We Learn about Malaysia

10th of September 2014

We have enjoyed learning about some of the unique features of Malaysia. Thank-you to Adrian and his family for sharing interesting information and treasures from this beautiful country.

The children asked Herman, Adrian’s Dad, to come in and teach us how to count in Malay.

Herman was very keen to do this, teaching us the numbers from 1 – 10 in Malay. He also introduced us to a very fascinating fruit called a durian. The children were very captivated by this large, spiky fruit which has a very distinctive smell! We enjoyed tasting the fruit and several of the children thought it was quite nice.

Bartly brought in his Uncle Mick who has spent time in Malaysia. Uncle Mick was able to tell us a lot of information about some of the tourist attractions he had been to.

Myoe, our fabulous Baby Teacher at Little Lumsden, is from Burma, but spent 3 years living in Malaysia. Myoe has been sharing her knowledge and culture about Asia with the children as well sharing pictures and using the language with them.

Many children brought things in from home to share. This helps make the learning so much more real and authentic for everyone.

In the art room created some beautiful ‘batik’ Malaysian patterns.

Since Herman’s visit we have continued to learn how to count in Malay. We have been doing pretty well at both centres, picking up the language really quickly.

Research states; ‘Children’s learning is enhanced when they can think in both languages. Even if children are fluent in English and achieving well, bilingualism adds to their learning. Children learn how language works – even very young children can compare their languages (rather than being confused by them).’