All About Montessori

[golfer]

sorry to hijack.

whats the fee for montessori kindergarten?
can the K1 children read 5 letter words?

[RAchelmum]

golfer:

sorry to hijack.

whats the fee for montessori kindergarten?
can the K1 children read 5 letter words?

Here's a gd ref from MOE but do call up the centres for latest fees:
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/preschool/files/kindergarten-profile.xls
in general up to 4-6x more than a PCF kindy.

More info on kindergartens:
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/preschool/

Golfer,
Ability to read is not determined by the complexity of the words.
Children also need to learn sight words like 'The' or 'an' etc, to read complete sentences.

My girl's Monte sch will loan a reader on every fri for her to read over the wkend. I don see simply 3 or 5 letter words for Nursery 1 level.

She is reading words like 'hippopotamus' or 'rhinoceros' even before entering kindy.

Don wait for teachers to teach reading, but most kindy (even non-Monte) would had taught children to read phonetically by K1, so that they would
not be confused with Han Yu Pin Yin which is usu introduced at K2.

[buds]

golfer:

sorry to hijack.

whats the fee for montessori kindergarten?

No worries golfer.
It is still related to Montessori.
It varies from one kindy to another in terms of
set up, hours offered, directress-child ratio and
teachers' qualification plus how established in
terms of quality and also branding..

With a good Montessori centre & a passionate
+ knowledgable Montessori directress, your child
will not need external enrichment for Language, Math
and Science as all these are covered in the curriculum..
Plus the Montessori methodology offers soft skills and
character building that not many mainstream schools
have the time or ability to cover. Good values are also
important for our ever impressionable growing children,
apart from the academics' chase..

golfer:

can the K1 children read 5 letter words?

Our K1 Montessorian children can read simple books... not just words.

[Shera]

Does anyone know where to get the listing of the Montessori based kindergartens :?

[toddles]

RAchelmum:

Hi trixter,
Not continuing with Josiah as had enrolled my girl in a Montessori school nearer to home with non-aircon environment.
I would say there are passionate educators, endorsed by their brand name.

Thanks for your sharing. Any specific pros and cons of Josiah to share? What did you like or not like about it?

Also, if you don't mind sharing, where you decided to transfer your kid to?

RAchelmum:

I am hoping that my girl would be a self-disciplined, independent thinker,confident, self-motivated and responsible individual
in the long run, as such i may save on tuition/ enrichment class fees and my naggings.

Academically, she needs not be the best but character building not only starts from home.
The school plays a part to help to enforce, as children spend quite a substantial amt of time in sch.
Many educators had no time for that since their key performance indicators (KPIs) focus on producing students who attain academic excellence.

Of course, the parents must really spend effort & time to inculcate the right values & positive attitudes towards learning.

Totally agree.

I am not so caught up with academic excellence, so still wondering whether Josiah is the right place to put my kid. I stay nearby so it's high on the convenience scale. Josiah seems quite fixated on academic excellence and less on (learning thru) play?

Overall from your sharing, seems like montessori preschool is the way to go to achieve a 'balanced' self-motivated child. thanks!

[rainbows]

hi hi


i chanced upon this thread and thot maybe you could share with me also :oops:

may i know are all montessori childcare using the smiliar methods on teaching?

if so, anybody has their child in amazing star/shekinah montessri in sengkang?

i can't decide which one..

appreciate your inputs.

thanks

[wyou]

hi everyone,


wondering if it will be confusing for a child to start a montessori n a mainstream program at the same time? i can’t decide which is more suitable for my dd. Tot of letting her to try both 1st before i decide her N1 school next year.

My dd is shy n very quite in public or in playgroup class but actually very active, understands n able to converse quite well at home.( speaks in sentences) She is coming to 20 mths old.

Is montessori program has lesser interact time in class? Do they have more individual time with teacher? Am oso concern that she will not speak up when in big group ( mainstream school).

Any advise will be much appreciated. Tks!

[RAchelmum]

Hi toddles

Josiah toddler classes introduce Music & movement, Art & craft,
simple gym play (like mini obstacle circuits), phonics, montessori mat
time where the children are free to choose work they like to do eg.
practical skills (pouring, scooping, combing etc)/ puzzles/ blocks/ books
or toys.
Learning is certainly through play in a way.

I am not sure abt the nursery/ kindergarten level but it should be as
holistic as well. From my understanding, they provide very good
enrichment classes for the K1, K2.
Worth a visit & talk to the course coordinator or teachers for more info.
I often see interested parents popping by with accompanied staff, of
course, to peep through the glass panels during lesson time.

The setback is that their strength is more on English only,
not Chinese or other Mother tongue Lang.

Also, the environ is fully air-con with no outdoor playgrd, but classrooms
are spacious & organised & some with large viewing glass panels.

Although they provide a water dispenser & tissue papers outside the
classroom for children to wash/ dry their hands after the activities,
would prefer a non air-con kindy to minimise easy spread of illnesses.

Would say their course fees is one of the highest, which would put many off.

As i stay in Punggol, travelling is too long & tiring for my lil bud.
Had enrolled her in Bridges Montessori which is stone's throw from home.



Hi rainbows
I had check out Amazing Star b4 on a sat noon with appt.
They had the unusual practice of Montessori for N1, N2 level & non-montessori for K1, K2.

Took over from Gingerbread Skoolhouse or something like that. If u observed the materials,
they are not quite a montessori sch, more like a childcare centre.

Plus point is that they had Computer lessons inclusive in the curriculum which u need not pay extra.
They are housed in a 3-storey bungalow so classrooms are tiny bedroom sized.
And the winding staircases really makes me worry as definitely would be more accident-prone,
even though with safety gates installed at every landing.
My DD is panting after climbing up & dn during the visit.

Nursery groups would be placed at 1st storey & K-level would be placed at the upper floors.
Another uncomfy thing that caught my attention is the small TV placed at the entrance/ waiting area.
There are a few children ard that day & they are glued to it. Half-day care is provided on sat.

When i queried if TV is a teaching media, the coordinator mentioned it is mainly on while waiting for parents to pick the kids. :?

So if u r interested, do make a visit. What i had seen, may not be justified in a single visit.

As for Shekinah montessori, didnt check out the Sengkang one.
The one within Punggol Plaza is fully air-con with compartmented classrooms with/ without windows, so didnt pursue further.


Hi wyou,

Montessori sch would have circle time for Nursery grp to mix with the Kindergarten grp, which means age 3 to 6 would have interactive time together. Not just with the children of same age.

Believe it or not, of the few the kindy i had visited, it is those children from the Monte sch that are more out-spoken & friendly, to my girl & myself.

Donno why many parents got the idea that monte-trained children cant socialise. Taught to independent & do thing by oneself is diff from trained to be anti-social.

There is this unmentioned buddy system which i observed from my girl's kinky. One of her classmate & senior would guide her where to put her shoes, bag & even hold her hands during the class. She settled very quickly within 2 days and always looking forward to sch to see her friends.

These little gestures really touch my heart as they are not assigned to help/ guide the new-comer (She joins only at Term 2).

How well would she fit in the mainstream pri sch, i am not too concern as she basically can engage with anyone.

Hope this helps!
Cheers
Rachelmum

[Lemon_Coffee]

MMI is an excellent school especially the methodology. My son is in N2 this year and he is in MMI Seng Kang he had kind and understanding teachers last year. However the turn over rate for his class from PG till N1 was really high. This year the form teacher seems to be lazy and not effective in handling the kids. This is very disheartening getting such hopeless teachers with no passion and tolerance in PREMIUM schools like MMI.

[wyou]

hi Rachelmum,


tks for the input.

wondering if u could share some info about bridges montessori? how many children in a class n their fees pls? was unable to find their website.

any comments on halifax montessori or faith montessori?

tks n sorry for asking too many questions. :oops: