Little Big is a pre-school that puts the children first, providing an environment for every child to develop his or her personal best.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LITTLE BIG.
Ask any parent with toddlers or young children what their top three concerns are, and one of them is bound to be the availability of good childcare support.
Parents today are no longer just looking for a place to “park” their kids before they scoot off to work. They desire quality pre-school education which not only prepares their kids for the demands of primary school, but also molds their character and lets them express their creativity, among other expectations.
Cheryl Lee, a regional sales manager in her early 30s, seemed to have found a pre-school that fulfils the above criteria. Given that her son, Jordan, has sensory processing challenges, she wanted a pre-school that would be highly committed to helping her 5-year-old on his developmental journey. She decided on Little Big.
Lee shares, “From the moment we started Jordan at Little Big at the age of 3, it has been a great experience. All his teachers have been patient in caring for every single child. I think it makes a huge difference, being in a school where teachers are genuinely interested in the children. As a parent, it is extremely reassuring to know that your child is in good hands.”
Besides the passionate and dedicated teachers, Little Big also appeals to this mother of two boys because of its Project Approach to learning. Following a curriculum that builds on the interests of children, Little Big’s teachers make a conscious effort not to instruct their students but instead to explore and learn alongside them to inculcate a love for learning.
Guided by teachers, the children proactively decide their direction of study, as well as the various avenues to explore their newfound knowledge. It is through such independent and self-directed learning that the school hopes to engage and motivate their students.
To further allow students to explore their interests, the school also partners with external parties to bring enrichment classes to the school. With classes that include sports, music, art, creative dance, ballet and Chinese speech and drama, children are exposed to a wide range of different activities so that they can discover where their passions lie.
It was precisely such outcomes that Little Big strived to achieve when it started. Principal of the pre-school, Ong Hsin Yi, explains, “Right from the start, we wanted Little Big to be a school that truly celebrates the curiosity in each child. We wanted our children to explore without being restricted by a very structured curriculum.”
To also prepare students for primary school, the teachers at Little Big constantly scrutinize the curriculum to ensure a balance between creative projects and academic structured learning. In addition to the enrichment activities, the school also offers English, Chinese and Math lessons.
Ms Ong added, “Education is a pillar of society that we want to impact, and we wanted to start with the youngest, the preschoolers. Our vision is for the school to be a role model in the pre-school arena both in terms of curriculum, as well as culture.”
The school has indeed proven to be popular with parents, having grown from 20 students when it just started in 2009 to 90 students by the end of 2012. Staffed by 14 teachers who are given much freedom and bandwidth to design the lessons to suit individual students’ needs, Little Big’s model of teaching has gained support amongst both local and expatriate parents.
To keep parents updated about their child’s learning process, the school goes the extra mile by mailing out weekly e-newsletters containing the classroom discussions, activities and photos. Most parents have found this helpful in connecting with their child as they are now aware about their child’s daily activities in school.
Principal of City College and founder of Little Big, Kenny Low, shared, “We want to get parents involved in their child’s education and to also build our school upon love. We have structured the curriculum with the aim of helping children unwrap the gifts and talents that God has deposited into each child.”
So, has the school fulfilled their vision to develop and mould their students?
In the past one and a half years that Jordan has been at Little Big, Ms Lee shared that she has noticed some marked differences in his behavior.
“Before Little Big, Jordan always had his own way of doing things, and we wondered whether he could adapt to a more structured lifestyle. The teachers at Little Big helped to integrate him into a culture of learning and he is a much more sociable boy now.”
With a unique curriculum that empowers children to develop initiative, Little Big is indeed the place where “big dreams for little ones begin.”
Little Big Pre-School Pte Ltd
95 Telok Kurau Road
Singapore 423797
+65 6345 4560
