OUR CURRICULUMCore Academic & Enrichment Programmes

MindChamps PreSchool Malaysia’s unique curriculum is the result of over a decade of research and development in the 3 domains of Psychology, Neuroscience and Theatre. Our curriculum nurtures all aspects of your child (18 months – 6 years old) and includes world proprietary academic and enrichment programmes.

Core Academic & Enrichment Programmes

MindChamps PreSchool Malaysia’s unique curriculum is the result of over a decade of research and development in the 3 domains of Psychology, Neuroscience and Theatre. Our curriculum nurtures all aspects of your child (18 months – 6 years old) and includes world proprietary academic and enrichment programmes.

Core Academic Programmes

Fun with Language™

A wide range of quality literature is provided, and children have the opportunity to read for their own interest, pleasure and general knowledge. Fun with Language™ is specially designed to create highly successful future readers, writers, storytellers through fostering an enjoyment in children of being read quality children’s literature that is brought to life in an engaging and interactive manner.

MindChamps Reading & Writing™ (Natural Literacy™)

Developed by Brian Caswell, our Dean of Research & Programme Development, MindChamps Reading & Writing is incorporated into our curriculum from Nursery Two to Kindergarten Two. The programme is designed to not only enhance your child’s ability to read and write, but to also instill a Champion mindset for confidence and higher order thinking.

Apart from the in-class literacy activities, one of the key highlights of the MindChamps Reading & Writing is the collection of e-Books which is specially crafted to deepen your child’s love of reading. Easily accessible through the ‘Read-Along’ mobile app, this cultivates strong bonding moments between you and your child at home through stories that encompass a catchy song, an interactive reading and listening experience, as well as the integrated phonics activities.

With regard to Natural Literacy which is incorporated into the curriculum for Playgroup to Nursery One, the programme is designed to provide an experiential and natural language learning environment to enhance your child’s listening and speaking skills. The programme also looks at instilling a Champion mindset for confidence in the young children.

Enquiry Teaching and Learning™

Enquiry Teaching & Learning™ encourages an active learning and thinking approach through which the children construct meaning from experience about the social and physical world that surrounds them.

The MindChamps 3-Mind Education Model – the Champion Mind, the Learning Mind and the Creative Mind – focuses on the life-long learning skills that will prepare children for success in a rapidly-changing world, which will demand innovative thinking, effective communication, creativity and problem-solving.

Enquiry Teaching & Learning™ is demonstrated by wondering, exploring and investigating (collecting data), classifying, analysing, synthesising and theorising of enquiry theme topics based on observed children’s interests. Children’s developing theories are applied and verified or modified, by expressing their ideas in a variety of mediums through crafted play and reflection within their integrated teaching and learning experiences.

Numeracy Strategies™

These strategies lead children to see several possible pathways to the final answer. Children learn to focus on the ‘how’ (process) of arriving at the answer – as opposed to simply memorising the algorithm (conventional method) for reaching the answer.

Fun numeracy activities which involve learning about numeracy in the everyday environment lead children to understand the logic of numbers, number structures, patterns and other basic mathematical concepts. Children also develop their own written and verbal language responses to number facts and relationships.

The Love for Chinese Language™

This programme focuses on developing and enhancing your child’s Chinese language communication skills, particularly in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Through fun and interactive lessons, your child will be exposed to drama, games, rhymes, chants, songs, music and movement to deepen his/her understanding of the elements of the Chinese language.

With practice and a lot of encouragement, your child will be empowered with the confidence to communicate in Chinese in his/her day-to-day life.

The Love for Malay Language™

Your child will take their first critical step to speaking, reading and writing confidently in Malay in this fun and experiential programme. Set in an engaging and encouraging environment, your child will experience the language through stories, songs, rhymes, picture books, fingerplays, puppets and games. With activities that develop phonemic awareness of consonants, vowels and Suku Kata, they will be nurtured to understand, use and enjoy the Malay language.

Enrichment Programmes

Music for the Mind™

Music is vital to the development of language and listening skills. Music and language arts both consist of symbols that when used in combination, abstract concepts become more concrete.

Music experiences are brilliant neurological exercises vital to intellectual development. By combining the rhythmic movement with speech and song, children are given the opportunity to further develop their minds, particularly in the areas of ‘inner speech’ and ‘impulse control’ which contribute to language development, self-management and social skills.

By providing planned strategies and activities that integrate different genres of music, movement, dance, creativity, singing and playing of musical instruments, children are led to explore, enjoy and solve problems to enhance their creative potential.

NeuroMooves™

Drawn from authoritative studies into the relationship between deliberate movement and superior cognitive development, NeuroMooves™ introduces children to:

  • Spatial & Body Awareness
  • Brain-Building Movements (Cross-lateral Coordination, Kinesthetic Memory Sequencing, Rhythm, and Games)
  • Basic Gymnastics
  • Relaxation Mooves
  • Creative Visualisation

The activities are fun and enjoyable to enrich children’s experiences in both physical and intellectual development. Not only will they be equipped with core skills needed for sports and games, their cognitive skills are enhanced as well. Through a complete and balanced model, the programme aims to achieve optimal connection between the physical body, mental perception and emotional feeling in children.

Creativity & Theatrical Strategies™

The use of immersive storytelling enables children to ‘Physically Become’ characters and/or conceptual components in the crafted creative exercises based on each story. The programme aims to develop Narrative Intelligence™ in Champs and allowing them to:

  • Understand the nature of cause and effect in their physical and social world.
  • Make associations and form connections between different aspects of their physical and social world.
  • Perceive and articulate a variety of possible answers to simple questions and problems.
Gourmet Moments™

Gourmet Moments is a programme that uses our fascination with what we eat to introduce children to the concepts of:

  • Personal, social and emotional development
  • Language, communication and literacy
  • Cognitive and associative development
  • Physical coordination
  • Creativity

Gourmet Moments offers opportunities for children to make observations, to ask questions and to compare. They can observe a range of ingredients used. By looking at and talking about food from around the world, food for special occasions and food of interests, it creates opportunities for children to enquire and explore the origins, the preparation methods and nutritional values of food. Providing activities such as dough making, fruit salad and biscuits will give children the opportunity to describe materials and to talk about similarities, differences and changes that involve mathematical and simple science concepts.

THE S.M.I.L.E.S™ METHODOLOGY

The S.M.I.L.E.S.™ methodology is a methodology of engagement and security, of nurturing and exploration. It prepares the brain for optimal growth and anticipates the future development of the 3 Minds.

The acronym S.M.I.L.E.S.™ stands for: Sensory, Motor (Music and Movement), Intellectual, Linguistic, Emotional and Social. It is a principle which acknowledges that brains, in their formative stages, need all aspects of the mind stimulated simultaneously and that all activities (even the most mundane) contain the potential for providing experiences that engage all of the S.M.I.L.E.S.™ elements.

By constantly focussing on the creation of S.M.I.L.E.S.™ activities (or the expansion of existing ones to encompass the S.M.I.L.E.S. methodology), the MindChamps teacher or ‘educarer’ becomes a potent source of age-appropriate stimulation for a mind hungry for the building-blocks of intellect.

THE BAMBOO METAPHOR

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The symbol of MindChamps PreSchool Malaysia is the bamboo plant, one of the most successful plants in the world, because of the ‘preparation’ it goes through underneath the ground, before the extent of its development is apparent.

A bamboo plant spreads by first extending roots and tendrils beneath the soil, giving the plant a firm hold on the essentials of water and nutrition – and an extensive physical foundation to sustain the mature plant – before the first shoots appear the surface. Once it begins to ‘shoot’ however, it does so quickly and efficiently, because all the required elements are in place. The mature bamboo plant is resistant to almost all natural threats in its environment because it is flexible and every element of its structure support every other.

The lesson of the bamboo can be applied to great effect when developing foundation programmes for young learners. MindChamps PreSchool Malaysia introduces and carefully nurtures ‘foundation’ skills and strategies designed to create a cumulative effect, gradually developing competence in all key areas of development.

The 10 Key Roots of the Bamboo

Building on this metaphor, the 10 ‘key roots’  are the learning and development strategies which will underpin a young child’s mind, social and intellectual growth throughout childhood and into adulthood:

Key Root 1: Champion Values and Emotional Intelligence Building Strategies

Champion Values and Social Skills are more important today than ever before, and they are learned young. Fear, of public speaking, of sharing our ideas – even fear of rejection – is a learned response; a behaviour programmed in childhood and lodged in the non-conscious mind.

Our young children need to develop their self-confidence and social skills – including their empathy and compassion – at an early age.

Key Root 2: Creativity and Theatrical Strategies

Young children learn best through hands-on experiential activities – as exemplified in MindChamps’ ‘Crafted Play’. MindChamps’ Theatrical Strategies are developed from solid, established theatrical principles and practices.

Creativity and creative expression are developed through exploration of diverse media, and through the employment of generative questions.  Creativity & Theatrical Strategies are designed to engage young minds and bring life to every aspect of the curriculum.

Key Root 3: Associative Thinking & Cognitive Strategies

Associative Thinking and Cognitive Strategies are developed in the programme through ‘relationship and connection’ questions and exercises, ‘cause and effect’ questions and exercises, problem-solving activities, and numeracy-based, language-based and inquiry-based learning activities.

Key Root 4: Communication Strategies

With communication skills being critical to success in the 21st  century society, laying strong preschool foundations for language and communication is essential.

Communication Strategies are developed in the MindChamps PreSchool programme through a variety of engaging social language activities, which enable young children to develop their own responses.

Language skills are further enhanced through the specialised MindChamps Natural Literacy and Reading and Writing programmes.

Key Root 5: Narrative Intelligence Strategies

MindChamps’ Narrative Intelligence Strategies are designed to build a child’s mastery of learning domains through their natural affinity with stories and metaphors. These strategies are designed to create successful future readers, writers, storytellers (and learners), and provide an environment that nurtures the child’s love for story and reading.

Key Root 6: Language and Reading Strategies

This approach is based on the latest scientific research into language acquisition and the importance of a child’s engagement with language, rather than the discredited ‘drill and kill’ approach.

MindChamps has developed the ‘MindChamps Reading and Writing’ and ‘The Love for Chinese Language’ programmes especially for pre-readers and emerging readers.

They incorporate age-appropriate activities, including our unique ‘Say and Sing’ approach to developing phonemic and phonics awareness.

Key Root 7: Numeracy Strategies

These strategies lead children to see several possible pathways to the final answer.  Children learn to focus on the ‘how’ (process) of arriving at the answer – as opposed to simply memorising the algorithm (conventional method) for reaching the answer.

Fun numeracy activities lead children to understand the logic of numbers, number structures and patterns. Children also develop their own written and verbal language responses to number facts and relationships.

Key Root 8: Nature and Environmental Awareness Strategies

In a world where the environment is endangered, our children’s generation will need to act positively and effectively in relation to protecting the ecology.

Our Nature and Environmental Awareness programme is an on-going priority and is developed in the curriculum through the exploration of themes: Me, My Family, My Friends, My Community and My World.

Key Root 9: Movement for the Mind Strategies

Decades of research have shown a strong and positively connected relationship between certain movements and cross-lateral neural development.

MindChamps NeuroMooves™ programme is scientifically designed and uses a variety of engaging and exciting developmentally appropriate activities, such as coordinated cross-lateral movements to help our children develop gross motor skills, musical intelligence, coordination and balance.

These developments help provide better blood-flow to the growing brain while laying neural foundations for a wide range of thinking skills.

Key Root 10: Music for Learning and Life Strategies

Music is important in developing shared neural networks and integrating conceptual development in all areas of learning and social-emotional growth.

This is a new and exciting area of study in neurology and psychology, and in this area – as in many others – MindChamps PreSchool is significantly ‘ahead of the curve’!

Music, used in accord with the latest scientific research into integrated cross-domain learning, is the root that connects and empowers all the other roots, making Music for Learning and Life, a unique and vitally important development in the area of early childhood education.

WHAT MAKES A MINDCHAMPION?

The MindChamps Education and Life Philosophy of 100% RESPECT, Zero Fear nurtures children to become young Champions, distinguishable by the following 10 values:

  1. I am Confident
  2. I am Grateful
  3. I have Integrity
  4. I am Self-reflective
  5. I Focus on the Beauty in Others
  6. I Embrace Setbacks as SetUps
  7. I Value Feedback as a Seed for Growth
  8. I am Creative
  9. I am Compassionate
  10. I am a Life-long Learner