MOE Kindergarten

[nwt12]

Hi all,


Any reviews on MK Waterway? My gal is in Early years centre so she is going to affiliated MK waterway primary next year. MK oasis is nearer to me but I am just letting her follow the school though wonder if i should put myself on waiting list for MK oasis. Any feedback? I heard Oasis afterschool care provider is not that good. So wanted to try MK waterway which is under Little Professor.

Appreciate any advice/feedback

[floppy]

nwt12\" post_id=\"1979335\" time=\"1591238926\" user_id=\"180952:

Hi all,

Any reviews on MK Waterway? My gal is in Early years centre so she is going to affiliated MK waterway primary next year. MK oasis is nearer to me but I am just letting her follow the school though wonder if i should put myself on waiting list for MK oasis. Any feedback? I heard Oasis afterschool care provider is not that good. So wanted to try MK waterway which is under Little Professor.

Appreciate any advice/feedback

One EYC should be affiliated to about 3 MK. Oasis could be one of them.

I think it’s more important to consider whether you want to utilize the Phase 2A2 privilege for Oasis or Waterway. That’s more critical compared to who runs the after school care Programme. If you are considering Oasis for primary school, you should put up the request to switch / wait list.

[Pinky_bunny]

Hi anyone put your kids in moe kindergarten at anchor green or springdale? May i know more about the sch and is it good? Im still deciding whether to put my kids in or not. Thanks

[Niqil]

Sending my son to MK is still the biggest regret in my life. He is still not on par with his peers in the pri sch. It is just a neighbourhood sch by the way. Even after sending him for extra English enrichment since mid of K1, it is still not enough. If only we had let him stay at the same pre-sch as my elder child, even though it would cause us a little bit of inconvenience. After every parent-teacher mtg of feedback at MK, the teachers keep reassuring my son is coping well in kindergarten. Their set of standard is really totally different from outside. (Which is irony since this is MOE kindergarten and they should know what needs to be taught before primary 1) How can they expect the kids to transit into primary school smoothly? I am not saying the teachers are not good. It is just the system, and the false hope. The primary school syllabus do not slow down for MK kids. It is not our wish to send our kid to MK just to send him to other enrichment class. So far those coping well seems to have gone for enrichment class while in MK too, that is why they do not have problems in primary school? They emphasize learning through play, other pre-schools are doing the same. I do not see it any different. The term "holistic" is not evident in the primary school syllabus by the way. Anyway, how stress can a pre-school be?

[Cherryplum]

MK is meant to be a fun learning place for children. We liked that it is not a stressful environment except that the food during snack time can be improved. Parents who expect it to be an academically-driven kind, should look somewhere else such as PCF Sparkletots.

Based on what we have gone through, be it a high, mid or low fees range preschool, parents like myself who are not good at teaching language skills, have to ultimately rely on a third party professional source.

We had chosen MK because with the thought of my child having to attend enrichment classes, we wanted a kindy that is fun and enjoyable and with a reasonable school fee. It turned out that we were not the only ones who think in this way. The majority of the kids in my child’s class had gone for English enrichment classes after school. I liked the children in the class and my child had great company for the 2 years.

On academic achievement… As other experienced parents and professional educators have said, a child’s learning journey is a parent and school partnership. In school, we worked together with our child to churn out class projects. Outside school, we followed the enrichment centre teacher’s advise in reading together with our child. Patience is key at the beginning phase until the child gets the hang of reading. These days are unlike the past, the Primary 1 standard is higher and parents where possible, should not leave the child to swim alone and expect wondrous result at preschool age. The 4 hours spent in any kindy is not enough for a child to master good language skills.

[lee_vl]

I am currently an MOE Kindergarten teacher. Here’s my take for parents considering MK.


Pros:
1. Subsidized school fees
2. Priority entry into primary school

Cons:
1. Parents need to put their child in enrichment centres outside MK to prepare for primary school (because phonics, spelling and maths are not in the curriculum)
2. Large percentage of teachers are fresh diploma grads who are learning on the job
3. High turnover rate of teachers prevalent in most MKs tend to affect children’s learning and development
4. Children lack opportunities to develop their sense of curiosity, creativity and problem-solving skills as curriculum is teacher directed and not child directed
5. Curriculum is not actually play-based. The children only get to play at learning centres for about 10-15 mins or not at all due to time constraints
6. Snacks are pre-bought processed food and not freshly made
7. No toilet training provided for children
8. High teacher-child ratio of 1:25 means less attention given to each child
9. No assistance given to children with mild special education needs despite accepting them into MK

[glitterpen]

Thanks for sharing! My kid started MK this year, and I find the first con a bit concerning. What kind of maths should kindergarteners know before entering P1?


(Not that the other cons aren't valid, but I feel like the first pro explains them all.)

lee_vl\" post_id=\"1991087\" time=\"1597501121\" user_id=\"187852:

I am currently an MOE Kindergarten teacher. Here's my take for parents considering MK.

Pros:
1. Subsidized school fees
2. Priority entry into primary school

Cons:
1. Parents need to put their child in enrichment centres outside MK to prepare for primary school (because phonics, spelling and maths are not in the curriculum)
2. Large percentage of teachers are fresh diploma grads who are learning on the job
3. High turnover rate of teachers prevalent in most MKs tend to affect children's learning and development
4. Children lack opportunities to develop their sense of curiosity, creativity and problem-solving skills as curriculum is teacher directed and not child directed
5. Curriculum is not actually play-based. The children only get to play at learning centres for about 10-15 mins or not at all due to time constraints
6. Snacks are pre-bought processed food and not freshly made
7. No toilet training provided for children
8. High teacher-child ratio of 1:25 means less attention given to each child
9. No assistance given to children with mild special education needs despite accepting them into MK

[Read]

lee_vl\" post_id=\"1991087\" time=\"1597501121\" user_id=\"187852:

I am currently an MOE Kindergarten teacher. Here's my take for parents considering MK.

Pros:
1. Subsidized school fees
2. Priority entry into primary school

Cons:
1. Parents need to put their child in enrichment centres outside MK to prepare for primary school (because phonics, spelling and maths are not in the curriculum)
2. Large percentage of teachers are fresh diploma grads who are learning on the job
3. High turnover rate of teachers prevalent in most MKs tend to affect children's learning and development
4. Children lack opportunities to develop their sense of curiosity, creativity and problem-solving skills as curriculum is teacher directed and not child directed
5. Curriculum is not actually play-based. The children only get to play at learning centres for about 10-15 mins or not at all due to time constraints
6. Snacks are pre-bought processed food and not freshly made
7. No toilet training provided for children
8. High teacher-child ratio of 1:25 means less attention given to each child
9. No assistance given to children with mild special education needs despite accepting them into MK

Thanks for sharing! Any idea what is the reason for the high turnover of teachers? Is this prevalent in older MKs too? I had thought that being an MK teacher offers a stable career given it is under MOE.

How is the partnership between KCare and MK? Does KCare complement the curriculum at MK?

[Cherryplum]

Parents who are interested in MK should really make an effort to visit the open house and speak to the Teachers and Principal especially. The effect of the MK experience really depends on the leadership of the principal. I suspect the kindergartens may operate slightly different depending on the principals (since everyone is different).


We (parents and children) had fun and had fond memories of the first year as the principal encouraged parents involvement. We could see the great team effort and creative input by the Teachers together with the parent volunteers. There were a lot of activities throughout the year. However, all the fun changed after the high calibre principal was being transferred to a new MK and a conservative-thinking principal took over in the second year. Suddenly, everything became so quiet and … boring. The stark contrast in standard was apparent.

We wished we could follow the first principal but the location was too far away. It was the “kampung spirit” in the kindergarten principal that made us parents felt that we had made the right choice!
—————————————————
As much as I remember, there was an allied teacher who took charge of children with mild learning ability.

I also recalled my child telling me about the fun during play time that didn’t sound like it was a mere 10-15mins play time.

As for preparation of mathematics in P1, just make sure the child understands English language well. Leave the math teaching to the P1 Teacher. Mathematics enrichment or tuition is only necessary if the child has learning difficulty like, not knowing 1 + 1.

Enjoy the kindy time!

[lee_vl]

There is no allied teacher provided in MKs. Perhaps you’re referring to the FLAIR teacher? Some parents do pay extra to have a therapist assess their child and send their child to Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children centres outside MK hours. The teachers themselves in MK however are not trained to teach children with special needs. The curriculum standard is basically to meet the bare minimum for entry into primary school. Most private preschools do teach more. For example, operations (+,-,etc) are not taught in MK but are covered in private preschools. MK introduces basic high frequency words to children while private preschools may go beyond and teach spelling. This means that academically, the MK child will have a steeper hill to climb when they enter primary school.