Looking for interesting activities to keep your little ones busy during the March holidays? BAZAAR Junior rounds up popular courses from across the island in this special segment that shows learning can be thoroughly fun.
Looking for interesting activities to keep your little ones busy during the March holidays? BAZAAR Junior rounds up popular courses from across the island in this special segment that shows learning can be thoroughly fun.
BABY(0-18 months)
Little ones respond best to stimulation at this age. So keep them entertained with creative classes that provide a great source of stimuli and fun.
1.HEGERU INFANT & TODDLER CLASS
Hegeru Method
www.hegurumethod.com.sg Tapping on learning methods that optimise brain development, Hegeru Method cultivates early learning through a fun, nurturing environment, with particular focus on creative and critical thinking. Best of all, the centre’s certified senior instructors are also veteran teachers familiar with the local school syllabus —allowing them to prepare little ones (from the age of six months onwards) for school in years to come.
2.MUSICAL MONKEYS FOR BABIES
Musical Monkeys
www.musicalmonkeys.sg Develop a closer bond with your little ones as they learn simple exercises such as bouncing, wiggles and tickles through musical stimulation. This is because these movements to music trigger the release of oxytocin, the same “bonding” hormone that is produced during nursing. Another advantage of the course? You get to build your parent support network with other parents attending the programme too.
3.MUM & BABY PILATES
Inspire Mum & Baby
www.inspiremumbaby.com New mums will appreciate how this course restores core and upper body strength—which is especially important for allowing you to carry baby without hurting your back. This class also helps speed up healing and recovery from delivery, while reducing stress and the possibility of post-natal blues. Have fun exercising with your little one as baby enjoys lots of playtime, music and songs!
4.PLAY & LEARN
Gymboree
www.gymboree.com.sg This inclusive programme helps parents understand each stage of their child’s development. With levels to cater to different ages, babies get to build strength through play with ramps, slides and climbers; cultivate communication skills; and learn to solve problems through games by uncovering patterns and sequences.
5.DISCOVER WONDER
Blue House Infant & Toddler Atelier
www.bluehouseatelier.com This course leverages on children’s natural curiosity to encourage them to examine their surroundings more closely. Encouraging them to consciously make small discoveries provides little ones with a head start in developing a deeper understanding of the world.
6.VILLAGE
Kindermusik With Love Studios
www.kindermusikwithlovestudios.com.sg As the saying goes: It takes a village to raise a child. With its Village programme, Kindermusik takes the saying a step further. Through folksy activities such as dancing around a maypole or gentle swinging in a blanket, babies are engaged in a range of exercises that encourage movement, vocal play and instrument exploration.
7.BABY SWIMMING LESSONS
Smile Swimmers
www.smileswimmers.com Get into the pool and turn little ones into water babies with this Smile Swimmers class, designed by lead instructor Coach Kidd, and catered for infants between three to 12 months of age. Aimed at building up baby’s water confidence, the class also teaches water survival skills, body balancing and coordination, and stability in water manoeuvring and movement.
8.TINY TYKES
My Gym
www.mygym.com.sg Bond with your little one through a range of activities that let mini-mes discover their physical abilities while developing their cognitive functions. Created for tots from seven to 13 months old, this hour-long class starts with gentle stretches and exercises before moving onto songs, dances and other fun active adventures.
9.GYMTOTS
Bubbles Gymnastics
www.bubblesgym.com.sg Families that play together, stay together. At this introductory programme designed for parents and kids between the ages of one and three, you start with “free exploration” time conducted by professional coaches, before moving on to warm-ups, song and dance, basic gymnastics skills, and running through a circuit. Hand apparatuses are also used to improve hand-eye coordination and motor skills.
10.GIFTED BABES
Growing up Gifted
www.gugifted.com Give your child a head start in learning and build her confidence through play-based phonics and fun activities designed to engage all five senses— such as popcorn-making, playing bongos to African beats and hand-painting with ice cream! The course, created for children from eight to 18 months old, also includes an introduction to Mandarin stories, songs, puppetry and more.
“My son has been progressing very well at Smile Swimmers over the past year. Coach Kidd is professional and approachable, and his class is well-structured. He is very dedicated in teaching the kids.” - Mdm Lyn Ashrafadlynayla, mum of eight-year old son, Danish.
TODDLER (18 months-3 years old )
In this age group, your child will gradually unlock milestones such as self-feeding, and the ability to discern between right and wrong. She may also attempt to start reading on her own.
11.NURSERY 1
Brighton Montessori
www.brightonmontessori.com.sg Brighton Montessori focuses on practical life skills (such as pouring water from a jug and spooning pasta from one bowl to another), as well as sensorial exploration, language, mathematics and learning about the world around them through cultural studies.
An all-rounded curriculum enhances the learning journeys of students with daily enrichment classes, such as the Intensive Chinese Immersion Programme (ICIP) and the Kids Fun Discovery Programme (KFDP), which includes activities such as music and movement, art and craft, outdoor activities and show and tell, which build self-confidence by creating public speaking opportunities for kids.
12.PLAYCLUB
Julia Gabriel Centre
www.juliagabriel.com One of the centre’s most sought after programmes, PlayClub engages tots in a range of hands-on, interactive activities that are designed to improve their motor skills and enhance their social skills at play and meal-times. From arts and crafts to pre-science activities, speech and drama to music and dance, the class guides kids to interact comfortably with different environments and make sense of a host of real-life situations.
13.PARENT AND CHILD PROGRAMME
Aquaducks
www.aquaducks.com.sg Filled with aquatic songs and games, this 30-minute class allows kids to build their confidence in water, while learning how to orientate underwater and swim short distances. The class runs on a good ratio of 6:1, allowing parents to bond with their children in the water under safe and fun circumstances. The best part? There are eight venues to choose from for your utmost convenience.
14.CHINESE CULTURAL ARTS
Chengzhu Mandarin Centre
www.chengzhu.edu.sg The Chinese Cultural Arts programme immerses tots in a conducive environment that allows them to better absorb Standard Mandarin through an introduction to traditional Chinese performance and visual arts.
These include a variety of songs, music and folk dances, traditional Chinese handicrafts, calligraphy and ink brush painting, as well as preparing and tasting classic Chinese dishes such as rice dumplings. This Mandarin enrichment centre was formed after 12 years of running Mandarin programmes at Julia Gabriel Centre.
15.BOOK EXPLORER
Da Little School
www.dalittleschool.com.sg Suitable for nursery one and two children, this developmental programme uses books, songs and props to introduce your little ones to the world of storytelling through the works of both classic and contemporary authors. Beyond budding bookworms, Da Little School’s highly interactive sessions will show all kids that reading can, and should, be fun. At the same time, the use of artworks inspired by the stories during class are also aimed at cultivating children’s aesthetic sense.
16.BABY GENIUS
IGenius
www.igenius.sg With courses designed to aid holistic development in tots between six to 36 months of age, iGenius engages children (and their parents) through programmes that focus on language and speech development, observational and listening skills, sensory awareness and fine motor skills through intentional play and learning games. A small class ratio of one teacher to six tots ensures that each parent and child pairing gets the most out of the class and the attention they require.
17.MELODY BEAR PRESCHOOL DANCE CLASS
Stepping Out Studios
www.steppingoutstudios.com.sg Suitable for kids from two to three years old, this class introduces children to the concepts of ballet, tap, music and movement. Created by children’s dance teacher, Jill Bridger, the Melody Movement Early Learning dance syllabus focuses on natural actions such as running, walking, skipping, galloping and hopping.
18.LITTLE DOODLER
Da Little School
www.dalittleschool.com.sg Making art is a great way for little ones to explore their sensory faculties and discover the immediate world around them. Through the use of art tools, tots learn to develop control of their large and small muscle groups, while enjoying the feel of paint on their hands and exploring how colours can be mixed together to create beautiful results. Fun stories and songs are also included in this course.
19.CHINESE LANGUAGE IMMERSION
Odyssey The Global Preschool
www.theodyssey.sg Speech and languages are best learnt within the first three years of a child’s life. Odyssey’s Chinese Language Immersion programme allows kids to apply what they’ve learnt in class through a designated full-time Chinese language teacher. Lessons are structured based on a set of prescribed outcomes to ensure that children build their Mandarin vocabulary by listening and responding to instructions and interactions in Mandarin.
20.MUSIK KALEIDOSCOPE
Magic Fiddler
www.magicfiddler.com This popular course uses percussion instruments to build a sense of rhythm and encourage tots to make merry music. Singing, listening and the playing of instruments to familiar melodies and international folk songs are just some of the activities this class has to offer. So encourage your little one to cultivate their musical side. Who knows? You may just have the next X-Factor star on your hands.
“Through excellent pedagogy by Chengzhu Mandarin Centre’s passionate and fun-loving teachers, we’ve seen my child’s love for Mandarin grow. In fact, she voluntarily speaks it at home now!” - Mrs Lexin Tay, mum of three-yearold daughter, Margaret.
PRE-SCHOOL ( 3-7 years old )
This is the time to let your child explore a variety of courses to determine his or her aptitude towards learning.
21.EARLY LEARNING VILLAGE
Stamford American International School
www.sais.edu.sg Inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, Stamford American’s Early Learning Village is designed with purpose-built facilities and dedicated discovery spaces to enhance the learning journeys of kids from the age of 18 months to 6 years old. Parents also have the flexibility of customising their kid’s school week with daily enrichment classes such as ballet, swimming, cheerleading and gymnastics for a well-rounded and encompassing curriculum.
22.LITTLE BLOSSOMS
Little Artists Art Studio
www.little-artists.com Cultivate a lifelong passion for the arts in your young ones with this multi-medium art ENRICHMENT SPECIAL class. This programme exposes them to a comprehensive fine art curriculum that touches on visual, interactive and cultural arts. Using numerous mediums including watercolour, oil pastels, clay and charcoal, students are encouraged to express themselves through activities such as artist studies, brush skills and printing with textures.
23. THE READING WORKSHOP
The Learning Lab
www.thelearninglab.com.sg This 10-week programme is designed to build the foundation for your child’s learning journey. It helps boost the reading skills of K1 and K2 students through the practice of phonics and blending, while teaching kids to recognise letters and words so that they can read better and form sentences through fun and immersive methods. Best of all, the children are easily able to borrow books home from an in-house library to further encourage the love of reading beyond the classroom.
24.MULTI-ACTIVITY
Camp Asia
www.campasia.asia From holiday camps to weekly programmes, Camp Asia’s offerings are as engaging as they are enriching. With a myriad of activities such as role-playing and gymnastics (for three-year-olds), capoeira and batik art (for four to five-year-olds), baseball and pop art painting (for six to eightyear- olds), Camp Asia’s Multi-Activity camp is the perfect way for your children to find out where their interests lie. Over the course of five days, your child will make new friends, pick up new skills and perhaps even find a new hobby or two.
25.MUSIC EXPLORATION
Aureus Academy
www.aureusacademy.com Offering both private and group classes, Aureus Academy’s Music Exploration course focuses on developing students who can sing and play instruments both individually and as part of a group. By following three phases of learning—recognition, comprehension and application—when exploring different areas of music, children are able to train their hand-eye coordination, concentration and the ability to match pitch. It’s a great introduction to see if your little star has what it takes to be the next Beethoven.
26.WRITER’SBLOK PROJECT
Tweetytots
www.tweetytots.com A course with a difference, this is for all the aspiring authors and artists out there. Designed specifically for tots between four to six years of age, this course teaches kids how to write, illustrate and publish their own books over a series of hands-on activities. They’ll also learn more about the process of how books are made, and understand the part they have to play in caring for the environment.
27.LEAP KIDSNETIC
Leap Schoolhouse
www.leapschoolhouse.com.sg The LEAP Kidsnetic reading system aims to achieve total literacy success by developing interpretative and responsive skills for children from the ages of two-and-a-half to seven. To engage young learners, LEAP Schoolhouse keeps the process of learning fun, engaging and participative, drawing upon research shared by the US Department of Education.
28.TOTT JUNIOR CHEFS MASTERCLASS
ToTT
www.tottstore.com From cupcakes to handmade pasta, there is no better way to bond with your mini chefsin- training than with a parent-child cooking session. Under the watchful eyes of the instructors, as they demonstrate and walk through tips, techniques and troubleshooting in class, your child is sure to develop a new appreciation and understanding of food.
29.YOUNG CHEF’S SCHOOL
Culinary On
www.culinaryon.sg Mini burgers for breakfast, quiche lorraine for lunch and chocolate truffles for tea, made by your own junior chef? Make it happen by signing up your budding cooks at Culinary On, where they can work their way up by starting with the basics. Parents have the option of joining their kids in class, too. Suitable for kids aged four and up.
30.FOOTBALL COACHING
Coach Leo
www.coachleo.sg Certified by the Swiss Football Association, Coach Leo’s enthusiasm for training kids is matched by his energetic charges. Students learn techniques such as running zig-zag and ball manipulation; not to mention, improving their coordination and balancing skills through training with cones, or a ball on a string.
“Intrepid Kids Gym has been the best choice for my kids. They love the class, and I love that they are so excited about being fit. I believe they have benefited from the class, despite having only joined for a short time. Imagine the health benefits they would reap in a year!” - Mrs Karin Faucheux, mum of six-year-old Zack and four-year-old Jesse.
JUNIOR ( 7-12 years old )
By now, you’d have noticed your child’s interests, strengths and areas of improvement. Build on them with these fun courses.
31.CROSSFIT KIDS
Intrepid Kids Gym
www.intrepidkidsgym.com Fancy getting your kids to work off excess energy while building a strong and healthy body? CrossFit Kids focuses on exercises using light weights that include plyometric, gymnastics, running and stretching, while developing confidence and leadership skills. Through interaction with their peers and instructors, they will also build resilience and learn how to communicate with others.
32.P1-P6 CHINESE ENRICHMENT
HUA Language Centre
www.hua.com.sg With an up-to-date curriculum based on the current Ministry of Education syllabus and requirements, HUA Language Centre enhances learning by identifying the different aptitudes of the students to meet their specific needs. The specially tailored courses focus on three areas: Oral and Communication, Enrichment, and Comprehension and Creative Writing. Through the small class size, games, interactive activities, multimedia and IT learning aids, your child will be able to absorb course materials more quickly and meaningfully.
33.SUPER CHEF CAMP
Camp Asia
www.campasia.asia Led by head chef Tim Ong, this is the chance to get your budding Jamie Olivers and Nigella Lawsons to further develop and fine-tune their culinary skills. Through daily workshops and masterclasses over five days, students will pick up fun facts about different types of food, and develop a deeper understanding of how to prepare and cook them. At the end of the camp, kids will role play by setting up their own restaurants, and serving friends and family their creations.
34.MUTB PRIMARY ENGLISH EXAM PREP PROGRAM
Monsters Under The Bed
www.mutb.com.sg Co-created by Agnes Lam and Leroy Lam, who both have decades of experience teaching English at various primary schools around Singapore, this programme is for kids who need guided practice in answering the Paper 2 components of the English exam. All classes are taught by ex-MOE teachers, who employ narratives and non-fiction factual passages to give children more exposure and experience at tackling the paper.
35.PAWS B MINDFULNESS PROGRAM
The Open Centre
www.theopencentre.com.sg The Open Centre’s team of therapists and counsellors offer services such as Personal Growth Group Therapy, and Social and Emotional Skills programmes. By using striking visuals, film clips and activities, this six-session mindfulness course tackles topics such as brain training and growing happiness to help children feel happier, calmer and more fulfilled through improved interpersonal relationships, while teaching them to cope with stress and anxiety.
36.CHILDREN’S CLASSES
Grandmother’s Recipes
www.grandmothersrecipes.com.sg Imagine tucking into a Peranakan meal prepared by your very own mini-chef! Sign your little one up for cooking lessons with Rosaline Soon, author of the cookbook Grandmother’s Recipes - Tales from Two Peranakan Kitchens. The veteran cook conducts classes in groups of five to eight in her air-conditioned home kitchen. Children will have fun kneading dough for pasta, curry puffs and four-coloured onde onde, and enjoy the fruits of their labour after.
37.EXPLORER PASS
Saturday Kids
www.saturdaykids.com Thinking of giving your little ones a headstart for a tech career? Saturday Kids offers access to a wide range of beginner level STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) activities. Prices are reasonable ($140 for the pass, compared to $350 for regular workshops), and the pass also allows flexible learning, while letting children explore different areas of interest from coding to design engineering.
38.POP STARS
Centre Stage School of the Arts
www.centre-stage.com If your child has been weaned on a diet of reality talent shows, this program could be the outlet to fuel his or her creativity. While it is not a technical class, this offers children opportunities for future stage experience. From learning contemporary pop and musical theatre numbers to choreographing them and singing them in class, students develop their coordination, rhythm, stagecraft, teamwork and confidence.
39.PRIMARY LEVELS
Berries World
www.berriesworld.com Using a multi-sensory approach to learning, Berries World offers a proprietary syllabus approved by the Ministry of Education to strengthen your child’s knowledge base and appreciation for the Chinese language. Through one-on-one oral reading practice, and the learning of listening comprehension techniques, students will be more assured in tackling academic challenges.
40.GROUP TECHNIQUE SESSION/MATCH TRAINING
Ultimate Squasher
www.ultimatesquasher.com Ball sports provide a fast track for children to acquire skills such as coordination, mental and physical agility, and sportsmanship. Sign up for the chance to learn from former national coaches and champions who are dedicated to promoting squash to a new generation.
“I am pleased that my daughter can pursue her passion for cooking at Grandmother’s Recipes, where she learns to prepare Peranakan and Singaporean dishes. At the same time, she is also learning about her heritage.” - Mrs Susanne Schaefer, mum of 11-year-old Emma.
BY ANNABELLE FERNANDEZ, CHARMAINE HO AND CHIA SIHAN. PHOTOGRAPHY: 123RF.COM.
