[Ang Mo Kio/Bishan/Thomson/Toa Payoh] Preschools
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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:-
=======
- 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 !
:-
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 -
Hi Greenbean,
Your gal is with Barker road Kindy before? :?
Any reason why you switched her to Newton?
I read that Barker road provides Montessori program, but 3 hrs after the regular school hrs are a bit long, do you think so? :?
That means the child has to be in the sch for a long 6 hrs? :? -
greenbean2011:
montessori no matter how good - at the end of the day, is only academics.
I have to come in at this point to honestly say (no offfence intended) that, i'm
afraid it's not that i beg to differ but rather, your conclusion on the Montessori
Methodology can't be more far-off.
Parents are the ones who have spun it to become something academic.
Commercial schools offering crash enrichment courses guaranteeing sure
success with reading & math programmes have spun it into something academic.
While parents i've worked with have mostly commented that the method is
too much of play & not much work, you have said the opposite which is why
i say that it has been spun into something academic... whereas Montessori is
more than just Phonics and Maths. It is not and never has been about the
academics.
It has always been a holistic method of teaching children.
It encompasses the essence of the needs of a growing child... from below 2
years of age up to 18 years old. It provides knowledge throughout the child's
entire growing development including social grace and courtesy... practical life
skills... geographical knowledge... music & art... just to name \"a few\"...
Going for crash courses on Montessori does not make one a Montessorian not
make one understand the true ways of the method.. much less conclude it
being purely academic. One needs to really understand the ways before
commenting such a strong statement on something they have shallow knowledge of.greenbean2011:
A motivated learner if placed in ANY environment for that matter CAN and WILLmontessori - 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.
do exceptionally well in ANY learning environment. Just that, if such a child is
placed in a Montessori environment, it can help to accelerate learning skills...
in this case the child may be able to respond well and learn way beyond his
age.greenbean2011:
Once again, i have to say this is verrrryyy far-off the curve ball. Obey is firstlyb)\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”.
a very strong way... the rote/traditional way... and not the Montessori way.
Montessori method is highly known to benefit even the most active of
children. A deviated child can be nurtured to be a normalized child..
meaning a more focused child with better concentration ability,
calm and relaxed to be able to receive and respond better to
what is being introduced to them each day. This way the
child learns better to achieve the best of his potentials.
Learning at a child's own pace does not equate leaving a child to slacken
or do anything he/she wants and let it be. This quote takes years for even
myself to understand... after actual work with many different children.greenbean2011:
We can even turn it thee other way round ain't it?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.
Suay suay the co-chap mainstream teacher... or accountant... or engineer...
and everything will spiral down too, right? There will be good workers and not
so motivated workers EVERYWHERE. Since for the purpose of this thread it is
being applied to describe teachers; then for this matter it applies to ALL
teachers... and not just Montessori teachers per se.
The above last statement in layman's terms can mean to say a Montessori
teacher can make a child become low IQ? Mentality lower than age leh... greenbean2011:
A child's upbringing... the values he learns... the living environment... theIf this problem is not arrested early, he can turn into a problem kid next time, headache.
influences around friends/neighbours/caregiver... and also the teaching
environment in school... all play a part in the child's future. (\"next time\")
The above statement is not fairly justified in my opinion.greenbean2011:
Teachers in ALL schools & ANY schools are obliged to share all/any of a child'sBut 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!
learning curves (great ones OR challenging ones) to the parents and if both
parties; teachers & parents alike can receive constructive feedback and
work together, all children can benefit with early intervention. That said
intervention also takes time to work its ways and cannot be resolved the
asap way... especially if it is in reference to behavioural issues or learning
difficulties.
\tgreenbean2011:
I repeat...\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.
No matter how good ANY school is... it IS the teacher that is important... as it
is everywhere and anywhere the industry requires the human touch. Not just in
teaching line... can be PR... front desk.. concierge.. stewardess.. (etc).
As there is no perfect child nor perfect mother or perfect employer, there is
also definitely no perfect teacher. The right fit may fit one but not all, so
the justification of fit in this case is subjective. In a class of 25, we can't
have 25 different teachers to fit 25 different characters, personality or
temperament.greenbean2011:
I will not comment on a church setting or kindergarten setting for i am onlyBut 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.
here to cut in on the few strong points raised here which misconstrue the
original thoughts, research and ideals of the founder. I send my children
to a faith kindy as well... heck, i've taught kindy for so many years
myself! I'm all for kindy, hurrah! Likewise i've done some considerable
yrs on early childhood & also Montessori and ........ i am still learning
& understanding the ways...
We do not have \"naughty\" children in Montessori by the way..
And we definitely do not \"make them\" do work using discipline. :dowan:
We use ways of love for learning so that children will love learning and learning
comes from the heart... not something forced out of them. :love:greenbean2011:
All schools have their own arrangements with regards to parent-teacher-At same time, form teacher will call up parents to alert first, before / during PMT (parents meet teachers) sessions.
conferences and newletters and report books / evaluation reports. Even
for primary schools. For myself and my staff, we even call parents to
chat about their children & catch up with them what has been done
in school via short notes in their communication books & newsletters.
In my daughters' previous primary school, the principal cited that she and
her teachers will call on the parents even for good news so do not always
assume that a teacher's phonecall always means a bad thing. :lol: -
hello smurf,
both Barker road Methodist church kindy (brmck) and Newton Presbyterianchurch kindergarten are very good, popular pre-schools.
both are very established!
each has her own unique core strengths and merits.
last year 2010 when Shichida kindergarten suddenly announced closed down, many parents went scrambling high and low last minute to - quickly look for kindergarten replacement. Some parents flocked to brmck, anxiously queuing up for vacancies for their sons.
some parents commented “I really hope I can get a place into brmck, for my son.”
Then, at parents’ orientation day last December year end at Newton kindergarten, I met some parents from Shichida kindergarden, bringing along their kids to join the new Nursery classes.
when form teachers on duty call up their child’s name and chit chat, they told the form teachers that they brought their child there for enrolment - because Shichida kindergarten had closed down.
at the end of the day, I guess it boils down to - what parents wish to expose their child more to ?
a)\tif parents prefer more English speaking environment, then choose brmck.
my friend with two kids both from brmck who had gone on to a good primary school in Tampines - commented that both her kids no problem with english in Pri 1.
she said it was a breeze for them, because brmck had prepared them well for Pri 1. She said didn’t even bother to send her kids for any english enrichment at all.
she din bother about popular Berries Chinese.
she also did not choose those 3x or 5x per week in house Chinese enrichment provider within brmck premises.
she said the only thing she sent them to was Kumon Chinese - at Bishan branch, taught by native Chinese teacher from China.
she said Kumon Chinese was very good - because it instills self discipline in her two kids to do homework independently, daily.
she said she only go for Kumon Chinese, din bother about Kumon Maths.
b) if parents prefer stronger Chinese speaking environment, or intend to send their child to an SAP primary school, then choose Newton.
another friend of mine – his son graduated from Newton, went to a SAP primary school. He did not send his son for any Chinese enrichment.
he commented his son’s Higher Chinese at Pri 1 was no issue.
his son was able to cope well with Higher Chinese, from Pri 1 onwards.
he said he was grateful to Newton, for helping his son build / lay a very good, strong foundation in Chinese.
i asked him – how about his english ?
he said he did not send him for any english enrichment.
from young, his wife always brings him to National library to borrow books to read, let him choose his favourite topics. He likes to read books. His wife coaches their son english at home.
c)\tif parents want the convenience of a “one stop station” for Montessori programme, no need to travel, then choose brmck.
normally beginning, kids tend to get tired. 6 hours is long.
but after sometime, kids get used to it.
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