Fun, games a must for young minds
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Young students at their first day of school

Thousands of toddlers entered school environment for the first time yesterday to experience the fun of early learning activities at kindergarten and preschool level.

Visits to numerous kindergartens in the capital revealed just how well the first-timers coped with their new environment.

"Earlier on, plenty of children were crying but now they have stopped. Notice how they are now busy playing with toys and games with their new associates," said a teacher at a private school.

Parents said kindergarten learning should not be too rigid and inflexible because kids respond better to creativity through activity.

They stressed on the need for kindergarten teachers to realise that they must not just 'force feed' elementary information into their pupils, but rather, make sure that their learning also encompasses exploration of the world around them.

"We cannot make them learn just through the text books filled with non-moving and un-interactive pictures and words," they said.

In Brunei, the attendance of children in preschool is very high as parents are aware of the importance of kindergarten level of education.

Education experts agreed that the learning process is very important and should be started during early childhood, such as through fun and games in kindergarten.

"Empirical data shows that children all over the world who have attended preschool perform far better in higher education than children who did not attend preschool.

"The children's higher performance is clearly seen in their initiative, motivation to study, ability to absorb lectures and in the way they interact with people," they said.

They added, kindergarten children must have plenty of fun and games. Once in a while the children can be introduced to simple facts about things around them, such as colours, shapes, animals, fruits, rivers and some life skills like keeping themselves tidy, brushing their teeth regularly, how to bathe themselves, how to interact with others and so on.

"So, the essence of a preschool is not the building, hardware or formal institution, but the activities," they said.

They added the number of preschools in the country continues to increase as more parents feel that such educational facilities are important for the next stage of their children's education.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin