One preschool campus in Singapore is testing out an arts-based approach on learning for its young students, and so far, it has gotten an overwhelmingly positive response from parents of the children and the community in general.
The pilot program will be implemented at all of the campuses for the preschool, if it proves to be successful at this first campus. It includes using art, music, and dance to help the youngsters learn basic facts. For example, when the students learn about the different parts of the face, they are given leaves, sticks, and seashells to construct their own face. It’s this hands-on approach and license to create that really helps them take charge of their own educations.
All facets of the curriculum are on the table to include arts education. Young students can learn languages, mathematics, and basic motor skills from an arts perspective, which helps boost creativity in the children. The preschool campus itself is set up for this very purpose, including workshops for art projects and a gallery to feature the early masterpieces in, and courtyards beside each classroom for outdoors instruction. Since young children enjoy moving around, singing, and creating art projects, the leader of the preschool said that it seemed only natural to develop an educational curriculum around these passions. That way, launching the children into their instructional careers isn’t as much as a culture shock as it could be. The young students can still consider the instruction as play and not be as put upon to complete taxing lessons, worksheets, or projects.
Teachers at the preschool have embraced this project, receiving training from real artists carefully selected by the National Arts Council. Several times a year, the artists visit the school to work as additional instructors, helping them understand the educational components and see what they can do to help improve the curriculum. This way, the art program at the preschool is truly a learning experience for everyone involved — the young students, their teachers, the artists mentoring the teachers, and the students’ parents. With any luck, the program will continue to see success to raise a new generation of students ready, willing, and excited to bring their unique perspectives to schools, their peers, and their future workplaces.
Jumpstart your own art education by taking an art class via SGArtClass.com. Browse the wide selection of art lessons available on SGArtClass.com — from mural painting to recycled art, decorative painting to 3-D sculpture, and everything in between. Our expert teachers have experience instructing students of all ages and abilities, so you can even help your children get ahead in their creative thinking skills by signing them up, too. Art and the practice of it can have surprising benefits across the board, boosting both your performance at work and your children’s emotional wellbeing.
To read more about the new art curriculum for the preschool students, go to http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/arts-based-programme-for-pre-schoolers-piloted-at-my-first-skool-8822622.