LEGO pilot programme at Bedok Methodist Preschool

Methodist Preschools collaborated with the LEGO Group (Singapore) to run the international ‘Build the Change’ pilot programme with the theme: Biodiversity and Climate Change at Bedok Methodist Preschool in May 2022. The pilot programme is the first of its kind for preschools in Singapore.

Mrs Patsy Wee, Principal of Bedok Methodist Preschool said, “One of our core values is to nurture our children to have caring hearts. Caring for our environment has always been a part of our curriculum. When the LEGO pilot programme was mooted to us, we felt it resonated with our core value.”

Twenty children were invited to create solutions to minimise the effects of climate change using LEGO bricks. They enjoyed an enriching and exciting 11-day programme with lessons on various animals and insects, their habitats and how they are threatened by climate change. They were inspired to put on their thinking caps to come up with imaginative solutions to environmental challenges and express their ideas through creative builds using LEGO bricks.

The programme’s grand finale involved the young innovators building their LEGO solutions in response to the challenge question: Create an idea to help minimise climate change that affects all species. During the show-and-tell session, the preschoolers presented their creation and answered questions from an audience of peers, teachers and facilitators. The young builders of change were duly honoured with a personalised certificate of completion.

Champions of the LEGO Build the Change programme

Mrs Wee shared that the collaboration with LEGO added a different dimension to the children’s learning. It allowed them to delve a little deeper and broader into caring for our environment and to be the change agent. While their solutions may not be fanciful or even workable, being able to represent their thoughts and solutions in concrete structures is a huge achievement for them.

Riley Beth Su Qin En, a K1 student, said, “I like LEGO because I love to build. I learnt to build something comfortable and protective for both animals and people, because what affects them will affect us.”

The ‘Build the Change’ programme is LEGO’s global initiative for children to use their imagination to express their hopes and dreams for the future with LEGO bricks and other creative materials through a learning-throughplay approach. After the success of the pilot programme at Bedok, it will be progressively rolled out to other Methodist Preschools' K1 and K2 children with a six-hour programme.