Preschool Curriculum

[buds]

Heyya kwcllf,


Good observations on your part..

Pssst...
I know (too!) of centres that shortchange on menu promised
on their monthly roster. Child can come back each day
saying that they just ate biscuits, when it is supposed to be
roti prata, or french toast for the day. And at times, no milk
or milo as promised, but only plain water..

Very bad like that isn't it..
Sigh..

[Diveera]

Hi Insider & Buds


I met up with the CC in-charge last Sat. They addressed every single points that I have raised and have also presented the curriculum and weekly class plan to me. They did place the menu at the makan area but we didn’t see cos we don’t usually walk into that area. I’m pleased with the session cos they are open to rec feedback and make changes. I will leave my gal there for this year and review again in Sep.

Thanks once again for your valuable advice.

Cheers

[buds]

Very happy for you, Diveera..

And very nice of the person in charge to assure
you privately of your doubts, this is a personal
touch. Nice to know she's open and positive to
feedbacks. I'm glad.

Btw, the childcare i ever sent my kiddies to for
a while, they pasted near the dismissal corner
where parents sign in and out. Parents are not
allowed in makan area, so i suppose that does
served a purpose.

But hey, all's well with you then.. Really hope
your child will be well cared for and important
thing happy... Take care!

[kwcllf]

Hi Diveera,


Nothing beats having the childcare centre being "open, forthcoming & truthful".

This will create trust between parents and the centre and in the long-run, I am sure words will get around about how "good" this centre is.

This is unlike some that constantly skirt issues and simply try to get parents to pull their children becasue they think they are established and can afford not to have your business.

[buds]

Heyya kwcllf,


Bingo! All in a nutshell.
I fully agree. (Both hands up now!)

Well said.

:celebrate:

[momresource]

Hello Mummies,


I have read through every post in this thread and make me rethink my decision whether to transfer my Nursery kid out from his 3hr preschool to Fullday childcare.

Other than attending 3hr preschool, he attends music, art and drama enrichment outside. I am not focusing on the academic subjects like reading, writing and counting, but would like to focus on soft skills. He spent the rest of the time (avg. 3-4 hrs) on TVs… mainly kids educational program like barney, hi-5, jojo, leapfrog… Look after by doting grandparents and maid that never able to get kid to do any work, instead they were driven mostly by my 4yr old.

My initial thought was to enrol in full day childcare so that his days will be better utilized rather than sitting infront of the box as I make a enquiry to few CCCs and they usually have enrichmnet like speech&drama, gym, piano/volin, swimming and etc in the afternoon. In such case, we could have bonding time during weekends rather than rushing through enrichment.

Btw, I am a working parent. How do mummies advice on this? Or any parent with children in 3hr preschool, how do you occupy the rest of their time?

[onemoreparent]

My son is currently going to Maris Stella Kindergarten and I feel that he is not learining much. He is in k1 right now and they are still teaching Alphabets and numbers until 10. Iam somehow a bit worried that their skills are not put to use.


Iam seriously planning to change him to any montessori like butter cups or liitle oaks if I get admission. But I keep worrying if Iam thinking correctly. Cost wise it will make a huge difference to me and will my child really gain so much (is the constant question) that keeps bothering me.

Please kindly advice me on what I need to look into.

thanks for all the comments, feedback.

[jedamum]

onemoreparent:

Please kindly advice me on what I need to look into.

thanks for all the comments, feedback.

Hi onemoreparent,
let me share with you what i had done with my now-P1 boy back then when i found out that his kindergarten was not preparing him enough for P1..
first we sign him up for phonics lesson offered at a very affordable price by the center. while it occupies his time, it does not value-add - he learnt mostly from home assignments with me.
secondly, we sign him up for chinese enrichment. best investment ever. he may not be speaking chinese fluently, but he can at least manage without real headaches (my headaches ie).
thirdly, we sign him up for montessori math at K2. lousiest investment ever. it is more appropriate if you had sign up at K1 or earlier and your kid had no prior proper math concept, else it's a great waste of $ (although they state that they accept 4-7yo, seriously, they should state 3-5yo!). the centre refused to acknowledge that my boy is beyond that level cos they are not prepared to open a P1 preparatory class at that moment. when they eventually did due to sufficient intake, i turned down their 'invitation' to continue the programme.
all these enrichment and regular kindergarten adds up to about $300 per month. if considering your church kindergarten fees that can cost about $200 per month, addition of separate weekly phonics, math and chinese enrichment can cost you between $500-$600, almost comparable to average-range childcare centres full day programme or montessoribased half-day programme.
can you spare that spare cash?
i am a sahm, so it's relatively easy for me to coach him at home, but given the level of commitment some ftwp gave to their kids, i believe you can too, simply by spending 30min at home teaching or reinforcing a new concept (if you are english spoken, english can be taught at home; if you are better versed in chinese, its vice versa). imagine introducing a new concept once a week; then you can cover 52 concepts in a year; multiply by 2 and your kid should be sufficiently prepared for P1.

however, if you really can get an affordable childcare/kindergarten that has good curriculum, then that is an easier way to go - i can't cos my boy spent 3 mths settling in to his preschool...don't want to go through another stress of him not adjusting to school again.

jmho.

[buds]

Heyya onemoreparent,


It IS surprising to hear your observations.
I’ve personally had students from Maris Stella
doing our Phonics and Maths enrichment. They
usually do not come without having an already
good foundation.

Mebbe since its only the start of the year now,
the centre is perfecting all the single letter sounds
to go full straight ahead into the next stage of the
3-letter phonetic sounds.

It’ll be good to clarify with the ctr first with regards
to your doubts. Find out their side of the story…
Then, you make your assessments and follow up
from there as to whether you should consider the
swap. Tho there may be a need for childcare for
your child judging from your circumstance you may
wanna go easy and try flexi or half day first instead
of full day. If you find the childcare stays true to their
programme outline after a few mths then convert…

There will be ctrs that can promise the skies and the
heavens, but not able to fulfill them… A trial if you have
a choice to, so you can assess the childcare that you
have shortlisted. What’s your spouse view on your
observations, btw?

momresource,
A Montessori environment and curriculum will definitely
cover those soft skills that you want your child to cultivate,
and you dun need to worry abt Phonics and Maths to prepare
your child for the much needed academics as it is sufficient,
subject to the ctr quality and the teacher’s passion for teaching
of course. Ctr can have the greatest curriculum but if teacher cannot
deliver time is still wasted lor…

[kwcllf]

Hi All,


There was a Straits Times report last Saturday, 7 Feb 2009, that touches on 8 myths and facts about various educational issues. One of which is about TV watching and its negative impact on children of various ages.

Worth looking for that report and keep it for reference as it is quite informative.