Since preschools are off-limits to parents, some may be wondering how their children are doing apart from the temperature-checks when you drop your kids off at their child care centres. As the Kindergarten 1 and 2 children head back to school last week, we get a glimpse of their lives in school!
How Is It Like In The First Week Of Preschool?
Is It Safe To Send My Child Back to Preschool?
While parents of graduating cohorts of primary, secondary, and pre-tertiary school-going children are eager to send their kids back to school and resume their preparations for the examinations, parents of younger children are in a dilemma – should I send my kids back to school?
Even though preschoolers may not have much academic studying to do, early education and early learning is still important for their development. Experts have said that early childhood education is beyond just the preparation for primary school. It focuses on the development of children’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs that are crucial for their well-being in the long run.
More importantly, after 2 months at home during Singapore’s Circuit breaker, children do require socialisation (albeit still at a distance), which preschools can provide. “We can’t keep our kids at home for so long. It will severely impact their socio-emotional wellbeing and their whole person development.” says Minister for Education, Ong Ye Kung.
For parents who are still concerned, preschools islandwide have stepped up cleaning and disinfection of their premises and equipment and there are lots of Safe Management Measures in place to ensure the safety of children.
It is also worth knowing that pediatricians have found that children who attend child care in their early years develop a protection and better immunity against infections in their later years. At child care centres, children are exposed to more viruses than at home which primes their immune system and immunity to fight the same infections later on. This may be just another benefit of sending your child to preschool even though it is not necessarily mandatory in Singapore.
That doesn’t mean that you are putting your children in danger, because you can also do a part to boost your child’s immunity, ensuring that they eat well, exercise regularly, and have healthy hygiene habits. All of these are what Mulberry Learning would priortise guiding and teaching your little ones as they head back to school.
Should there still be parents who may feel more comfortable with their children at home, there are still a plethora of home-based learning activities that they can rely on.
“We can’t keep our kids at home for so long. It will severely impact their socio-emotional wellbeing and their whole person development.” says Minister Ong Ye Kung.
How Do We Keep Children in Preschools Safe?
While we are mindful to roll out the various Covid-19 safe management measures, many may still be wondering how that would look like in reality in a child care centre. Our little ones may be young, but they are smarter, braver, adaptable and more resilient than many of us may think. The first week of school for the K1 and K2 children have went by successfully and here’s a peek into their time at Mulberry Learning!
Before the little ones head into the premises of our preschools, a temperature and health check is required. Little boxes are created on the floors to guide children to stand in line, away from their peers as they wait for their turn. Parents are also advised to display their SafeEntry confirmation for their child.
Children aged 2 years and older are also reminded to wear their masks or face shields when they are in the preschool premises except during mealtimes and when they are taking their naps. Wondering how to get little ones to put on their masks for long hours? We have some creative ways to persuade children to wear their masks or face shields!
During play time, toys that children use are cleaned and disinfected regularly. They are also encouraged to play independently!
With all these measures in place, you can rest assured that your child will get that holistic development and early education he or she needs while keeping the germs at bay!
About Mulberry Learning
Established in 2006, Mulberry Learning is an award-winning Reggio-inspired preschool with 11 locations around Singapore. Mulberry Learning is the world’s first and only preschool network certified by the USA for the Habits of MindTM framework, and its curriculum has been voted as “Singapore’s Best Holistic Learning Programme” for 3 years running by leading parenting publications.
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