[Ang Mo Kio/Bishan/Thomson/Toa Payoh] Preschools
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hello smurf,
\t
montessori no matter how good - at the end of the day, is only academics.
To me, character more important.
prefer her to know God, sing hymns so sent her to church kindergarten.
montessori - 2 sides of the coin.
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depends on your child.
because every child is different.
a)\tif the child is the self motivated type, always keen to learn new things eagerly, obey teacher do homework regularly, consistently, can follow instructions, can co-operate with teacher, can obey teacher, then fine! Montessori pre-school is good for this child.
b)\tbut if the child not self motivated, hate to obey teacher’s instructions, don’t co-operate with teacher, refuse to do homework, not disciplined type, this may pose a problem.
why ?
because the definition of Montessori is “learn at the child’s own pace”.
for whatever reasons – can be due to teacher, can be due to home environment, in the event that the child not interested in studies, or child doesn’t like the teacher, refuse to obey teacher to do homework like simple handwriting, etc. and if happen that the montessori teacher he has suay suay is the bo-chap type, and the child refuse to learn, then this poor child spiral downwards. ie. the child can be in nursery class due to his age, but his mentality is only that of a pre-nursery kid.
If this problem is not arrested early, he can turn into a problem kid next time, headache.
But if he’s lucky that his montessori teacher is good, patient kind enough to alert the red light to parents early, and both parents and teacher willing to co-operate together, work hand in hand to fix / resolve the child’s issue asap, then still got hope!
\t
\tat the end of the day, no matter how famous a Montessori pre-school is, most important is still – who is the teacher handing your child ? She must be the right fit to handle your child’s unique character, personality and temperament.
But in church kindergarten setting, every child must do homework, whether like it or not. If that child is naughty, don’t do homework, form teacher has her own method to make him do homework - via discipline.
At same time, form teacher will call up parents to alert first, before / during PMT (parents meet teachers) sessions. -
Hi Greenbean,
Have u heard of singapore montessori? :? Just want to ask u for opinion, but i think we have to move this discussion to the Montessori thread coz very out of topic already. Haha. :lol: -
hi smurf,
Sorry, i am not sure about SG montessori.
you are right.
i should stop talking about montessori here. -
No lah, just thought that should share the knowledge at the correct thread mah...but Your gal is very fortunate to have a mum who tried so hard to run around places to find so much info for her education. :celebrate:
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Wah the topic is on Primary schools now? :!:
Aiyah I'm still so confused. Montessori all the way or to switch after Nursery? Which kindy to go to - MMK or Newton? Shd I take into account distance & accessibility? Shd I go for a \"nice\" kindy & spend my weekends on enrichment classes or to get a kindy that covers everything so that weekends can just be on play. :imdrowning: -
hello jul04,
frankly, I will choose Newton over mmk.
a) as what smurf pointed out earlier, there is no spelling / tingxie even at K2 mmk. Last yr, her son went thru K2 mmk.
This year, her son in Pri 1. Smurf is speaking the truth.
Smurf knows best. Because she is speaking from her own experience, what her elder son had gone through before.
now search yr own heart, honestly.
do you want yr son to come to Pri 1, then start learn spelling / tingxie ?
are you comfortable with this ?
or, do you prefer to ground yr son earlier in his kindergarten years, so that come Pri 1, he is already very familiar with spelling / tingxie? The honest answer you reply to yr own heart…. will untie the knot to your confused dilema.
besides, chinese is weak at mmk - unless you send yr son for extra chinese enrichment. However, this happen not just at mmk alone, but across the board, in a large number of kindergartens all over SG.
In SG, besides Newton, the other 2 kindergartens very strong in Chinese are:-
a)\tNanyang kindergarten.
The initial first 2 years – pre nursery and nursery are taught in 100% Chinese. But once come K1, K2, Nanyang operate just like any other normal kindergarten, back to (50% English, 50% Chinese) curriculum.
so many parents rushing to Nanyang.
why ?
because of the attraction of the 100% full Chinese curriculum, for the initial first 2 yrs – Pre nursery and Nursery.
look at this mother here carrying a sleeping toddler in her tired arms, jostling with so many other parents on a busy morning, rushing and panic to enrol her child at Nanyang, in case no vacancy left! She queued overnight at the front gate of Nanyang kindergarten, with her toddler.
this picture speaks a thousand words !
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_622799.html
b)\tHoly Grace Presbyterian church kindergarten.
(located in Upper East Coast, near Siglap)
this kindergarten teaches not 100%, but 70% - 80% Chinese, which is high enough!
many kids study here staying in the East are heading for - Nanyang primary school, plus a number of SAP schools in East, like Tao Nan primary, Kong Hwa, Ngee Ann primary, all co-ed. Some also heading for St. Hilda’s primary at Tampines, which offer GEP programme at Pri 4.
\tthe kids here speak very good Mandarin.
\tIf you free one Sunday morning, bring yr child attend Holy grace church Sunday school worship. You hear the kids here open their mouth, rattle off in mandarin, fluently. You can hear them using a number of difficult, challenging Chinese vocab, at ease. I ask the kids where you learn this Chinese from ? who teach you? They reply - it’s lao si at Holy grace kindergarten teaching them daily.
Holy grace website:-
http://www.holygrace.sg/Kindergarten.html
what then is mmk forte ?
English, plus all the loving, caring teaching environment at mmk, from Principal + teachers teaching kids good character Christian values.
b) besides the daily 60% built in challenging Chinese curriculum, Newton has got so many enrichment lessons available.
let’s see, what does Newton have ? Newton has –
- creative Art drawing, to develop your child’s creativity.
- Fast track kids brain development programme
what do fast track kids learn, in this programme that originate from US ?
they learn:-
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- Astronomy
- Biology
- Communications
- Creative Literature
- Creativity
- Earth Science
- Economics
- Goals and Life Lessons
- Mathematics
- Natural Science
- Speech, Drama and Art
- Technology.
- John Langheir critical thinking,
- Science experiments exploring enrichment,
- English speech and drama, by famous Helen O grady,
- Chinese speech & drama, by Applepie,
- han yu pin yin to help prepare yr kid for Pri 1 chinese.
refer newton website:-
http://www.newtonkindergarten.com/centres/?dxuid=SG010296&&pageid=1865
how about mmk ?
what enrichment at mmk ?
mmk only got speech and drama, computer lessons, plus 2x Chinese tuition only at K1, K2.
refer mmk website:-
http://www.mkg.edu.sg/programmes.html
due to limited classroom facilities available, unfortunately mmk do not conduct creative Art drawing, Fast track kids, John Lanheir critical thinking, science enrichment, han yu pin yin.
why Newton better ?
because all enrichment lessons are conducted during weekdays.
The way they arrange the timing is also very good.
They are spaced out nicely !
If yr son attends AM regular kindy lessons, then all enrichment follow immediately after his AM lessons end, from 12.15 pm – 1.15 pm.
But if yr son attends PM regular kindy lessons, then all enrichment conducted in morning, from 10.15 am – 11.15 am.
weekday enrichment is good.
why ?
so that can free up yr Sat/ Sun precious weekend for other enrichment like let yr son learn violin / piano, go for swimming, Shichida / Little Nero Tree, family get together activities, etc. So that you got more time to spend with yr husband, son, other family members at weekend.
if not, your weekend become very stressful - need to ferry yr son to and fro for Art drawing, for hanyu pin yin, etc, over and above his violin / piano, swimming, etc. The ferrying here and there eats into yr own personal time and yr husband’s personal time to rest, because one of you has to do the driving.
how about the enrichment timing at mmk ?
not so good, bec enrichment are conducted in PM.
so if yr son attends AM regular kindy lessons, you need to bring him back PM for afternoon enrichment. Troublesome !
if yr son attends PM regular kindy lessons, the enrichment will follow immediately after his PM finish. By then, don’t you think he will be too tired to concentrate, because he just finish his regular PM kindergarten lessons ?
c)\tbest thing is go down - visit both mmk and Newton.
talk to both principals.
visit kindergarten premies during term time, not during school vacation holidays.
ask Principal to show you samples of worksheets curriculum for English, maths, Chinese, for the levels - Nursery, K1, K2.
from flipping through sample worksheets, you should be able to gauge for yourself - which kindergarten shows higher standard / more depth in her teaching curriculum, which one is more shallow ?
but pls go during term time, not during school holidays.
If you go during school holiday, principal can say she can’t show you any worksheet - because all the kids had gone home, not around since it’s vacation time. So go and visit during term time, see what are the kids doing !
ask all queries you have.
from here, you will obtain the answer - that unties the knot to yr headache dilema. -
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Thanks a lot, greenbean2011
I'm really very grateful for your advice and the tons of info you've provided. A lot of the points you brought up did not even occur to me. I'll take them in & think really hard abt what to do abt my boy's education. It's not easy to make the so-called right decision & I'm so afraid of making a mistake 
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Hi, I am new here but have been quietly reading this thread. Thank you so much for all your sharing as it is really insightful. I am too struggling now to look for a suitable kindy around this area (Bishan/AMK/Thomson) for my girl when she turns 3 next year. She is currently on half day child care nearby and she has been there for few months now… it has been really good so far. However, I am making plans to switch her to kindy next year to focus more on academics. Otherwise, I might have to put her on full day child care so she won’t miss out on lessons. But I am not comfortable with this option (apart from cost) cos’ I prefer her to go to a christian pre-school (if possible) or montessori and let her nap at home instead.
Initially, I’ve decided to enroll her into MMK cos’ I strongly feel spiritual component is equally important until the recent news of constructing highways along Marymount with nearby land been acquired which I now need to reconsider. Altho MMK is not affected (I called them up to verify) but still I could not imagine the noise level, dust and traffic mess nearby when construction is on-going. Too stressful and troublesome to switch kindy half way. So, now am back to square 1…
I often thought kindy is sufficient enough to prep kid for pri 1 but reading this thread and talking to other parents, it seems like enrichment classes are inevitable. Sigh. But how about those kids in full day child care? It seems that the overall costs also add up the same but I will have to spend more time shuttling my kid here and there. May I know at what age do you send your kid for enrichment classes and what sort of enrichment classes that kindy does not cover? Appreciate your thoughts on this.
@Greenbean - thank you so much for your info. You are such a hardworking mum… kudos!! Your kids are blessed!! I will go check out Totsville too. Also, may I ask which church kindy is your kid in now? Do you have any feedback on Bethesda AMK? My cousin highly recommend S’pore Montessori cos’ she sends her kids there. She cited it is very academic focus but not much of creative play. This is another great option for me as it is not too far off with school bus. I guess location and accessibility is very impt to me. Do you know if there is any kindy that offers enrichment class so can save travel time? -
hello starscream,
wishing you a blessed new year, 2011 !
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qn - do you know if there is any kindy that offers enrichment class, so can save travel time?
I do not know much about Bethesda AMK, nor S’pore montessori.
So I am sorry - can’t comment on these two.
perhaps you may go to respective KSP thread, obtain relevant feedback.
if you want convenience, and at the same time – expose your child to benefit from both Montessori education, plus the imparting of spiritual Christian moral values concurrently, you may consider Barker road church kindergarten (brmck) located along Dunearn road (near Newton circus).
brmck is a very established Christian pre-school, been there for decades. Brmck also offer daily montessori programme, over and above her regular 3 hrs church kindergarten programme.
for latest info on regular school fees, click brmck website:-
http://www.brmck.edu.sg/rules.html
note - from next yr 2012 onwards, brmck going to increase school fees, stated on the website.
note - daily Montessori programme is an enrichment programme.
it is optional, not compulsory.
it is conducted 5 days per week, 3 hrs solid daily per session, Mon - Fri.
how much ?
costs another hefty sum of $1,550 per term, for 10 wks (approx. 2.5 mths), on top / over and above the regular kindergarten school fees which you are paying.
if your child attends AM session, daily 3 hrs Montessori programme will be conducted PM.
if your child attends PM session, daily 3 hrs Montessori programme will be conducted AM.
here, Montessori programme is conducted 5 days per week.
the Montessori here is very comprehensive, as it is full fledged !
but you cannot choose anything - less than 5 days.
example:
if you only interested in letting yr child attend 2x, 3x, 4x per week montessori instead of 5x, brmck Principal do not allow such thing.
5 days per week - is compulsory!
if you want only 2x, 3x, 4x per week, may consider Totsville or Ykidz.
so far very hard, very seldom / rare can you find kindergarten in SG like brmck - that combines both regular church kindergarten programme, plus Montessori concurrently. Most of the time, it’s either or case. ie. either Montessori or church kindergarten. Brmck can, and is able to do so, because it has sufficient number of classrooms available.
if you pay brmck a visit one day, the very first thing that strikes you instantaneously, getting you instantly impressed with are her:-
-\tspick and span facilities including kitchen food prepartion, toilets,
-\tclean, spacious air con classrooms,
-\tthe neat computer room where you see toddlers tabing their small fingers deftly, swiftly on the computer keyboard,
-\tthe lovely ballet room with full length mirrors from ceiling to floor reflecting the girls’ graceful, dainty little feet rehearsing ballet steps, bound up in tiny pink ballet shoes, led by serene background music and teacher, plus
-\tall the nice décor hanging up along the corridor done by teachers, that changes according to different timely season of the year.
not many kindergarten in SG can fight with brmck, where facilities are concerned. Brmck beat many kindergarten hands down, once start comparing facilities.
perhaps you can find out from your relatives - how much school fees are they charging at S;pore Montessori ? if difference not much / neglible, then consider brmck – since “Spore Montessori” lacks the christian spiritual portion. Then, the effect will be the same - as if your child is attending both “Bethesda AMK” plus “S’pore Montessori” concurrently together.
apart from Montessori, what other enrichment programmes available at brmck ?
click here, find out:-
http://www.brmck.edu.sg/enrichment.html
note:
all enrichment costs come at additional costs, over and above the regular 3 hrs kindergarten fees. Call up admin office, find out costs, tel: 6255-8430.
at brmck, a wide choice of enrichment include :-
-\tjunior Chinese club
basically, you choose either 3x or 5x per week intensive Chinese immersion programme. Minimum is 3x per week, they don’t allow 2x per week. To find out costs, call admin office.
this programme is very hot and popular to both fellow Singaporean kids, plus foreigner kids eager to learn Chinese - including a number of angmo kids, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Filippino expatriate kids, etc.
Chinese taught here is intensive, preparing kids intensively for Pri 1 chinese.
-\tchinese creative writing
-\tEnglish speech and drama
-\tChinese speech and drama, called “Chinese Theatre”
-\tcreative Art drawing, called “Fine Arts”
-\tballet for girls
-\tmusic including guitar, violin, piano.
note: -
for kids keen to learn piano, call up admin office tel: 6255-8430.
they will arrange to get brmck piano teacher to teach your child piano lessons within brmck premises, using the in-house piano available, in one of the classrooms.
for school bus - what time, how much $, whether go your place or not to fetch yr child one way or two way to and fro, click here (scroll right to the bottom of webpage) :-
http://www.brmck.edu.sg/info.html
brmck is a very established pre-school.
where do brmck kids normally target / aim to go to, once graduate K2 ?
majority going ACS Barker primary, ACS Junior primary, SCGS, MGS.
others also targeting Nanyang primary, St. Margaret primary, Pei Hwa primary, RGPS.
even those staying as far as Serangoon / Kovan area, but still send kids to brmck – also target Rosyth primary, Holy Innocent primary, RGPS, etc.
another church kindergarten you can consider is Thomson Baptist church kindergarten (trbk). Been there many years. Also good !
my nieces attended before - went CHIJ Toa Payoh primary, then CHIJ TPY secondary.
website:
http://trbk.org.sg/
my daughter is currently attending Newton life church kindergarten.
Newton also another very established kindergarten !
been there since 1956.
> 30 yrs ago, CK Tang’s daughter was the past ex-principal.
where do Newton kids normally target / aim to go to, once graduate K2 ?
at Bukit Timah area, many target Nanyang primary, SCGS, MGS, RGPS.
at Toa Payoh area, many target Pei Chun primary.
at Bishan area, some target Catholic High primary, plus other SAP schools.
you may read Newton feedback here:-
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12778&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=a8863caec0ee96dd55f64b3b6796cf12
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