[KKOOM] Early education for Korean toddlers

Seven months ago, Harmony arrived at a KKOOM-supported children’s home. Her expressions within two months brightened quickly. Now, Harmony is 27-months-old and has been flourishing in preschool since March 2021. We asked Harmony’s house mother to answer a few questions on her progress in school. 

• What is Harmony’s personality like at school? 
• She is actively involved in all activities and has a bright and lively personality. 
• What is Harmony’s favorite thing to do at school? 
• Her favorite activities in daycare are sharpening her fine motor activities and cutting crafts. 
• At school, do you know what Harmony is currently learning or doing in the classroom, like drawing, planting, cooking, etc?
• At the preschool, Harmony is also interested in making rice balls and is participating in various activities such as jachigi and attaching magnetic blocks together. Jachigi is a South Korean game where a long stick and two short sticks are hit and caught, with a circular hole and a circle being drawn in the ground. 
• How has school improved Harmony’s character or behavior? Do you see a positive change in her due to going to preschool?
• At the beginning of March, she was wary initially. Now, she interacts with her close friends, and although it is a small class community, her social skills are being developed. 
• At home, is there something Harmony is always doing, like singing, skipping around the children’s home, or saying certain phrases? 
• At home, she actively participates in play with her older sisters at home. These days, as her language skills are increasing, she understands most languages, responds appropriately to the situation, and acts accordingly. Lately, she tries to do everything by herself, saying “I am.” She still has a small craving for food, but is eating well. 

By giving to our preschool scholarship program, you are directly impacting Harmony’s life now but you are also positively improving her future. Toddlers in Korea’s social welfare system have fewer opportunities to start school at the same age as their peers. The Korean government does not fund their preschool education until they are four years old. 

Thanks to your loving kindness, Harmony started fine tuning her fine motor skills and social skills in preschool at 20-months-old. We are grateful you believe in the power of an education and help KKOOM close the opportunity gap for young Korean children. 

With gratitude, 

-Grace Lee, Executive Director

Every day has a new beginning, a new blessing, and a new hope. In March 2021, a 22-month-old toddler arrived at a children’s home we support. Giving the child a fresh start, KKOOM provided a Welcome Boost Fund of approximately $125 so the house mother could buy new clothing and basic necessities. The young toddler’s name is Harmony and we are proud to announce she is KKOOM’s newest preschool scholar. To protect the privacy of the child, we have given Harmony an alias name and masked her Korean name. 

Harmony started preschool immediately upon her arrival thanks to your generosity. Typically, the Korean government does not provide financial support for toddlers growing up in Korea’s social welfare system to attend preschool until they are 4-years-old. Getting acclimated to a new learning environment as a 2-year-old, we want to share some of her personality traits and things she enjoys doing. 

What she enjoys the most out of anything else is eating. Now, she tries to eat more snacks in between meals. The children typically have a snack a few hours before dinner at the children’s home. We asked Harmony’s house mother to describe her in one word. She said, “Bright and playful.” When she first came to the children’s home in March, she hid her expressions or forced herself to laugh. Gradually, her expressions have brightened in two months. 

Funding Harmony’s preschool education is a transformational opportunity because it is strengthening her lifelong skills. We asked her house mother, “If you could say one thing to KKOOM supporters, what would it be?” Here is her response translated into English. 

“Thank you for funding Harmony’s preschool scholarship so quickly after her arrival. The scholarship helps the children a lot. Living at a children’s home during the pandemic and government restrictions, it is hard to build social and emotional skills. If it was not for KKOOM, Harmony would not be attending preschool due to her age. Despite the lack of educational attainment and though it’s incomplete sentences, her speaking ability has improved. In less than 2 months, her babbling has turned into short words like, “me too, with me, or give me.” If KKOOM continues to support her educational opportunities, there is much growth expected in her educational endeavors in the future. Thank you!”

In a short amount of time, Harmony has blossomed in her self-confidence through emotional and verbal communication. You play a vital role in making knowledge accessible for our preschool scholars, like Harmony. According to the Wyoming Department of Education, at-risk children are 25% more likely to drop out of school or 60% more likely to never attend college without a high-quality early education. 

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all," a famous quote from the Disney movie Mulan. Despite her life circumstances, Harmony has access to early childhood education because of you. Thank you for giving her the chance to thrive in preschool. You are reshaping her destiny to flourish in education so her future dreams can come true.