All About Montessori

[buds]

Amethyst:

Hi Buds, thank you so much for taking time off to reply and share your thoughts.

No worries. I try to reply when i have time to and these days,
it is like time-no-enuf. :lol:

Amethyst:

My girl also has eczma (though not frequent outbreaks luckily) and prone to heat rash. But DH and i are more concerned with her monthly MCs, cos each time she is down with fever/flu/cough, it easily means 3-5 days of absence fr sch, if not more.

My DD1's eczema didn't start out too bad until much later and became
quite uncomfortable. I didn't want to place so much reliance on steroidic
creams though used sparingly when required. Hence the only way was to
find a clean air-conditioned set-up that could help her learn & play in sheer
comfort. For children with eczema or asthmatic children, carpets and mats
can also be a cause for constant relapses especially if the centre doesn't
really practise good hygiene and daily clean-up routines with their toys &
the environment. MCs? I've been there and done that with DD1 for the 1st
few years of her pre-school life up till P2, where we got a H1N1 scare when
she couldn't keep her fever spikes under control. That was one helluva
scare. I tell you, schools that are complacent with cleanliness are those
who won't eventually stand by their decisions to keep children with fever
off the centre and even allow children who have diarrhoea to attend only
to find out the diarrhoea is actually stomach flu and being contagious it
can spread like anything. I've even had experience with a centre that had
a vigilant teacher who reported a boy with chicken pox in her class and
brought him straight to the principal's office. The mother could still claim
that she didn't know her boy had chicken pox which was an outright lie cos
honestly it was full blown chicken pox all right. Tsk tsk.. the poor teacher
plus another handful of students who were in close contact with the boy
for that short period during health check prior to entering the classroom,
were down with chicken pox for two whole weeks! Some parents uh..
The principal was very upset and rang the mom up to inform her to take
her boy back and the mom was reprimanded for being negligent causing
other children high chance to be subjected to the same illness. The mom
then confessed and broke down saying she had exhausted leave from
having to care for the other sibling who was down with chicken pox for
the past two weeks and she could not take any more leave. She had been
hinted that her leave taking has affected her work and that she could lose
her job.

Amethyst:

Has seen Amazing Star at CCK Blk511 (if I didn't remember wrongly). Also has no a/c.

I visited the one at Jelapang, you know where Greenridge Shopping Ctr
is? It has aircon and was just newly opened when i visited with my todd
and another baby in arm. I have not visited the one @ CCK cos i had no
need for any pre-school services when they opened. :lol:

Amethyst:

I heard that they don't go at individual pace. The whole class will be doing the same thing/worksheets. I was told by principal that in Montessori teaching, workgroups are not at indvd pace any more, has to be in a grp. Is it really so in montessori culture? The principal is the only one trained in montessori method and she in turn trains her teacher to teach the kids the phonics and maths the montessori way.

Different set-ups practise different standards of Montessori teachings in
accordance to the hours and the routines set by the individual organisation.
Each would have varying objectives of running their establishments and
as parents we should recce and go with the one that satisfies our research
the best and where we know our children can learn in a clean, safe & happy
environment.

While group activities are sometimes included to ensure children are also
exposed to mainstream-type education where children must also learn to
work in groups, some centers still do allow for individual mat activity where
the child will be observed to work with materials independently as well.
Montessori education i suppose had to evolve with the demands of our
society and also parents who find children have a need to be equipped
and ready to face mainstream education, since most would be enrolled
into government schools upon graduating from pre-school.

I will not say there is a right & wrong here cause the varying organisations
DO have to work within their limits and capacities of parental requests and
needs, mainstream inclusion and yet try to maintain the purity of the
methodology the best they can. There will be other staunch Montessorians
who may have differing or opposing opinions to mine in this instance so
this is highly based on my opinion as an educator and also from managemt
point of view.

Amethyst:

Howver, in the other 2 schools that I mentioned earlier, the workgroups are conducted at indvd pace. But of course, the prices really differ fr Amazing Star. I dun need childcare services as well, so looking more at kindy for my kid.

The only kindy that offers Montessori is the one also at CCK... err.. St 53?
Ichiban Kindergarten, Tulip Montessori and the one from MMI ctrs nearby
may offer afternoon academic Montessori programme without the child
care. I didn't have a very good impression of an Ichiban @ Hong San bk
when i did recce... due to the attitude of a staff towards the children and
how she maintained discipline with the children under her care, so i sorta
didn't bother with Ichiban as a whole. Not stereotyping but parents really
really have to make the effort to visit a place a couple of times, with and
without appointments... or just to see how dismissal is run and stuff. For
void deck centres, well... you can just hear them from outside really.
I also take time to observe teachers who bring students out for outdoor
play at public playgrounds. The way they interact and care for the
student's safety tell a lot about how they work with the children under
their care. I'm the sort who plays with the children, slide... swing... sand..
you name it. And i chat with the children while we all play together, so i
truly love it when i do get to see teachers unwinding and being the child
in them..... playing joyfully with the children instead of those just standing
around either watching the kiddies or worse; gossiping with other teachers
and not minding the kiddies at all. :faint:

If you're willing to go a little outta the way, you may try Blossom Monte as
well. They provide longer kindy hours from what i last heard. Management
has changed but not sure about the quality. Fees wise also on the high side
almost like Tulip but worth a look to have a feel of a different Montessori
set-up for you to make comparison with a fresh pair of eyes on another
environment.

Amethyst:

Your kids are so lucky to hv personal tutor at home with them.

I left a high flying career to work with them and now looking back i have
no regrets. Psst... after my mom could no longer assist me with child care
upon my 2nd child's birth... i just could not fathom the thought of my ILs
taking care of my two kiddies hence the eventual decision to leave the
profession until my children are older and more independent. It was
worth it!

Amethyst:

By the way, which is the school that you used to work in (Can u pm me if not convenient to post here)? I believe your dedication and passion together with your systematic work attitudes wld be passed on to your fellow disciples? Since the 'sifu' is not at the cte any more, perhaps we can look for the next best disciple. (MIN SHI CHU GAO TU!!!)

All the staff under my guidance have left for greener pastures i'm afraid
and i am extremely happy for all of them... they make me proud.
Teaching... for me, is not only just a reflection of the success of the
children but also in how we inspire others to teach with passion. The
journey has been sweet and we all still keep in touch till today. :love:

Regards, buds.

[happyfeet11]

Can anyone share how much is tulip’s rates?

[sunny]

Amethyst:

Has seen Amazing Star at CCK Blk511 (if I didn't remember wrongly). Also has no a/c. I heard that they don't go at individual pace. The whole class will be doing the same thing/worksheets. I was told by principal that in Montessori teaching, workgroups are not at indvd pace any more, has to be in a grp. Is it really so in montessori culture? The principal is the only one trained in montessori method and she in turn trains her teacher to teach the kids the phonics and maths the montessori way.

Hi Amethyst
my gal is at amazing star CCK blk 511. There are another 2 teachers in the centre who are trained in montessori. one is in playgroup, another one is in nursery. sad to say, the principal has just transferred to another new branch at sengkang. the new principal who will be joining is not montessori trained...

[sunny]

buds:

Niwae, the journey has bn

suweeet and i am reaping the joys of my years of pre-school investment
at home for my girls. They love learning.. love school.. and are motivated
learners... plus usually independent. Montessorian children should not only
love learning the present but yearn to acquire knowledge for life. :celebrate:

Hi buds
wanted to find out, how do we nurture a kid to be a motivated learners? and love learning? When the kids keep asking 'why', does it mean that they love learning?

also, in a montessori based school, is it important that the principal needs to be montessori trained? or only the experience of the teachers is the most important? I was really puzzled when I found out that the new principal of my kids' school is not montessori trained and yet she is hired to manage a montessori school.

[RyanMom]

Hi,

Does anyone has comments on character montessorie at AMK?
Thanks

[kup1pi]

Hi,Im new in tis forum n i like tis forum vr mch as it provides lots of helpful informations.Im looking 4 montessori school at central area 4 my little nw,any1 heard of little raffless@robinson?any feedbck?pls help as i'm vr confused nw help............plzzzzzzzzzzz :?

[Tika]

Hello,


I’m a 28 year old mom to 2 girls, 2 years and 1 year old. my husband and i are advocates of positive parenting (when our patience doesn’t leave us in the lurch, still working on improving that).

my husband is a private music teacher. he teaches mostly children as young as 4 to teenagehood. he doesn’t believe in music exams. he encourages creativity and instills confidence in his students by organizing performances at family functions.

i’m a stay home mother by choice but i may have to consider starting a job soon, not by choice.

Husband and I love the montessori method of independent learning for our children. We are still quite new to the method and its a learning process for us as well. We’ve transformed our house to be a mini montessori inspired home. There is ample open floor space with low shelves which encourage our girls’ exploration. Our beds and our girls’ mattresses are placed on the floor so they can get into and out of bed by themselves. There’s a cupboard with mirrored exterior right in front of our sleeping area so our girls may explore who they are (and play mime sometimes). We have child sized table and chairs which are light enough to be easily moved by our 2 year old. Bookshelves are low, allowing accessibility to our girls while we can always maintain visibility at all times. Hooks are hung at child height so they can hang and remove their own jacket and bag. They have their own mini shoerack as well. We have stools near the sinks and light switches so our 2 year old can turn on the lights, wash up on her own and turn off the lights on the way out. We’re working on providing her her own little space in the fridge so she can get whatever healthy snacks she wants when she wants it. But first we gotta wait for her to gain the arm power to open the fridge door.

Any other parents on the same page as us ? Would love to make friends with other montessori inspired parents.

We may have to move to tampines, from siglap, and we’re currently recceing for a good Montessori school that encourages positivity (no screaming yelling teachers) in the tampines/simei/pasir ris area. Plenty of Montessori schools adopt dr Maria’s method but we’re finding it hard to find one that encourages independence (no babying the children) in a positive way.

Any recommendations anyone?

[mummy NnN]

kup1pi:

Hi,Im new in tis forum n i like tis forum vr mch as it provides lots of helpful informations.Im looking 4 montessori school at central area 4 my little nw,any1 heard of little raffless@robinson?any feedbck?pls help as i'm vr confused nw help............plzzzzzzzzzzz :?

kup1pi,
very sad to tell u that this centre gonna closed... relocated they called it.. to MMI@Pinnacle.

I just received the devastating letter of announcement yesterday evening!

[kup1pi]

Hi,Mummy NnN tks 4 d info.actually it’s a gd news 2 me as im staying at pinnacle.can u pls advs me abt d centre?is it gd?tks

[sunnydaz]

Not all Montesorri CC is the same. Must go to the school to view and talk to the principal and learn more about the school programmes.


My nephew initally attend Montesorri at Holland, after that my sister switched him to another Montesorri. Later on find the Montesorri is not good when my nephew never shows any improvement, switch him back to Holland branch again.