SingaporeMotherhood | Baby & Toddler
June 2022
Singapore’s Only Preschool with Habits of Mind Framework – Where Preschoolers Learn like GEP Students!
Parents living or working in the Dover area now have an exciting new option for exceptional early childhood education. Mulberry Learning, which offers award-winning infant care for tiny bubs as young as two months, and childcare services and preschool education for budding explorers up to six years old, has opened its latest centre near Dover MRT station to serve your needs.
Officially opened in March 2022, Mulberry Learning @ Dover is located within the Singapore Polytechnic Graduates’ Guild (SPGG) clubhouse that stands next to the main Singapore Polytechnic campus. Spanning a whopping 5,000 square feet across two levels, it features specially curated Reggio-inspired indoor learning spaces. We peek in to find out what else it offers and how your little ones can benefit.
Cultivating Habits of Mind
While Singapore’s Ministry of Education has long adopted the Habits of Mind™ framework to groom the top 1 per cent of primary school students in the Gifted Education Programme (GEP), Mulberry Learning is the first and only preschool network in the world to be certified by the Institute for Habits of Mind™.
Each term, teachers formally introduce a new positive habit to the children through specially designed lessons and activities. The aim is to set them up for success by instilling dispositions for autonomous learning, intelligent thinking, and effective inquiry. They also cultivate positive traits such as perseverance, innovation, teamwork, confidence, and appropriate behaviours in diverse social situations.
(See also: “There is no norm to follow” says this mum about the GEP (Gifted Education Programme))
Grooming Little Scientists
All children have a natural curiosity and eagerness to explore the world. To facilitate this, Mulberry Learning @ Dover drew from the Reggio Emilia approach in designing its learning spaces. For instance, they construct, connect, and problem-solve at Construction Piazza and observe, analyse, and experiment at Discovery Cove.
Combining the Reggio-inspired Project Inquiry™ pedagogy with various Habits of Mind™ and Multiple Intelligences skills, the curriculum sees the children embark on exciting self-directed projects where they observe, experiment, and present their findings to their parents and peers. The teachers are there to facilitate, guide, and provide ample opportunities to satisfy the children’s curiosities.
Laying the Foundations
While learning the ABCs and 123s isn’t all there is to preschool education, we can’t deny its relevance. Literacy and numeracy are crucial building blocks of communication and set the foundations for success in primary school and beyond. Mulberry Learning builds competency in English, Mandarin, and Mathematics through lively classroom discussions and experiential lessons.
At Dover, purpose-designed Chinese and English literacy studios immerse the children in conducive learning environments. Children graduate Kindergarten 2 with an expressive vocabulary of over 4,500 English words and over 2,000 Chinese words, as well as practical mathematics skills ranging from dealing with money to multiplication concepts.
(See also: How to Raise a Maths-loving Child)
Future-proofing with S.T.E.A.M
Our children need to learn the right skills to thrive in their future world with an increasingly tech-driven workforce. Mulberry Learning’s S.T.E.A.M Enrichment programme seeks to ignite a lifelong interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics.
Special spaces at Dover facilitate unique programmes that integrate art, music, language, drama, science, numbers, coding, mind-mapping, rhythm, movement, sports, and more with hands-on experience. They might be trying out a new cuisine today and sculpting with papier mâché tomorrow. Or coding a robot the day after!
Playing in the Great Outdoors
Daily outdoor play is also an essential part of the school’s ethos to nurture well-rounded explorers and inspire imaginative thinkers. The playground is a space where children develop essential social skills and wonder at the natural world.
Mulberry Learning @ Dover provides a stimulating environment where children can play freely and safely. The dedicated outdoor playground features specially curated play equipment and even a mini racetrack. Further recreational facilities include the SPGG swimming pool, tennis courts and other open spaces within the SPGG compound.
(See also: The Importance of Play in Early Childhood)
Experiential Learning for Infants
At Mulberry Learning, infant care isn’t just a place where babies are cared for while parents are at work. Under its award-winning Experiential Learning framework, infants and toddlers from 2 to 17 months learn, develop, grow, and thrive.
The engaging infant care space at Dover is thoughtfully designed with age-appropriate facilities and multi-sensory play equipment. As your littlest ones navigate this colourful, whimsical world, they are encouraged to become mini explorers. They can even look forward to nurturing spa sessions with bubbles, gentle jets, and soothing lights!
Let Mulberry Learning @ Dover Give Your Preschooler the GEP Advantage
Since establishing its first centre in Singapore in 2006, Mulberry Learning quickly distinguished itself as a premier preschool of choice. It hasn’t sat on its laurels, however. Growing in both size and strength, it is the only preschool brand to win the “Established Brands” category in the Singapore Prestige Brand Award 2020/2021. Leading parenting publications have also named it “Singapore’s Best Holistic Learning Programme” for four years running.
Adding to the 15 existing centres around the island, this brand new Mulberry Learning @ Dover campus offers yet another convenient location for your infant care, childcare, and preschool needs.
Visit www.mulberrylearning.com for more details and book a school tour now to secure special enrolment discounts and lock down fee promotions till your child graduates!
This post is brought to you by Mulberry Learning
All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeMotherhood.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates.
