All About Montessori
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jul04:
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.
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.
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:
Actually, they do emphasize on religion, but they do not force your child to participate if your child do not want to.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.
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.
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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] -
Hi
I duno if I’m asking an appropriate question or not, but I’d been itching to find out … urm, actually how a topical montessori playgroup class is like during lesson time?
The reason why I’m asking this Q is cos after sending my child to a montessori weekly playgroup (parent accompanied class) for abt 6mth since 18th mths old, I noticed that every lesson is like… first 45min child selects a work to work on it (most kids picked toys like mini cooking utentils or stacking bricks) while teacher chit chats with parents/maids abt any stuff under the sky like what to expect during pregnancy or how many members are there in the family etc. After 45min, there will be a music time (plays CD from children songs to playing a phonic CD A to Z once) do art & craft work and its the end of class. The desc of how a montessorian teacher approach in class does not seemed to fit what I’m seeing leh. Like I tot teacher is supposed to observe kids and guide them based on their interest. Recently there has been a price increase to $45 per lesson so it really got me thinking if it is worth continuing her with class.
Is there a time where teacher should intro a montessori material like intro to maths thru usage of sandpaper numerals, or using cards and counters? Sorrie for the lengthy post! TQ! -
jul04:
you are right, it's the upbringing that matters. However, in the past, religion schs especially Catholics sch, they emphasize quite a lot on religion, but now, I dun think they do that anymore. They still have cathecism class for Catholics,say grace before meals, songs, prayers before sch starts, but not intensive.
I don't think many countries have schools which emphasise on religion in these days & times. Too non-PC 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. jul04:
Actually, I still don't understand why they need to do that, coz after all, they emphasize that their teacher student ratio is about 1 to 5 or 8? Why need to segregate the kids? So the most students in one class is that many right? I dun understand.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.
jul04:
But they do segregate the kids...according to their ability...not on age...supposedly, if they find a child with higher ability, the child will move to the next class doing more advanced work...Actually, I think MFC is one of the most authentic ones available
jul04:
Erm, I thought this is a quite a lot already? They are kids only leh...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?
jul04:
Hiaz.. I think it's abt $1.3k/mth, without school bus
so expensive meh? I didn't do the calculation much, coz I know for sure, I can't afford it...haha...jul04:
Erm, actually, I think I more ngiao about pure Montessori..That's why until now still cannot find one...haha...I can't even accept MFC leh...I've been to lumiere...not very full Montessori as it is, uniform, segregate kids, etc...but the environment is good! Cheerful kids, got garden for kids to water plant after meal some more...but the transport is a problem, unless Take sch bus lor...but sch bus takes about an hr, because has to go round and round to other estates...he will be first to take bus and last to get down.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?
jul04:
No lah, add up still about the same I think? And Montessori education is nurture a child in a holistic way? I dunno how to express in words, but I think if put in PCF with Monte enrichment, can be done for the academic part lah, but I think Montessori isn't about academic only right?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]
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Hi lonerunner
I can't really answer you on what it is supposed to be.. but it sounds like the trial I attended last weekend, & also what I gather they do at most parent-child weekend classes. :idea: -
Not mine..
That's why from the beginning i've shared with you to scrap the one hour
ones, cos not enuff time to do anything... especially when there are more
parent and child pairs. While i can squeeze the relevant activities in 1 hour
when i had to run the pgrms back then, i find that i was rushed to complete
one session and my sessions were back to back! :faint:
When my sessions got popular, management squeezed even more pairs in! :rant:
I don't have time to move around to introduce materials to the parent n
child pairs
if my colleagues do not assist. Hence, they too have to know what i'd be doing the
same session so pre-run is required so all of us work in tandem.
We do theme and Montessori in one session. These parent and child sessions
are meant to introduce parents and children to the ways of working the
Montessori materials on a weekly basis. A 3hr work cycle cannot happen
here, definitely. The theme is weaved into the material shown for the day.
We share the objectives of working with the materials as we go around the
class and we also share tips on how to support the method at home with all
parents.
Craft activity or hands-on projects are part of each session to complement
what has been introduced for the session. Music is a must as this is where
children bond with parents and teachers and not sitting down songs! All
movement songs so children and ehem parents get up and boogie. :boogie:
Good exercise really and loads of fun!
Like i said before, different centres run sessions differently and i don't want
to be seen as spoiling market but the sessions can be done as per your readings
on the method in those books. Every week is a new fun session! :love: -
[quote]
jul04:
Actually, I still don't understand why they need to do that, coz after all, they emphasize that their teacher student ratio is about 1 to 5 or 8? Why need to segregate the kids? So the most students in one class is that many right? I dun understand. [/quote]I also don't understand, that's why I find them fishy
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.
jul04:
[quote]But they do segregate the kids...according to their ability...not on age...supposedly, if they find a child with higher ability, the child will move to the next class doing more advanced work...[/quote]Erm.. I dun think they move the kids to another class. I thought they stay with the same class all the way, & as they get more advanced, they just do more advanced work. After all, they're mixed age group & are already all progressing at different paces. :? I must remember to ask this on ThuActually, I think MFC is one of the most authentic ones available
jul04:
[quote]Erm, I thought this is a quite a lot already? They are kids only leh... [/quote]Haha co u said they don't emphasise that much.. so I thought must be a lot of prayers & bible studies then counted as religiousThey 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?
jul04:
Hiaz.. I think it's abt $1.3k/mth, without school bus
[quote]so expensive meh? I didn't do the calculation much, coz I know for sure, I can't afford it...haha... [/quote]I think so... I haven't dared to really calculate total cost per mth yet. I foresee boy's pre-school education may cost as much as his uni education! :shock:
[quote]Erm, actually, I think I more ngiao about pure Montessori..That's why until now still cannot find one...haha...I can't even accept MFC leh...I've been to lumiere...not very full Montessori as it is, uniform, segregate kids, etc...but the environment is good! Cheerful kids, got garden for kids to water plant after meal some more...but the transport is a problem, unless Take sch bus lor...but sch bus takes about an hr, because has to go round and round to other estates...he will be first to take bus and last to get down.[/quote]Sounds like you really like Lumiere?
Even MFC isn't up to your std ah? :shock: For me, after suffering so many disappointments with other so-called Montessoris, I thought MFC is very pure already :lol:jul04:
[quote]No lah, add up still about the same I think? And Montessori education is nurture a child in a holistic way? I dunno how to express in words, but I think if put in PCF with Monte enrichment, can be done for the academic part lah, but I think Montessori isn't about academic only right?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?
[/quote]I agree! That's why I've been nit-picking on all those schs with academic Montessori only. I want all-round, the whole philosophy, not just Phonics & Maths
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buds:
Not mine..
Where did you pop out from??? :shock: -
Told ya that i'm always.... around. :evil:
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jul04:
They do. I asked before. Or maybe I heard wrongly.haha...
Erm.. I dun think they move the kids to another class. I thought they stay with the same class all the way, & as they get more advanced, they just do more advanced work. After all, they're mixed age group & are already all progressing at different paces. :? I must remember to ask this on Thujul04:
Haha co u said they don't emphasise that much.. so I thought must be a lot of prayers & bible studies then counted as religious
No lah, kids only, some more it's preschool.
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