Project Wagga

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Wagga, a cartoon character, plays a focal role in Project Wagga and is a trademark of the Department of Child Development (DCD) KKH. Project Wagga was initiated in 2013 as a service innovation for the Social Skills Group (SSG) programme at DCD, aimed at supporting Kindergarten 2 children in developing social interaction skills. The aim of the project was twofold: 

(1) To create stories that were based on a theoretical framework of developing social competence and 

(2) to teach social skills concepts in a relatable manner to young children. 

The department developed a series of nine social story books in local contexts for Project Wagga, integrating components of social awareness, self-regulation, and problem-solving. Wagga serves as the main character for learning various social-emotional skills within these books. Titles include "Wagga's First Day at School", "Wagga Learns to Listen", "Wagga Learns about Feelings", and "Wagga Learns about Bullying". 

The decision to develop these storybooks stemmed from the limitations of commercially available books that SSG facilitators had previously used. Many of these books were not culturally appropriate or targeted to the specific needs of children attending the SSG. To address this, the character Wagga was created to appeal to children's interest in cartoon-like characters, as research has shown that children relate better to characters than to therapists when learning social behaviours. 

Since its inception, the Wagga series has also been successfully used by other therapists and professionals from programmes such as the Development Support and Learning Support Programme. 

At the Early Childhood Celebrations & Conference (ECCC) 2023, a concurrent session, Wagga®: A Resource Facilitating Social-Emotional Learning with Children, was conducted. In this workshop, participants picked up strategies on how to weave SEL (Social Emotional Learning) into the preschool curriculum using the Wagga book series. 

Research shows that programmes that target child's social skills and emotional development improve child's' mental health and build positive change.  It also improves academic performance in children (Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Learn About Children's Mental Health).  

A team comprising members from DCD, National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC), KKH Child Life, Art and Music Therapy Programmes (CHAMPs) and volunteers collaborated to simplify and expand Wagga's social story books. The aim is to extend the use of Wagga books to the general preschool setting, enabling early childhood educators to incorporate these books for social-emotional skills development within the classrooms. 

The project is funded by Lien Foundation.

Click here to see our books.