on thechild hood fun is the main objective of TWLC. The experience ofbeing able to handle some mathematical and scientific concepts will allow the students to be well adjusted for PSLE , the major Primary School exam at age 12. Prepare them and the journey will be fun and rewarding . Don’t andit will be arduous and demanding both for parents and child alike.

Schools do use their own streaming mechanism to stream students in to different classes to manage workload and some kind of ranking to monitor progress and evaluate achievement overall. Parents are made aware of the these during the Parent Teachers’ meeting .

Preparingyour child for seamless integration into the primary school system should be the objective of the parent, unless parents do not advocate that for their child. Then there are other options such as home schooling , international schools where the standards differ greatly with a different objective in place.

Careful consideration on which systems parents adopt from the beginning determines the course of actionfor their child’s education.

Do child care institutions cater to the preschool education curriculum as per a kindergarten ? What do they employ to educate the children?

The main governing body that oversees the framework of all child care establishment is the ECDA. Their main objective is to provide services looking to the developmental needs of children while their parents are away at work. Majority  of child care centres use Reggio or Waldorf method which institutes learning by play or project base learning. It provides a safe environment for the child to interact with others and being taken care of by trained adults. Many also try to incorporate some academic activities over the long periods( full day ) while they are in child care . 

Though it does not compare the to rigorous treatment  given to an educational framework of a preschool , it is able to provide the child with some fundamental skills in reading, writing and math . Some parents believe that this would be more than sufficient at this level and the primary schools would take over the educational  requirement from then on.

There are other premium child care institutions which  combine both the preschool structure with child care facility conducted by  trained teachers. These however,   inadvertently cost much more. Having an affordable child care option with some academic exposure is what most working parents gravitate towards. They also supplement these with some enrichment activities after child care hours. 

These however may seem to meet all the academic and child care requirements on paper but the quality of delivery of such programs come into question. With price being the main consideration , these kinds of arrangement  seem to be the only option. 

Parents should not insist or expect  that child care institutions meet all the academic requirements of a structured preschool program. 

Is homeschooling available in Singapore ?

Yes, it  is . As education of  all children is compulsory , all parents must register  their interest in homeschooling with MOE. There they will be directed to submit the relevant documentation to run a home school program and given instructions to maintain record of their child’s education activities. Only parent who are diploma holders or university graduates qualify for home schooling. 

There are homeschooling bodies in Singapore running programs for the benefit of parents. Generally home schooling parents want their children to major in a particular area of interest which would  be speciality like music, singinging, art , swimming or the like. 

Such arrangements allow the child to acquire academic abilities in their growing up years while specialising on other areas of interest, fashioning those years as delegated by the parent. Some notable homeschoolers are Joseph Schooling, Max Mader  etc.

Parents are committed to them through those years with little no help from public schools or other instutions . However it does not stop parents from acquiring help from private institutions specialising in the different academic or sports arenas.

TWLC is one such institution.  We have successfully run a homeschool program and the student had graduated scoring the highest grade in PSLE for homeschoolers in that year . A remarkable achievement. That student is now a practicing architect.

With a structured day to day to activity filled with some group sports and focused approach it allows for an all rounded education process.

What is the difference between preschool and child care? Aren’t they the same?

Short answer , no. Child care’s main business is to care for the child when the parents are away at work. Any academic input is a subsidiary function of that childcare . Main concern are they fed, sleep well , rested , having a good time, is there exploration time , are there activities to utilise motor skills etc. Does the growing child have opportunities for curiosity , adventure and fun ? 

Preschool as the name suggests  is a prep for Primary school . As Primary school students require to be speaking and writing in both English and Chinese or another Mother tongue language and well versed in Math operations like addition , subtraction, multiplication and division , conversant in fields like Art , Science , the Preschool curriculum is planned around these and there are structured repeated activities based on these . They usually cover a period of two years minimum K1 and K2 or a maximum of four years , which allows the educators to streamline the activities to fulfil the requirements. Most preschool have their own qualifying requirements to graduate the students accordingly. These allow them to maintain standards of the school and ultimately the performance of the students in the primary school.

TWLC assures a smooth stress free learning journey for students and monitors their progress throughout with two parent-teacher meeting of parent feed back and dialog. Any child joining the program on the last year or after few months before graduation will only receive a participation certificate.  Premium preschools pride them selves on the range of activities they engage their students in . They are geared to foster intellectual prowess , which is clearly demonstrated when they students go to their primary school. As they have been prepared the students are not caught unaware of work in school. 

Though the terms preschool and child care have been  used interchangeably , they are as you can see different. Parents should direct the questions to the vendors on what they expect to see in their child after the program and ensure that the preschool delivers.

What are the salient points I should know about Primary school when my child has attended preschool ?

After attending a preschool like TWLC, the child should be able handle schoolwork in Primary 1. That does not mean they have been inculcated to school culture to excel in all the years of school. The curriculum advances every year and requires parents attention an involvement. As most parents are working and wont be able to spend the extra time to teach, the enlist the help of tutors or tuition agencies. At least 90% do so , if they want their children to do well. 

Primary 3 to Primary 4 is a sudden jump in the standards of all subjects , students who are prepared are able to fare well. But those who have not  been prepared their performance seems to have taken a huge hit . Primary 4 to 6 schools will focus on preparing them for PSLE. 

Tuition agencies who  solely are performance orientated will institute various levels of assessments to ‘beef’ them up. This adds to the school pressure. They use competition among students to motivate them . Some students find this an arduous journey. Subjects that can be easily handled seems complicated to them because they are not taught and students find them a chore. Students want to finish and move on to play. 

Some learn the fastest way to do things without ample thought the process.To them it seems that they are learning many things and that it is complicated . They had failed to learn the principles behind them , there is nothing to build on when new subjetcs are taught.

At TWLC we make use of the time every year to teach new topics with the same principles that had learnt. We foster habits and techniques that last a life time. This enables the students to be motivated in learning. Using it regualrly causes them to be experts in these areas.

The path to PSLE is less stressful if attentaion is giving to the gradual build up of skills and knowledge . If this is not done then it becomes difficult to do well.

TWLC injects real world knowledge of the  topics to see the use of the subjects learnt. That makes Primary school subjects interesting.