All About Montessori

[jul04]

buds:

While the absence of other children may have contributed to the solemn and somewhat not-so-cheerful first time for all of you, the manner in which the directresses could engage children is also important.

Hmm.. I'm not that confident that I'm making an absolutely fair assessment coz I'm still a newbie & untrained in Montessori. So I guess I could give them the benefit of the doubt. But personally, I find that it's not for me. I dunno if I'm asking too much as what I've read abt Montessori on the Net are all pretty US-based, and the books I've read are either published in 1910s or by Maria Montessori herself :lol: All I can say is, it's not for ME. It could be a good class for other parents
[quote]With your homework and research, i am proud to announce here that i do find you are more than ready to make a fair basic assessment of what to look out for in your recce and your future trial sessions. [/quote] :dowan: Aiyoh don't do me paiseh lah :oops:

I'm just a beginner. In fact, I'm only on my 2nd book, \"The Discovery of the Child\" by Maria Montessori. Heavy going man! And I'm not really READING reading.. It's too much for someone who just wants to understand, not to become a Directress I just plowed through the section on Seguin's method of teaching children how to write using geometrical drawings :nosebleed: Only halfway through & the loan period from NLB's almost up :lol:

Seriously though, could the Montessori method have changed so much over time or geographical location that it makes what I read inapplicable? I mean, are my expectations unreasonable? Coz when I went to Character, Amazing Star & Modern International... they seem so un-Montessori Am I looking for something that isn't available in Spore?

And please! I'm not well-versed at all! I have a knack of smoking & looking really confident, like I really know what I'm talking abt :rotflmao: :siam:

[quote]Oh dear... right now as i'm typing this, i'm going... hmmm... :idea:... mebbe i could do a trial session for you?

But mine definitely won't be free lor. :rotflmao:[/quote]Hey! I'd like a trial! Then I can see if I can relate my readings to the real world :love:

[jul04]

buds:

Describe the book to me, jul04? :please:

Er.. I wasn't paying that much attention to the book. Too busy looking at my boy & judging his reaction & managing my disappointment at the same time.

It's an A4-sized, portrait-orented book. It's very colourful with each page covering 1 alphabet.

For eg, there would be a page with bouncing balls as the picture for 'B'. The alphabet would be printed on the top left/right corner of the book in large font, superimposed on the picture. \"Balls are bouncing\" are printed on the bottom of the page, sort of like a caption.

Something similar for \"Lizards are leaping\".

Oh something funny... For 'X', the picture's on a goat behind an X-ray machine with his rib bones viewable on the X-ray screen. The phonetic sound for 'X' was \"kirst kirst kirst\".. I always thought it's \"sss\"? Hmm? :scratchhead: Chaim lah, like that how to teach my boy Phonics? :roll:

[smurf]

Hey jul04,


That's why I was hesistating whether to immerse ds2 in Monte or not. Coz what I used to know (last time), was that kids in Monte only know how to play play play. Not academical inclined. Furthermore, I read that some kids graduated from Monte cannot fit into the p1 schools environment. That got me worried.

After that, I decided to find out more about Monte, and visited SG Monte. I was very surprised with the standard they have.(academic, not values, etc).

Addition to that, tamarind also sent her gal to Monte phonics before, so I think the phonics is probably very good.

But I must say that I'm not so sure about the value they impart to kids, for church, at least we know, church usually teach children to do good, etc, but for Monte, I dunno. That's what I'm trying to find out. Maybe Buds can tell us more about this area?

[jul04]

smurf:

Hey jul04,


That's why I was hesistating whether to immerse ds2 in Monte or not. Coz what I used to know (last time), was that kids in Monte only know how to play play play. Not academical inclined. Furthermore, I read that some kids graduated from Monte cannot fit into the p1 schools environment. That got me worried.

Uh uh, definitely not play play play. They are working, & very hard too. You shd see the kids in MFC. :please: At least, if the school follows most of Montessori's teachings, it's very impressive work. Honestly, when I read abt the materials they use & what they're supposed to do with them, I was like.. I cannot do this! Maybe I shdn't send my boy to Montessori else he'll think his mummy is really tooopid coz she cannot build pink towers or arrange 64 colours by colour & shade :lol:

As for adjusting to P1, I have my worries too. But I figured, what the heck! He's gonna be in school for the next 20+ yrs of his life. Plenty of time to adjust. I'll be less exacting in mt standard for the first yr since I know he is \"adjusting\" :lol:
[quote]After that, I decided to find out more about Monte, and visited SG Monte. I was very surprised with the standard they have.(academic, not values, etc).

Addition to that, tamarind also sent her gal to Monte phonics before, so I think the phonics is probably very good. [/quote]I think Montessori Phonics & Math is universally acclaimed for their effectiveness. But personally I'm more impressed by their sensorial training. I am not a very 'sensorial' person and I hope my boy can do better than me. Rote learning.. again, plenty of years for him
[quote]But I must say that I'm not so sure about the value they impart to kids, for church, at least we know, church usually teach children to do good, etc, but for Monte, I dunno. That's what I'm trying to find out. [/quote]Montessori was Catholic, ya know? She mentions a lot abt spirituality in her book, but that was the context then, these days, I'm pretty sure they try to detach themselves from religion.

In any case, they emphasise on self-control, peace, silence, cooperation, care for your friends & environment.. When I was at MFC, I saw a young gal helping a younger child with a material. It was so cute! She was like a mini-teacher & she made the boy walk 10 times back & forth to collect the material - I forget what it was called. Was it counting rods or what? :scratchhead:

The kids are very disciplined too. When they go to the toilet, they aws just go by themselves. No pestering the teacher, or communal toilet times. They take this chain from the shelf & put in on ard their neck so that when the teacher sees the chain missing from the shelf, she knows the kid has gone off to the loo.

And the kids are told to respect each other. No one can take away the material that someone is using. They have to put the material back in the same spot in the same condition as when they found it. They cannot disturb any child or step on their mat. If my boy can have this respect for others, half the battle is won. As for faith reinforcement, it's up to us parents, isn't it? :love: After all, even schools like MMK or St James don't emphasise on religion either.

Correct bo, buds? :lol:

[buds]

Wah lau! :faint: You just blew me away jules! :love:


I'm feeling so proud now... as proud as a peacock..
and as proud as a momma can be. :snuggles:

Yes, everything oso tiok!

Bo salah.. :celebrate:

Well done, jul04.. you make me very proud. :please:

Parents like yourself are very very rare..
You do ask questions and require the answers at some time..
Other days, you do your own research as well and care to read up
to understand and to internalize her ways, her reasons and her legacy.

You're making me feel more onz now abt that trial.. :evil: .. so that you
CAN indeed live all that you have been reading. :love:

Everything you read or you have read was applicable then and still applicable
now and still very much relevant in today's context. My girls and students have zero
yes.. zilch problems in adapting to primary school life. Excel yes.. and not just in
the much worried-over academics but in relationship with teachers and friends,
in work attitudes... and for the love of learning. They enjoy going to school
every single day... without any trouble. :celebrate:

Psst.. i gave similar examples here some pages back..
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=368485#368485

[jul04]

buds


:oops: :dowan: :imanangel: :dancing: :boogie: :oops:

Told you not to make me paiseh liao :snuggles:

[buds]

I am the sorta person who only gives credit where credit is indeed due.

Yes, i do not believe in over-complimenting.

But i feel you have earned my praise in your journey to understand what
the method \"truly\" means and never once i hear you calculate it in $ & cts..

But more so on substance. So... :ugogirl:!

[jul04]

Er.. the dollars & cents at MFC is quite formidable.. but.. I have no choice bcoz a Montessori education doesn't come cheap


Besides, I can still \"afford\" it now, so I want to give my boy the best that I can.

I'm only a bit worried that MFC is so exclusive. His classmates would prob be expats' kids or rich parents' kids. Hubs & I aren't rich by any means. But we're willing to sacrifice to put him through Montessori pre-school if we really believe it's the best for him. I just don't want him to start comparing & asking why his classmates have all those material things & he doesn't?

[smurf]

jul04:

Uh uh, definitely not play play play. They are working, & very hard too. You shd see the kids in MFC. :please: At least, if the school follows most of Montessori's teachings, it's very impressive work.

Yup, definitely no play play, that was my previous impression of Monte, way before I tried to find a sch for ds2. But as I visited a few schs, I know much better than before.

I have read Monte books, and know that she is a catholic, but honestly, if u visit most of the Monte schs, they usually dun impart religious value, unless they are religious based, but even so, they won't do a lot on religion. At the most, they would say grace before meals, etc., etc. In the past, they can do that in Italy, but I dun think they can do that now.

I've been to some Monte schs, and they have uniform and they segregate the children by their age group. I'm not very impress by this as I thought Montessori supposed to be mixed age, the older kids assist the younger kids? I posed this question to few operators, they merely said that it's not viable to do that anymore. I dunno what they meant by that, maybe they mean, not profitable to that or not easy to manage such big group of mixed age group??

And with more and more PARTIAL Montessori, I dun really know what is the term Montessori means anymore. That's why my search for an authentic Montessori sch is so difficult.

jul04:

As for faith reinforcement, it's up to us parents, isn't it?


After all, even schools like MMK or St James don't emphasise on religion either.

Actually, they do emphasize on religion, but they do not force your child to participate if your child do not want to.

At the end of the day, I think $ and budget is still very important, cant afford more than $700 definitely, even if i work. MFC is no doubt quite good (although i prefer Lumiere teachers) but i wouldnt spend that kind of money. If u add all those sch fees, registration, materials fee, building fund or whatever, the amount is about 1k? It's per mth leh.

otherwise, I would have to buy those materials and teach ds2.

[jul04]

smurf:

if u visit most of the Monte schs, they usually dun impart religious value, unless they are religious based, but even so, they won't do a lot on religion. At the most, they would say grace before meals, etc., etc. In the past, they can do that in Italy, but I dun think they can do that now.

I don't think many countries have schools which emphasise on religion in these days & times. Too non-PC In Spore, I'd think... maybe only convent schools? Correct me if I'm wrong, coz I didn't go to one Hubs & SIL did go to SJI & dunno which convent, but I think it's more of their upbringing then the school.

I think at the end of the day, it's what we do at home that's impt. Set examples for our kids & everything?
[quote]I've been to some Monte schs, and they have uniform and they segregate the children by their age group. I'm not very impress by this as I thought Montessori supposed to be mixed age, the older kids assist the younger kids? I posed this question to few operators, they merely said that it's not viable to do that anymore. I dunno what they meant by that, maybe they mean, not profitable to that or not easy to manage such big group of mixed age group??[/quote]Exactly my gripe abt the 3 CCs that I visited 2 weekends back! :x Personally, I believe they segregate by N1, N2, K1 & K2 bcoz they are not \"true\" Montessoris. It does take rigorous training, experience & a certain talent to manage a class of 20+ kids! And to do solitary or small group \"directing\"? Very very difficult.

I noticed at MMI that their teachers are all very young. I doubt they have the experience to control a large group of kids. The reason the 3 CCS gave me for the segregation of ages is to faciliate group learning.. smaller group size, more personalised attention etc. & I immediately went on \"red alert\". I thought, \"Aha! You're a fake Montessori! You wanna get away with teaching the whole class at the same time using what thematic learning approach n u wanna convince me that it's better for my child???? :spank:
[quote]And with more and more PARTIAL Montessori, I dun really know what is the term Montessori means anymore. That's why my search for an authentic Montessori sch is so difficult. [/quote]Actually, I think MFC is one of the most authentic ones available

[quote]Actually, they do emphasize on religion, but they do not force your child to participate if your child do not want to.[/quote]They do huh? I asked the teacher when I visited MMK & she said they just say Grace before meals, sing some songs, maybe refer to some Bible characters in story-telling. Maybe she thought I might get offended or frightened off if she tells me otherwise?
[quote]At the end of the day, I think $ and budget is still very important, cant afford more than $700 definitely, even if i work. MFC is no doubt quite good (although i prefer Lumiere teachers) but i wouldnt spend that kind of money. If u add all those sch fees, registration, materials fee, building fund or whatever, the amount is about 1k? It's per mth leh.

otherwise, I would have to buy those materials and teach ds2.
:([/quote]Hiaz.. I think it's abt $1.3k/mth, without school bus Branded pre-schools like Pat's & Etonhouse are cheaper & provide all day care! :moneyflies: :moneyflies:

Hmm I don't think I can teach my boy myself. I need to invest in training for myself! And I can't afford the materials! Not unless I restrict myself to the materials for Phonics & some Math. I can't imagine buying the whole complement of barang. I'll need 2 jobs!

Actually... if you're not as ngiao as me abt \"pure Montessori\", maybe you can try Lumiere? I didn't visit that but I think it's got quite gd reviews? Or Spore Montessori coz you mentioned it's within your budget?

I dunno what's the \"educational impact\" if you go for PCF then send your DS2 to a Montessori playgroup for \"enrichment\"? I think YKidz charges $220 for a 2h playgroup for 5 weekday sessions. That's doable?[/i][/b]