Our Founder
Writing Sprouts is founded by English educator Edna Wong, who has teaching and curriculum planning experience with both MOE and the private education sector. She had spent a considerable length of time in the United States, where she received her Masters [M. Ed and Dip in Writing for Children] and discovered the passion for writing for children. Her stories were published in several US children magazines. Edna continues to be actively involved in Writing Sprouts.
Our Story
Using her formal training and experience in the United States and Singapore, Founder Edna Wong first created Writing Sprouts for her favourite people (kids!) to have opportunities to write imaginatively and get published.
She witnessed how the additional step of publishing a child’s writing positively influences the child author and the children audience many folds.
The child author is given a big confidence boost when he sees his story printed in a professional bound book that is accessible to a real audience. With a sense of pride and ownership, the child author would read his published book frequently and he gets encouraged to write more.
The child audience, who reads a book written by his peer, gets the same kind of wonder and excitement knowing that if another child can accomplish this, so can he. The child audience too, is inspired to write his own story.
Publication enhances and completes the reading-writing process. It is not an end point, magically spurring the child to start the reading-writing cycle again. This phenomenon is exceptional especially for a developing writer. Since then, other than self-publishing, Writing Sprouts has grown and developed our multi-year immersion programme that includes even more varied and tailored opportunities to nurture every individual student.
She witnessed how the additional step of publishing a child’s writing positively influences the child author and the children audience many folds.
The child author is given a big confidence boost when he sees his story printed in a professional bound book that is accessible to a real audience. With a sense of pride and ownership, the child author would read his published book frequently and he gets encouraged to write more.
The child audience, who reads a book written by his peer, gets the same kind of wonder and excitement knowing that if another child can accomplish this, so can he. The child audience too, is inspired to write his own story.
Publication enhances and completes the reading-writing process. It is not an end point, magically spurring the child to start the reading-writing cycle again. This phenomenon is exceptional especially for a developing writer. Since then, other than self-publishing, Writing Sprouts has grown and developed our multi-year immersion programme that includes even more varied and tailored opportunities to nurture every individual student.
Our Mission
What? Our 5 'E's
- Expose the child to a wide range of literature, as well as local and world affairs
- Explore with the child many different genres, text types and writing styles
- Engage the child to make meaning of texts and critically respond to them
- Equip the child to develop his own writing voice
- Encourage a writing culture
How? Through our 6 'I's
- Impact with fun, multi-sensory, multi-modal lessons and rich texts
- Impart language skills, strategies and literary mechanics
- Individualise with choice, self-direction and pace
- Inspire by modelling passion and writing lifestyle
- Integrate reading, writing and speaking every lesson
- Invest in writing time every lesson
What's Unique About Us
Every child enrolled in our weekly programme will:
• Engage in holistic learning. Students are immersed in all dimensions of language learning - viewing, reading, writing, visual representating, editing, publishing, speaking and listening
• Learn 21st century competencies - sharing and questioning, communication and collaborative learning, critical and inventive thinking and response, self-directed learning, innovation, confidence
• Interact with authentic texts and explore many different writing genres, authors, styles and text types
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• Have opportunities to express themselves in added areas of the arts - Illustrating, role play, songs, dance, drama, crafts etc
• Have the added enthusiasm, motivation and commitment to give their best, as the end goal is to showcase their work either through publication (primary levels), or show-and-tell (preschool levels)
• Engage in the cycle of read to write, and write to read
• Have the added enthusiasm, motivation and commitment to give their best, as the end goal is to showcase their work either through publication (primary levels), or show-and-tell (preschool levels)
• Engage in the cycle of read to write, and write to read
Our Philosophies
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Each one of us has the innate ability to express ourselves through writing
We nurture youths, regardless of their ability, to uncover their writing talent, overcome writer’s block and spur them to the next proficiency level.
Our adult coaches, at the same time, are also writers who write and share their writing with the youths to exemplify the writing passion and lifestyle.
Our adult coaches, at the same time, are also writers who write and share their writing with the youths to exemplify the writing passion and lifestyle.
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Write for life, beyond examinations
Our far-sighted curriculum encompasses teaching materials that youths can apply in examinations and beyond.
We encourage youths and equip them with skills to be lifelong writers for different purposes and audiences.
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We believe in the inherent connection of reading, speaking and writing
Writing flows from avid reading, thinking and speaking about texts. We stress on the significance of the read-write-speak connection. We train students how to read like a writer, and write like a reader.
On top of devoting much time to writing, we provide ample reading and speaking opportunities, for youths to build on their reading comprehension and oral skills.
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We believe in the inherent connection of the writer and his world
A good writer writes from his observation, interaction and awareness of his surroundings.
We attune youths to the people and occurrences around them and in the world, to help them translate their perceptions into writing.