Sometimes we come across certain people who literally take our breath away and who leave us sitting there admiring them, admiring what they do. On a hot sunny September afternoon, I had the privilege to have been in the company of such a person. A person so dynamic, so alive and yet so warm and passionate. That person is Dr. Connie Wan, the creator and founder of the Brain Dance Education System.
Sitting in her little office in her preschool in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, with happy smiling children all around, the fascinating story of the Brain Dance Education System began to unfold like the stories in her carefully selected award-winning children’s books from around the world. She began with, “Literature is not just about Shakespeare……” and started to weave a tale as enthralling and captivating as any I have ever heard before.
Brain Dance in a nutshell is a programme focused upon providing an interactive, fun and activity based learning experience for young children. It cultivates holistic and happy children by embedding in its programmes principles and skills that turn on the vital learning mode of the children’s young minds. By having various approaches to empower the children to learn alongside our ever-changing society, Brain Dance inculcates in the children the power of learning to learn.
Believing that language is the most powerful learning tool of all, reading at Brain Dance is not only learning about the ABC’s. It’s about developing a passion for reading that will stay with the children throughout their lives. By using highly acclaimed and award-winning books on their reading lists instead of text books, Brain Dance ensures that the students are attentive and wholly interested with each book they read. In addition to phonetic skills and the correct use of the alphabet, Brain Dance’s reading list also encompass skills that extend from artistic talent, emotional quotient development, mathematical ability to social capability.
With a firm belief that a successful future should be secured by being trilingual, English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin are taught in conjunction with each other. And by having highly qualified and well-trained educators to engage the students in cross-curricular lessons, the educational value of the lessons is maximized.
Classes at Brain Dance is a hive of fun and activity. Teachers interact with students, the books interact with their readers and Brain Dance’s myriad of activities and games coerce students into interacting with each other. There is never a dull moment.
At Brain Dance, its academic programme is synergized with its extracurricular programme so as to provide the most holistic and child centric preschool education programme available. Concerts are staged to empower the children to showcase their talent for performing and the arts. It also instills in the children lifelong self-confidence. Field trips are organized so that the children realise that not all learning come from books. Learning can also take the form of nature and the environment around them and that they can also learn through touch, sight, feeling and smell. In addition, manual skills are developed in a fun, no-stress environment such as waterplay in the school pool or just laying back and enjoying the simple pleasure of some downtime. A strong emphasis on roleplaying, puppetry and dance classes also help the children develop empathy and the awareness of others.
Throughout Brain Dance’s meticulously designed and carefully cultivated programme, parents’ participation is both encouraged and welcomed. “Parents Effectiveness Training” is one such programme that caters specifically to the parents because Brain Dance realizes the importance of the family unit to learning and to the overall wellbeing of the child.
From providing their 3 and 4 year old students with the basic physical, social and linguistic skills to the laying of a strong academic foundation for the 5 and 6 year old students, Brain Dance aims to provide as holistic a preschool education as possible. With an emphasis on cross curricular lessons, emotional as well as educational development, interactive classrooms, awesome programmes, well trained, dedicated and passionate teachers plus well-lit and ventilated environments, Brain Dance is truly my preschool of choice.
A beautiful person, a beautiful mind. That is her magic. That is the magic of Brain Dance. That is the magic of Dr. Connie Wan.
Every child needs a gentle hand
To guide them as they grow
So, walk alongside me Daddy
We have a long way to go
– Atticus
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