From Childcare to Kindergarten

Little one had started kindergarten for almost a month. So far she has no complains except that her classmate once threw away her drawing. And does she miss her old teachers and classmates? Yes, she does.

Below are a summary of the differences between childcare and kindergarten.

1. Shorter hours of school
The kindergarten, which I enrolled her in, is a 3 hours session for K1 and Nurseries. K2 children would attend 1 hour longer. Hence, a 3-4 hour session may sometimes be a mad rush for the caregivers.
Most Childcare Centres operated from 7 am to 7 pm daily and half a day , from 7 am to 2 pm, on Saturdays.

2. No nap. No bathing. No brushing of teeth
Unlike childcare centre, children are not staying full day in the kindergarten, there is no need to bring mattress cover and toothbrush, toothpaste and mugs to and fro school every week

3. Lighter bag
Compared to the days where she attended childcare, she now carries a lighter bag. She used to bring 2 sets of clothes, including 1 set of uniform, a towel for drying up after bath, a plastic bag for dirty clothes and a big water bottle. (It is not a must, but since she was staying full day then, might as well do so)
Now, she brings 1 set of home clothes and a smaller water bottle. In both cases, stationeries are provided in school.

4. Homework
There is homework every weekend as compared to her previous childcare.
I believe childcare centre also have worksheets for the their kindergarten children but they are likely to be done in school. Occasionally, homework is brought home to reinforce what they had learnt in school. However,  it is noted that not all schools, including kindergarten, give homework for preschoolers.

5. School Holiday
Kindergartens follow the stipulated school holidays as Primary and Secondary schools + 3 days of unscheduled holidays. Childcare centres is opened throughout the whole year except on Sundays and Public Holidays. They operate half days on Saturdays, New Year Eve, Chinese New Year Eve and Christmas Eve. They are also allowed to be closed for 5.5 days of unscheduled holidays.

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Communication between school and parents

Both schools have a communicate book for parents to communicate with the teachers. The kindergarten would sent a report each week informing what was being done in school academically whereas the previous childcare centre updated parents on the website and email.

Changes we face ever since the change 

Speech Expression

She is more expressive now. She would report to me what she had been doing in school but recently she is bored of reporting and even asked me why I am asking the same questions everyday. She would compare her current school against her previous one. She questioned about why they have no naps, brushing of teeth and bathing and she asked about why she need to say prayers before mealtime. ( I sent her to a church kindergarten) Of course, her growing up plays a part.

Within walking distance

The new school is within walking distance. We could save on transportation. The last childcare we attended was a few bus stops away. Sad to say, the childcare centres within our vicinity are full. Hence, we have to change her to kindergarten instead.

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The purpose of this post is not to compare which is better. Childcare centre and kindergarten each have their pros and cons. It is up to the parent to decide what is suits their requirement and what is best for their child.

So, how does she feel about the new school? She loves her current school as well. There is no preference. I am glad about the switch although it would have meant that we would have lesser household income.


Source: For more information about the differences between a childcare centre and a kindergarten , read here

 

Art and play in progress

Last December, little one has done a couple of art and crafts. Now that little one had started K1, we have lesser time doing so.

Here are some of the things we did last month.

1. Painting Xi Yang Yang

 

2. Doing art piece at "Captains at Play"

 3. Fixing up a puzzle (Bonding activity)

4. Sewing ( We started on 2 but have not finished any. Sigh...)

5. Monkey and Squirrel crafts at The Golden Apple

 6. Drawing (her own idea)

7. Making an Xmas Ornament in Elves workshop

Wordless Wednesday :- Touring Chinatown (Chinese New Year Deco)

Chinatown used to have lots of water buffalo in the street . Hence the name Niu Che Shui.

Wishing tree

Baby Sea Otter by Betty Tatham

Credit Goodreads

How does baby sea otter grows up? Come join us in the life of a particular life of a baby sea otter. This storybook is fascinating because it describes a lot of facts about a sea otter: - from a newborn pup  all the way to motherhood.

Little one enjoys me reading it to her. She loves especially the way the pup is lifted onto the mother's chest to nurse and to be groomed and the way air bubbles being blown into fur to keep warm. She would asked me to do the same thing to her whenever I read this book to her. It probably reminds her when she was a baby.

The book also illustrate how the sea otters hunt for food and some of the threats they face. Read this wonderful book to find out more about this creature. I think they are pretty clever!

This book has inspired to find more about sea otters. I have sourced around for real pictures and videos of sea otters! They are so adorable! 

Aww... Mother and pup. Source :Wikipedia

The clever Animal

Watch how they care for the young

Source

Sea Otter is an endangered species. They were being hunted down by human for their fur. I do hope they would be still surviving many generations later.

PS: This book is available at the Singapore library. We chanced upon it and decided to borrowed to read. 

Wordless Wednesday:- Helping out with laundry

Paper fastener Animal Art ( A highly recommended library programme)

I think this programme is real cool! I just have to recommend it.

We have just brought our little one to the Queenstown Library to attend to this particular programme and I am glad we did not miss it though the sky is threatening to rain heavy any moment!

Could you believe these are made only with paper fasteners? No glue or tape involved. 

Library Hop #2 - Let's Hop to Choa Chu Kang Public Library

Let's hop to Choa Chu Kang Public Library!

This library is the biggest Mall Library you can find in the whole of Singapore! Situated in Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall, it occupied an area of 2,394 square meters. Why not plan your library trip together with your shopping trip? Hey! That is the library mall's objective!

Children's session

Metallic tree to display artwork.

This was one library I used to hop after work during my pre-marriage days.The library was initially located at Level 3 of Lot 1 , officially opened on 22 February 2014. It covered a floor area of 1,477 square metre then.The library was the first to install self check machine for borrowing and returning books. Now the library is re-located to Level 4 of the same shopping mall on 21 November 2008. Having a library in the shopping mall, one can easily plan spending half a day in the mall. Check out the wet and dry playground located just above the food court!

These shelves from from the Orchard Library

Talk Zone: The only library I've been to that has this feature

Choa Chu Kang Public Library is the second Mall Library in operation. The first Mall Library is Jurong West Community library (now known as Jurong West Public library and has been relocated to a standalone building). Mall libraries are located in shopping malls and are opened to bring libraries closer to the public. Also, it is faster to build Mall Libraries than Standalone Libraries. So far, these Malls Libraries have been very successful in attracting shoppers into the library. I admit I am one of them. I have a Standalone Library located within 1 km of my residence and yet I frequent a Mall Library that is more than a kilometre away. It is just so convenient to bring a kid in tow to do shopping and borrow books within the same vicinity.

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Books recommendation
Kid Fest is starting in 8 days time, and 3 of Julia Donaldson's books will be played. Hence, I would be blogging on her books.And yes, I would be bringing the little one to watch as well.

"The Gruffalo" and "The Gruffalo's Child"
Synopsis: - Who can really outwit this clever mouse? Not the animals in the forest. Not Gruffalo. Not his child. Read the story to know how the quick- witted mouse escape from being eaten. How he had invented a monster named Gruffalo without knowing that such monster really exist. And when the Gruffalo's child decided that the mouse wasn't exactly as how her Daddy describe to be, how did the clever mouse again avoid being in the stomach of its predator. (Hmm... I still do not have any idea whether the mouse is a male or female.)

The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo's Child

Reason for choosing the books:
Rhyming words! What better way to teach a kid about rhyming words besides stories and nursery rhymes? We also love the descriptive terms used to describe The Gruffalo. We love also to study the trials in the snow in The Gruffalo's Child. We love her Stickman.We even make one ourselves as we read the story.

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The third book I am introducing on this blog is my personal favourite.When I first borrowed this, it was because Ah girl is recently very into pirates. Probably due to the Madeline DVD which she had watched earlier last year. Somehow it got her fascinated with pirates.

Credit :- Good Reads

"The Troll"
Synopsis: - This is a parallel story about a troll and pirates. The poor troll who have never tasted goat in his life, wanted to catch and taste goat. He had been eating fish since it was the only thing he could catch. So he decided to try something different by trying to catch a goat. Unfortunately, no goat ever crossed his bridge and every other animal he caught would tell him where to find his goat. At the same time, a crew of pirates could not cook a decent fish meal and hence yearn to dig up a treasure and buy a cook book so as to cook a decent meal. However, even they had a treasure map, they kept landing again and again on the wrong island. Read to discover how this these 2 groups met and how the story unfolds. It would guarantee a laugh in the end!

Reason for choosing the books:
This book is one of the book that Julia Donaldson didn't write in rhymes and yet with an interesting storyline which kept one captivated to the end of the story. Ah girl loves the drawings and have been asking to read over and over again. I particularly like books with wicked sense of humour!

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Address

21 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4
#04-01/02 Lot One Shoppers' Mall
Singapore 689812

Bookdrop : 10.00am - 10.00pm

How to get there

Nearest MRT: Choa Chu Kang
Buses: 67, 172, 175, 185, 188, 190, 925, 927, 989

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If you have any library to introduce or have any good reads to recommend, kindly join me in the library Hop..

 

Craftwork- No Mess Foil Art Sticker

I am sure most people are familiar with sand art. What about using transfer foil? Both applies similar techniques - transferring material (the former using sand, the latter using transfer foil) to the adhesive paper. I prefer the latter as it is less messy than sand. I could even put it up immediately after the craft session.

Transfer Foil Craft set

I love the vibrant shiny colours!

Ah girl will be demonstrating how to do it.

Introducing Our very own Magic Christmas Tree

This pack of magic tree has been lying in my house for months I bought it from Pasar Malam for $1. Since we are not putting up Christmas tree this year, why not make one ourselves? We did so on Christmas Eve.