from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1"

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 10 Oct 2013 23:54:20 GMT

Ran1977 — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 23:54:20 GMT

Hi my son is in a Montessori kindergarten now…from the looks of it n based on feedbacks received from other P1 parents, kids in the Montessori environment are better prepared to deal with the school curriculum in P1.

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Fri, 16 Aug 2013 07:41:26 GMT

quixation — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 07:41:26 GMT

my gal started montessori then switch to a normal childcare but she didnt like it… so we had her switch back to montessori.

I think the difference here is if the preschool is 100% Montessori or not.
I like it that my girl started hanyu pinyin and i realized the preschool started changing somewhat into a primary environment for them in k2. Weekly spelling, show and tell, group work, project, etc… i dont know yet if it will affect (my gal will go to P1 nxt year) but i see its more holistic compared to the childcare we tried for half a year… it was terrible… can tell those Montessori kids was more advanced…

Anyway i love my girl’s Montessori school and so far, alot of parents here in KSP has kids who goes to Montessori and no problem in P1.

So i shall keep my faith…

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Sun, 25 Nov 2012 12:16:48 GMT

Huggable — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 12:16:48 GMT

Oh, the school would start with hanyu pinyin first, then slowly introduce Chinese characters.

Your daughter could be feeling some pressure with Chinese, why not introduce it at a slower pace? I spoke to my son in good proper Mandarin once, and he refused to speak to me for a while. Show her encouragement and don’t hurry her.

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:53:35 GMT

Mommybaby — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:53:35 GMT

Huggable:
There are no exams for P1 & P2, a MOE regulation. But the school uses \"holistic assessment\", so there are tests, show & tell's, spelling & dictation etc throughout the year, to gauge the boys' learning progress.

My son struggled initially with the spelling and Chinese. But he had caught up somehow.

I am quite worried about Chinese, as my girl knows what she's taught but she doesn't like to speak it coz she's not sure if it'll come out right. We've encouraged her and sometimes just out of no where, she'll suddenly start speaking (like in a restaurant she'll speak to the waiters herself in Chinese when she realize they don't understand English, and she can speak well). But when we incorporate Chinese into our daily activities, she sometimes refuses to answer in Chinese ...

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:26:57 GMT

Huggable — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:26:57 GMT

There are no exams for P1 & P2, a MOE regulation. But the school uses "holistic assessment", so there are tests, show & tell’s, spelling & dictation etc throughout the year, to gauge the boys’ learning progress.

My son struggled initially with the spelling and Chinese. But he had caught up somehow.

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:48:32 GMT

Mommybaby — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:48:32 GMT

Hahaha … But then, it was only P1 simulation - it could be that she’s finally doing "big girl work" in a little kids environment that got her excited. Once she really starts school and she’s surrounded by "bigger girls" and it’s homework, tests and exams on a regular basis, she might not be so enthusiastic about it … Will have to see what happens.

Anyway, Huggable, it’s true that time flies. Really great that your son adapted fast - how did he manage with the first few tests and first exam?

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:06:11 GMT

Huggable — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:06:11 GMT

All the best! Time really flies; yeah, my kid adapted rather fast to P1 life, and a year has since passed.

To me, \"liking\" the tests is half the battle won. :imcool:

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 12:40:58 GMT

Mommybaby — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 12:40:58 GMT

My DD has been in Montessori for 3 years and she went thru the P1 simulation … she seems to have adapted very well to that, and was very excited when she came home from the simulation! In fact, we were quite surprised with her enthusiasm towards going to P1 after these "classes". They had spelling tests and all …

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:33:45 GMT

Huggable — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:33:45 GMT

My son has been in MFC for almost 3 years, and the school recently ran a Pri 1 simulation to prepare the graduation students for transition to P1.

He had a hard time adapting to a classroom setting.

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 12 May 2011 10:18:55 GMT

LOLMum — Thu, 12 May 2011 10:18:55 GMT

dont think there should be any problem unless your child is one of those timid, shy types.

if she is, better do something to boost up her confidence and overcome her shyness now. dont do nothing and just throw her to the wolf pack in pri school.

eg. let her order her own meals in MacD, restaurants. in supermarket, get her to ask cashier, sales assistants for help. prompt her to say "hello", "thank you", "excuse me" to neighbours, security guards etc.

i have seen ds’s classmates who are shy, timid and not enjoying pri 1 now.

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 12 May 2011 10:05:43 GMT

rosemummy — Thu, 12 May 2011 10:05:43 GMT

My daughter, now 17, spent 4 years in a Montessori school. She is now in her second year in a US liberal arts college. While she managed to do reasonably well in primary and secondary school, her performance is below expectation. She has a tendency to do only what she enjoy and is not too bothered about exams or homework. In a Montessori school, she gets to choose what she want to learn. But she is now thriving in a liberal arts environment where she has a lot of freedom in the choice of subjects. She has done courses ranging from languages to psychology and philosophy as well as economics, accounting and law, and enjoying it. As a 2 year old, she was well exposed to a wide range of knowledge in a Montessori environment, from astronomy to botany and was able to read independently before she turned 3.

There are pros and cons in every system. I like the Montessori system for the way a child is taught to explore and learn on their own. Unfortunately, there’s a disconnect with our mainstream schools. The weakness, as I see it, is that the child tends to be self-centred. Quite inevitable in a child-centred style of education.

When my daughter started P1, you can probably count the number of Montessori kids in the entire cohort in a Bukit Timah school with your fingers. You probably won’t find any of them in a neighbourhood school.But I think things have changed now and there are many Montessori kids these days. The schools have to, and are, changing to cater to them. 1 example is the reduction in class size. It used to be 40 even at P1.

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 12 May 2011 04:16:57 GMT

tankee — Thu, 12 May 2011 04:16:57 GMT

pinkapple:
wah. si mi si TNS??

Tao Nan School

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 12 May 2011 03:46:20 GMT

pinkapple — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:46:20 GMT

wah. si mi si TNS??

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 12 May 2011 01:39:37 GMT

tankee — Thu, 12 May 2011 01:39:37 GMT

Suz855:
In a Montessori environment, everything has its place and this help the kids to develop order and be organise from a young age ... anyway, this is the only short coming that we have not benefit from her 3 years of Montessori education ...

Btw, during her kindergarden years, her class only have 6 or 7 kids learning together, was worried too that what would happen when she joined in a class of 30 at P1 .... but she adapted well and till now, she will approach her teachers when she need help and participate actively too in class (We were invited to open house in her school and get to observe them during their lesson time) ... cheers ...

IMO, Montessori and now P1 & P2 in TNS are similar. There are class level teaching and group level activities. I believe most primary schools practise organising the students in a class in 5-6 groups. The main differences are teacher to student ratio, much lesser 1-to-1 coaching.

DS has benefited in the phonics and mathematics foundation taught during his pre-school days.

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Thu, 12 May 2011 01:33:52 GMT

tankee — Thu, 12 May 2011 01:33:52 GMT

pinkapple:
Suz855:
..... the only short coming is that she is not really organise and misplace her stuff easily .... kekeke

this has nothing to do with Montessori or not right?

same thoughts

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Wed, 11 May 2011 16:24:36 GMT

Suz855 — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:24:36 GMT

In a Montessori environment, everything has its place and this help the kids to develop order and be organise from a young age ... anyway, this is the only short coming that we have not benefit from her 3 years of Montessori education ...

Btw, during her kindergarden years, her class only have 6 or 7 kids learning together, was worried too that what would happen when she joined in a class of 30 at P1 .... but she adapted well and till now, she will approach her teachers when she need help and participate actively too in class (We were invited to open house in her school and get to observe them during their lesson time) ... cheers ...

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Wed, 11 May 2011 07:14:47 GMT

pinkapple — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:14:47 GMT

Suz855:
..... the only short coming is that she is not really organise and misplace her stuff easily .... kekeke

this has nothing to do with Montessori or not right?

Reply to from Montessori pre-school to Primary school, any1" on Wed, 11 May 2011 07:11:52 GMT

Suz855 — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:11:52 GMT

My girl already in P4, she went throu 3 years of Montessori … she has no problem adapting to the school system … we had no regret as she picked up the phonics and hanyu ping ying then, no sweat in spellings and ting xie & develop great reading habit … the only short coming is that she is not really organise and misplace her stuff easily … kekeke