5 Factors that Make the MindChamps Curriculum Unique

May 14, 2020

Ask any parent who has gone through the process of choosing a childcare centre for their children – chances are, most of them will tell you that it is a long journey filled with decisions to make on various factors that will determine your final choice of childcare.

Apart from the location and facilities available at the centre, one key thing that many mums and dads do during the childcare selection stage is to assess the curriculum offered by the service.

From programmes that encourage hands-on learning to education models that are based on years of research as well as play-based ones, how do you determine which early learning curriculum is best suited to your child’s personality and learning needs?

To help you narrow down your choices, here are some attributes that are often associated with a quality preschool curriculum.

1. Developed by early childhood experts

Typically, an early childhood curriculum is designed with the developmental milestones of preschoolers in mind. With the aim of helping them gain new skills that correlate to their age and abilities, the curriculum is often structured based on studies conducted by early childhood experts.

MindChamps’ unique and proprietary pedagogy and curriculum is based on its very own 3-Mind education model which is designed to bring out the Champion, Learning and Creative Minds in children and impart skills that are essential in the 21st century. By synthesising over 20 years of research in the four domains of neuroscience, psychology, education and theatre, the MindChamps Early Learning curriculum is designed to nurture a love of learning and reading in this very important period of children’s brain development.

2. Programmes for an all-rounded development

During the first five years of life, a child’s brain develops rapidly. This is known as a time of rapid cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and motor development in children.

At MindChamps, the S.M.I.L.E.S.™ curriculum is used where the emphasis is placed on providing preschoolers with experiences that engage all of the S.M.I.L.E.S.™ elements (consisting of the Sensory, Motor, Intellectual, Linguistic, Emotional and Social aspects of development). This is carried out through programmes that target specific areas of a child’s learning and development, such as Enquiry Teaching and Learning™ (integrating Fun with Language, Numeracy, General Knowledge and Project-based Learning Experiences), MindChamps Reading Programme, Creativity & Theatrical Strategies™, and more. Details on these programmes can be found here.

Read also – 3 Things Parents Should Consider When Choosing Reading Programmes for Kids

3. A team of qualified teachers

It is often said that “a school is only as good as its teachers” it is also true for preschools! Apart from having a solid early childhood curriculum in place, the next thing that matters most is to have the right passionate people to deliver the curriculum.

And that is where the role of teachers comes in. Besides the childcare aspect, most parents will determine the quality of an Early Learning Centre’s teaching staff through the way lessons are delivered to the children. This then boils down to the importance of having a team of qualified early childhood teachers – and to ensure that these teachers are given ample opportunities to upgrade their skills to keep up with the latest trends in early childhood education.

In fact, at MindChamps Early Learning, all of our teachers are required to undergo on-going professional training and accreditation, regardless of their prior qualifications and experience. This helps to ensure that teachers are empowered with the necessary skills to effectively deliver the unique early childhood curriculum that is put in front of them and keep their teaching ahead of the curve.

4. A framework that encourages curiosity and learning

Children are curious by nature – and early education experts have shared that the more curious a child is, the more they learn. Thus, it is important to nurture their curiosity as it is through this that they grow up to be lifelong learners.

To encourage children in the early years to maintain their eagerness to explore, discover and figure out how things work, MindChamps integrates the Enquiry Teaching and Learning™ approach within its early learning curriculum. This teaching and learning method is one that focuses on exploring a subject or topic that is of interest to the children. They will be guided to find out all there is to know about the topic and use evidence-based reasoning and creative problem-solving to reach a conclusion. Ultimately, this process helps to bring children from the stage of general curiosity and move on to the stage of critical thinking and understanding.

5. Discovering the love of reading

Reading during the early years does wonders to a child’s development. Not only will they learn about sounds, words, language and how the world works, reading also helps to build their early literacy skills – leading to them developing a love of reading for life.

For example, at MindChamps Early Learning, the MindChamps Reading programme, which is one of the core programmes in the MindChamps curriculum, is offered to children in 20-minute sessions on a daily basis. Developed by Brian Caswell, MindChamps’ Dean of Research & Programme Development, the programme is designed to develop a love of reading in children and instill a Champion Mindset for confidence by cultivating essential reading skills such as narrative intelligence, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary-building, structural awareness and more.

Apart from the in-class literacy activities, one of the key highlights of MindChamps Reading is the collection of e-Books. These reading materials feature stories that include elements such as a catchy song, an interactive reading and listening experience, and a collection of integrated phonics activities.

Read also – How to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read

Article republished with permission from the MindChamps Singapore blog.