Character Cornerstone

What is the objective of our character cornerstone?

• To cultivate a sense of inclusivity to others regardless of abilities, backgrounds and family situations.

• To expose children to a world beyond them.

• To teach children how to engage in sharing, being kind and lending a helping hand.

• All of the above.

Answer explanation

Character education can be effective at preventing social problems among children. Developing character builds a mindset of excellence in our children rather than preventing problems. Character development is also about building good habits, and habits take time to form. We are all works in progress! We may not know all of the challenges and opportunities our children will face, but we know that these virtues will help them thrive in any situation. Good character education can provide ground rules for life in children, and it stresses the importance of helping children learn and practice behaviors that reflect universal ethical values. Character education helps children become: Conscious of the right thing to do.

How do we go about reading the books?

• Using props

• Acting it out

• Prompting questions to the children

• All of the above

Why do we read character books to children?

• For fun

• To introduce children on character  

• Building positive characters in children

• All of the above

Answer explanation

Our centres always have a large selection of books but we never really utilised the books in such way until this project came about. This project not only made us understand  the importance of books, it also teaches us how books are able to help instil self-awareness and build children’s interpersonal skills.

How do we (teachers and parents) know if the books are appropriate for children?

• Random selection

• Books that tap on children’s prior knowledge and extend learning  

• Relatable stories (Inclusiveness, feelings etc.)

• All of the above

Answer explanation

All storybooks tell a story and it is up to us (teachers and parents) to decide which is valuable to teach the children and how children can benefit from the books. However,  books need to be age-appropriate for the child. For younger children, simple books and books they can relate would be a good start. It could be a book with simple sentences  and little story props needed so we will be able to extend their learning from there by giving scenarios etc. For older children, the books should either be simple for them to  read by themselves or tell a story that they will be able to retell after reading to them a few times.

In “The Cookie Fiasco” book, what values/skills can be found?

• Problem solving

• Leadership

• Fairness

• Honesty

Answer explanation

In this book, the props used were a large cookie broken into smaller pieces and the 4 different characters armbands. The children get to interact using the cookie  pieces, learn numeracy and sharing at the same time. 4 children were given the role of different characters and were asked to roleplay according to the story. The  children were also given a large cookie and as the cookie is split into smaller parts, the rest of the children helped to count and divide the cookies. This encourages  children to work together and promotes number awareness and problem solving skills. The teacher is there to facilitate and guide the children while reading the story.

Why does the Hippo keeps breaking the cookies in the story?

• He is trying to solve their problem

• He is stressed over their problem

• He likes breaking cookies

• He wants to eat them

In the book ‘A little bit different’, what are the importance of reading the book to our children?

• Teaches them that it is okay to be different

• Teaches them to discriminate friends that are different  

• Encourage children to accept friends that are different from them  

• All of the above

Answer explanation

In the book, a group of ploofers been practicing on doing something special together. Though they noticed that there was something different in the air as they let out their ploof. There was a gap! Out came a colourful ploof! They were shocked! The ploof  was happy and loved his colourful ploof. The rest of the other ploof finds it weird and walked away from him as he is different. He felt sad and unwanted. Along came an odd shape ploof. He was amazed with the colourful ploof. Eventually they became  friends!

In the A little bit different, what happened at the end of the story?

• He was still left with no friends

• He became friends with all of the other ploofers  

• He was accepted by all

• All of the above

Answer explanation

At the end of the story, he accepted that he is  different from the rest. He builds his confidence  from the encouragement of his new friend. All of the other ploofers accepted that being different is okay.

What was taught in The Amazing Sarong?

• A glimpse of the “kampung life”

• How to share and make friends

• That with creativity and imagination, a seemingly ordinary everyday object can be of many uses

• How to empathise

In this story, the author has the characters using the sarong in various ways. What were some of the ways the sarong was used?

• A baby sling

• A safety net

• A blindfold

• All of the above