[Hougang/Punggol/Sengkang] Preschools

[huihui]

foreverj:

hi care to share which cc your child attending? is it established type? did u ask him y it's boring?

Hi! He's attending KINDERCARE @ amk ave 10. I was there with him for 3 days and the class is boring that couldn't catch the kids attention leh..if the lesson he's interested he will join in and when the class is boring he juz stand @ the door there.. even play hide and seek with the teacher also @ the door..

[foreverj]

i see. so u just started him and still on trial? actually the trial classes are also for u as the parent to see how is the curriculum and how good the teachers are at delivering the lessons. so if even u find the lessons are boring and not becos your son is not used to classroom environment yet, then it may be advisable for u to quickly look for alternative.


where do u stay and wat is your budget? i presume amk? can try little skoolhouse at amk hub. i know two mums who send their child there who are quite happy with the school in terms of the teachers quality. but its aircon so may have problem of falling sick often. y not u go and visit the place for a rough idea?

sengkang area cc may have problem of vacancies. i know a mum who could not find a place for her 3 yr old son cos most parents already sent their children at 2plus! also depending on what level your son is. if stil very young ie. below 3 can consider montessori schools. sengkang has character montessori (so far seem quite good based on feedback from parents), shekinah montessori (mixed reviews). i also saw a new school amazing star montessori which took over the old gingerbread skoolhouse and i had a good impression when they were stil at farleigh avenue (my guess is they just move there). punggol has bridges montessori but is kindergarten and also quite expensive.

most importantly u need to personally visit the school, ask abt the curriculum, be comfortable with the person-in-charge etc. can go check out some forums here which talks abt criteria of good cc. that way, u can avoid the same situation as now when your child started the class already but find the classes boring.

having said the above, your son may be stil settling in so giving him some time may be something u wish to consider. hope the info here helps

[huihui]

foreverj:

i see. so u just started him and still on trial? actually the trial classes are also for u as the parent to see how is the curriculum and how good the teachers are at delivering the lessons. so if even u find the lessons are boring and not becos your son is not used to classroom environment yet, then it may be advisable for u to quickly look for alternative.


where do u stay and wat is your budget? i presume amk? can try little skoolhouse at amk hub. i know two mums who send their child there who are quite happy with the school in terms of the teachers quality. but its aircon so may have problem of falling sick often. y not u go and visit the place for a rough idea?

sengkang area cc may have problem of vacancies. i know a mum who could not find a place for her 3 yr old son cos most parents already sent their children at 2plus! also depending on what level your son is. if stil very young ie. below 3 can consider montessori schools. sengkang has character montessori (so far seem quite good based on feedback from parents), shekinah montessori (mixed reviews). i also saw a new school amazing star montessori which took over the old gingerbread skoolhouse and i had a good impression when they were stil at farleigh avenue (my guess is they just move there). punggol has bridges montessori but is kindergarten and also quite expensive.

most importantly u need to personally visit the school, ask abt the curriculum, be comfortable with the person-in-charge etc. can go check out some forums here which talks abt criteria of good cc. that way, u can avoid the same situation as now when your child started the class already but find the classes boring.

having said the above, your son may be stil settling in so giving him some time may be something u wish to consider. hope the info here helps

Thanks foreverj! You are so pro! My greatest regret is i nvr start my son on trial straight away i start him.. my grandma stayin @ amk ave 10 and for myself am staying @ punggol field.. so either amk or punggol is ok for me but my son may need to take school bus.

[foreverj]

oh i see. anyway, i understand from one cc that mcys regulation stipulates each cc must give every student 2 weeks trial. its a rule so u may negotiate with the current cc if u really dun like it. but verify with mcys first. i have never tried a 2 weeks trial b4 so dunno if its really true.


its never easy to find a good cc, so many criteria to fit. location, convenience, quality teachers, good curriculum that makes sure prepare your kid well for pri 1, clean envt so kid won't fall sick, healthy menu etc. some parents change and change cos quite \"yim-chim\" also. some parents no choice just stick to same one cos most convenient although no good.

all the best in your cc search!

[trisha.03841yeo]

Hi foreverj,


You seem quite well versed in the AMK/Sengkang area. Can you recommend me some Montessori schools around AMK/Upp Thomson Road area. I have noted the few schools you have recommended.

Do you have more to this list?

[KingRascal]

If you still need further information on Shekinah, pls pm me directly. My son was there for 5 yrs. He’s now in P1. I still have alot of friends’ younger children there. Would be able to provide rather detailed feedback

[foreverj]

trisha.yeo:

Hi foreverj,


You seem quite well versed in the AMK/Sengkang area. Can you recommend me some Montessori schools around AMK/Upp Thomson Road area. I have noted the few schools you have recommended.

Do you have more to this list?

hi trisha, actually most of my recommendations come from what i read in the forums and mums I happen to meet and share their experiences. for montessori schools, u can check with buds (a grandmaster in this forum). she can advise better on montessori schools.

u can check out MMI which has many branches islandwide. but better to check with parents who have enrolled with the school to c if its good. cos mmi is a franchise so quality differs from branch to branch.

where do u live? if u dun live in SK/punggol, dun bother travelling. i remember a fren who used to send her son to greentree montessori. this may be a place possible/convenient if u live in upper thomson. she was very happy with it so do check it out.

if u r open to other locations, montessori for children (two branches - novena and broadrick) is quite reputable. brighton montessori, faith montessori and cs montessori are also ones i've seen good reviews on. but end of day, i think location matters. afterall u need to ferry the kid to and from school everyday for quite a few years. so mark down the possible schools and visit them. nothing beats seeing the place and teaching environment yourself!

[mrswongtuition]

Just curious, why are you keen on Montessori?


So far the feedback I’ve got from the parents with children in MMI now or children already graduated from MMI & are now in Pri school plus the students I see from MMI (my tutees) do not cope very well in Pri school due to the different ‘approach’ used during kindy years. As such, these students find primary school boring & do not enjoy the worksheets as there are no ‘fun’ work or pictures. It gets worse during exam as they cannot sit still to focus on the paper & complete it diligently.

I’m also looking around for a kindy that is strong in academics for my boy as we intend to enrol him in a ‘premium’ primary school that has very high standards.

[foreverj]

mrswongtuition:

Just curious, why are you keen on Montessori?


So far the feedback I've got from the parents with children in MMI now or children already graduated from MMI & are now in Pri school plus the students I see from MMI (my tutees) do not cope very well in Pri school due to the different 'approach' used during kindy years. As such, these students find primary school boring & do not enjoy the worksheets as there are no 'fun' work or pictures. It gets worse during exam as they cannot sit still to focus on the paper & complete it diligently.

I'm also looking around for a kindy that is strong in academics for my boy as we intend to enrol him in a 'premium' primary school that has very high standards.

this is potentially a problem with montessori education, ie. the children become so used to exercising their freedom they can't adapt to a conventional classroom environment. but there are benefits of a good montessori program such as creativity, strong academics in English and Math (due to Montessori phonics and math etc). i know of a few better montessori schools eg. josiah montessori which wil gradually shift the children to a more conventional classroom style of teaching so that they wil be used to pri school.

i have also heard abt someone from the MFC (montessori for children) which is a traditional montessori education kindy. becos its authentic montessori, they dun teach academics. the child, when first started p1, struggled for abt one to two months with schoolwork. but very quickly, becos of the strong foundations laid down in the school, manage to catch up very quickly with the rest of the class.

ultimately, its a personal choice for the parents. if a good montessori school is nearby/in a convenient location and the parents can afford it, i think go ahead. in my opinion, the benefits of a quality montessori education far outweighs that of one that focuses on purely academics. but u dun necessarily need to be in a montessori school to get the best preschool education. there are good programs elsewhere. one that focuses on developing in the kids the love of learning, draws out creativity of the child, stretches the imagination etc, not neglecting or forgetting about teaching the kid to be able to read, write and count is best (in my opinion)! :celebrate:

[mrswongtuition]

Actually those cases I see that manage to catch up in Primary school is because the parents put in alot of effort to coach the child or they hire tutors to coach the child. I personally do not see any 'strong foundation' as they can't even read simple words like 'this' 'that' 'those' & they can't even count forwards & backwards properly. & this observation is based on 3 children from SK MMI who are in primary 1 this year & 2 in another MMI branch that are in K2 this year.


I understand that most preschools do try to add in activities to stimulate creativity & expressive display even though they might be more academic focused. I'm looking for a school which takes academics as priority when the kids are in K1 & K2, drama/art/music are more of enrichment. At N1 & N2, I don't mind if it's still more play than work but the kids need to be used to our SG Pri schools from young age (classroom environment, following instructions, reading & writing).

\"i know of a few better montessori schools eg. josiah montessori which wil gradually shift the children to a more conventional classroom style of teaching so that they wil be used to pri school. \"
I personally feel that this should be the way: using Montessori (or whichever system) but allowing the children to adapt to SG Pri school system.