Hi bbsin, any luck in finding a EL home tutor? Also looking for one in the same area for my P3 boy.

Much prefer to enagage one from word of mouth so appreciate recommedation from parents in this forum. TIA!

sembgal:

Hi, I would highly recommend you to check out http://thelittlehousemontessori.com/

Do go down to the school to check out too. You will love it.

Hi sembgal, thank you for your recommendation. Dh and I did check out the place (just the outside though :p) but it was too deep in for us. Our helper is the one that picks ds3 from school so it was not convenient for her.

Also, when we looked in through the glass panel, we saw one area that looked worn and cluttered. We didn't like what we see.

Sigh..this is the dilema we have. While we know what matters most are the program and teachers, we hope to have a nice environment to send our kids to as well. I have heard good reviews of Early Years Montessori but can't get past how run-down the place looks. :oops:

The Little Cheng Mommy:

Notabox, thank you for your input on CS Montessori. I have enrolled my youngest in their playgroup for term four and still thinking whether I should let him progress to work group next year. I'm also thinking of pulling my eldest (in k1 who is in their phonics class since 3.5yes old) out from his current childcare and let him study there as i feel that my son has picked up a lot of bad behaviour from his classmates and the school also does not prepare the children well academically. My main concern for CS Montessori tiong bahru is that its purely an enrichment centre. Centre space is quite small and teachers seems rather 'cold' to the kids. It's really a tough decision to make.

Hi The Little Cheng Mommy, sorry that I can't provide feedback on the teachers at Tiong Bahru branch. However, if you have met the boss Daniel, you will know he really cares about the kids and is passionate about the Montessori method. From my conversations with him, I know he sets high expectation of his teachers so I think your kids are in good hands.

Due to criterias set by Govt bodies, some centres can only be registered as Enrichment centre vs Kindergarten or Child Care Centre. When CS Bt Timah closed, we asked Daniel for recommendation of other Montessori schools we can go to and one advice he gave was to choose a Kindergarten instead of CCC if we don't need full day child minding service. He explained that in CCC, teachers have to multi-task and very often, will lose focus on their main role which is to understand and teach the children well.

buds:

PS. Remember your homework and come back here with your review on both. Real-time information is always the best.

Sorry for my late submission of homework!

Here’s my situation. My 2 older ds attended preschool in traditional ccc. Only ds3 attends Montessori preschool. I remember panicking when I realized ds1 can’t read by himself at K1 still. The same goes for ds2. I have heard much about the strong language foundation Montessori methods can equip a child so when it was time to select a preschool for ds3, we decided on a Montessori preschool for him. At age 4 now, ds3 is able to read simple books by himself so I am gratified.

Besides being able to read earlier than his bros, ds3’s motor skills are also better than them. He is rather independent and mature for his age as well. He would come home sharing knowledge of continents, planets, ocean animals etc. which really impressed the whole family!

It is really sad for us that CS Montessori at Bukit Timah has to close. Most parents with children at the centre that I have met, have been very happy with their kid’s progress. So for mommies who are residing in Serangoon and Tiong Bahru area, I would recommend that you give CS Montessori a try. If only we can commute to either of these 2 locations without issue, we would let ds3 continue with them.

Ds3 is now enrolled with Brighton at Sunset Way. We chose it over MMI at Beauty World mainly due to its location and environment because seriously, I can't tell which is a better school just after 1 visit. I can only hope we are as lucky as we were the first time round.

Frankly, I am a little apprehensive about Brighton as the teachers are all quite young looking and didn’t appear to me as being passionate about kids :p. I am also having a hard time accepting the homework given for weekend. At times, it was as much as 11 pages of worksheets which I felt was overboard. But ds3 seems to have settled down well so I shall see how it goes. Hopefully sometime soon down the road, I will be able to report back here on good progress of ds3. *finger crossed!*

Sorry! I am much like the boy in The Giving Tree story, coming back here whenever I need help.. :oops:


Didn't expect that I have to hunt for preschool in this lifetime again after finding a really good one for DS3. Sadly, the school has to close down so when term 3 begins, DS3 has no school to go back to. :sad:

Hope to get more current feedback on MMI @ Beauty World and Brighton @ Sunset Way in terms of quality of teachers and curriculum or other Montessori schools in the vicinity that I should check out as well.

Thanks lots!

Willow:

notabox:

err...all P1s knew the class they have been alloted to already, don't they?

Underst that the class will stay the same throughout to P2 (enbloc, no change), i think my ds' form teacher said she will follow him to P2 too...

sorry! I meant P1s next year.
Yes, current P1s will move up to P2 together with their classmates. Teachers may or may not be the same. My boy had a change of form teacher.

err…all P1s knew the class they have been alloted to already, don’t they?

Willow:

sitian:

Hi everyone,

May I join? My DS is in Pei Hwa this yr and my girl is going to Integrity 3 next yr.

Yippee, my younger boy is Integrity 3 too, I just pm u
which level is yr DS ?

:oops: MIA for a long while!

Ds2 will be in Int 3 next year too!

Report book is the so called 'portfolio'?

php:

even the first pick is the correct answer, must teach them to leave it for the last entry....fill the first 2 entries with the wrong answer....

I see, thanks for advice!

php:

the best way is to start from the middle....ie 12...and increase/decrease the value thereafter...

got it, thank you!

php:

for guess and check method, PSLE's requirement is minimum 3 entries...so train your kid to do at least 3 entries in his/her solution....

do you mean that a min. of 3 combinations must be shown in the workings? Ds likes to pick a number he fancies and sometimes, he could get it right with the first combination. Does he need to list another 2 entries still?