Child Developement

Come admission time, new parents are busy looking up reliable pre-schools to send their precious ones to. While we may think that a preschool is just a stepping stone to higher education, it has a lot more importance than we can imagine.

Bhumika Vikam, a Mumbai-based Primary & Pre-Primary Teacher and a Baby-Bonding Specialist says, The human brain develops most rapidly between birth and age 5, making the preschool years a crucial part of a child's education. Thus comes in the need to put one's child in the best preschool and the one following the best preschool philosophy.

While you may be getting various opinions and views from fellow parents, educationists or facilitators, before you zero down on one pre-school, it's always wise to get your homework done. Heres a list of the various pre-school philosophies we created based on the facilitators who have shared their inputs with us, so that as parents you can make an informed decision.

Montessori 

The Montessori approach is a play based approach developed by Maria Montessori consisting of Montessori toys that are in a way self-corrective. Children thus learn and correct themselves on their own with their own pace, along with teachers as their guides in this play-way method. Children who enjoy quiet environments and show signs of inclining towards self-learning and being independent are the ones for whom this is the best suitable philosophy, explains Bhumika.

Also what makes this philosophy more unique is that it allows the child to learn at his/ her own pace which works wonders for children with special needs as well.

Pre-schools in Singapore that follow this philosophy: Brainy Child Montessori, Early Years Montessori

Reggio Emilia

Bhumika further adds another approach where children take the lead in learning, Reggio Emilia schools were developed by the people of Reggio Emilia (Italy). The main characteristic of this philosophy is the documentation which Reggio schools follow. Every play, project, task and progress made by a child is photographed and documented which not only helps a child's progress increase, but also helps children see their action as meaningful.

This approach is an enquiry based one wherein, the facilitator doesn't answer the child's queries, but creates such an environment that the child learns to explore and tries to find the answers. The facilitator guides the child through this manipulative, child friendly and child led environment. In fact, this philosophy also believes in the saving of environment and recycling which indeed teaches every child the worth of our mother nature. The classroom environment is like the third teacher.

Having myself being an ex-facilitator at Serra International Preschool (Colaba) - a Reggio based preschool, I personally see this approach as a very helpful and progressive one with regard to a child's early years. Teachers here are actually facilitators who ease and facilitate learning rather than being preachers. We as facilitators would document and photograph every enquiry and the exact words used by the child during play and projects. As a facilitator, our image of the child is that of a curious and competent individual who learns through a hundred languages. Thus, the usage of media and various other learning resources is an integral part of Reggio Emilia philosophy.

Pre-schools in Singapore that follow this philosophy: Between Two Trees, Blue House International School, Odyssey the Global Preschool, The Children's Place, White Lodge, EtonHouse, Igloo Kids International, Mulberry Learning Centre

Waldorf

This philosophy is based more on a long term, sustainable and a trust building model. Based on the principals by the Austrian educator Rudolf Steiner, Waldorf works on the principal of a dependable routine. It is usually led by a teacher or a facilitator who continues being the common facilitator for a few years when they're most impressionable.

The impact may seem to be slow and sometimes new teachers and parents think the outcome hasn't come at all. But that's not true. It's like planting a seed and then giving it enough time to break through the surface of the ground and rise above as a beautiful nourished plant. One needs to patiently keep watering the seed even though you can't see the shoot yet, says Priyam Dutta, Co-founder and an on-field volunteer teacher at YIF a non-profit organization based out of Mumbai.

She further explains, Similarly, in my experience, I have seen children shift instantly or sometimes take a year or two, but the change is visible. Our children are more inclusive, they don't differentiate. They work with love and compassion. They are growing up to be responsible adults as they see individuals around them do that from a young age. They are more socially aware about the community and they are able enough to find solutions to their own problems. They are becoming more emotionally stable and can hold space for the younger ones as well. This has happened over 4 years of Waldorf inspired curriculum at our NGO YIF. I love the fact that as teachers, we get to know our children better to be able to be better teachers for them. It's not about us, its about them.

Pre-schools in Singapore that follow this philosophy: Waldorf Steiner Education Association Singapore

Forest School

This is a unique form of learning that's based on a similar to Tagore's philosophy of Naturalism, explains Chanda Sahu, Founder of Wiz Kids International, a Mumbai based preschool. It is a play based, child centric learning that happens in a natural setting. Not only does it instill love and respect for nature, but it is also known to bring about important life skills such as empathy, resilience, self-awareness, a positive attitude, motivation and independence. The curriculum is designed by trained facilitators who hold these classrooms in a natural outdoor setting.

Pre-schools in Singapore that follow this philosophy: Petite Forest Academy, Rain Trees International Kindergarten & Preschool

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Founded by Howard Gardner, a development psychologist, this learning philosophy is based on seven distinct intelligences. This philosophy aims to challenge the notion that a single education system is a solution to all kinds of students. When each child is different, hence the learning and assessment should be different too. Hence, Theory of Multiple Intelligences use the best from different styles of learning all embodied into one - Intrapersonal Visual-Spatial, Bodily-kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Linguistic and Logical Mathematical.

Pre-schools in Singapore that follow this philosophy: Preschool for Multiple Intelligences -East Campus, PMI

It is only after you have browsed through and researched on various learning methods be it Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, Forest School, Montessori or Theory of Multiple Intelligences will you be in a better position to make an informed decision for your little one. Remember, there's no right or wrong, because as a parent you will always know what is best for your child. Its just that being aware helps you and your child get the best of what life has to offer, starting with a preschool.

About Tanya

Tanya is a graduate in Sociology from Sophia College, Mumbai and a post-graduate in Communications and Media from SNDT Women's University in Mumbai. She started her career 16 years ago by writing children's books, e-learning, content management for international websites and magazines and writing lifestyle and feature articles. She's the founder of The Lifestyle Portal an e-publishing platform that focuses primarily on entrepreneur profiling, entrepreneur directory listing, workshop reviews, feature stories and more. Shes also a Certified Parent-Child Play Practitioner and a Certified Story Teller.

Resources:

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/going-to-school/choosing/comparing-preschool-philosophies-montessori-waldorf-and-more

https://novakdjokovicfoundation.org/forest-schools-child-led-learning/

http://forestschools.com/what-are-forest-schools/

http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html

https://www.sassymamasg.com/guide-to-local-preschools-in-singapore/