NextGen Preschool, One Utama Shopping Centre

NextGen Preschool is located at 1 Utama E, in Bandar Utama, Selangor. Open for children between the ages of 2-6 years, the preschool has its own unique ways to help children grow and develop, as they set themselves up for success in their formal schooling ahead.  Kiddy123 spoke to Ms Apple, the Principal of NextGen Preschool, and here’s what we uncovered. 

Observing the UK curriculum, namely the Early Years Foundation Stage, NextGen Preschool ensures that their preschool lessons are aptly updated each year, in line with the latest learning requirements in early education. This helps to ensure that each child gets to reach their targeted milestones and objectives for their age group, and be all set for their primary school ahead.

“You see, what works for the 2–3-year-old classroom this year may not necessarily be adequate enough for next year’s admission, hence identifying the learning needs of each child is a yearly duty of teachers,” she shared. 

Mornings at NextGen are quite different from other preschools, because children here get to enjoy morning activities at a theme park owned by the preschool. Here, littles ones who these days are probably exercising only their fingers with their gadgets, will get to move their whole body daily in special playing zones such as Imagination Playland, Let's Bounce, Little Land, and Bubble Bang! 

A robust curriculum prioritising crucial areas of learning

“There are three prime areas of learning in NextGen Preschool, and they are Communication & Language; Personal, Social & Emotional Development; and Physical Development. Other specific learning areas include Literacy, Expressive Art & Design, Understanding The World, and Mathematics, and these help children delve into the prime areas of learning above,” Ms Apple shared. 

The MOE registered preschool runs their curriculum using thematic teaching, where for each of the three terms every year, they will have a different theme to follow. Thematic lessons make learning easier for little ones and it is of course, more fun for them too.  

2 to 4 years old will be exposed to lots of hands-on activities such as Sensory Play, Social Play, and Fine Motor Skill Play—learning via experiencing for themselves. For example, if the topic of learning is Occupation, the teachers might arrange for an excursion to a shopping mall where the little ones will experience and see how different occupations are carried out - cashiers, sales personnels, ticketing officers at the LRT station, and more.

Many families plan to enrol their children into Chinese Primary schools, hence little ones here at NextGen Preschool are adequately exposed to the Mandarin language from age 4. When they are 5 years of age, they will also start learning Bahasa Melayu to ensure that they are well-versed in our national language as well. This age group of 4-6 years also has a lot of activities and fun games included into their lesson plans.

Half day, Extended, and Full Day Programmes

At NextGen, there are choices of Half Day, Extended, and Full Day Programmes, to accommodate the different needs of families. The half day programme runs from 8.30 am to 12.30pm where else the Extended programme will be from 8.30am to 3pm.

For this programme, lunch will be provided for the kids and additional activities as well such as Arts & Crafts, Fine Motor Skills play, Creative play, or Phonic lesson. For the Full Day programme which is from 8.30am to six in the evening, the children will also get to nap before practicing their hands on Arts and Crafts, Physical play, or Fine Motor Skill play.

Afterwards, there will be Creative Arts where teachers will read a storybook, and the littles ones get to act out scenes from the story! They will also get to move their bodies in the Dance & Movement activity as part of the second section of their activities. NextGen Preschool also provides enrichment classes, such as Tae Kwon Do, dance classes, and  a Leadership Programme.

Independent learners with heightened social skills

Children at NextGen Preschool are taught to learn more independently opposed to being pushed and controlled by teachers. The Reading Corner and Role Play Corner in each classroom encourage children to mix around with their peers and hence build better social and emotional skills. The school sees this as a crucial part of each child’s development. 

The Preschool special Super Character time reflects the core values they have here, which are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, and Gentleness. Every week, kids will learn about a different value, and through life educational stories, they will also learn how to implement these values into their own lives and experiences.  

“Even if a child is timid, or has introverted tendencies, teachers will still make it a point to help them emerge more confident and better able to speak up for themselves and express themselves, and make friends more easily. Attitude, according to Ms Apple, is an important component of early education. After all, it helps children go far in life, besides quality lessons and useful activities that hone important skills.