All About Montessori

[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:

[toddles]

Hi Rachelmum


thanks so much for sharing what you know abt Josiah... it helped!

I guess there is no 'perfect' preschool... mandarin-wise, looks like we might be headed for Berries at some point haha.... but think I'll probably give Josiah a try for a start and see where that takes us.

Price-wise, yeah, it's the highest in the neighbourhood, but I'm trying to console myself that I'm paying a premium for the convenience, cos it's really near me... and we can drop her on the way to the mrt before we go to work...

cheers! :celebrate:

[rainbows]

Hi rachelmum


thanks for your valuable input. really appreciate it

possible to share more on the mostessori which you sent your gal to. cos i would be residing i seng kang, think wouldn't be too far for me as well.

appreciate it!

thanks.

[tigerlily]

Hihi

I’m new to this forum and have reported as a newbie.

I’ve read this entire thread and the history cos I’m wondering whether to send my little boy to a Montessori school.
I must thank everyone for all your insightful comments and information.
It has been extremely enlightening!
Also thanks to buds for all the info too!

I wonder if anyone has any comments or know of the Early Years Montessori at Sunset Way.
I’m thinking of sending my 19 month old son there next year for N1.
Couldn’t find much info or reviews on it at all…

Montessori methods aim to achieve a confident, self learner.
However does anyone know if the children at Monte schools truly have fun during the classes? Or do they tend to be more focused and hard at work at the tasks? Will there be enough social interaction and also time allocated to run and play freely as well? I’m a little concerned if I start my child at 2+ years old at a Montessori school would the environment be stifling?

One last question hee… my son is currently going for weekend class once a week to GUG where he’s exposed to phonics. Although he’s not really saying the sounds yet tho.
After reading this thread I realize that buds you said that the proper way is to teach the letters of alphabets first before their phonetic sounds??
Oh oh…
seems like I’m not doing it right??

Please help to give me any reviews or comments if possible as I’m getting more confused n undecided wrt choosing a Montessori school or one of those ‘branded’ schools.
Thanks in advance!!