Unique Preschools In Singapore

In Singapore, parents are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a preschool for their beloved little toddler. There are schools for every location and budget, covering a range of pedagogy methods and meeting a host of specialized needs. Here are a few that caught our eye.

CHENGZHU MANDARIN CENTRE

Photos courtesy of ChengZhu Mandarin Centre

Established by Julia Gabriel Education, Chengzhu stands out from the crowd with its holistic Chinese cultural and language-rich environment, dedicated to helping children love and master their Mandarin language skills through meaningful and fun experiences.

What’s Unique

The centre features floor-to-ceiling windows with views overlooking the greenery of Rochester Park, and letting in plenty of natural sunlight into its spacious interior.

Besides its nine studios and an indoor playground to boot, Chengzhu’s main attraction is the StoryHouse (pictured below), a unique children’s library with cheerful colours and cosy corners, boasting an impressive collection of over 1,500 books relating to all aspects of Chinese culture, which children can enjoy at the reading loft or borrow home.

Photos courtesy of ChengZhu Mandarin Centre

“We create a whole Chinese environment, one where the children are immersed in both the language and the culture. Through a number of cultural activities such as Chinese Folk music, traditional storytelling, dance, cookery, painting and calligraphy the children are given an insight into Chinese Culture while enabling them to absorb Mandarin in a fun and exciting arts-rich environment.”

– Huang Ying, Principal of Mandarin Programmes of Julia Gabriel Education

Address: 35 Rochester Drive, #03-01 Rochester Mall, Singapore 138639
Tel: 6737 5348
Email: enquiries@chengzhu.edu.sg
Website: chengzhu.edu.sg

MINDCHAMPS PRESCHOOL

Unique Preschools Singapore MindChamps Preschool Photos courtesy of MindChamps

At MindChamps, learning environments are intentionally crafted to be as interactive as possible, built on a solid foundation of research garnered from the fields of early childhood education, neuroscience, child psychology and theatre. Art and music go hand in hand to develop children holistically, and cultural appreciation is encouraged, even at this young age.

What’s Unique

MindChamps is the only preschool globally to nurture children in the principles of Champion Mindset, thanks to a partnership with world-renowned neuroscientist, Emeritus Professor Allan Snyder. According to Prof Synder, who is also a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), creativity is the driving force for much of his work and is essentially an act of rebellion.

“You have to be downright subversive to change the way you think about something. It’s one thing to be creative and another to have the courage to broadcast this opinion to the community. That takes a champion mindset.”

– Professor Emeritus Allan Snyder, Dean of MindChamps

Address: 33 centres islandwide, including Bedok, Punggol, Toa Payoh, Bukit Merah, Marina Square, Bukit Timah, Buona Vista and Jurong West
Tel: 8233 4400
Email: sg.enqpreschool@mindchamps.org
Website: mindchampspreschool.org

MINDCHAMPS CHINESE PRESCHOOL

MINDCHAMPS CHINESE PRESCHOOL Photos courtesy of MindChamps

Established to meet the needs of parents passionate about providing their children with a solid foundation in the Chinese language, the preschool infuses Chinese language into the curriculum, offering a fun and engaging learning environment specifically designed to inculcate in the children an understanding and love for the Chinese language and its culture.

Through this, they seek to ensure that these preschoolers are able to develop their proficiency in both English and Mandarin so as to prepare them for primary school.

What’s Unique

The Chinese Culture Appreciation is an enrichment program that is available during term breaks at MindChamps Chinese Preschool. During the program, K1 and K2 preschoolers will gain an insight into China’s rich history and culture during lessons and enjoy hands-on activities such as clay modelling, Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Address: 3 Tampines Central 1, Abacus Plaza, #03-01, Singapore 529540
Tel: 9769 9025
Email: joycesun@mindchamps.org
Website: mindchampspreschool.org/chinesepreschool

DREAMKIDS

Photos courtesy of Dreamkids

We’ve all heard of the game or the movie Angry Birds, but did you know there’s actually an early childhood education program built on that theme?

The Angry Birds Playground is the result of a collaboration between Dreamkids and Rovio Entertainment Ltd, introducing children to fun learning styles innovative thinking, and promoting critical technological and communication skills necessary for the 21st century.

As a strong proponent of the Finnish ways of teaching, Dreamkids has crafted a Fun Learning curriculum that is designed to capture the curiosity, enthusiasm and openness we feel as 5-year-olds.

It combines the fun of FUN Learning with Finnish and Singapore’s educational expertise to provide solutions and tools that support the engagement, creativity and innovative thinking of young learners of three to six years. Fun learning is all about making sure that our learners get hooked to learning.

What’s Unique

Teaming up with world-renowned organisations such as NASA, National Geographic, CERN and University of Helsinki, the Angry Birds Playground program brings a whole new world of learning experiences for their children, with a highly digital approach.

Think interactive whiteboards, digital story booklets, mobile mathematics games and Angry Bird Toons, for a start. Children can also enrol in specialized life skills programs such as Financial Happiness, Coding, Art, Music & Movement and Tinkering.

➡️ Related Read: Best Coding Class in Singapore

FUN Learning with Finnish Photos courtesy of Dreamkids

Values are taught outside of the textbook through examples and modelling. For instance, children at Dreamkids exchange high fives with their parents and teachers instead of handshakes, and at the end of each session, they hug their teachers and parents as a way of showing their love and gratitude.