It was a rainy morning, but the spirit of the students at Little Angel Kindergarten were not dampened by the weather at all. Upon arriving at the kindergarten, we could hear loud music and the sound of applause coming from one of the larger rooms which doubled as a hall. We found out that the students were rehearsing for their upcoming concert scheduled to be held that weekend.
Students donning performance costumes could be seen walking around, preparing for their turn to rehearse; while other students were sitting quietly in the hall watching the performances of their peers.
Occupying 2 units on the 2nd floor at Prima Bizwalk, Little Angel Kindergarten is run by the principal, Dr Ho, together with her team of passionate and dedicated teachers. Dr Ho is an MBA holder and she has been involved in education for over 25 years, with over 10 years of experience in early childhood education. Based on her experience, she strongly believes that a holistic teaching methodology that focuses on cognitive, emotional and social development of young children extends well beyond academic learning. Although she has many years of experience under her belt, Dr Ho remains humble and is constantly look for ways to improve her kindergarten; she even consults Dr. Koh Hock Kiat – who is an expert in education – and would occasionally provide seminars to share parenting tips with the parents of Little Angel Kindergarten.
At Little Angel Kindergarten, from the classrooms to the lesson plans, everything was very well organized. Each classroom was equipped with a smart board system, tables and chairs in sizes suitable for young children and even CCTV. The multipurpose hall was also equipped with an electric piano, projector and sound system. An integrated teaching approach is adopted at Little Angel Kindergarten, besides the basic 3 languages (English, Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia), maths and science, children would also learn moral values with the goal of building character. Dr Ho emphasizes that cultivating a positive learning attitude and instilling moral values is more important than achieving academic success, because learning is a lifelong process and it does not stop upon scoring a grade A or graduating from any educational institution. To make learning more fun, children learn about moral values through singing, recitation and rhymes. Her goal is to empower children and guide them to becoming a responsible individual.
Children are not confined to their classrooms as there are many hands-on activities included in their curriculum, such as science experiments, art and crafts, computer classes and even music and dance activities. The dance and music activities are part of their curriculum and a professional dance instructor is engaged to provide the lessons on a weekly basis. Children are always active and acknowledging this fact, teachers would bring the children to the roof top garden at the adjacent apartment block for some outdoor exercises and play. Lesson plans are meticulously planned, covering academic studies and learning through play. Children would be able to concentrate better with a balanced curriculum of academics and play. For students who want to learn more, there are also optional enrichment classes such as speech & drama, Han Yu Pin Yin and Bahasa Malaysia classes.
Our interview with Dr Ho was an eye-opening one, as she is full of ideas and future plans for her kindergarten. It was impressive that her center Angel Academy is an accredited training provider, providing training to early childhood educators. Her team of teachers are all trained under the same program. Currently she is working on an Edutrip Immersion Program which is in collaboration with Dr. Koh Hock Kiat, aiming to provide the opportunity for parents and students to gain more educational exposure. Looking at all these, it came as no surprise when we found out that Dr Ho has been conferred the title Datin for her contribution to early childhood education.
Little Angel Kindergarten is more than just a typical kindergarten. With Dr Ho’s philosophy, passion and dedication in early childhood education, children thrive in all aspects. We have seen it for ourselves the positive vibe at Little Angel Kindergarten: children are not afraid to perform in front of their peers and teachers, they encourage their peers who are shy on stage. All the lessons that they’ve learned at Little Angel Kindergarten would go a long way towards a life of success and fulfillment.
