Kinderland

[jujuboys]

if you are staying in yew tee area, there is tulip montessori.


if you are staying in teck whye area, there is also a montessori near cck ave 1, along hong san walk.

[Joeann_Bryan]

Hi jujuboys,


Thanks for your info Really quite difficult to choose between Kinderland & Montessori ? :?: Think will go down and take look

[Joeann_Bryan]

carolsoh:

Hi Joeann_Bryan,


Did you go to the Kinderland @ beside Lot1? How do you find their progromme, environment & teacher?

Cheers,
Carol

Hi Carolsoh,

I hv not went yet but i will be gg next mon to take a look and let u know:)

[Joeann_Bryan]

carolsoh:

Hi Joeann_Bryan,


Ok

So your child born in which year? Btw, what is so good about Montessori programme? Actually after read so much i'm still very confuss. Hehehe...... & their fee also not cheap too.

Hi,

My child is born in yr 07. Montessori got cover phonics which i personally think is gd but i agree their fee is not cheap,really expensive

I finally 2day went to take look at tulip Montessori, agape childcare & Kinderland.

Tulip Montessori is a enrichment centre while the rest are childcare. but i will prefer Kinderland, too bad i on waiting list

Any recommendation ard cck & yew tew?

[Joeann_Bryan]

carolsoh:

Hi Joeann_Bryan,


But nowdays alot of childcare also did cover phonic too. What make you like Kinderland & which branch did you view? You waitlisted for full day?

So next year your child will be in N2 already. I know Kinderland did start on phonic for N2.

I also did view agape childcare b4, i don't like it co's their centre is just beside the rubbish house. So every morning all the kids will smell those rubbish. So i find that is not healthy for the kids.

Hmmm......... Wharton also quite good, you might want to try & see got seat or not. I did waitlisted since Aug'08 till now but still can't get in. So drop this idea to register my child to Wharton already.

Cheers,
Carol

Hi Carol,

I went to lot 1 kinderland. I find over there organise,moreover a classroom of 5-7 kids with two teachers which is better than agape. Ya i on waiting list for full day. No lar, my child will be N1. Somemre agape seem like got a few are china teacher but they said onli teach chinese.

But Wharton quite out of my way cause i stay at cck crescent.So finally u choose which child care

[whoosh]

almondcream:

Hi, I sent my daughter to Learning Vision in Tampines when she was 2 1/2 years old.


I only remembered that there were plenty of excursions (my husband even jokingly commented that they might have a share in the bus company responsible for ferrying the kids around). While Learning Vision is an established chain, I think each centre differs in terms of the quality of the teachers. I eventually pulled my daughter out after 1 year due to frequent turnover of teachers and the last teacher she had could not even write and speak proper English (I almost flipped when I read her incoherent message in the communication book).

My suggestion is don't just talk to the administrators; have a chat with the teachers who will be responsible for the class that your child might be joining so that you can at least assess their communication skills. Also ask for opportunity to observe the class in session.

I think the same goes for MMI which I believe charges a lot more. The one I visited in Tampines was so clamped and dark while my friends who have tried the one near AMK and another one near Jurong West were happy with their centres.

Hi almondcream

I sent my kids there too, but not anymore (LV @ TP will be relocated to CBP).

To be fair to some of the teachers, those who left are pretty decent. This happened (as observed) after the new principal J* took over.

Please click link to see my experiences - http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/sutra370601.html#370601.

regards.

[cloe]

I read from the papers that Kinderland is opening a new branch at JP about 2 months ago. Any idea if it’s confirmed?

[buds]

MMI Bt Panjang left a painful shred of mine and

my child’s life. Heavy politics. No-brainer teachers.
Shouting, screaming, yelling… Wait a minute, the last
three words mean the same thing! Its done all the time
that’s why. Not a Montessori environment entirely.

Punishment?

Heck, lets not even go there.

Not enuf space to pen down here.

[MMM]

swpf:

hi ChiefKiasu,

anything wrong with kinderland?
btw which kinderland branch did your child attend?

Hi,

My kids are product of Kinderland Marine Parade. 2 of them are in P2 and P1 this year while the youngest is in Nursery.

So far teachers turnover is quite manageable. There was a period where there was a change of principals but now with Mrs Cheliah, it appears to be stable. Alot of teachers have been teaching there for years. Eg. some up to 20 years and quite a number of them more than 10 years. So far the teachers we've are really interested in the kids and not acting as though they are just earning a living.

The pros are the kids enjoy learning in primary school and basically, they just enjoy primary school despite the academic requirements. It was a fairly easy adjustment for them in P1. They are confident and happy little ones and most importantly enjoys school. That's what we want for them as well.

On the other hand, academically, some may feel that kinderland academic is not \"tough\" enough eg. learning up to 100,etc.... In our case, we send the kids for enrichment classes which we will probably do even if the kids go to another pre-school... Eg. our kids attend molin that allows them to have a good chinese foundation and phonics lesson that enable them to read independently. Eg. I've a friend who send the child to chiltern house BUt the child still ends up with a string of enrichment classes. It's probably the kiasu mindset that parents in general have. We feel inadequate that the kindergarden is teaching enough.

Other than that, kinderland also has weekly music program which move on to keyboard skills when they are in K1? I can't recall at which stage.

[buds]

MMI curriculum was the best in my opinion.

Covered 5 learning areas in detail…
(Depending on teacher laa of course…)

Aaaaannnd…
Its NOT ROTE LEARNING.
Its not teacher directed.
Its child centred. Teachers act as observers
and directresses, introducing new concepts in
creative ways and directing them to the
right and purposeful ways of carrying out
activities. All hands on. Not look at posters
or stare at whiteboard kinda approach.

Stuff like social grace and courtesy,
extensive science explorations and
geography helped widen children’s
interest in many other things than
the basic, children MUST learn how to
read and MUST learn to count effectively.

All lessons are according to child’s pace and
learning interests… No 2 children are forced to
be at the same stage at any one time except
if the kids are in a fixed enrichment pgrm ie
Phonics Pgrm or Maths Pgrm which lasts 10mths
to 1 year.

Parents who have kids in Montessori schools usually
never need to worry about kids not being able to read
or count. Its part of the programme.

Just that… Sigh.
Teachers lah!