When young Din was in pre-school, Ms Maria was concerned if her son could transit smoothly to primary school, as he had difficulty conversing in Malay, his mother tongue language.
In 2016, she decided to enrol Din at MOE Kindergarten @ Riverside, so that he could learn in English and Malay languages.
“Many kindergartens and childcare centres offered only Chinese as a second language, and he was in one of such centres. He was not able to converse in Malay due to lack of exposure to the language in class. And when asked questions in Malay, he would either keep quiet or respond in English,” she explains.
The decision turned out to be one which benefited the young boy immensely, and he enjoyed his time at MOE Kindergarten. “He loved the holistic learning approach and outdoor play. Going to kindergarten was a joy and most of all, he is happier now that he is able to converse in Malay language,” shares Ms Maria.
MOE Kindergarten’s Starlight Literacy Programme, which nurtures early childhood bilingualism, allowed him to develop listening, speaking and early literacy skills in both the English and Malay languages through books, songs and games.
Apart from that, children also learn about values and culture in a fun way. They could embark on Weeks of Wonder (WoW) projects to further explore Singapore’s culture and traditions. These include learning about the origins of chopsticks, picking up some basic Silat moves from a practitioner and understanding the origins of the traditional martial art.
The children would also get to meet the primary school’s Primary 1 and 2 students, who would share their school experiences and bring them around the school campus.
“I appreciated that the immersion at the primary school gave the children a sense of familiarity,” says Ms Maria. “It also helped that Din’s primary school is at the same place where he has been attending kindergarten, and he will have friends from the MOE Kindergarten who also attend the primary school.”
Din is now in Primary 1 and thankfully, Ms Maria’s initial concerns were unfounded.
“When he was in MOE Kindergarten, he loved hearing what the Primary 1 and 2 students had to say, when they went to the kindergarten to share about their primary school experience,” she shares. “He didn’t have any Primary 1 or new environment jitters. He was all ready to go to primary school. In fact, he now wants to visit the MOE Kindergarten children and share with them his Primary 1 experience.”
Read more about parents’ and children’s experiences at MOE Kindergarten here.
