Covid-19: Parents go back to preschool for online workshops during circuit breaker

SINGAPORE — On a regular day, Odyssey The Global Preschool’s executive chef Mohamed Khaled Shrafodden can be found whipping up meals in the school kitchen and conducting culinary activities with preschoolers at its Orchard campus.

But after the circuit breaker kicked in, leaving all schools shut, he moved his class online to cater to a different group of students — the parents.

The former Mandarin Oriental chef’s culinary workshop is one of the initiatives rolled out by a few preschools for parents of preschoolers.

At Small Wonder preschool, parents looking for some downtime may sign up for baking, cooking or yoga workshops conducted by its teachers. The 45-minute long sessions kicked off after lunch on May 11, to encourage parents to stay active.

Ms Lily Toh, Small Wonder’s district manager, said the response has been encouraging, with baking and cooking workshops receiving more sign-ups.

Over at Odyssey The Global Preschool, workshops for parents have garnered a strong response, with one conducted by the preschool’s educational therapist Sharen Ong amassing 70 sign-ups for its first session on May 12.

From 3 to 4pm, she moderated an online discussion among parents on the topic of strengthening children’s resilience via video conferencing app Microsoft Teams.

“We did activities, discussed the topic — which is important now that we’re faced with uncertainty such as the Covid-19 pandemic — and opened (the floor) for questions and answers,” said Ms Ong.

As a mother of a four-year-old, Ms Ong said she recognised the challenges many parents face as they balance work and child care, and aims to conduct these sessions more frequently — at least once a month.

In comparison, Mr Khaled conducts his hour-long workshops twice a week, teaching parents how to bake muffins and fudgy chocolate bars through Microsoft Teams. An average of 20 parents signed up per workshop, said the preschool.

“I prep different recipes and email them to parents who signed up for the workshop in advance, so that everyone has their ingredients and utensils ready and it's just a big cook-along,” he said.

In the following weeks, he plans to teach parents how to cook simple meals such as chicken fajitas and fish cioppino.

To retain the sense of familiarity among the preschoolers, who are also invited to join their parents at the workshops, Mr Khaled even brought home the tablecloth normally used in school, to drape over his kitchen counter.

“The children have missed out in school and probably through the table setting, it could remind them about their meal times (back in school),” he said.

PARENTS ARE ‘MORE QUIET’

As parents themselves, Mr Khaled and Ms Ong admitted that they face challenges as well, such as an increase in workload and having to tailor their classes for adults.

For Ms Ong, her workload has multiplied since the circuit breaker was put in place, with home-based learning and these workshops.

“With home-based learning, the backend preparation multiplied several folds. On a regular day, I might take about 30 minutes to prepare one class but now that everything's online, (I need) to optimise the resources, so it takes a little longer,” she said.

Mr Khaled said his biggest challenge is tailoring his workshops to fit parents.

“I’m used to teaching children, they’re always so curious and ask you so many questions, but parents are a more quiet crowd,” said the father of two children, aged four and 13 months.

He also takes the time to simplify his recipes and try them out before his workshops.

Chuckling, Mr Khaled said that ironically, he cannot taste the food he cooks, as he fasts from dawn till sunset.

“Sometimes if my wife is not fasting, I ask her to taste it…but I trust my recipes. They’ve been my go-to for a long time,” he said.

Ms Candy Low, centre director at Odyssey The Global Preschool's Fourth Avenue campus, said these workshops were rolled out to allow for interaction between teachers, children and parents, and for a smooth transition from school-based learning to home-based learning.

“We had to think of how parents can now become co-facilitators together with the teacher,” she added.

PARENTS NEED THEIR DOWNTIME, TOO

These workshops are welcomed by parents, who told TODAY that they were running out of ideas to keep both themselves and their children entertained while being confined to the walls of their homes.

For account manager Angelina Pradana, who has participated in both Mr Khaled and Ms Ong’s workshops, the best part is getting to do the activities with her three-year-old son.

Ms Pradana said: “I learnt how to help my son cope with this crisis, especially when he has so much energy and we are cooped up in one unit.”

The workshop is a stress reliever for Mr Sng Ren Zheng, who also faces the challenge of managing his manufacturing business and taking care of his two-year-old daughter.

“Being trapped within the same four walls, my daughter gets bored of things easily and after a while, she gets agitated. The workshop gave many applicable solutions that I can use now that we’re all stuck at home,” he said.

Agreeing, Ms Pradana said the biggest challenge of being a parent while working at home is having no breaks.

“When my son is awake, I have to keep him entertained; when he’s sleeping, I have to work. So these workshops are great for me to relax.”