Today’s Motherhood

Childcare-hunting may be one of the stress and dilemma that every parent has to go through.

One advice is for parents not to be tricked in the “branding” of a childcare. Do not send your child to a center just because everyone else is sending their child there.

However, it is fine to focus your preschool-hunting according to certain learning approaches or curriculum.

Find out the different learning approaches that are available in Singapore.

Take your time to tour around the different childcare centers. They may be the number one childcare provider. But have they met the basics?

Environment

1. The most basic thing to look out for is to ensure that there is a window in the classroom. Do they provide adjustable blinds/curtains as well? This is important in allowing good ventilation and natural lighting to seep in the classroom environment. Do they have easy-to-clean flooring and walls?

Bringing in nature into the classroom environment is an advantage. Look out for pots of plants and aquatic aquariums. These natural environments should be well-maintained.

Ventilation and hygiene is extremely crucial especially in our local childcare environment which is prone to break-out of diseases such as HFMD and chicken pox.

A bonus point for a good childcare environment would be having the indoor space accessible to all children with various needs and abilities.

Look out for ramps and handrails. Check if the doorways to class and toilet cubicles are at least 32 inches wide.

Inclusion is about accepting children with various abilities into the mainstream program.

Inclusion is beneficial for everyone. It helps the more abled-children to develop empathy, self-confidence and other pro-social skills. Therefore, having an inclusive environment is a brilliant start to embrace inclusion in Singapore.

2. Look out for child-sized tables and chairs. When your child sits, his/her feet should be able to touch the ground and their chin should be higher than the table top. Don’t forget to also look out for adult-sized furniture for teachers and parents’ use.

It is vital for a childcare to meet the needs of a teacher because they are the most valuable resource to our children. Teachers need to feel comfortable and valued working in the childcare.

A happy teacher equals to happy children.

3. An ideal childcare environment would emulate a conducive home-like atmosphere.

Soft furniture and soft corners are essential because it allows children to feel more comfortable and secure. Look out for furniture such as bean bag chair, child-sized couch, soft rugs and cushions. Soft toys such as dolls and soft animals should also be included in the classroom.

These cozy areas should be separated away from the active and noisy areas such as the drama corner. To make a child feel more at-home, the classroom should be decorated with photos of children’s family members angled at the child’s eye level. Exhibiting children’s art display boosts children’s self-esteem, security and confidence.

Additional displays such as items hanging from the ceilings would be great too because not only it enhances the classroom aesthetics, it also teaches children science concepts (e.g. distance, height).

4. Another factor to look into is for diversity of materials in a classroom environment. For example at the dramatic corner, there should be dolls representing at least three races available.

Next, look out for non-sexist displays or toys. Men and women should be in similar work or play roles. For example, not all pilots are male and not all nurses are female. Awareness of culture diversity and non-stereotypical values should be cultivated at a young tender age.

Care Routines

Before you set on enrolling your child, look into the school’s culture and see how they conduct their care routines.

Greeting/Departing:

Parents should be allowed to step in the center and bring their child into the care giving area as part of daily routine.

This is ideal as it will boost up children’s sense of belonging in school as they are aware that their parents are part of the school. There could be exceptions in cases of HFMD in the child’s classroom.

Meal times: Stay a little longer to observe the meals time in the center. Do all classes gather together in the dining area to have their lunch as a group?

Instead, children should be fed in small groups. For example, there should only be six toddlers per table. Infants especially, should be individual or at most three children per teacher.

Meal times should be relaxed and pleasant. Teachers should sit with the children and use meals time to encourage learning.

Remember to observe the hygiene and sanitization of teacher and children’s hands, tables and chairs before and after meal times.

Toileting: Follow a class and observe their toilet visits. Children should be trained to wipe toilet seats after every use and wash hands after toileting. For children who are still on diapers (infants and toddlers), teachers should do visual checks at least every two hours instead of mass diaper change.

Napping: Watch out for common hazards during the nap time. Young infants should not be put to sleep on stomach; it may affect the child’s breathing system and increase the infant’s risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Another hazard to look out for is covering a child’s head with their soft pillows or blankets.

For older children, the distance between mattresses should be at least 18 inches apart for hygiene purposes.

Safety: Make sure a first-aid-kit and phone is easily accessible in the center.

Outdoor: It is ideal to have at least 1 hour outdoor daily in the schedule of an 8 hour program childcare. It can be a mixture of nature walks, playground experiences and usage of equipment to stimulate various large muscle skills.

All children including infants deserve to be provided with daily outdoor experiences.

Rainy days should not be a reason for not going outdoors.

Instead, the center should always look for alternatives such as going to sheltered places and void decks or providing the children with ponchos.

All checked? You should feel a great sense of satisfaction and confidence to finally find a center to entrust your precious child. Time to fill up the enrollment form!

Article by Izzah

Come join us at our Open House at My Little Genius on 19th & 20th March 2011!

Enjoy Free Previews, Special Promotions & Giveaways worth $102 when you sign up during the Open House!

Refer a friend and get an additional 5% discount off term fees for both you and your friend! So spread the news and bring your friends along!

Call us at 6287 7637 (Hougang) or 6560 7050 (Jurong East) to book your preview slots now!

Or email us at enquiry@MyLittleGenius.com.sg

Smart Alley School Holiday Promotion! (13th – 21st Mar 2011)

Scientifically proven fun! Start your holiday with creative science activity kits from Scientific Explorer.

Scientific Explorer has seen the needs of our children’s development and our parents’ concern for safety and came up with the perfect product to intrigue our children’s imagination. From beauty concoctions to wizardry potions, the experiment kits teach the children more than creative, logical and social skills, but also opens up their understanding towards Science! Moms and Dads, take leave, stay at home and enjoy a day of scientific fun with your child!

Enjoy 30% discount for all regular priced Scientific Explorer activity kits and also FREE delivery when you spend above $20 (local orders only). Read our product reviews on www.blog.smartalley.com.sg.

Visit our Facebook and sign up to get your discount coupon. It’s that easy! Everyone can enjoy the discount, pass on the message!

Kooshi welcomes Today’s Motherhood Readers!

To take part in the contest, visit Kooshi

Contest Information:

• Simply answer 3 simple questions and get a chance to win a $10 Kooshi shopping voucher!
• Results will be out on 19th March 2011.
• Winners will be notified by Kooshi to claim their prizes. For administrative purpose, winners are required to sign up for a free Kooshi store account to claim the prizes.
• Vouchers can be used at Kooshi store Orchard Mandarin Gallery #03-25. No purchase required. Operating Hours: 11am to 930pm daily.
• Shop Tel: 62357982. Enquiries: 67321303 / info@kooshi.com
• For participants without an existing Kooshi account only. One entry per person. Incomplete or inaccurate entries will be disqualified.

“Kids On The Move” Camp by Sportz Kulture Pte Ltd

Dates : 6 - 7th Jun 2011
Time : 8am to 12pm
Age : 6 to 9 years old

Register online @ www.sportzkulture.com.sg and closes 30 May 2011

“Kids on the Move” is a half day camp filled with fun-filled activities for kids to learn and define fundamental skills.

For more information, email zhen@sportzkulture.com.sg / lizhen@sportzkulture.com.sg

Contact : +65 9877 6715 (Lizhen)

Letting Your Preschoolers Imagination come to LIFE! Whether it is your son’s dream to be a hero or your daughter trying to role play on grocery shopping. The LEGO®DUPLO® play sets, to be launched in the first half of 2011, give youngsters a glimpse into new and exciting theme worlds.

Boys’ First Love!

The new Police Range – Make your boy the hero of the day by being a smart police officer who helps to chase the robbers and captures the escaped prisoners in his police car with the help of the policeman in the helicopter, keeping him up to date via mobile phones. The police station and three additional play sets help children, up to the age of five, gradually build up an entire play world for friends and helpers.

Car Transporter - That’s the boys’ all-time favourite. Pretend to be a driver of the car-transporter and deliver the brand new cars to the showroom. The driver has to check everything to ensure that nothing falls off while manoeuvring his heavy truck through town. As it is time to unload the bright red sports car from the upper level, the driver carefully lowers the ramp. The car transporter comes with two mini cars and a driver figure.

Going for Grocery Shopping…

Market Place: hustle and bustle under a red umbrella
Mm, fresh strawberries, crunchy yellow corn on the cob, and shiny tomatoes - yummy! The greengrocer is getting ready for another beautiful day! He sets up his fresh fruit, vegetables and bread - and shades everything with the umbrella.

The Market Place appeals to both boys and girls.

For the Younger Kids…

New licensed products for the movie “Winnie the Pooh“- Have fun with Winnie the Pooh and his friends as Winnie invites all his friends to his house and shares his delicious honey with them. Piglet and Tigger will be there to have fun together. The Winnie the Pooh play sets guarantee lots of fun for little honey gatherers.

© Disney based on the “Winnie the Pooh” works by A.A. Milne and E.H.

LEGO®DUPLO® Play with Letters helps children learn how to read early – Learning could not be more fun. With big, colourful bricks with matching letters and pictures, children will have a great time learning letters. And great play starters, like the DUPLO child figure, cat and wagon base, provide endless hours of learning through building fun!

LEGO®DUPLO® is the perfect gift for any children, not only in terms of quality, safety and durability. It provides hours of fun learning through play simulating not only imagination but other aspects of their development as well. Check out the new sets of LEGO®DUPLO® for a whole lot of family FUN! Suitable for 18 months to 5 years old but the 2 -3 year old are going to LOVE it!

Available in leading departmental stores, Toys R’Us and LEGO Specialty stores.

For more information, check out www.duplo.lego.com

VAPC & AS3 (Autism Siblings Support Singapore) bring to you a “Self Esteem and Self Care” Workshop.

Date : 14 May 2011

Fees:

$200 per child
$180 Early bird fee (by 2 May)

Time : 10am to 12.30pm

Call us at +65 62359602

Please register by 6 May 2011. Click image for larger view

“You’ve had a long day at work, toiling through back-to-back meetings in your stiff, power outfit. You step into your apartment, flip off your 3-inch heels and enter into your haven of comfort and serenity. After a relaxing hot bath, you don a light and comfortable sleepwear…the weight on your shoulders disappears. Then you open a bottle of wine, pick out your favourite book and lounge on your couch to relax…”

It’s not hard to imagine yourself in the above scenario. Urbanites these days are caught up with doing so much and they want to pamper themselves more than ever. Kooshi caters to ladies just like you with comfortable sleep, lounge and home wear.

Originated from the Sanskrit word, Kooshi means ” happiness“. Pronounced as “cushy“, the word conjures “comfort” - which defines what Kooshi’s line of products is all about.

Exclusive in-house designs, the fit and cut are kind to women and flatter them with minimal effort. With subtle details and clean design, it is not loud or raunchy but elegantly sexy and pleasing to the eyes. We use good grade fabrics and are constantly improving ourselves with new product lines.

Do get to know us by trying our line of outfits. Visit our online store or showroom at Mandarin Gallery #03-25 for some sexy pampering. You definitely deserve it!

Enjoy Kooshi!

Website: http://www.kooshi.com

Phone Number: (65) 6732 1303 / 62357982

Showroom: 22 Sin Ming Lane #05-85 Midview City, Singapore 573969

View Larger Map

Peek-A-Boo “Make Our Farm Beautiful” Coloring Contest

Category A : 3 & 4 years old 16 Mar 2011 (Wed)
Category B : 5 & 6 years old 17 Mar 2011 (Thu)
Category C : 7 & 10 years old 18 Mar 2011 (Fri)

Win attractive prizes from Stabilo for winners of all categories and all participants will receive prizes

Time : 1830hrs

Call Peek-A-Boo Singapore at +65-6440 8355 or visit us at a www.peekaboo.com.sg to sign up today

The week-long March school holidays in Singapore are right around the corner! Parents, not sure of where to begin the start of a week of memorable family fun? Fret not, we have suggestions right here for you!

1. Kite-flying, Fishing, Playing Frisbee and Picnicking

Savour a blast from the past through traditional family bonding activities like kite-flying and picnicking. Pack away a basket of delectable home-made snacks, and a cooler of drinks, and bring the family to Marina Barrage. East Coast Park and West Coast Park are also great places for a picnic in Singapore while flying kites and tossing Frisbees. Singapore is also home to many fishing hotspots that are family-friendly like the Fisherman’s Village at Lorong Halus, and the Fishing Pier at Sembawang Park.

2. Nature Walks and Cycling

Singapore has long been touted as the Garden City with the greenery and parks all around the country. Looking for a good economical outdoor activity to spend time with the family? Thanks to the Park Connector Network, an initiative of NParks, the National Park Board of Singapore, most neighbourhood parks are now interconnected. Explore Singapore’s greenery via the park connectors for easy navigation while cycling or trekking between parks.

3. Heritage Museum Visits and Bumboat Rides

History enthuses out there, there are museum visits where even grandparents can join in for a full, multi-generation bonding experience. With their wealth of knowledge about life in the past, grandparents make the best tour guides in explaining the historical relics showcased in museums. Families can also head to Boat Quay for a bumboat ride along Singapore River. Everyone can learn national history while enjoying a restful river cruise along richly-mellowed colonial architectures side-by-side with impressive modern-day city skyline.

4. Off-the-Coast Island Adventures

For a quiet getaway from city life, we present to you, Pulau Ubin, which means Granite Island in Malay. Teeming with the flavour of the old “kampong” lifestyle of Singapore in the sixties, Pulau Ubin is home to various ecological project sites, wooden housing, abandoned quarries, preserved wildlife and untouched nature. Families can go on the boardwalk or bird-watch at Chek Jawa, and leisure biking at Ketam Mountain Bike Park.

5. Family Fun at Home

At home, families can do mini art or science projects, like creating mini clay models or a portable garden-in-a-bottle. Children can experience baking and cooking with their parents to enjoy the preparation process behind simple homemade fare. There can also be a family game, like Uno and Twister, or a story to end off each day. To commemorate the week, families can settle down in the comfort of their living rooms and put together a Family Memories Scrapbook of captioned photographs.

Article by Amanda Seah