A New Chapter Begins

This is to inform you that ORION PRESCHOOL, Centre Code: PT9145, at 90, TANJONG KATONG ROAD, #01 - 00, NINE DEGREES, SINGAPORE 436959 with a licensed capacity of XX child care children and X infants has been approved wef 01/06/2015, Licence No. : 14174.

Patter of little feet

We're not quite twiddling thumbs here, but it's just frustrating that we cannot start operating as yet even though we are all set up and ready to go. All of us who are in this profession derive our energies from the laughter of young children and the patter of little feet. We feel rather listless when there is no contact with children for a prolonged period of time.

So we are thankful for the two families who brought their lovely little girls to view our premises during the past two days, and even more excited with the afternon visit of three young ladies and their parents.

The girls came over after their schoolday. They didn't get to come in when they dropped by a few months back during the early days of the renovation works, but today we are able to host them under more hospitable circumstances.

After a tour of the premises, the girls were ushered to our Art Room where Mrs Poh and Ms Wong introduced them to kinetic sand, which looks like real sand, works like real sand, and is used for indoor sand play.

The kinetic sand occupied them for quite awhile, after which they were able to show the interesting things that they created with the plastic moulds. It's almost like we're at the beach!

Together with a few more of their friends, Sofia, Gwyneth and Ailey will be performing a song item for our forthcoming Open House. Today, they gave a rather shy rendition of the performance, but they will be boosted by the presence of their friends on the actual day.

A group photo to end a really enjoyable day of catching up. We'll see you again during the Open House.

As always, thank you to the parents for their contributions to our growing collection of books, toys and resources. These are in excellent condition (and some are brand new too).

As well as outdoor toys like this 3-wheeler that we picked up from Ailey's home a week earlier.

Works of Art

Our walls were feeling a little bare, so the teachers sent out an S.O.S. request. Within a few days, Mr and Mrs Tan (parents of Shayanne, Tricia and little Claudia), came by with several works of art from their precious collection. These artworks were done by Shayanne and Tricia (who are now 8 and 7 years old) over the years. They certainly added a dash of colour to the otherwise drab walls.

The teachers immediately went about putting up these delightful masterpieces all around, where they will be on display for now.

At the library corner.

At the Parents' Rescource corner beside the entrance.

We also picked up several art pieces that were done by Kie Ren, who is now in Primary 2, and Kae Lyn, K1.

The children were either delighted or amused by the idea of having their drawings displayed.

The smaller pieces go on top of our hosereel box.

Dinosaurs invading the Music Corner.

And here's the contribution from Xiao Laoshi's daughter Lu Jia, herself a Mothergoose alumnus, who is now in Primary 3. And no, Lu Jia didn't draw this picture just recently, in case anyone is wondering.

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Besides the Fingerprint Access system, we've added another layer of security in the premises with the installation of the CCTVs. It's not exactly Big Brother, but we'll have live camera feeds as well as recording functions.

We have one camera installed to face the main gate, where anyone coming into the premises will be captured on screen. The camera overlooks the parking area as well, so we can also be alerted when there's traffic congestion.

With the cameras installed, it's time to put them to the test. So here's a suspicious-looking character who has just entered our compound.

And now she's making her way to the entrance door. Wait a minute...with that innocent face and cherubic smile she's can't possibly harbour any ill intentions. We'll let her in then.

A friendly warning to round it off. Next we'll work on the electrified fence and the machine gun posts.

A Preschool of Many Firsts

We are still new enough to be able to proclaim every occasion as the first of its kind in Orion Preschool. So last Friday we had our first children's party in the school premises, and today marks the first birthday celebration amongst Orion Preschool teachers/staff - the first of many birthdays we hope to celebrate here.

Guess the birthday girl.

Not sure whether this was pure coincidence, but a few of the ex-Mothergoose teachers visited in the afternoon to look for the birthday girl.

A Visit, A Reunion, A Celebration

Last Friday was really special for us, as we hosted our first group of Mothergoose children and parents for a visit to Orion Preschool. Most of these children were with our Nursery 2 class back in 2013, and are now already in their final year of preschool. The last time we met up with these children was almost one year ago, so it's a wonderful and timely occasion for a reunion.

In preparation for the visit, we set up some play areas specially for the children, and they wasted no time in reacquainting themselves with the toys that they used to enjoy playing with while in Mothergoose. The children's table and chairs that Mr Yong gave to us just weeks earlier are immediately put to good use.

The mothers, on the other hand, were fussing over Ms Ho's little princess, Ariel.

Isaiah enjoys a quiet moment at the Library Corner.

With the excitement that comes from being in a new environment and with all those toys around, it was not easy getting the children seated for lunch, but some semblance of order was finally restored.

And the highlight of the day was the birthday celebration for Rebecca (centre), who graduated from Mothergoose in 2011. Little sister Rachel, who is now in K2, is on her right.

The final challenge of the day is getting the children together for a photo.

And so the day draws to a happy close. Despite the noise and chaos, we're happy for the life that the children brought to the premises, even if it is just for that short afternoon. As we bid farewell, we're already plotting a bigger reunion to include the other cohorts of Mothergoose children and their families.

On the subject of reunions, we are also today reunited with our stack of blue chairs, thanks to Ben and Kathryn, parents of Isaiah and Josiah. These chairs have been occupying space in their home for the past 16 months thanks to their generosity.

Welcome back!

Transforming Spaces

Preschool teachers are really good at improvising. They do it all the time, designing and creating their own teaching materials when commercial resources do not meet the needs of the learning objectives. So when you put together a bunch of teachers, a problem to solve, a surfeit of carton boxes waiting to be disposed and some leftover paint, then once in a while you end up with a pleasant surprise that smells of flowers.

Problem Statement: A small split level in the main hall with 2 steps that could potentially become an accident area for young children.

Materials: Disposed carton boxes from our earlier furniture delivery. And leftover paint.

This is the bigger of 2 stacks of carton boxes. Anyone who knows anyone who is doing collections for charity can come and pick up these items.

Solution: Create a physical barrier that will deter children from playing on the steps.

Manpower: Creative preschool teachers with decent aesthetic sense.

First, trim the carton box into desired shape.

Next, apply first coat of paint while discussing the deeper meaning of life. Or maybe decide what to order for lunch. Apply second coat if necessary.

Result: A wonderfully creative solution that solves the problem and transforms what was originally a cold, hard environment into a moderately pleasant living and learning space. You can almost smell the flowers. And it fits in perfectly with our educational theme of Plants for the month of May.

Surely there are not that many jobs in the world where you come to work in the morning only to discover that flowers have grown overnight in the workplace. Even if they're just plastic.

There is even a little gate that is secured shut by velcro. But if you think that this is as good as it gets, you'll be in for a surprise when you visit.

It Takes A Village 2

Over the weekend, we made our way to the home of the Chuah's, whose daughter Megan was previously enrolled in Mothergoose. Mr and Mrs Chuah very kindly offered to contribute some appliances, shelves and children's books to Orion since they were moving house.

Anticipating a hard day's work, we enlisted as many helping hands as we could to assist in transporting the items. Ms Kiang helped to arrange for a lorry, and also came to help with the moving. Our friends from Rose Running Club also turned up to provide some muscle. And not forgetting Mrs Poh, who although not quite the heavy lifter, turned up to help with the odds and ends.

Mr and Mrs Chuah were busy giving instructions to their movers, but we managed to grab them for a moment. From left: Mrs Poh, Ms Kiang, Mrs Chuah, Mr Chuah, and Mrs Low (also ex-Mothergoose, mother of Ezekiel and Eleree).

And then it's time to get down to serious work. We were really grateful to have the strong people from the running club, especially in loading the heavy items such as the refrigerator, washing machine and dryer, onto the lorry.

And they also took care of the delicate stuff, ensuring that the smaller items were properly secured before loading up.

Arriving back at the school, the refrigerator was placed in the kitchen and switched on. Finally we can have cold drinks!

The other items will be sorted out in due time.

The running friends still looking as fresh as they were before we started. That hardly broke a sweat!

We'll probably have to say this over and over again, but we're really thankful for the contributions and support from the Mothergoose community of parents and friends. Every contribution helps us in managing our expenses especially at this initial starting-up stage. More invaluable though, is the encouragement that we get from knowing that we remain in the thoughts of parents and children.

The teachers show their appreciation for the contributions that we received, including the washing machine and dryer. The real beneficiary is Aunty Chai Hong, who will be quite relieved that she will henceforth not need to wash the floor towels by hand every day, as was done previously in Mothergoose.