Celebrating 10 Years with MOE Kindergarten: A mum shares the impact of MK on her child

Ten years ago, Ms Koe Lay Chin was looking for a preschool for her third child. The first five MOE Kindergartens had just opened, and Ms Koe enrolled her daughter in one near their home. Find out why she calls it one of the best decisions for the girl, who is now in secondary school.  

---

As a new resident at Farrer Park, Ms Koe Lay Chin had several considerations in selecting a suitable preschool for her daughter Yann Wen: proximity to home, teaching of values, curriculum, and cost.

“During my daughter’s preschool years, I believed it was crucial for children to explore the world with curiosity and develop good learning habits,” says Ms Koe. “Hence, I was looking for a nearby and affordable preschool that could provide her with the opportunities to interact with her peers and teachers, put in place good routines and cultivate a positive learning attitude in my child.”

That was 10 years ago. Ms Koe was scouting around for a preschool in the area. Despite the fact that MOE Kindergarten (MK) was new to the preschool scene at the time, Ms Koe was confident about MK’s quality given that MK is operated by MOE. This was coupled with the affordability and how close one centre was to their home. Hence, she decided to enroll Yann Wen at MK@Farrer Park.

There were no regrets. Five years later, as Ms Koe had a good experience with MK’s curriculum and programmes, she did not hesitate to enrol her youngest child Yann Jie in the same MK.

Spirit of MK curriculum: Nurturing curiosity and joyful learning

As her children experienced the MK curriculum and learning environment, Ms Koe was heartened that everything was aligned with her parenting approach to encourage their curiosity.

“One of the things I appreciated was that the lessons go beyond the classroom,” shares Ms Koe. “For instance, children observed plants and insects in the garden, learnt about money through practical scenarios and were introduced to concepts like ‘shadows’ out in the basketball court. The hands-on experience allowed them to always be curious as they sought answers to the whys and hows.”

Such interesting learning experiences are part of the MK curriculum, which comprises two flagship programmes: HI-Light Programme and Starlight Literacy Programme through an integrated approach. The HI-Light Programme, nurtures values, social and emotional skills and learning dispositions, and knowledge and skills across five learning areas, aesthetics and creative expression, discovery of the world, health, safety and motor skills development, language and literacy and numeracy.

The other flagship programme is the StarlightLiteracyProgramme. Children learn through stories, songs, rhymes and games – set in the local context – to develop listening and speaking skills in both English and the Mother Tongue Languages, as well as early reading and writing skills. The Weeks of Wonder (WoW) projects at the end of each term, also conducted in both English and Mother Tongue Languages, also motivate children to work together to find out more about topics that interest them.

Ms Koe recalls how her children often returned home excited and even more curious about the things they discovered through their investigation.

They also continue to have a strong love for reading that was inspired by MK’s programmes, a good habit that Ms Koe attributes to the teachers at MK@Farrer Park, who regularly engaged them with storybooks and activities. The stories, which have a local flavour, also impart important life lessons, drawing on things and experiences familiar to the children.

Holistic MK experience: Developing skills for life

The MK experience was also more than just about head knowledge – Ms Koe fondly recalls how the group activities helped to foster good social skills in her children.

“They were given opportunities to collaborate with one another. From there, they learnt how to communicate, share ideas and appreciate different perspectives.”

The children were also given ample opportunities to express themselves through playful and developmentally appropriate activities, allowing them to develop into active and confident learners. Ms Koe believes that her children’s seamless transition to primary school was because MK nurtured in them these traits and equipped them with the necessary skills to navigate in a new environment. As all MKs are situated in a primary school, her children were familiar with the primary school environment by the time they started school.

“They learnt how to manage their time and queue up to buy food independently. They handled everything confidently in Primary 1,” she says.

Fundamentally, MK aims to prepare children for the years ahead. The skills and attitudes that Ms Koe saw her children develop are a strong focus of the MK curriculum. The curriculum and programmes are reviewed on a regular basis and recently, revised based on MOE’s Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) Framework 2022 to place a greater emphasis on inculcating values, developing social and emotional skills, and fostering positive behaviour towards learning.

Heart of MK educators: Building lifelong relationships

What stood out especially to Ms Koe during her children’s time at MK@Farrer Park was the team of teachers whom she felt were experienced professionals, well-equipped with child development knowledge and skills, caring and committed. She had very good rapport with them. That strong partnership and communication they shared had helped to make learning consistent for the children both at home and in school.

“Both Yann Wen and Yann Jie have benefitted from the well-structured preschool with a team of supportive teachers,” says Ms Koe. “Even the Centre Head was very hands-on and passionate about helping the children and her teachers.”

Amazingly, after so many years, Yann Wen’s teachers still catch up with her and her ex-classmates, says Ms Koe.  

“I had a very positive experience and am very grateful for MK. My children benefited from their experience with passionate and caring teachers. It is heartening to know that the teachers show interest and care to my children even after they have moved on from MK.”

She adds, “The guidance, hard work and genuine care for my children have made a significant impact!”