Volume 3 - Ministry of Education

1 Nurturing Early LearnersA Curriculum for Kindergartens in Singapore3 VolumeCopyright 2013, Ministry of EducationRepublic of SingaporeAll rights reserved. This publication shall not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright information contained herein is correct at the time of : 978-981-07-8551-2 Designed by LOUD! Productions Pte LtdCopyright 2013, Ministry of Education , Singapore1 Bethesda (Katong) KindergartenKay Poh Road Baptist KindergartenPCF Pioneer (Block 654B)PCF Tampines East (Block 261)Seventh-day Adventist KindergartenThe Ministry of Education wishes to thank Dr Melinda Eng Wah Yound for her professional guidance and invaluable are grateful to the principals and teachers from the following kindergartens and child care centres for their useful feedback and suggestions.

2 We would also like to express our appreciation to the children, teachers and principals of the following kindergartens for their involvement in the photographs taken for this Volume :KindergartensAr-Raudhah Mosque KindergartenBethesda (Katong) KindergartenJurong Calvary KindergartenPCF Bishan East (Block 144)PCF Cheng San-Seletar (Block 435)PCF Hong Kah North (Block 315-319)PCF Kaki Bukit (Block 519-545)PCF Pasir Ris West (Block 517-511)PCF Taman Jurong (Block 352-355)PCF Tampines West (Block 140-938)St James Church Kindergarten (Harding)Yio Chu Kang Chapel Kindergarten Child Care CentresAgape Little UniCherie Hearts Corporate Pte LtdIchiban (Yunnan)

3 Childcare CentreModern Montessori International Group (Sengkang)MY World Child CareNTUC First Campus Co-operative Limited Smart Kids Educare LLPStar Learners Childcare CentreSunflower Child Care GroupAcknowledgementsTable of ContentsIntroduction ..04 Chapter 1: discovery of the World in the Early Years ..05 Making sense of the world ..06 Skills children develop ..09 Attitudes children develop ..14 Chapter 2: Learning Goals for discovery of the World ..19 Learning goals 1 and 2 ..20 Learning goal 3 ..24 Chapter 3: Strategies for discovery of the World.

4 27 Asking questions ..28 Providing opportunities for simple experiments ..29 Inviting resource persons to the classroom ..31 Conducting field trips ..32 Providing opportunities for activities in the outdoors ..40 Using diagrams and graphic organisers ..41 Using children s literature and information books ..43 Using print media, technology and interactive media ..43 Modelling a sense of wonder and care for the environment ..44 Some activity ideas ..45 Chapter 4: Organising the Learning Environment ..55 Indoor space.

5 56 Outdoor space ..61 Chapter 5: Observation and Assessment ..65 Observing and documenting children s learning ..66 Examples of how observations are documented ..68 Bibliography ..73 Copyright 2013, Ministry of Education , Singapore4 IntroductionDiscovery of the World relates to children s everyday experiences and involves children learning how to explore and interact with all aspects of their environment. These may include their homes, schools, families, neighbourhoods, cultures, events and the wider are naturally curious and are filled with wonder and fascination of the world around them.

6 Due to their curiosity, they need opportunities to explore, experiment, manipulate, create, and learn about the world around them. Teachers play a critical role in facilitating the processes involved in helping children to satisfy their curiosities and excite them to make more of the World helps children widen their knowledge and acquire the essential skills and understanding to make sense of the world around them. It aims at sustaining children s natural curiosity to explore the world and lays the foundation for learning in geography, history and example, children may catch a grasshopper, put it in a jar, feed it, observe how it camouflages with its environment, and feel the joy of letting it go.

7 Children can mix and sieve water and sand, measure the height of their constructions and mix water and flour to get dough. Children can predict whether it would rain by making observations of the colour, shape and size of clouds and the force of the winds. They could draw on their observations of the buildings around them to construct strong and stable structures at the Block Play Centre in class. They could investigate how people travelled far distances with the invention of the wheel to creatively build their own toy 2013, Ministry of Education , Singapore5 Chapter1 discovery of the World in the Early YearsChildren s discovery of the world begins with active involvement in what is going on in their immediate environment.

8 Learning should be based on a sense of wonder and joy of discovery . The child as a curious, active and competent learner should be given opportunities to explore the world around them, ask questions, make close observations over time and think and talk about their observations. Instead of expecting children to understand logical and scientific concepts, the emphasis is on allowing children to apply inquiry or process skills such as observation, prediction, investigation and drawing conclusions in their learning 2013, Ministry of Education , Singapore6 Making Sense of the WorldChildren discover the world around them through personal experiences, sensory experiences and planned ExperiencesChildren bring their own ideas, interests.

9 And beliefs based on their own experiences and cultural settings as well as their own developmental abilities. They acquire knowledge of geography, history and science through first-hand experiences at home and in the pre-school. Teachers can talk to families to build upon children s prior knowledge and Children who have their own pets or aquariums at home could build on this knowledge and experience when working with other children to set up a an aquarium at the pre-school centre. Children who have been to a hawker centre with their parents could describe the different types of food and talk about the taste and smell of local Singapore ExperiencesChildren use their senses (touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing) to explore the world around them.

10 They explore by scanning their environment, touching and handling what they see, and listening to sounds and getting excited by unusual should be given ample opportunities to use their senses to observe and gather information about the world they live 2013, Ministry of Education , Singapore7 Children blow soap bubbles and observe how they are carried away by the slightest breeze and eventually burst to discover their physical touch leaves and make colourful crayon leaf rubbings to look at the lines and patterns on the Blow soap bubbles and watch how they float and eventually burst Touch leaves or the bark of a tree and make texture-rubbings to discover the patterns Touch and feel the different textures of pebbles and rocks Smell freshly cut grass or fragrance of flowers Listen