All About Montessori

[seablue]

Hi, my girl is 2 this yr and I am considering to place my girl in Josiah Montessori for full day. I was told montessori children hv more difficult in settling in primary school and they are less vocal? Can anyone share with me?

I hv visited the josiah millenia. Children are very independent and well behaved and teachers look stern too. Just want to justify if its worth paying $1200 every month.

[buds]

poppyqueen:

Hi hi! Just a short intro ..I've been lurking around this forum and looking for a PG or childcare for my son when he's 18 months. Really love KS parents! A wealth of info!

Hi there poppyqueen and welcome to the Montessori thread. :celebrate:

Yer nick reminds me of prince poppycock on America's Got Talent!
Love him! :please: Who would reali know this rocker's alter ego is
reali a budding opera prince! :salute:

poppyqueen:

And Buds, been following your threads. Really love your sense of humour as well as generous sharing of knowledge! Been following your contributions to the Yew Tee/ CCk/Bukit panjang thread as <surprise surprise>, i'm staying in bukit panjang! :lol: Sad to see you have moved North. Otherwise, i would love to join your private Montessori group session too. :evil:

Yes! Yes! Buds here!
Thanks for your note. Very touched.. :please:
Just to caution you that i AM this gila in reality too! :rotflmao:
Yah, used to stay there and recce to find the good centres there like
looking for a needle in a haystack boy. :roll: In the end, taught them the
Montessori part myself and shoo-ed them off to kindy. Best decision ever. Now,
gotta do ground work all over again for North side. :frustrated: He's only 3 mths i know. :lol:

If i may be honest, the Hongsan stretch reali didn't leave that much of a good impression with
me and i have similar sentiments as per your feedback posting on your preschool shopping
there. Aaaahh.. :idea:... Springfield Montessori... this one i've not seen but from how you
have detailed it, i am already impressed. Since i do share similar thoughts on your other
two finds... i suppose our expectations of a centre are somewhere there lar hor. :lol:

Is this Springfield pricey.. cos it sounds pretty branded you know... ...
and when you say near Dairy Farm, where exactly is it?

poppyqueen:

Alternatively is to send my son to a half day cc and then let him attend the 2 days a week Montessori program. Any views on whether a 2 day a week, 3 hours Montessori will still be effective?

Can also dear. :hugs: Better than nothing but instead you're trying to get the best of both
worlds for your little one. Buttercups Monte in Holland does a kindy approach but
heard it offers longer hours. Do check that out if you're keen. Price i think should be
around 1200 thereabouts... but hor dunno per month or per term. Sorli. :salute:
But i do know i prefer kindy set-ups rather than the childcare ones. Aniwaes,
for stay-home-parent like me i honestly do not need the care part at this
point.

[Tika]

Hi buds,


Its known that you stay not in the east (browsed through the thread), but by any chance would you be familiar with Beehive Montekidz in Tampines?

Or anyone else has feedback?

I've been to see the Directress. The school is pretty small, some would say cramped. The directress said she's very hands on with the older kids cos she wants to make sure they are well prepared for p1. Any mommies with kids in that sch?

[buds]

Sorry Tika, i have no knowledge of that centre nor have i heard of any friends

in the East mentioning it. One that came out with good reviews was The
Learning Curve @ Tampines Mart. It was reviewed as a centre that was
able to retain staff from first day till today. If there was staff turnover
it’s very low. Quite a few teachers received accolades in preschool.sg.

[Kabby]

poppyqueen:

Mine's in Jan


I don't know leh..My DS is my first and only child currently..nothing to compare. But i know he's quite a handful. :lol:

Is your DS your only child too?

sorry sorry, i am too blur. ya, should be jan if your ds is older than mine. :stupid:

my dd was born early Feb.

I have 2 other boys ahead of her. that was what i meant by, hopefully she'd be easier to handle than the boys. not boys in general (cos i have seen very gentle boys), but my own boys. haha. mine are active and rowdy. at least one of them is super active.

don't worry, your ds is a typical normal boy!

[Kabby]

buds:

Look at all the enrichment centres growing like mushrooms out there! :faint:

While there are children who do indeed need the extra external coaching, a good handful
are just placed to really come out tops! Different strokes for different folks.

ya it's crazy the number of learning centers that are around! but i guess it is good for us consumers, so many to choose from!

buds:

I am already quite happy that the Teach Less Learn More implemented by MOE is complementing similar holistic learning experiences my children are enjoying now even in Primary School. :love: They definitely learn a host of other skills that textbook-learning cannot provide.

Indeed, happy that Pr schs are much more fun than my time! And so much less rote learning. My son enjoys school tremendously too. Never had to drag him up from bed to shove him to school. He is always raring to go.

buds:

Aaah.. definitely something more tangible ... so :ugogirl:
I've had that dream for the longest time. :rotflmao:
It always ends up the same.. that at the end of it...
i wake up and it still is a dream. :lol:

probably for me too. but i keep on dreaming. sometimes my dreams include setting up a children's museum. no such thing here for kids yet, so sad.

eh, the dream for you should be more tangible right? you are a trained Monte person. for me, i could set up a tuition center based on my training, but I don't think tuition center is fun. i think Monte school would be more fun, see the kids enjoying themselves, learning through play?

if you set up, i go and help you. :lol:

buds:

Allow for independence when you can and invite them to share those mundane stuff you do and you'd be surprised at how much they can actually learn from those daily teachable moments.

Yes, thanks. Constantly amazed! The feeding times are still messy now though, cos I \"allow\" for independence. How do you keep reminding the kid not to fling the food? And if she's not interested in the rest of the food (having eaten some), does Montessori believe in making them finish it up, or is it ok to let them go? But there'd be some food wastage?

buds:

You sure it's the last one? :evil:

ya, you are so evil... yes, it's the last. i am exploring permanent contraceptive mtds already. how about you? more to come? :evil:

buds:

Being a parent and educator does not equate to the same thing.

quite true, haha. i am much more patient with my students than my kids.

buds:

That said however the educator part does come in useful as added advantage.
So, i share what i know and what i can here when i have the opportunity to.
As a parent, i have my trial and error days.. (still do) and i'm still learning as i go along. :hugs:

you have been such a great help! thank you!!

[Heavenlymusic]

Hi, any comments on Bishan Blk 510 United Montessori?

[poppyqueen]

buds:

Yer nick reminds me of prince poppycock on America's Got Talent!
Love him! :please: Who would reali know this rocker's alter ego is
reali a budding opera prince! :salute:

He's quite the character isn't he! I managed to catch him only for the first time last week . Boy, he's good! Great operatic voice, showmanship and a larger than life personality. He's practically the guy version of Lady Gaga! (and a very handsome chap in real life without the stage makeup :evil: )

buds:

Yes! Yes! Buds here!
Thanks for your note. Very touched.. :please:
Just to caution you that i AM this gila in reality too! :rotflmao:

Hehe. Your sharings on this forum have been a blessing to me.
When i just gave birth and had numerous problems/issues with my ILs and husband that nearly lead to me bringing up a divorce, reading about the greater difficulties you faced under your MIL, and how you can still stand in the face of adversity,stay together under the same roof and keep your sanity, sense of humour and have 2 lovely daughters ( and a recent new addition to the family! ) is inspirational to me.
Subsequently when things got better , your sharings in the bkt batok/ cck/ yew tee and the Montessori threads have been a wealth of information for my search of a suitable preschool. Just like our radio station tagline of being with us through the years, your threads had been through with me through my motherhood journey.

buds:

Now, gotta do ground work all over again for North side. He's only 3 mths i know. :lol:

Haha! 3 months and you have already started racaeeing? You do us Singaporean mummies proud! :ugogirl:

buds:

If i may be honest, the Hongsan stretch reali didn't leave that much of a good impression with me and i have similar sentiments as per your feedback posting on your preschool shopping there. Aaaahh.. :idea:... Springfield Montessori... this one i've not seen but from how you have detailed it, i am already impressed. Since i do share similar thoughts on your other two finds... i suppose our expectations of a centre are somewhere there lar hor.
Is this Springfield pricey.. cos it sounds pretty branded you know... :...
and when you say near Dairy Farm, where exactly is it?

Yeah , agree with you on the Hongsan stretch. I feel the only attractive part is the Montessori in their name. :romance: .

Oh yeah..Springfield is ex! It's on par with Tulip. $1500 for a term of 10 weeks. 5 days per week, 3 hours each. And it's based on the school term.. it means would also have to pay during june/dec vacation breaks. <sighz> :sick: It doesn't have any affiliations with other \"branded\" Montessori as far as i know. The principal was sharing with me they moved to their current premises only 2 years back. from one of the Bukit Timah shopping centres to have more grass and greenery. It's situated in a small slip road diagonally opposite St Joseph kindergarden. Website could be found here . http://www.spring-montessori.com/Spring/Home.html

I've also been to visit MMI@Phonenix walk on Saturday. Nice and cozy building with ample greenery surrounds. Can't view how the children are interacting as no classes was on though i had a view of the compound. The teacher who met up with me was nice, friendly and candid. Candid to the point that i was like :? . She had been teaching there since 2001 , however from her conversation, it doesn't appear she's too convinced by the Montessori approach nor does she understands it fully. She told us that mainstream CCs produces happy and more cheerful children while Montessori children are better in phonics and maths and don't need further enrichment on these. Also said no vertical grouping is done as the elder child will normally command more attention from the directress and the younger child will be ignored. And lastly, she told us that the PG new students would always want to wander out of their classrooms to the N or K groups in the main hall, and the directress would just keep bringing the stray child back into the classroom until the child realises it's pointless to stray out. And to put the icing on the cake, they can serve unhealthy food eg prata as lunch. :shock: Fees are pretty ex at $700+ for full day and almost $600 for half day.
However, saying all this, this Montessori school will still be on our shortlisted list as it's at least a cc, and one of the better Montessori in the area which is relatively near my ILs place, and at least all 5 Montessori areas are practiced here and curriculum is still rather comprehensive. However, would have to be on the wait list as queue for slots is long. Heard that some parents had queued to be on the wait list when their baby is 7 months old. :whut:

poppyqueen:

Alternatively is to send my son to a half day cc and then let him attend the 2 days a week Montessori program. Any views on whether a 2 day a week, 3 hours Montessori will still be effective?
Can also dear. :hugs: Better than nothing but instead you're trying to get the best of both worlds for your little one. Buttercups Monte in Holland does a kindy approach but heard it offers longer hours. Do check that out if you're keen.

Oh, Holland is too far out for me. My husband already grumbles when I looked at CCs not within walking distance from my ILs place and he also doesn't really like my son to take a school bus .
Bud, would like to seek your opinion. Can a child be exposed to both mainstream and montessori approach at the same time? eg, One non Montessori CC i like teaches Letterland while montessori emphasis on phonics first . If i were to let him attend half day cc, and supplement with afternoon Montessori, could it confuse my son on which to follow?

TIA!

[brainkuku]

Hihi… my son is going 16 months in another 2 weeks time and is trying to source for a montessori near jurong east… any recommendation? planning to put him there either 24months or when he is 30months… any recommendation?? Been reading the thread since page 1… and i am still reading… sweat


Buds… if you are conducting classes… do let me know… yeah…

[buds]

Read from Pg 1? :salute:


Not crossed eye yet, i hope? :laugh:

brainkuku daahling... (i'm so tickled by your nick, so sorry..) :oops:
... i now reside north... no longer west... so far to travel... your
poor child u know... :snuggles:

Btw you guys... i think i'd already have a loooonnnng wait list if i
were to really start on a playgroup class just based on the pms i
have received and from the sistas who've generously kept this
thread going thus far. Your faith in me and what i love to do,
is heartwarming though we've never met in the flesh! :yikes:

Just to update that programmes are in the works but just not so
soon as my bb is still small and also i currently do not have any
alternative caregiving.. but if i do, i will keep you guys in the
loop. :snuggles: Thank you all for hanging out here in this
thread... it keeps me less rusty. :oops: