HotH 5 | House on the Hill

How We Respond to Biting Incidents in School

The HotH Team July 2023

It is very common for toddler-aged children around 1.5 years old to about 3 years old to display ‘aggressive’ behaviours such as biting, hitting, pushing, scratching, or pinching. Children of this age often lack appropriate verbal skills and resort to signs of this sort of behaviour to achieve their goals. This is often due to their developmental phase, as the pre-frontal cortex part of the brain that controls emotional regulation, reasoning, aggression, and self-control has not developed yet. This is why children in this age group sometimes are not able to control their urges or express their feelings in a positive manner. 4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Sometimes, children just need to have oral-sensory stimulation or exploration, it is part of their physical development. They could also be exploring cause and effect, seeking attention or perhaps they are just curious! During this period, when your child interacts with other children in school, they are also beginning to learn social skills usually not experienced at home or in smaller social settings with other family members. These are precious childhood experiences and opportunities for children to grow up. Through these interactions, they gradually start to understand how to protect themselves, learn how to face setbacks, and develop resilience to face life bravely. In this blog post, we would like to share with you the House on the Hill approach when faced with common challenging behaviours amongst children in school. We will also share some useful tips as to how to respond and help guide your child through this developmental phase. What to do? Our Response to a Biting Incident in School · Prevention Our first goal is to try to prevent an incident from happening, or recurring. Our teachers are trained to observe, and will try to identify a situation where a child may be triggered to bite or exhibit any other anti-social behaviours. In the moment, teachers will need to provide attention to both children and help them talk about the situation. These are important teachable moments for the children. For example, if the biting was about to occur because of a frustrating situation, our teachers will help the child to vocalise his needs. They will provide the simple phrase for the child, “Please”, or “May I? as an alternative to snatching or grabbing a toy from their friend. Here is a re-enactment of such a scene, where the teacher will describe the situation to both children: “Oh Damien, I can see that you really want to have this zebra now. But Mary is playing with it right now. Why don’t you ask Mary, “May I have this zebra?” The teacher will then turn to Mary as the next focus, and to also show respect for her time with the toy. She will be provided with a time reference of when she can pass the dinosaur to Damien. “Mary, you are using the zebra as part of your zoo. Can you please let Damien have the zebra when you are done with it?” If the biting incident has already occured We don’t want to give too much negative attention to the biter, so the teacher will be brief, calm and firm. The main action will be to show a look of disapproval with a stern face and simple phrase, “That hurts.” The biter will be immediately removed from the play, and talked to sternly. “I can see that you really wanted that zebra, but I cannot let you hurt Mary. Teeth are not for hurting.” We know that shaming or harsh punishments will not reduce such incidences, rather, they are more likely to increase a child’s fear and worry, and potentially increase such incidences instead. These responses also do not teach the child the social skills they need to cope with these sorts of situations. For the child who was bitten, care and immediate comfort must be provided to soothe them first. Appropriate first aid will also be rendered if necessary. Sometimes, if suitable, showing the biter how their friend has been hurt can also help to reinforce the consequences of their action. The child may be invited to help to soothe the pain, perhaps by helping to apply a cold compression on the area. We will immediately log the incident and inform the parents of both children. We will also share with parents our observations of the child’s trigger reasons for the behaviour, and the action plan to prevent and minimise such behaviour in the future. While informing both families of the incident, the school will maintain complete confidentiality of all children involved. Image: Antonio Diaz via Getty Images How should parents react? What can you do to support these learning lessons? We would like parents to reinforce these lessons after school, at home. It can be disheartening to learn about your child’s upsetting behaviour, or to hear about your child being hurt in school. But we want you to know that such behaviour is very common and can be addressed. The swifter action is taken, the better. The role that parents and caregivers play at home is hugely influential. Parents should take this as an opportunity to work alongside with the teachers in school, to understand the best approach to react to such situations in a calm and collective manner. When encouraging your child to talk about the experiences in school, please do not reinforce the experience negatively. Avoid using negative questioning to approach your child. For parents of the child who was bitten, instead of asking questions like “Did your friend bite/hurt you today?”, rephrase to, “I see you have a band-aid today over your arm. This must have hurt a lot.” Your child may then begin to share with you their experience. Otherwise, you may also want to use what their teacher has shared with you, to reinforce the response to the trigger behaviour.

Higher Staff Retention Through Active Engagement: An Interview with Singapore Business Federation

The HotH Team July 2023

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Ms Marilyn Ow, Founding Principal of House on the Hill Montessori Preschool, shares why putting staff first has been most rewarding when it comes to retaining talent. According to the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), Singapore currently has more than 23,000 early childhood educators, and another 3,500 are needed by 2025 to support the sector’s expansion. With the tight labour market, how can pre-schools create a conducive environment that attracts and retains employees? Ms Marilyn Ow, Founding Principal of House on the Hill Montessori Preschool (HotH) shares that a major challenge facing the early childhood education sector is managing the educators’ workloads while balancing the needs and requirements of the centre. Together with the founders Wu Jing and Oliver Bettin, Ms Ow helped grow HotH from just one school with five employees to what it is today — four campuses located at Mount Sophia, Pasir Panjang, Balmoral Crescent, and Hollandse Club, where they oversee the growth, development and care of 350 young children from infant to kindergarten levels, with the help of a team of just under 100 employees. Because of the fast-growing expansion in the sector and the high demand for early childhood educators, there is an urgent need to improve the well-being and working environment of educators. This is where Ms Ow and HotH’s shared vision comes into play with fruitful results — many of their staff have remained loyal and have been with the school since it was founded in 2012. In addition, 42% of their current employees have been with them for more than three years. They achieved this through constant staff engagement initiatives, seeking to truly understand the needs of their employees, and investing in their growth. They also recognise that younger educators may want exposure to other institutions within the education sector, and they welcome them back when these staff eventually return, now with renewed appreciation of how HotH is different compared to others. BiZQ speaks to Ms Ow for a better understanding of their staff engagement initiatives. Why the decision to prioritise staff engagement? It has always been a high priority for HotH from the very beginning, as it allows our employees to have a voice in expressing their thoughts and co-shaping the school’s practices. We also realised early on that when teachers were empowered in selecting their team members during the recruitment process, they feel more connected to the school. Sometimes, we get them involved in the interview process or on-the-job assessment. They are also involved in the mentoring and buddy system for new teachers, and they are part of the confirmation appraisal process. This creates a more positive work environment that helps not just with productivity, but also staff loyalty. Staff referral has also been a good way to involve staff in the recruitment process. They are a good way to market the best employee practices in our school. Can you tell us more about HotH’s employee engagement initiatives? With four schools, engagement is multi-layered. We try to foster a school spirit that is shared by all, and within each school and department. We adopt the following approaches: Encouraging a culture of collaboration among our staff where they take charge of their personal and professional development. Together with Centre Leaders, they can discuss their short- and long-term goals, and this helps them feel inspired knowing that their leaders have vested interest in their growth. Having open lines of communication and feedback available for staff. These sessions are conducted both on an informal and formal basis, at least six times a year on Curriculum Planning, Staff Development Day, Staff Training Days, and Strategic Planning days. It gives staff the opportunity to support one another to improve their abilities or to work out any differences during their course of work. Staff bonding activities such as casual get-togethers like pizza and movie nights or overseas trips. Through such activities, our staff gets to enjoy the ‘play hard’ part of ‘work hard, play hard’. Support during difficult times. For example, during the pandemic, we still made it a point to meet virtually and have online training and development. To help our staff stay mentally strong, we arranged for a trainer to carry out emotional resilience training online. How have employees responded to these engagement exercises? They feel connected as part of a big family. We have a very strong, tight team who feels empowered to voice their opinions and grow with us. We also really like being with each other — we encourage, support, and mentor one another, and we laugh a lot together as well! We value our teams, and we try our best to engage in open communication regularly. Any staff growth stories to share? We nurture our staff to be well-rounded in their development. We have many who started with us in the initial stages of their early childhood education career path and have taken up different planning, mentorship and leadership roles as they advance further in their journey. For example, the principal of our Hollandse Club campus was one of our founding teachers in 2012 who rose through the ranks. The staff development goals and objectives we planned out for her have helped hone her talents. She is a great example of a motivated, passionate educator who enjoys her work and has grown through experience and training. We also celebrate their personal milestones and life experiences — some are now mothers themselves and in turn, trust their babies in the care of their colleagues in the team! What’s your advice for companies or entrepreneurs who would like to start focusing or investing more in employee engagement? Just start! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Some of our best engagement moments have happened over pizza and hanging out together in the teachers’ lounge. Start with small ways by showing appreciation and recognition to staff to let them

Keeping Our House (on the Hill) Clean

Amanda June 2023

At House on the Hill, the well-being and safety of our young charges and staff is paramount to us. We believe as a community we have collective responsibility for keeping each other healthy. Staying clean and healthy at school also helps our wider HotH community stay healthy (as the children can bring illness home). Cleanliness is a very important part of the House on the Hill’s experience, and we work hard to ensure that the children have the best time in school, as well as looking out for their well-being. On weekdays, school is the place where many children spend most of their time, whether they’re partaking in various activities ranging from learning in class, playing with friends, having meals, and even having naps. Having a clean and safe environment for the children to work in also allows them to explore and learn freely and confidently! With numerous children and teachers coming in and out every day, keeping our schools clean is no easy task. It takes a lot of effort and time. With that being said, aunties, teachers and even the children all do our very best to make sure that the school we love is an environment that is clean and safe for all! We have strict health and hygiene standard operating procedures in place, adhering to the rules set by the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). We also adapt quickly to any changes in environment, taking guidance from ECDA, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). This blog post will cover two parts of how we practice health and hygiene at House on the Hill. Firstly, how we inculcate a sense of awareness about being clean to our students through the Montessori Practical Life Curriculum. Secondly, we give you a glimpse at the cleaning routines in our schools, and how we ensure that everyone in our schools is kept safe and healthy from germs and infectious diseases. Care of Self Learning and practicing hygiene is a major part of our Montessori Practical Life curriculum, where the exercises cover care of self development. The children learn from a very early age the importance of washing their hands regularly, especially before and after meals and after outdoor play. With constant reminders, it has become a good routine for the children, ensuring that they are keeping themselves clean. They are taught that good hygiene practices will help them to be less prone to falling ill and allow them to enjoy their time in school to the fullest. The Montessori Practical Life Curriculum extends to teaching the children how to pack up after themselves. The children are introduced to wiping their own lunch mats, cleaning their table after meals, packing away their food bowl and even washing them after use! It is not a rare sight to see children wiping the tables and washing their own bowls instead of the teacher. This promotes independence as well as a form of responsibility in the children. Keeping Our House Clean At House on the Hill, all ‘adults’ – management, teachers and support staff- are vigilant about safeguarding health and hygiene. It is important for us to maintain rigorous practices, for the safety of all, but also for us to act as good models to our young charges. We also constantly refresh our procedures and certifications. We are extremely fortunate to have our support staff, whom we mostly call ‘aunties’ (and some ‘uncles’!) to assist us with keeping the schools clean for the children. They have a daily cleaning schedule, and areas such as the classrooms, toilets and kitchen in particular are maintained by them. Some of their duties include sweeping, mopping and wiping down throughout the day. In particular, the classrooms each morning before the children arrive at school, as well as after lunch – when it gets messy! Some of our aunties also double as our cooks, they prepare and make all our delicious meals from scratch daily in the kitchens. All our cooks and support staff in the kitchen must undergo food safety course training before they begin work for us, and there is strict adherence to ECDA’s guidelines about food preparation and storage. Here, we see auntie cleaning the kitchen at the end of the day. Besides having the aunties to help us, the teachers play a big role in the cleanliness of the school. While the aunties assist in the general cleaning of the classroom, the teachers focus on a more specific and thorough aspect of cleaning. Throughout the day, you will see the teachers regularly wiping down the tables in the classroom after the children have used them, and especially after meal times. The tables are sprayed with our Ready-to-Use (RTU) sanitizer before wiping down with a cloth. The children’s physical hygiene in school is a top priority for the teachers. From the moment that they check in and have passed physical tests to make sure they are well, healthy and ready for a day in school, to keeping an eye on all of them, our teachers ensure that each child is clean and tidy through the day. Communal toys that are shared between the children are disinfected at least daily or at the end of every session. All washable toys are cleaned daily. Toys with hard surfaces and items such as the Montessori Materials used for learning in class each day are disinfected. You might be wondering what this device is! The Speco Ion is a state-of-the-art device that combines advanced technologies to purify the air and sanitize surfaces, creating a safe and hygienic environment. The technology includes a Medical-Grade HEPA filter and UV purification system, which work together with the latest Speco+ technology, effectively sanitizing both air and surfaces. It is used across all the classrooms on a roster basis each week. Whenever we have any children diagnosed with an infectious disease, or even if there are a few more sniffles floating about, then we use the Speco Ion more frequently

Montessori at Home: Take a Peek into a ‘Montessori Bedroom’

Amanda April 2023

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour A key concept of Montessori is to offer children ‘freedom of choice’. When children are given choices, they are encouraged to experience freedom of movement from a carefully prepared environment. AIM Montessori describes this as, “The child begins to value the inner satisfaction he gets from doing the work that corresponds to his inner developmental needs and he is calm and joyful in his learning.” This in turn, helps to develop independence and encourages self confidence. “At this age (between one and a half and two and a half years) children have a need to develop independence” – Dr. Maria Montessori At House on the Hill, all our students, even the infants, have freedom of choice. We recognise and acknowledge that every child is unique, and follow Montessorian principles to bring out the best in each individual. Parents are highly encouraged to continue this work at home. Join us as we explore how Ms Li Yin, a senior teacher, set up her 14-month-old infant, Evan’s bedroom, based on the following Montessori principles! Order – The space is organised in a way that recognises the child’s sensitive period for order. Accessibility – The child can function independently in their space. Self-Identity – The child’s area is filled with things or pictures that they can identify with or relate to. Materials – The toys and items meet their developmental needs. Low Bed A low bed was chosen as it gives the child the opportunity to wake up and get in and out easily. This supports their desire to seek out new things, thus developing independence skills. The ability to move freely in the world gives them the chance to discover all its great possibilities! Discovering day and night time Independently decided that he would like to wake up and wiggle down the bed by himself at 14 months old Having the bed on the floor is a way of giving the child a room that is on their level. “Let us leave the life free to develop within the limits of the good, and let us observe this inner life developing. This is the whole of our mission” – Dr. Maria Montessori Bookshelf Which book should I read today? The Montessori method promotes accessibility and freedom for children. With this low, front-facing bookshelf, the child has easy access to their books. They also feel invited to independently pick and choose the storybook that they want. Let’s take a look at the benefits of having a front-facing bookshelf: It helps the child to choose books by giving them a peek at the contents This makes books more enticing to the child Allows parents to observe whether there is a need to replace or rotate the storybooks Open Shelf Let’s choose this manipulative toy to play with! With the low, open shelf, the child has access to the materials and toys on it. They have the chance to decide what they want to play with, thus fostering independence skills. The child can explore and experiment at their own pace, providing them with the freedom to learn new materials. It is also easier to teach children to be tidy when everything has its place, helping them to develop a sense of order. Manipulative toys that promote interest, independence and accountability were also placed on the shelf. Display Wall A display wall is a great way to boost a child’s confidence and self-esteem, even at a young age. Do talk and discuss your child’s art work with your child. This is fantastic language practice whilst also providing them with a sense of pride and self-identity. Invites your child to keep and display their works of art in the frames. Frames where you can change art works easily are great! When your child’s bedroom is designed around their needs and capabilities, it reflects a sense of respect for them. Here are a few more resources for starting to practice Montessori at home with your child! Helping Children to be More Independent at Home Dental Hygiene at Home Toilet Training at Home Table Manners at Home Learning Maths in the Kitchen

Setting Clear Boundaries for Children At Home

Amanda April 2023

Establishing boundaries for young children at home is an important part of parenting. When children understand and respect the boundaries set, it can help them develop confidence and self-discipline, as well as a sense of security. As parents, it’s important to take the time to identify clear boundaries and expectations for our children. Consider This First, consider your child’s age and maturity level. Young children may require more guidance and structure to understand what is expected of them. Establishing rules that are appropriate for their age will help them feel secure and understand their responsibilities. Second, make sure the boundaries are reasonable and consistent. Children respond best when their parents provide consistent rules and expectations, so it’s important to stick to the boundaries you have set. Third, provide consequences for when the boundaries are broken. Having a consistent consequence for when a boundary is not respected helps reinforce why it is important to follow the rules. Fourth, communicate the boundaries and expectations you have set. Make sure to explain why the boundary or expectation is important, and make sure your child understands it. Finally, remember to be flexible. Children are still growing and developing, and as they get older, their boundaries may need to be adjusted. Showing flexibility and understanding when it comes to setting boundaries helps children feel secure and respected. Some Guidelines Positive language Try telling your child what to do, instead of what not to do. You could say “let’s use our walking feet” instead of “don’t run!”. If the child is speaking in a loud voice, try encouraging them to use their “inside voice” and then they can use their “outside” voice when they are outdoors. Give easy to understand instructions Be very clear with communications. Isn’t “It’s time to put on your shoes now” much clearer than “should we put our shoes on now?” Choice It is important not to conflate the notion of freedom of choice with being able to do anything that the child wants. In Montessori, freedom of choice really means the freedom to do the right thing. Consider what choices you can give them that will still lead them to the desired effect, but allow them to feel as though they have control over the situation. For example, if you need to go out, you may need to get your child into their car seat. You can’t give the choice of not being strapped in, but you can still give them choices. Ask if they want to take a book, or listen to an audio story in the car. They are still making choices, but they will also feel as though they are still in control of their decisions. Understand and acknowledge their feelings If the child is behaving in a way you don’t want them to, clearly explain what you want them to do instead. Acknowledge their feelings. For example, say “I know you are upset ”, when your child can’t have what they want right then. Show that you understand your child’s feelings and then move on to suggest some coping strategies. Do try to encourage consistency within the family. It’s no good saying they can have only water with lunch, but other family members then give the child juice! Use visual cues Children respond to visual cues as much as verbal ones. We don’t have to shout, but do have a serious face and firm tone. This is to prevent sending out mixed messages to the child. Do always get down to the child’s level when doing so. Establishing boundaries for young children can be challenging, but it is an important part of helping them grow into successful and responsible adults. By taking the time to identify the boundaries and expectations that are appropriate for your child, you can help them develop self-discipline, security, and a sense of responsibility.

The Importance of Play for Children

Amanda March 2023

We have been talking a lot about the concept of ‘play’ and ‘playing’, and this is because in essence, children learn through play. Dr. Maria Montessori said, “He [the child] does it with his hands, by experience, first in play and then through work. The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” Play should come from a child’s imagination and there is no right or wrong way to play – it could be anything, whether chasing after a butterfly, playing with board games or simply staring out a window. Play enables children to explore and make sense of the world around them, as well as to use and develop their imagination and creativity. Play is how children learn about the world, themselves, and one another. 4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour In his book You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor, Fred Roger wrote that “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.” Adults need to be reminded that play does not need to be purposefully created. Play can occur naturally through the child’s imagination. For example, a child who is walking to a destination may stop along the way to observe their surroundings and chase after birds on the street. “Play is the work of a child” -Dr. Maria Montessori How We Play At House on the Hill It follows that at House on the Hill, we are playing all the time. Children’s development is stimulated through multi-sensory exploration where they learn to explore the world around them through their senses. In the prepared environment of a Montessori classroom, children learn and play at the same time. There are hands-on learning opportunities through practical life activities, from transferring objects with their hands and pouring water through a funnel to cutting short snip fringe and threading beads. We also have sensorial materials such as the Pink Tower and Knobbed Cylinders that help refine a child’s visual sense by learning differences in dimension. Such skills can also aid in their Mathematics learning in the years ahead. Such activities may seem frivolous to adults but it’s an important playtime for children. Here we see a child experiencing hands-on learning during our March holiday programme theme on “Bubbles” , where the children used recycled materials like bottles and socks to create items such as a snake bubble. At House on the Hill, we provide natural resources for child directed play as well. Our daily programming includes lots of time outdoors, in nature and the opportunity to learn through play in the sunshine. Our schools have mud or outdoor kitchens for the Playgroup and Pre-Nursery children and “Loose Part Play” for the Nursery and Kindergarten children. This is a great way to encourage them to exercise creativity during outdoor playtime. Through pretend play, the children will stay engaged and start seeing endless possibilities with their imagination. Dr. Maria Montessori once said that “The hands are the instrument of a man’s intelligence.” This coming weekend, do not hesitate to play! Do not be stressed about how you should plan an eventful day of play . Ask your child, how should we play today and you never know what creative ideas they will come up with. Have a jolly good time playing!

What is Loose Parts Play?

The HotH Team January 2023

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour Play is an important aspect in children’s learning development. When children play, it gives them many different ways and opportunities to learn through play. Information is usually best retained when play experiences are fun and spontaneous. “Play is the work of the child” – Dr Maria Montessori Here at House on the Hill, we want to cultivate and explore this natural creativity and engagement further. Therefore, we are excited to introduce Loose Parts Play, together with gardening and exploration of nature-themed projects as part of our afternoon activities curriculum from 2023! Using the outdoor spaces as our play areas, the children will have numerous opportunities to explore, discover and learn in, about and through the outdoors. The freedom to play with spontaneous ideas and creation using a collection of small objects provides the children with opportunities to make, build, experiment and invent. Loose parts materials can be used in combination, redesigned, pulled apart or put back together, carried around, manipulated, put into patterns or used as visual representations for children’s imaginations. Loose parts also invite children to explore and discover, imagine and create, enquire and experiment, play and tinker about as they build on their developmental skills in a supportive learning environment. The material in itself has limitless use in the world of the child’s creation. At House on the Hill, our loose parts play is about guiding the children to make connections to their daily experiences. We allow the children to recreate these thoughts, ideas and feelings by documenting them using the loose parts material to make their experiences visual and concrete. With our recent trip to the zoo, the children recreated their zoo trip experience using leaves and pebbles from our garden, plus our collection of toilet paper core and ice-cream sticks. How do we include this in our play environment at school? Here is an example of the children’s play experiences after they took a school trip to the zoo: This group of children explored with toilet paper cores, leaves and rocks. They discovered that the toilet paper cores are good for making structure, and so they decided to add the leaves as the shelter. Once they created their structure, they decided that they still needed to renovate the zoo for more details. This meant that the animals were not ready to move in. Instead, they would be in transit from Malaysia! ? Come, join us in our next play and discover if the animals did arrive from Malaysia…. Here is a second group of children playing with the same topic: This group explored with ice cream sticks, leaves and rocks. Each of them created enclosures of different sizes. Some were larger than others to fit larger animals like the elephant. They added animals to their enclosure (using rocks) to represent the elephant, cheetah, hippopotamus and lion. Can you make a guess which is the elephant enclosure? Hint: In that enclosure, there are both elephants as well as lots of food for the elephants. Why do we want to include this in our Montessori environment? The importance and benefits of loose parts play Loose parts play is open-ended; the same material can lead the children to create different uses for it in many different ways. When they play, the fun is all in the process, and not the outcome. For example, a brown leaf can be an elephant in one child’s play, the next time, the same brown leaf can be a skateboard in another child’s play. The possibilities are endless! This means it helps to expand the child’s creativity and imagination to use the same material in many different possible ways for the different play theme setting. Children are the content creators in this play, and teachers act as facilitators to lead and guide them through their story-line. This child-directed play helps the children towards more independent play. Besides fostering imagination and creative play, the children build upon their problem-solving skills, determination, patience, as well as communication skills, to discuss and work together towards a common goal. As the children use the loose parts to integrate in their play, there are many connections and applications to the subject areas. For example, in the subject area of Math, children could apply the concept of sorting and classifying as they arrange the loose parts into different categories or grouping them with similar characteristics together. In the creating the zoo enclosure example, they discovered the differences in size and dimension when they add more sticks. By adding more sticks, the shape of a square also changed into a rectangle. In another subject area of science and geography, the children discovered how to place the toilet paper core to make a more balanced structure using simple engineering skill to create the shelter for their animals. They also learn from one another, when one friend shared about the distance of Malaysia to Singapore, hence the animals were still in transit. These play experiences, when facilitated by the teachers, can help extend their learning. By adding the fun element in play, the children enjoy the whole process of their creation using their child-initiated ideas and imagination. How can parents also include loose parts play with children at home? Similar to our classroom environment, play can also be extended to your home environment. Start with any open-ended materials that can be played with in multiple ways. Common toys will be wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, rainbow blocks, pebbles, assorted flat marbles, play silks, assorted sizes of LEGO bricks, etc. When your child is playing with these materials, allow them to take the lead to shape the content of their creation. Protect your child’s space and time and try not to interrupt or direct them in their thought process. Use lots of observation to have an understanding of what your child is thinking. When conversing with your

Art Discovery Experiences for Children

Amanda November 2022

Dr. Maria Montessori wrote “Free the child’s potential and you will transform him into the world”. Her philosophy is something that we hold close to our hearts here at House on the Hill as we relate this to the art experiences we provide for the children in their preschool years. Children are naturally inquisitive from birth. They make sense of what is happening around them by learning through observation and exploration. Through the process of art experiences, they make interpretations and form connection of how things work around their environment. These opportunities will also help to enhance their brain development and growth. Engaging in art activities is also a form of self-directed discovery which fuels creativity in children. It encourages risk-free exploration and freedom, which helps to builds confidence. Free expression also enables children to express their emotions and feelings, especially when children are still learning to use words to verbalise their thoughts. Art experiences in House on the Hill include activities that encourage children to explore through art elements such as lines, colours, shapes and textures. Examples of art activities include painting using crepe paper and foam, as well as crayon resin and cellophane collage. In House on the Hill, we strongly believe in the importance of reuse, reduce and recycle materials in our daily activities. We are appreciative of the support coming from the parents to have recyclable materials passed on to the school for the children to be purposefully engaged with. For example, the use of plastic bottles bases and toilet cores are useful in the process of printing outlines. Here are some suggestions of what adults can do to support in this process: 1.Support and don’t lead your child, allowing them to have freedom of choice to use materials in a safe environment In House on the Hill, we do this via the well thought out lesson plans by the teachers. With the objectives of the lesson in mind, the next crucial component includes ensuring that preparation of the materials is ready before the lesson. The children have the freedom to be engaged in using the readily available art materials to work on their masterpieces. 2. Keep it open- ended, instead of having a specific expectation. Let your child explore, experiment, and use their imagination. This is a crucial part of encouraging and building their creativity. Focus on the process, not the product. Do encourage the effort of the child as the process of exploration is more important than the end product. Acknowledge the child’s effect in the process. In the classroom our teachers use encouragement such as “I like the colours that you have chosen for your painting. They are colourful and vibrant”. This helps children to develop their self esteem and confidence. There is no right and wrong in Art Expression, every child has the ability to create their own unique art pieces. They are the masters of their artwork! 3. Art experiences in the home Art experiences do not have to happen in school settings only. Besides the art activities we have written about in this article, other examples of art experiences you can try with your child at home includes monoprinting where the painted image is transferred to another sheet of paper, while the use of playdough encourages creativity, when they can build and construct 3D sculptures. Lastly, an important takeaway for parents is to allow art discovery opportunities at home. They are a great way to encourage social-emotional development and enhancing fine motor skills. In addition, it creates moments for quality interaction and bonding with your children. Do have a go with providing similar art discovery experiences at home and be amazed at the wonders that children will create! Some suggested further reading: Keep Up the Good Encouragement Montessori at Home: Hanging Artwork

Good Eating at House on the Hill: How our Nutrition Programme Complements Good Learning

The HotH Team September 2022

4 Beautiful Locations Islandwide At House on the Hill, we strive to embody the true Montessori method and philosophy in every lesson and activity. Book A Tour When we started House on the Hill, it was very important to us that we have well balanced and nutritious food for the children. We designed the menu together with leading UK nutrition therapist, well-known author and one of the founders of The Food Doctor, Ian Marber. It is focused on meals that keep the children feeling full and happy, with a good balance of carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins to give them energy as they go through their day. The House on the Hill Nutrition Programme Our distinctive menu is planned for a four week rotation. Every day, we ensure that there is varied, interesting and delicious food for meal and snack time. We have a kitchen in each campus where our aunties cook fresh meals daily. There is no salt or sugar in the children’s food, including our home-made cookies and cakes. We do not use sauce, powders, frozen or processed ingredients at all. All the ingredients must be fresh, simple and natural. Daily Menus The first meal of the day is the morning snack, which is served after morning outdoor time. This is always fresh fruit. In Singapore, we have the opportunity to have seasonal fruit from all over the world, from blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and cherries, to very fresh tropical fruit such as mango, lychee, longan and even chiku or Spanish persimmons. We try to keep the options as varied as possible – the only fruit we haven’t served yet is durian! At lunch, there is always a carbohydrate, protein and two to four types of vegetables to eat. We only use 100% brown rice, wholemeal bread and whole grain pasta. In the afternoon, we have two snacks. The one at 3pm is usually something refreshing, like fresh cucumber, edamame, fruit with yogurt, carrot sticks or baby corn. At 5pm, we usually give them something with a little more carbohydrate, such as home-made cake with fruit sweeteners, banana cake, home-made cookies with honey, steamed pumpkin or sweet potato. It gives the full-day children an energy boost, but not so much that they are too full for dinner when they get home! The importance of healthy meals We dedicate ourselves to creating healthy meals for children because we understand the health and behavioural consequences of nutrition for preschool aged children. Numerous studies show that balanced diets help children to be focused and energized in the classroom, a must for the daily exploration taking place in our Montessori environment! We must not only feed them healthy food now, but teach children to appreciate and choose healthy food in the future. Susan Baker, MD, PhD, writes that “food preferences, eating behaviors, and decisions about pleasurable foods begin early and probably last throughout the life” making it essential that as educators we help preschoolers develop healthy food habits, beginning with introducing children to healthy foods that they love to eat (source). Learning while eating At House on the Hill, we believe that food is never just food. There are many opportunities to learn and develop whilst we eat. For example: 1. Independence As a proud Montessori school, we are passionate advocates of encouraging independence from young. At mealtimes, this is practiced in a number of ways. Children are taught to serve and feed themselves, even starting from our infant age classes. Using child-sized utensils helps to give them autonomy during meal times. In class, the older children top up their own water bottles, they help to set the table for the class, and even help to dish out servings for their classmates. Even when making their own smoothies, they are empowered to choose and decide what flavours, consistency and size they would like their drinks to be. Children are also given opportunities to be responsible in looking after the class environment including washing their bowls and placemats, as well as cleaning and wiping down of the tables and chairs. All these actions are helping to develop the valuable life skill of being independent, fostering confidence and gaining in self-awareness. When a child is in control of their food intake, they learn to be aware of their natural hunger cues. They learn to stop eating when they’re full, an important life skill. 2. Motor and Sensory Skills Development When children feed themselves, they are developing fine motor skills through touching, grasping, spooning, squeezing and picking things up. They are cultivating their sensory skills when they explore food’s taste, texture, smell, color, and temperature. 3. Social Skill Development Our students eat together as a group in their classrooms. Observing one another during mealtimes helps the younger ones be encouraged to taste and try new food. This mimics real life, and promotes grace and courtesy, learning to eat politely and how to live peacefully with one other. 4. Good Food Habits Before joining House on the Hill , some parents think it is impossible that their child will eat fennel, mushrooms or starfruit. Although we tell parents how delicious it is, it is ultimately the children who convince their parents and rave about it at home. Our parents told us “my kids are now in a “Big School”, and they had to make a big adjustment on their snacks and lunch. They compare how Auntie (in Pasir Panjang) always prepares good meals for them (vs the big school where they did not eat one or two lunches because they didn’t like it). Just want you to know how much we appreciate all the care that goes into the food preparation, the actual eating, and the cleaning up afterwards in HotH.” Picky eating can be common at this age, but many expert suggestions about how to combat picky eating are already incorporated into the HotH menu and routine, such as eating as a group and without distractions, offering a variety of flavors that are reintroduced every so often, and

Celebrating 10 Wonderful Years: An Interview with Ms. Jing and Ms. Marilyn

The HotH Team August 2022

Founder Ms. Wu Jing and Founding Principal Ms. Marilyn Ow We’re celebrating the tenth-year anniversary of House on the Hill this year! Founded in 2012 by Wu Jing and Oliver Bettin, they sought to impart high-quality early childhood education and care, with an emphasis on staying true to the values and educational excellence of the Montessori Method. Together with founding Principal Marilyn Ow, Jing now leads a team of dedicated staff across four campuses in Singapore: Mount Sophia, Balmoral, Pasir Panjang and the newly opened Hollandse Club branch. Here they look back at the first ten years of House on the Hill. Our first campus at Tower House, 12 Mount Sophia 1. Why did you start House on the Hill? J: I was looking for opportunities in early childhood care and had decided on a Montessori school after learning about the pedagogy. I felt that there was room for a school that was committed to the pure principles of Montessori. When we met Marilyn, I felt an instant connection to her. I loved how professional she was, and I felt strongly that this was how a Montessori educator should be. For me, that was the turning point. This whole naïve plan to have a school, it lit up from there! Team Photo (Mount Sophia, 2015) 2. What are some of your favourite moments from these 10 years of HotH? Graduation (Mount Sophia, 2020) M: There are so many. I think my greatest satisfaction comes from seeing the children grow when they start with us to when they graduate. They are so tiny when they start, and to see how they go from being apprehensive to be in a new environment, perhaps having some separation anxiety, to the day that they are all grown up and graduating from their Kindergarten years. These are very joyous moments for us. Knowing that we have played a part in helping children grow, it gives me great satisfaction and joy. J: There are many sweet memories, but there is one that really stands out for me. One year, a truck accidentally hit our old school building at 12 Mount Sophia. It came out of the blue on a Sunday. We had to close for renovation and repairs, and so many of the parents immediately came together to support us.I remember that within two hours they had set up a parent volunteer committee! M: It was on a Sunday as well! J: I rented the meeting room in my condo, and they all came, lawyers and other professionals, and everyone was sitting there sharing their ideas on how we should handle the situation. It was really touching. M: At that time, the teachers also played their part. We needed to look after the children during the days that school was closed. The teachers had to quickly change their lesson plans. J: Yes, we did ten days of excursions! Each morning they would meet at the bus stop and off they would go. The aunties also came to my house and cooked for our staff as we tried to get the school back on its feet. Looking back, it was such a tough time, but it is also a very fond memory. 3. Do you think early years pedagogy has changed in the past 10 years? In what ways? Parents Workshop and Curriculum Briefing (Balmoral, 2019) M: I don’t think pedagogy has changed much, but what has changed are the parents. They want to be a lot more involved in the whole teaching process, and that’s where the difference lies. It is so much more meaningful when parents play a part in the teaching. So, we help by supporting them with workshops, Montessori at Home materials, and we ask parents to extend learning through lesson plans and our thematic topics. You’ll be amazed at the difference when parents have set their homes up to encourage independence in the children. It makes learning so much easier for the children. 4. What should parents look out for with their young children? Jing with her sons, Kai and Hans (Balmoral, 2019) J: After so many years of working with young children and their parents, and as the mother to two young boys, I would say that parents must learn to be patient about their children’s learning path. They should give the children plenty of space to explore. Children need time to learn in their own way. I have had to learn to step back with my own sons. Instead, I observe them, and I try enable them to think for themselves. We are big fans of independence at House on the Hill, and letting children do things on their own. It gives them such confidence. I understand the anxiety, but it is important to respect the learning process and let it take its course. 5. How do you see the future of House on the Hill? What’s in store for the next 10 years? Focused on developing happy, confident children J: We don’t have big plans to expand, we want to just keep doing what we are doing and doing it well. We are focused on making sure that the children are prepared for life as caring, global citizens and will continue to develop our employees. Looking back, it has been such a joy to do this for the last 10 years. It has been hard work, but I treasure everything that we have been doing here. I’m proud of what we have achieved. If we value and believe in what we are doing, we will go far. A version of this interview was published in the August 2022 Expat Living Magazine. Please click here to view the article.

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