Little Skool House

[toddles]

engp9337:

i just realized that the forum has deleted one of my post abt LSH at Kent Vale. it is alright, but isn't this forum intending for everyone to share their experience and thoughts, no matter negative or positive???

It's in the Alternative Views section....

[qms]

engp9337:

i just realized that the forum has deleted one of my post abt LSH at Kent Vale. it is alright, but isn't this forum intending for everyone to share their experience and thoughts, no matter negative or positive???

An extract from Chief:

Kiasuparents.com no longer permits users with a post count of less than 50 to post negative views about service providers or products. This is to avoid cases where service providers are maliciously maligned by competitors pretending to be irate customers. We need posters to first establish themselves as responsible members of the community before we accept negative reviews.

[qms]

sean wife:

...While I think the teachers and activities there are pretty good, does the lack on academic focus mean that parents need to do a lot of home coaching to make up for the lack of writing, spelling etc? ..

Not sure which outlet your kids are in, but the centre my girl is currently in has a lot of writing. The teachers are also teaching them topics that my P1 boy is learning now.

They don't have spelling, but it's fine with me because I think my girl should be concentrating on brushing up her phonics.

[Shera]

I will like to clarify: Lsh still exposed children to writing but this is not strongly emphasis which is why they greatly encouraged parents to do this more at home. Of course if the student is very onz then this is not an issue anymore… or that particular batch of students are smarter which motivates the teachers to spur them more challenges, why not…


sean wife: regarding school holidays. Actually there are many enrichment centres offering holiday programmes like Lorna Whiston, Kinderland, baker inn etc etc it’s a matter of who can bring your children to & fro the locations.

[Shera]

qms: as I mentioned before, planning is done by teachers so definitely inconsistency will surface. Moreover, different branches run at different style due to principal's way of doings. So long there is no big mistakes done which resulted via media, mgmt don't care ($$ still roll in)... this is what I heard during my experience with lsh staffs. Don't blame me if this is otherwise

[qms]

Shera:

qms: as I mentioned before, planning is done by teachers so definitely inconsistency will surface. Moreover, different branches run at different style due to principal's way of doings. So long there is no big mistakes done which resulted via media, mgmt don't care ($$ still roll in)... this is what I heard during my experience with lsh staffs. Don't blame me if this is otherwise

Hi Shera!

Thanks for your clarification and elaboration.

I spoke to the Centre Director previously, and she said all centres adopt the same style (of course, with different teachers, implementation and therefore standards will be different) and curriculum. The Centre Director is supposed to oversee all the centres, and hence, I thought that all centres should place the same emphasis on certain aspects.

[sean wife]

Hi Shera,qms


Thanks for your feedback…

I think in general what I understand from the teachers are that theirs is not exactly a structured, learning A-Z kind of environment. For e.g. in N1, they dun really teach them A-Z in their sequence, rather they will introduce when taking outdoor walks, or other activities. For N2, they dun really ask the child to sit down and do tracing letters, numbers etc, rather they will have the materials at the ‘learning corner’ and the kids are free to explore with them during their free time. For spelling at kindergarten level, what I understand is that they will give a list to the kid to bring home and dun really test them in school. I agree very much that a lot depends on the teacher-in-charge as the management will give broad outline and it’s up to the teachers to plan the activities….so if the teacher feels she wants to do more structured writing kind of activities, the kids in her class will have such activities… For e.g. at N1 level, the curriculum does not really ask Chinese teacher to introduce Chinese words to the kids, but my gals’ teacher will show them the words while introducing the picture/concept to them.

In general I think they do try to provide a wide range of activities for exploration of science/general knowledge concepts, which is probably good for stimulating the interest and curiosity of young kids. Going on to higher level, there will probably need to have a good balance between reading/writing/maths preparation as well as expanding on their knowledge etc. As for what constitutes a good balance, I guess it’s really up to individual and also a lot of what kind of home learning is provided by parents ourselves….as I feel that school learning and home learning should ideally complement each other and makes up for what each lacks.

[qms]

sean wife:

...Going on to higher level, there will probably need to have a good balance between reading/writing/maths preparation as well as expanding on their knowledge etc....

Hi sean wife!

If this is your concern, I guess LSH doesn't fare too badly. I am comparing LSH with another centre that my son attended, and I feel that LSH is better able to prepare the children for primary school compared to the other centre.

Again, this is based on my girl's centre.

[sean wife]

Hi qms,


Do you mind sharing at which level do you start to see writing being incorporated into your gal’s work? Do you still send her for enrichment lessons?

Mine are currently in N1 and I was told phonics will be introduced at N2 onwards. Actually contrary to you, I am more concerned on the writing part vs the phonics and reading part as I feel that my gals are more receptive to reading kind of activities at home compared to writing/tracing/motor skills kind of activities. That’s why I hope the school can complement their learning in this aspect.

[qms]

sean wife:

Do you mind sharing at which level do you start to see writing being incorporated into your gal’s work? Do you still send her for enrichment lessons?

Hi sean wife!

Actually, my girl is not a good example here to show any indication on their curriculum. LSH took over the management of the childcare centre only this year, and my girl is currently in K2.

I didn't used to send her for any enrichment lessons, and I don't send her for any currently.