PCF/PAP Kindergartens

[mstan]

Hi Tamarind, the chinese as seen in your blog is more or less the same as my elder dd @ current stage - K2.

For English spelling, it started to be quite difficult in last month May08. But I can be surprise that some simple words like mouth, hand, she dono how to spell... wondering why :?:

[ChiefKiasu]

That’s why I have always maintained that the PAP (ie. PCF Sparkletots) kindergartens are really rigorous in preparing kids for P1. Cheap and good. The only problem is the teacher-student ratio does not allow them to customize lessons to the learning speeds of individual kids. So if you supplement a bit of personalized enrichment programs with the kindergarten lessons, your child should be quite well prepared for P1.

[tamarind]

mincy,

I am surprised at their standard. But this PCF costs more than the others. They charge about $200+ per month, and they include enrichment classes like cooking and dancing. Other PCF costs about $100 only. So I think my girl's PCF may be different from others.


kaitlynangelica,
Does your gal need to write you chai and ping guo pai entirely from memory ? I think knowing how to read is easier than knowing how to write such words from memory. When I was 5, I only wrote ren(man), kou(mouth), tian(sky) etc. My girl is attending Berries Chinese class, she can read many Chinese words, but she is not expected to know how to write the words from memory.

For English, she has spelling tests bi-weekly. The words are like \"aeroplane\",\"submarine\",\"fire-engine\",\"ambulance\", etc, and they are expected to write such words entirely from memory too. They are also writing in sentences with help from the teacher. And they have been reading about 3 to 4 simple english books, all these within the first half of the year in K1 ! Some of the kids are probably not even 5 years old yet. My girl said that very few of her classmates can read well in English.

mstan,
I think the teachers expect us parents to teach the simple words

ChiefKiasu,
My girl's class has 18 students, 2 teachers. Totally agree with you about supplementing with enrichment. My girl went to phonics enrichment class when she was 4 years old, and she had no problem following up with the class. She is also attending Chinese enrichment class. Some the kids in her class never attend any enrichment, and they have difficulty following up. Sigh...I am feeling stressed already when she is only in K1.

[kaitlynangelica]

HI Tamarind,


No they are not expected to write but to be able to read.

I am only sending her for phonics right now. And I also agree that we need the enrichment classes to supplement. It is only with it then she can now read 2 and 3-letter words. But she is moving along quite nicely. She also reads about 4 English books in half a year and 6 chinese books in half a year.

I agree its very stressful. Kid only k1 and already so stress. But at least I think your gal is taking it okay??? Seems like it. My daughter likes to complain that the schoolwork is not easy. Sigh! I dread to think of what it will be like when she gets to P1.

[Micky]

Hi Tamarind,


Not all the PCF having the same standard. My girl is also in the PCF K2 she started the english spelling this year and no chinese writtent test yet. So far, the english spelling not more than 6 letters word.

[jedamum]

Micky:

Hi Tamarind,


Not all the PCF having the same standard. My girl is also in the PCF K2 she started the english spelling this year and no chinese writtent test yet. So far, the english spelling not more than 6 letters word.

Hi Micky,
Same here. My K2-ds1 is only starting spelling next term.
School at the moment is too much fun for him...that he complains about June holidays! :lol: What he does at home and enrichment is way much more than what he learns in school.

[tamarind]

kaitlynangelica,

My girl doesn’t mind studying, so making her practice reading and writing everyday is not much problem. Now I worry about my 4 year old boy who is just starting to learn how to write. He does not like to study. So I am going to put him in a "normal" PCF kindergarten next year, not the one my girl is currently in. I will supplement with enrichment classes if necessary.

Micky, Jedamum,
Yes I think my girl’s PCF is different from others. I am not sure why they want to set such high standards at K1. I think their standards are probably the highest in Singapore. I believe those "branded" pre-schools like Lorna Whiston, Pat’s schoolhouse, St James, etc probably don’t even have such high standards.

I think they put a lot of pressure on the parents to teach the kids at home. Sigh… Every month I got a word list of 30 english words like "boomerang", "brilliant" etc to teach my girl, not for spelling, but for recognition only. Fortunately my girl completed a phonics course at 4 years old so she still can manage. But it is not easy for her other classmates who have not attended other enrichment classes. So stressful.

[kaitlynangelica]

HI Tamarind,


Thank goodness you sent your gal off for phonics class at an early age. I started late last year and she is only beginning to read now. She definitely cannot manage such difficult words.

Sigh!So stressful financially as well as emotionally. I am also worried for my gal that she won’t be well prepared for P1.

[tamarind]

kaitlynangelica,

I have been \"studying\" P1 assessment papers from the top primary schools. My conclusion is that english reading skills is most important, not only for english, but also for maths. For the maths paper, the child only need to know the basics of counting, addition, subtraction, but he/she needs to read very well in order to understand the question.

So I think most important is enrichment for english and chinese. I will have to sacrifice other classes like music because I cannot afford it

I just paid the fees for both my kids Chinese enrichment at Berries, cost me total about $750 for 2 kids for one term ! Sian... but no choice for the sake of their education.

[kaitlynangelica]

Hi Tamarind,


My gals fees at Faith Montessori already cost me $575 for just half a day. But I am okay to pay because it blends both Montessori style as well as the MOE curriculum and I have to say that she has improved a lot. Mathematics and langueage is woven into the montessori learning. But everday, they have 1 hour of English Worksheets and 1 hours of Chinese. I tot that was sufficient already. But I wanted to speed up her reading so I sent her for additional phonics at CS ontessori and that cost another $140. Altogether in a month, I spend $715 on her. Really sian with all the rising costs.

How much do each of your kids cost you a month for just their education alone?