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Highlights
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- Engaging, fun-filled curriculum: Thematic & Play-based
- Radiating Love: Helping children regulate and manage their emotions for a more balanced life and productive learning
- A different theme each term to keep lessons fresh, interesting and intriguing!
- Open concept learning environment helps students to stay focus on lessons and tasks at hand
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The aim of most kindergarten in Malaysia, if not all, is to help little ones prepare for their schooling journey to come. One kindergarten stands out though, for it also pays due focus to an area in life that can easily go neglected, which is children’s mental and emotional wellbeing, or in simpler teams, their mental health. This kindergarten is called Rainiverse. In today’s modern, fast-paced world, it’s easy to fall prey to stress, anxiety and so on - little children are not exempted from this! To learn more about this, Kiddy123 had the delightful opportunity to catch up with the Programme Leaders of The Rainiverse Kindergarten, Ng Chi Ying and Nadine Chan and here’s what we’ve uncovered.
A Thematic and Play-based curriculum
The Rainiverse Kindergarten adopts the well-loved Thematic and Play-based curriculum which allows children to have lots of fun while receiving a well-rounded early education in preparation for Primary school. As pointed out by Ms Chi Ying, the possibilities are endless when it comes to this thematic approach in teaching children. “Let’s take Animals as an example of a theme,” she started to explain. “There could be many categories of animals such as Jungle animals, Sea animals, etc. Lessons, according to learning levels, could involve activities such as songs about animals, counting the spots on a cheetah, and so on and so forth,” she shared. She went on to explain too, how the lesson subjects and activities may be integrated and intertwined to bring out the very best of the theme used.
“We also strive to keep lessons fun with activities and games that the students will enjoy as they learn,” Ms Nadine chipped in. “For example, using the Food Pyramid as the theme, we once had our students undergo an obstacle course where they were required to perform different educational activities at each station. By keeping the lessons fun and engaging, our students will be able to retain it better without getting bored or losing interest.”
The themes used are changed every term at Rainiverse, which keeps learning fresh and exciting all year around. Furthermore, with countless categories and subcategories to be explored, the possibilities are endless as far as lesson plans go for the kindergarten!
Radiating Love: Here’s where Rainiverse stands out
We don’t often think of mental health when we speak of early education, when the fact is, it is and has always been a crucial aspect of children’s life. In this aspect, when we say children’s mental health, it simply means the emotional wellbeing of children. “How well children manage their emotions are really important and should be taken into consideration. The reason is, their emotions influence their behaviour, and not to mention, their thought processes as well,” Ms Nadine explained.
Children will be children, and when you are an administrator of a kindergarten, you’re bound to face all the dramas of childhood, such as squabbles, misunderstandings, sulkiness among friends, and lots more! At Rainiverse, just about any imaginable issue that may arise while in the care of the teachers and staff will be attended to with care, love and understanding. However, it doesn’t stop there! Parents can also rest assured that thanks to the kindergarten’s regular Radiating Love sessions, their precious children will be well-guided in ways to self-regulate, especially when it comes to their emotions. Teachers also take each opportunity to teach their students ways to keep their emotions in check, and navigate their way through undesirable or unwanted situations as they learn to handle life’s little (and big!) issues in more amiable ways. It obviously takes a certain level of commitment, and the professional staff at Rainiverse are more than willing to put in the extra effort for the best interest of their students.
Emotional health in little kids
As a special feature of Rainiverse, “Radiating Love” has seen positive feedback from parents and their children alike. These specifically designed sessions focus on building emotional awareness in children to help them be better able to regulate their feelings, express themselves effectively, and communicate more positively with others.
Engaging lessons, conducive surrounding
Instead of the usual compartmentalizing to make up different classrooms for its students, Rainiverse practices an open concept, which benefits children in a number of ways. As pointed out by Ms Nadine, little ones will be trained from a young age to stay focused and pay attention to what’s important to them (i.e. their lesson, their teacher, etc), throughout the duration of their lesson. This open concept, at the same time, lends an air of inclusiveness as they can still be aware of everything and everyone around them. The programmes at Rainiverse consist of Nursery, Kindergarten1, and Kindergarten2. While kids are generally grouped according to their age, they can and will be also placed according to their learning level and capabilities if need be. “This is because no two kids are alike when it comes to their skills and abilities. For example, some may need extra coaching while others may need to be challenged a bit more,” Chi Ying explained.
The kindergarten is strategically located at Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, and boasts a number of modern facilities - the library and indoor playground being among them. Students are also served a balanced, nutritious meal prepared fresh by their inhouse chef.
