Today, we “went” to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) with Ms Candice and Wu Laoshi via virtual tour to learn about what makes a Chinese Singaporean, through the “Singapo人” exhibit!

The first thing we have to do when going “out”, is to make sure we have everything we need! We knew that the SCCC was indoors and air-conditioned, so we identified the items we would need (and not need) to take along with us with the help of our friends.

These are the things that we had to choose from…

1. Waterbottle
2. Insect repellant
3. Sunglasses
4. Sweater
5. Portable fan
6. Tissue paper
7. Hand sanitizer
8. Raincoat
9. Body soap
10. Wallet
11. Pocket game

Can you identify the five items we selected to take with us?

We went along with our teachers to explore the Singapo人 exhibit – it was exciting seeing our teachers on the big screen! They took us through the exhibition, and explained the various segments to us. However, it was not just a video session. We also enjoyed some hands-on extension activities!

We made a little stop when the tour showed us a Chinese tea ceremony guide, and had an immersive Chinese tea ceremony experience of our own. First, we watched a tea demonstration, then we made our very own tea. We then offered some of our freshly brewed tea to our teachers. Don’t forget to use two hands, and tap on the table gently with two fingers to say “thanks”！

At some “stops” along the tour, we got to taste and feel the items we were learning about – such as the longevity bun and the Chinese idiom ‘铁棒磨成针真’.

We had so much fun on this interactive virtual tour to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, and we can’t wait to be able to go on physical excursions again!

Children love being outdoors, and for good reason!

There are many studies that demonstrate how beneficial outdoor play is for children – and we think for adults too!  A simple google search will produce articles and lists of reasons, but we would just like to share some of our favourites with you.

1. Sensory Skills
   • Digital devices help to develop our children’s sense of hearing and sight, but what about their other senses? The great outdoors allow our children to not only develop their sense of hearing and sight, but also their sense of smell, touch, and even sometimes taste! Using all senses when exploring outside increases our ability to process and respond to a variety of sensory stimuli as we learn and grow.
2. Appreciation of Nature
   • We talk about the importance of being eco-friendly, and encourage our children to reduce, reuse, and recycle to save the earth. However, if our children never explore the great outdoors and experience its beauty for themselves, they might not really understand why we need to save the earth.
3. New Words and Concepts
   • Children have more opportunities to observe and perform a variety of skills when they are outdoors. These include exercising creativity to problem-solve and construct play scenarios, as well as learning and practicing more complex movements and life skills. This allows us to introduce new words and concepts while our children experience them, allowing them to retain the information better.
4. Encourage Risk-taking
   • Risk-taking might seem like a gamble, especially with our children in the equation. However, risks are inevitable in life and what better way to train our children to handle these risks by encouraging them to do so in a safe environment! Allowing our children to take risks allows them to develop bravery and become more confident. Examples of risk-taking can be something as simple as asking for permission to share equipment or facilities. When children are encouraged to take safe risks, they also develop independence.

We have been having a bout of rainy weather the past few weeks, but we are always keeping an eye out for good weather to head out for a bit of sun! What about you?

Bibinogs Preschool K.A. had exciting plans for our combined National Day/Family Day celebrations on 6th August, which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation. However, our teachers here organised an in-house National Day celebration for the children, and everyone had a blast celebrating Singapore’s 56th birthday together! Our children were going home saying, “Today was so fun!”

After starting the day with our morning assembly, we had a song-and-dance session with our favourite National Day songs – the top hit being this year’s  NDP 2021 Theme Song, titled “The Road Ahead”, written and composed by Linying and Evan Low. We had learnt the dance moves and have been enjoying dancing to it the last few weeks! Then, we talked about the origins of Singapore’s National Day and watched a short clip of National Day Parade highlights before moving on to our celebratory activities!

Piñata fun! We took turns hitting the piñatas, and collected all the candy that fell out. Piñatas are not traditionally Singaporean, but they are definitely one of the most fun ways to celebrate!

Our national day crafts included making strawberry yoghurt ice popsicles, and our very own state flag flypast!