The Power of Mealtimes in Early Childhood

Yesterday’s Sunday family lunch was at a popular Japanese restaurant in Bandar Puteri, Puchong. We were early and got a table just as they opened. Otherwise it would be a long wait. For a change, I thought I would share some photos of the food we enjoyed.

What was worrying during the otherwise pleasant meal was the scene at the next table, parents with two young girls. The parents had the strategy to come early as well, and there were no issues in ordering the food. They were also very comfortable lining up the two water bottles of their daughters so that these would form a sturdy support for the phone that the girls were glued to the entire meal. This is probably a common practice at mealtimes for this family? There were other tables of young children heavily occupied with handphones as well, but at least these were taken away from the little hands when the meals were served. This unfortunately is a common scene at many eating places in the country. It is a shame when parents do not recognise the power of mealtimes in early childhood.

Photo taken of the family at the next table – why do the parents not engage in conversation with their children?

Mealtimes in early childhood offer excellent learning moments, in particular lessons in socialization! Here are some of the benefits of family mealtimes for young children:

1. A meatime conversation is a rich and meaningful environment that allows children to practise communication skills, both verbal and nonverbal as they express themselves – their needs and preferences and ask questions. They listen and respond to others. They practice turn-taking. Vocabulary and grammatical knowledge are enhanced as conversations build around a range of everyday topics.
2. Mealtimes are natural and regular times for family members to bond with each other. Family members connect with one another, share stories and experiences, and these practices can strengthen their relationships. Emotional well-being is also fostered through these exchanges.
3. Mealtimes allow families to share cultural traditions, including food, language, and customs. Children can learn about their cultural heritage and develop a sense of identity.
4. Mealtimes allow parents to model healthy eating behaviours and attitudes as well. Early childhood is a crucial time for the development of lifelong eating habits.
5. Mealtimes allow children to learn table manners, such as using utensils properly, chewing with their mouths closed, and not talking with their mouths full. Good table manners show respect for others and can help children make a positive impression in social situations. Good table manners are an essential part of social skills, and when these are nurtured from young, they last a lifetime.
6. Mealtimes can teach children about sharing, taking turns, and passing food around the table. Sharing is an important social skill that can help children build positive relationships with others.
7. Mealtimes can foster patience as children wait for others to finish their food, wait their turn to speak, and wait for their food to be served.
8. Mealtimes can provide an opportunity for children to learn gratitude by thanking the person who prepared the food and expressing appreciation for the meal.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

Whenever I conduct practicum observations of our ECE students, I always make it point to observe the mealtimes in the ECE settings. This allows me to observe how the ECE practicum student interacts with the children in this context, and to see if he or she is able to recognise and capitalise on the many learning moments offered during meal times.

Photo by Naomi Shi on Pexels.com

One of the ECE progammes that we offer at SEGi College Subang Jaya is the Integrating Montessori Practice. This is a collaborative programme with Montessori Centre International UK. The programme has specific lessons on how children can encouraged to practice grace and courtesy during mealtimes. Contact us for more details on the Montessori programme.

 

ECCE Continuous Professional Development at SEGi

As early childhood professionals, we need to engage in continuous professional development (CPD). For this reason, we at SEGi have worked together with HEI Schools Finland to be the first to offer the 10-module HEI School Teacher diploma in the country, which is a great CPD package in ECCE – amazingly affordable and wonderfully flexible!

Here are some reasons why we need CPD:

• CPD keeps us updated with changing good practices. ECCE is constantly evolving, and teachers need to stay up-to-date with the latest research and best practices. CPD allows teachers to learn new teaching techniques, assessment tools, and curriculum updates. The HEI School Teacher Diploma for example is informed by current research on early childhood education and pedagogy. The programme includes a range of topics supported by research including child development, play-based learning, project-based learning and the role of the educators. The programme is designed to help us apply research-based practices in our work with young children.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

• CPD improves our teaching skills. CPD provides opportunities for us to revisit our classroom management, lesson planning, and communication with parents, for example. This can help us become more effective and confident in our practices. The HEI School Teacher Diploma is richly practical with its myriad of work-based assignments. We observe children, we plan, implement and reflect on our activities – to name a few.

Photo by Yan Krukau on Pexels.com

• CPD supports career advancement. When we expand our knowledge, skills and competencies, we can be confident in taking on more leadership roles, such as curriculum coordinators / designers or mentors. The industry definitely needs more change agents to make a difference in the lives of our children at the time when it matters the most – 0-6 years.

• CPD enhances job satisfaction. When we feel more confident and competent in what we do, this leads to greater job satisfaction. It can also help prevent burnout and provide opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

All in all, continuous professional development is crucial for early childhood practitioners to provide high-quality education and support the growth and development of young children entrusted to us.

To find out more about the HEI School Teacher Diploma at SEGi, join us on Thursday 23 February, 2023 at SEGi College Subang Jaya, for a dialogue with Mr Heikki Vartia, Head of Global Partnerships (Asia), HEI Schools, Finland.

 

Social Distancing and Young Children

This morning the google news feed on my phone featured a World of Buzz article on young children’s inability to fully understand social distancing.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The article provoked this blog where I question the extent and effectiveness of preparation made for the return of our children to primary schools. Our country is not the only one with schools re-opening, and debates on “to open or not” have taken place and continue to do so as experts weigh the impact of children being away from school and of the reopening of schools. Studies of schools that have reopened from different countries suggest that small student groups together with the wearing of masks are workable and social distancing has also been advocated. UNICEF and other members of the internet community has been generous with resources and strategies on social distancing and other practices to ensure safety in schools. I even came across a delightful book written by Benjamin Lindquist, MD, a Stanford clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine for his two year old toddler to help her understand social distancing.

Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

Yes, the new normal is not easy but staying informed and making a collective effort will go a long way to keep our children safe in schools. Practices outside school are equally important to reinforce the need for adherence to strict SoPs. There have been practices that I have seen in malls and eateries that are worrying. How many of us have witnessed parents who allow their children to behave as though Covid-19 never hit the country? Conversely, it was reassuring when I finally got a place to attend mass last weekend at St Francis Xavier church, Jalan Gasing, to see strict SoPs enforced.

social distancing, wearing of masks, strict contact tracing were emphasized

The World of Buzz article was also most timely as it paved the way to promote our upcoming SEGi College Subang Jaya ECCE webinar on Friday 7 August at 7.30pm. This is the fourth in our ECCE Insights series and the session will focus on safety and psychosocial wellbeing in the early years settings. We can never have too many reminders on keeping our children safe, and more importantly on practical steps that we can all take to ensure that this happens.

Photo by August de Richelieu on Pexels.com

Stay tuned for upcoming writeups on the well respected experts who will be joining us!

 

ECCE Insights 2: Featuring Ms Patricia Teh of Peter & Jane

On 5 June 2020, the SEGi ECCE Insights will feature another 3 experts who will share on the topic of ECCE sustainability – getting ready for the new normal. One of our speakers is Ms Patricia Teh, who is much respected in the industry.

Ms Patricia Teh has long been involved in the Malaysian ECCE scene. Montessori training was her finishing school course at the tender age of 19. Within two years upon graduation from St. Nicholas Montessori College and London Montessori College, in 1982, she started the first Peter and Jane centre in Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya. From 1983 – 1991, Peter & Jane represented the London Montessori Center (LMC) in Malaysia while Patricia was appointed the external examiner for LMC. In September 2018, Peter & Jane became part of Busy Bees Asia.

Patricia was invited by the Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education in 2000 to contribute towards the design of the National Preschool Curriculum which was enforced in 2002. She was also invited by the Prime Minister’s Department to participate at the National Key Economic Area (NKEA) Lab on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in 2010. She has been on the Executive Committee of the ECCE Council since its inception in 2011.

One of Pat’s contributions to the ECCE Council was the China Study Tour in 2019

On 30 May 2020, Pat also served as moderator for an ECCE Council webinar on Sustainability and Staying Afloat. Some of the key take aways from the session include:

• to look beyond financial sustainability to include academic sustainability – how do we sustain children’s learning, without cutting corners? If centres are closing down, or running at 50% capacity, supply may be eventually limited and ECCE services will be expensive in the future (Mr Jery Yeoh, Whytehouse)
• once you choose ECCE as your career, you are bound for life! Giving may get more in return. Focus on parents who are paying you and do not worry about those who have left. Passion, grit plus an open mind and heart are critical (Mr Cheah Eng Khoon, Talento)
• You may not be able to control the income, but you can control your expenses. Consider bulk purchasing, sharing of resources and even mergers and acquisitions (Tuan Hj Azmil Khuzaid, Emkay)
• MoE’s challenge to meet its KPI on preschool enrolment, it’s therefore in the Government’s interest to re-open tadika. Focus on parents who are ready to send the children back. The SoP is ready but needs to be endorsed. It covers handwashing, class size to maintain social distancing, transportation, to name a few. (Dr Sarifah Norazah Syed Annuar, MoE)

In our upcoming webinar, Pat will share her insights on the industry based on her extensive Peter & Jane experience, and she will also speak out on what it takes for us to be sustainable. Pat has been a long time supporter of SEGi ECCE activities and it is an honour to have Pat on our panel to discuss sustainability issues in ECCE for the country. We appreciate her bold outlook on the current situation.

 

ECCE Insights 1 : Thank you for inspiring the community!

On 8 May 2020, we launched our ECCE Insights – a webinar featuring key speakers who would take us into the world of ECCE with the aim of inspiring all of us, especially during the Covid 19 pandemic. Our deepest appreciation to our first team of speakers – Mr Cheah Eng Khoon from Talento, Mr Jery Yeoh from Whytehouse and Ms Michelle Huan from SEGi College Subang Jaya – for their heartfelt and honest sharing on the ECCE industry today and in the days to come. Our viewers were most appreciative of the session which has reached to date 2,005 views on youtube and 7,000 over views through FB.

Mr Cheah, whose Parklands kindergarten has been set by the Ministry of Education as the benchmark for tadikas in Malaysia, spoke on how his teachers successfully engaged with the children and parents so that they could continue with their kindergarten project work at home during MCO and CMCO. In the process, parents learnt to observe their children, to have conversations with them and to learn together with them.

Jery’s Whytehouse offers the children a global classroom which gathers teachers from the world over to support their classroom practices. Strong emphasis is placed on interaction, and maintaining what they did with the children before MCO as well, using zoom merely as a tool of communication.

When a centre has an effective and quality curriculum, when efforts are made to truly deliver the curriculum, when relationships are strong with parents, it has been easier to make ECCE services relevant to children and parents during these days and beyond. Looking at the situation from an academic angle, Michelle said, “If we have a choice, children should learn concretely, with real materials, real experiences, but we don’t have a choice yet, we have to make the best out of the situation.” To make the best out of a situation requires creativity, boldness and the knowledge and competencies to always place the child at the centre of all that we do. The next challenge is what happens in the new normal?

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

There is uncertainty over the future of ECCE in Malaysia, as we are in an ECCE tsunami which will change the ECCE ecosystem in the country (to quote Mr Cheah). Some of the driving factors that will allow the industry to press on include passion in staff to care and educate the young, having the right attitude – to take on new challenges and to bring the multiple skills they have developed during these times to the new normal for ECCE. Professionalism, consistency in quality delivery, and openness to learning are cited as critical factors that will make or break an ECCE centre. Training is emphasized of course. And SEGi has been training early childhood practitioners since 1999.

Building upon the first Insights, the June Insights will focus on sustainability. The session is on Friday 5 June, at 8.30pm. Our esteemed speakers are Ms Patricia Teh of Peter & Jane, Mr Arjuna Raj of Littlelives and Ms Heather Munn of the University of Greenwich. Check out the upcoming posts for hints on what our experts will cover on 5 June.

 

Advocating for Play – the Bond & Bloom Graduation Showcase, BA (Hons) Early Years Education

On 15 February 2020, the graduating class of the BA (Hons) Early Years Education did us proud! Their Bond & Bloom event drew crowds to Da Men Mall that afternoon.

The children – our toughest audience – enjoyed the range of activities at the showcase; and it was a delight to see how the parents played together with them or waited patiently as they explored the range of tools – be it blocks, slime, wooden spoons, string, items from nature, or even flour which they carefully mixed to make playdough which they brought home. Thank you parents for bringing the children to Bond & Bloom!

Well chosen tools can truly engage children – we could see the focus, patience & problem solving, among others, as the children challenged their motor abilities as directed by the mind. Parents had a chance to get to know the different early childhood centres and appreciated why and how they promoted play.

We thank all the centres that participated in the showcase, and it was a delight to see in the participating booths a good number of our early years alumni. We also thank the early childhood students who came to the showcase to gather play ideas and to network with future employers.

The graduation showcase is about what our students have learnt – the importance of teamwork & multi-agency collaborations – working with parents & the community, and definitely learning from industry members. The showcase challenged our students to bond and bloom! We wish them every success as they move on to be change agents of the early childhood industry. This is one of the outcomes of the University of Greenwich early years degree, which is offered at SEGi College Subang Jaya.

The graduating class with the academic team, SEGi College Subang Jaya – Faculty of Education