All About Montessori

[natureautumn]

Thanks Buds, appreciate all your input here;)

Along the way, also many input from soo many others, really a very informative thread.

Btw, just for info. I visited spring Montessori near dairy farm bukit panjang.
It’s a very clean place and when I went, the kids were working having their activities.each child was involved in their activity with the directness by the side.Liked the small class size and the owner seemed very nice too.

Am still considering them, but they are on the steep side and harder to. Convince Dh.
Who feels my boy too young to have such expensive tuitiom.

If distance and fees are ok, I think it’s a place worth visiting.

[k9dev]

HELP!!


understand that Montessori has 2 kinds of ownership - 1 is franchise and 1 is directly owned by them… is this true?

how can we tell the difference?

[buds]

natureautumn:

Hi all, I have been ploughing the thread for the last 3 nites but think i managed to reacd only till post 100 and kinda of zonked already. I know someone, maybe Buds? mentioned some books to read up on montessori method or doing some activity with the child at home? I cant remember which post it is on, but could someone please kindly guide me along?

Here you go, natureutumn. Was this what you were looking for?
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?p=359950#p359950

In future, if you chance upon some posts or articles you know you would wanna go back to but afraid you'd forget where to find them, you can bookmark them or add to reading list.

[joyceharper]

i have heard about montessori before and it was quite popular a few decades back, but is the teaching method still relevant now? are they able to update and keep up with the changing environment kids today are involved in?

[cantbearit2]

Hi joyceharper,


I believe Buds is still e person to ans this question. :please: That being said, IM still itching to share my thots on this.

Beginning of tis yr, my DH & I had just attended a Maths workshop conducted by our DD1's pri sch. E funny thg was, ey were gg back to Montessori's way of teaching. e teacher doing e briefing had emphasized e imp of going fr concrete to abstract. If u r familiar wif Montessori way of teaching Maths, u will noe tat ey introduce a concrete object to do counting b4 ey will introduce e numbers itself. I thk tat is proof tat it is still very much relevant.

My DD2 (K1) who is doing Montessori Maths is now doing P1 maths for addition and subtraction. E methodology adopted is so easy to understand, I wish i knew it earlier! :stupid: Then I could have taught my DD1 (P2) wen she was her age. Montessori Maths is more for understanding rather than doing Maths fast. I believe e result will b more evident wen ey reach higher levels due to e difficulty in e questions. A strong foundation & understanding is vital to do well in Maths.

IMO, e simplicity of delivering e teachings has made my DD2 fearless of big numbers. Initially we taught her juz e ones & tens but she's itching for e hundreds. :siao: She kept telling us her frenz at sch is already doing hundreds. We still insist on taking 1 step at a time. Since she's juz K1 tis yr, she still has plenty of time. Tat was few mths back. Now she's doing hundreds & pretty gd at it, I muz say :rahrah: (although she is no human calculator, which was nv our intention to begin wif anyway).

If u believe in e saying child learns best wen ey r playing, u will be amazed wif e Montessori way. My DD2 will always tell us wat she wans to 'play' wif during our 'study time'. Golden beads, counters, snake game, etc.... She is always excited abt e materials we introduce to her. Of course as parents, we noe our child best. How to coerce em into tinking tat working wif e golden beads is actually fun. :evil:

Although Montessori believe tat e teachings shld b according to e individual child's pace, I personally find tat due to e simplicity & systematic way of teaching, e child's progress is actually much faster than expectations.

what IM sharing is juz e maths portion. wait till u read up abt how ey were taught Geography. IM so impressed!!! :salute: any 5 yr old will not have trouble remembering how to differentiate between island and lake (at least IMO).

Not forgetting e way ey impart knowledge on science, biology, phonics etc....If Montessori teachings are not relevant, I really dunno wat is. :scratchhead:

U will probably hear a much more convincing reply from BUDS. She's my inspiration!!! :love:

[joyceharper]

Thanks cantbearit2 !


That really provides a lot of perspective. I initially thought that maybe some of the newer programs would be more effective but it sounds like Montessori is still very much something to explore. I recently saw a Montessori building (?) office (?) somewhere near the Clark Quay area - I just happened to pass it while traveling to another place.

Is there any particular place which you would recommend over the other? Or would you say that the quality control is pretty consistent?

[joyceharper]

i just realized… buds has 4 kids! oh my gosh! i never thought that would be possible in singapore. hats off buds!

[buds]

I'm pants off now actually... cleaning poop in btwn teaching my #3 some stuff. No time to wear the different hats for all the roles I hafta play. Interesting question joyceharper.. and definitely not the first time I've been asked. Chief once asked me the same. Will take some time to pen the thoughts down if u don't mind waiting.. and I really mean wait.. :idea: cos really won't know when's the next quiet time to get to sit in front of PC. Plus there's a looonng queue of PMs as well. *pant pant* Most times I'm around the forum using iPhone. To reply to yours I think I'll be cross eyed when I finish replying with an iPhone. :rotflmao:

[buds]

That's the sweetest thing anyone can say to me, cantbearit2.. :love:


You made my day. :please:

[cantbearit2]

joyceharper:

Thanks cantbearit2 !


That really provides a lot of perspective. I initially thought that maybe some of the newer programs would be more effective but it sounds like Montessori is still very much something to explore. I recently saw a Montessori building (?) office (?) somewhere near the Clark Quay area - I just happened to pass it while traveling to another place.

Is there any particular place which you would recommend over the other? Or would you say that the quality control is pretty consistent?

Hi joyceharper,

glad u dun find my reply naggy (wen it comes to Montessori, i keep trying to control myself to shorten e msg but juz so hard :oops: ) (tats probably y Buds can't reply u so soon, :evil: )

Unfortunately, I have only explored e Montessori sch in e NE region cos of logistics issue mah. thus im not able to gif much comments abt other Montessori sch.

I can only say (based on some hardworking mummies in tis forum who contributed eir comments) tat branded montessori sch does not equate gd sch. A lot is dependent on e sch directress. If there are any particular sch u r eyeing, it's better to go down to have a 'feel'. Do some homework b4 u go down & try to ask some 'difficult' questions & c if u r comfortable wif eir reply. make an apptm to mit e directress if possible. If u have e time, visit a few to 'feel' e diff. IM sure u will form yur own opinions eventually.