Celebrating 20 years of play-led learning at Mosaic Preschool

To commemorate 20 years of play-inspired learning in Singapore as well as to celebrate the global International Day of Play (11 June), Mosaic Preschool hosted a special family celebration at its East Coast campus on 13 June. Families, early childhood educators from across Singapore and Hong Kong, and the public participated in play activities for kids. We find out more about it and hear some reflections on the event.

Child-led and play-inspired activities for kids

For the 11 June celebration, the preschool collaborated with Play Connect, a social enterprise championing children’s right to play, to encourage child-led discovery through playwork training and hands-on activities. The campus grounds were transformed into immersive zones featuring natural loose parts, creative adventure play and open-ended inquiry. Children explored everyday and recycled materials ranging from cardboard castles to ice cube hockey, free to transform simple items through their own imagination.

Prior to the event, Mosaic educators participated in workshops on supporting child autonomy, intentionally stepping back to facilitate environments where children naturally evaluated risks, solved engineering challenges and built social bonds.

International Day of Play for everyone in the neighbourhood & community

The event served as an inclusive platform where neighbourhood children and parents could play freely side by side without prescribed rules or rigid schedules. This enabled parents to experience first-hand how play-led learning builds confidence in a child as they develop executive function, cognitive skills and emotional resilience.

For the Mosaic team, the event showed how their play-inspired learning approach comes to life – giving children the time, space and freedom to explore, make choices and develop their own ideas, while adults step back and observe.

Putting play-inspired learning into practice

The team at Mosaic Preschool believes that young children thrive when given the time, space and trust to explore, make choices and learn through authentic discovery. Since 2006, play has been the primary medium for learning at Mosaic – it’s naturally embedded in hands-on art ateliers, outdoor sensory exploration and collaborative building projects.

This year, they have introduced dedicated freeplay sessions twice a week at both campuses. As children explore through free play, the preschool’s educators reflect on when to step in or step back, and how the environment can better support children’s autonomy and child-led exploration.

Evolving activities for kids at Mosaic Preschool

For Mosaic Preschool, play-led learning is an evolving practice. The preschool hopes to sustain dedicated free play time, continue professional learning for educators, and engage parents through ongoing conversations and sharing about the value of child-led play.

The team say they hope to nurture a strong playwork culture by creating the time, space and freedom for children to simply be children, both at school and at home.

Hear from a Mosaic Preschool teacher:

“The International Day of Play was really special for me. We created different play areas using recycled materials and gave the children the freedom to explore and create their own ideas. At the ball pit, I saw them using the climbing blocks in different ways — some went up and slid into the balls, while others arranged the toy animals on the blocks. I loved seeing the older ones change the game and come up with their own ideas. When children are given the freedom to choose, they become confident, creative and joyful. It reminded me that play is one of the ways children make sense of the world and learn through their own experiences.” – Ms Raj

Hear from a family about their experience of International Day of Play:

“We really believe that children learn so much through play. We saw this first-hand during the International Day of Play event at Mosaic Preschool. Ethan has always been very hands-on and particularly enjoyed making an aircraft out of cardboard boxes. He’s very interested in planes and already knows quite a lot of aircraft terms for his age, so it was lovely to see how his interests naturally connected with his play and learning. River loves pretend play, and through playing with her friends, she’s also learning about things like taking turns and sharing.

“What we love about Mosaic Preschool is that it gives children the space to explore what interests them, rather than telling them what to do or what the end result should be. We really value this kind of child-led play because we can see how it encourages our children to be curious, creative and independent.” – parents of Ethan and River Soh

Eunos campus: 168 Changi Road, #05-01 | 6530 3979
Siglap campus: 20 East Coast Avenue | 9353 1402

mosaicpreschool.sg

This article on activities for kids at Mosaic Preschool first appeared in the October 2026 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy! 

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