From April 2018, 39,000 children from more than 670 pre-schools will be participating in an annual initiative that encourages them to be involved in community service through everyday acts of kindness. This is almost one-third of all the pre-schools in Singapore.
Following a virtual debut on 6 April 2018, the pre-schools will launch their own activities throughout the month to mark the initiative. One pre-school decided to stage a fashion show on environmental awareness, with a catwalk featuring costumes made from recycled plastic bags. Another reached out to elderly residents in its neighbourhood with traditional games and food hampers.
Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee attended the launch at NTUC’s My First Skool kindergarten in Jurong West on 12 April 2018.
“A good pre-school system should not only prepare our young for our national education system; importantly, we want pre-schools to be holistic and inculcate values, active citizenry, compassion and caring for others,” said Mr Lee.
Start Small Dream Big started in 2015 as part of SG50 and for the 15th anniversary of the President’s Challenge, an annual series of fund-raising and volunteer activities. Participating schools implement community service projects over a period of six months.
For this year’s (2018) theme, “Caring for Others Together”, My First Skool is creating a children’s storybook featuring children learning life skills through acts of compassion.
The book will cover four themes: caring for my family; caring for my friends; caring for the community; and caring for the environment and animals. It will be written in the four main languages, and come with an educators’ guide to suggest service learning activities that parents can do with their children.
“What makes us human is the ability to empathise, to care and show concern for others,” said Ms Thian Ai Ling, the deputy general manager of My First Skool. “We’re trying to look at how children can grow up in a holistic, gracious society where they learn to care about people.”
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 13 April 2018