Preschool in Singapore is a fun place to be! It’s even more fun when parents are equipped with the tools to keep kids learning at home.
We love the dizzying array of options for preschools in Singapore, but the ones we love most are those that go out of their way to make our lives as parents a little easier (which is our mantra for everything in life, really). LeClare Preschool has stepped in to do just that, with these great DIY activities you can do with the kids at home to keep them actively learning and having fun, whether it’s school time or home time.
Why these activities in particular? It’s all about keeping things familiar and consistent for the kids, so home is a nice extension of what they get up to at school. At LeClare, an ‘Integrated-Inquiry’ approach to learning is used, where children are actively encouraged to ask questions and voice their opinions. While lessons are planned, the approach is designed so that it’s flexible, moving along with the curiosity and ideas of the kids. We love the strong emphasis on the arts, which the school believes helps kids to see another view of the world, and to appreciate the experiences of others around them. There’s even a dedicated art atelier, a music studio, and a ‘Kinder Kitchen’!
With the arts and curiosity firmly in mind, it’s time to try some of LeClare’s DIY activities at home. Have fun!
1. Make some music AND the instrument!
Kids at LeClare get to not just make music, but also create their own musical instruments! This one’s easy to recreate at home with a few basic materials: some green or red beans, rice or popping corn, paper, empty Yakult bottles, and rubber bands. Simply fill the empty bottles with the dry food, place the paper on top of the bottle and secure it with a rubber band. You can also make things more creative by decorating the bottles with stickers. Now all you have to do is get the family shakin’ and groovin’!
2. Use playtime to build numeracy, literacy and social skills
Everyone’s got LEGO or unifix cubes, and preschools are no exception! These little gems are great for kids as young as 18 months to entertain themselves with, but it’s the playmate (ie. The teacher or parent) who magically turns them into an educational tool. To help with numeracy concepts, ask your kids to create squares and rectangles using unifix cubes and then discuss how many cubes they used, and what made the square different from the rectangle. This can lead to a chat about language, as the kids perhaps notice that they’ve built a letter ‘L’ (for example), and you can help them talk about words that begin with that letter. From lemons to lollipops, the kids will be chatting away in no time!
Some of the other possible learning concepts with building blocks include colours, counting, measurement, sorting, comparison, storytelling, sharing, and collaboration. The possibilities really are endless.
3. Discover the joy of process art with colour-mixing baggies
Process art is basically any art activity where there are no expectations about the end product – it’s all about exploring and learning from the creative process. For this activity you’ll need to set up an area on the floor or table with some zip-lock bags, adhesive tape, and acrylic or poster paints. To start, fill your bag with two colours side by side (preferably primary colours) and flatten out any air while avoiding mixing the colours. Seal up the bag (add duct tape to be extra sure!) and let the kids go wild, mixing the colours together and seeing what happens. This is a great activity for toddlers who are still new to paints – and you don’t end up with messy hands!
4. Culinary arts – whip up some minestrone soup together
This activity has been tried and tested by the keen three-year-olds at LeClare, and it’s been given the tiny chef seal of approval! Just grab any vegetables from the fridge, such as leafy greens, carrots, baby corn, or anything else that’s not too difficult to chop. If you don’t have child-friendly chopping boards, don’t worry – just tape some aluminium foil to the table and the kids can cut with plastic knives. Demonstrate the best way to hold the knife, and explain safety precautions such as not pointing the knife at friends!
If you have a shredder, pique the kids’ curiosity by shredding the corn fresh from the cob (otherwise just use canned corn kernels), and once all your veggies are ready the children can help you stir fry them in olive oil. Add water to bring it to the boil, then add tomato paste and ikan billis in a stock bag. Most importantly, once the soup is ready, make sure everyone gets to slurp some up!
If you’d like to learn more about the great work LeClare Preschool does, book yourself in for a tour of the facilities (which are lovely, by the way) and meet the team. Email [email protected] or call (+65) 6969 9479 or (+65) 8388 7377.
LeClare will kindly waive the registration fee for all HoneyKids readers. Just mention you read this article!
LeClare Preschool, Shaw Towers, 100 Beach Road #02-07/17, Singapore 189702
This post is sponsored by LeClare Preschool.