Preschool Curriculum
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Heyya onemoreparent,
Talk to the school okay...?
Dun you worry endlessly without getting the whole idea
just yet. You may be worrying over nothing. Maris Stella
has been established for awhile now, they should be able
to explain to you in detail, the curriculum which will be
covered in K1. And ask them what wud your child be
efficient with by the end of K1... Ask to see products of
past graduates or worksheet samples, find out how their
lessons are conducted. You may not need to go for the
eventual switch after all you know if what you find out
from them may turn out to be a positive input on their
part. Give the school a chance to clarify your doubts,
ok dear...
If it helps, you've done good... observing the needs of your
child... ie. sending him for Phonics when you realize your
child was into reading and stuff. The short time he has done
workgroup with MMI wud have covered quite a bit as well.
Then, as a mom, you decided to give your child more of
the structure to give him a taste of the P1 prepz by putting
him in a kindergarten programme. A lotta fun stuff can be
done in 3 to 4hrs, which wud still involve some play time
which as children, they wud still need... Its just that i'm sure
you really wanna know what goes behind those doors during
the hours your child is there.
Speak to the person in charge as soon as you can..
And do update us on how the school has responded
to your queries and worries. Dun wori, every parent
gotta right to be kiasu for their children. As some wud
say, since children are too young to know what is good
for them, its us the kiasu parents who has to help them
secure the \"good stuff\" first....... until they can do it
themselves.
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Just to highlight this issue to parents. This was published in the ST Forum on 19 Feb. Thought what others think about this.
I REFER to last Thursday’s report, ‘Fast-track course for kindergarten teachers’.
It is good to raise the standard of preschool teachers so that children enrolled in childcare centres can receive quality care and education.
Unfortunately, regulations on the operation of childcare centres are very ‘open’ and this has led to sub-standard services.
When I raised my concerns on how the curriculum was managed at my child’s childcare centre, this is how the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) replied:
'MCYS only provides a broad curriculum framework for childcare centres to develop curriculum and programmes which focus on the holistic development of a child.
'Centres have the flexibility in establishing and delivering the preschool programme in line with their philosophy of care.
‘They also follow the Ministry of Education’s Nurturing Early Learners: A Framework For Kindergarten Curriculum In Singapore as a reference. Centres are guided by the desired outcomes of preschool education in this framework.’
Such ‘open’ guidelines are open to abuse by childcare centres, to the detriment of our children.
Although Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan has said that the Government does not adopt a ‘hands-off’ approach in regulating the preschool sector, there is still much to be done to ensure quality preschool education.
Improving the education level of preschool teachers is important. But MCYS must also ensure the proper and quality delivery of preschool programmes. -
kwcllf:
...Such 'open' guidelines are open to abuse by childcare centres, to the detriment of our children...
Dear kwcllf, we started KiasuParents.com primarily because of what you have noted above. The pre-school education scene is most unregulated , and it is nearly impossible to get any real comparative and unadulterated information of any particular service. We hope that our little site can give parents an avenue to get such data, or to ask for help from others who may be more familiar with the scene. -
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...
Buds,
Got a friend whose daughter attends Maris stella Kindergarten. she also said it is lousy. Kid learns nothing and worse still,she doesn't know what the kid is learning everyday. If you are refereing to acaedemic preparation, it definitely is not good to prepare the child for p1. -
kaitlynangelica:
Oh dear kaitlynangelica,Buds,
Got a friend whose daughter attends Maris stella Kindergarten. she also said it is lousy. Kid learns nothing and worse still,she doesn't know what the kid is learning everyday. If you are refereing to acaedemic preparation, it definitely is not good to prepare the child for p1.
Thanks for your sharing.
Mebbe standard drop...? Too complacent with quality teaching now...?
Oh dearie, me.. And your friend is in K1 or K2? If K2 this year, better
get out soonest possible and find better option if the case is year aft
year, no concrete progress and no positive changes made to curriculum
or visits to principal's office bearing your worries and feedbacks not
attended to and not fruitful..
P1 is hard as it is in normal neighbourhood schools.
Let's not make it harder for our children to adapt with only
bare chest of knowledge charging into Primary education.
It will not begin with a nice experience to remember their
childhood by..
Share more details if you can on the curriculum and its effects.
So we can all weigh in the pros and cons... positive and negative
sides. More heads are better than 1. If really terok, then to swap
while its still early in the year wud be a wise move. Less than a year
to prepare them as of now. Tick Tock... Tick Tock...
:!: -
Hi insider,
Primary schools onwards are under MOE while Preschools are under MCYS.
Perhaps, this is one reason for the "disjointed" policy between Preschools and Primary schools.
Also, what you have touched on is just one aspect of the curriculum, which is Han Yu Pin Yin. But, I believe what was written in the ST Forum refers to the whole gamut of how the curriculum is being carried out. As you have said, there is no "standard" practice and preschools are left on their own to determine how they want to operate.
Hence, this is the gist of the whole matter. That is, the "open" guidelines merely allow preschools to take advantage of such non-binding directives, which is detriment to our children. Worst still, we (parents and children) are being shortchanged -
Hi Insider
Thanks for the insight into the battle of preschools vs primary schools where their curriculum is concerned. I now understand why there are so many children who were pulled out from my child’s K1 class.
My child is in NTUC childcare which apparently follows MOE’s guidance of ‘learn through play’. When her classmates started leaving one by one, I started asking around and was told by some parents that NTUC childcare does not sufficiently prepare a child for P1. However, after sitting through with the principal who addressed all my concerns (and also after not one but two teachers came up to me privately telling me that they regretted putting their kids through those days of worksheets and homework and writing), I begin to appreciate why NTUC childcare is sticking by their curriculum.
Their focus is in line with MOE guidelines (for example stressing and teaching how to write and giving homework and worksheets are an absolute no-no). They are actively involved in getting the child engaged in activities and teaching them concepts and critical thinking. Most importantly, my child does not feel like she’s attending class - she thinks it’s playtime and giggles over every aspect of things that she has learnt.
However, that being said, as a kiasu parent, I still have my reservations about whether my child can indeed cope in P1 when the time comes. Therefore I am sending my child for enrichment classes to supplement her in areas where I think the childcare lacks.
Also, one word of caution that I heard from a parent – do not let your child learn too much too early as they then become very bored and distracted in P1… -
anxiousmummy:
...They are actively involved in getting the child engaged in activities and teaching them concepts and critical thinking. Most importantly, my child does not feel like she's attending class - she thinks it's playtime and giggles over every aspect of things that she has learnt...
Hi anxiousmummy, it is for the same reason why my girl is still at the Schoolhouse by the bay, despite parents saying that they do not prepare a child well enough for P1. She comes home with her creative juices running and sees things beyond lines and colours. A plate to her is not a plate, but a face that can be decorated with eyes and mouth made of anything handy. I appreciate the concept of learning through play. -
Hi Insider,
Thanks for the insightful post on preschool curriculums. When I first started looking for a preschool, I too fell for the fallacy of \"high standard (academically)\" curriculum. Fortunately my experience with Chiltern House changed my outlook totally. It is very much a play-based school and the N2 kids are not hurried in any way. I could see my son flourish in a different way. I must add that my son had a wonderful teacher back then. However, the distance was rather far for us and we withdrew from the school after one term. We are lucky to find a church kindy nearby which may not be comparable to CH but good enough for us. Till now, there's no predetermined weekly list of spelling and ting xie in K2. But the teacher introduced spelling via games and it was a lot of fun for my son. And for Chinese, he was sharing with me how to write \"milk\" in chinese verbally using the bi hua just the other day. What touches me is the love and willingness to learn and use the langauge.
But most important of all, I think it's great place for learning values and soft skills. For Valentine's Day, the school came up with a candlelight dinner for parents. While we were having dinner, the teachers took care of our kids and together they put up some acts and songs for us (within hours). Prior to the dinner, the kids were encouraged to pen down how they know their parents love each other. I am really touched by the teachers' efforts in educating the kids and parents about love. :love: -
insider:
Hmm, just sharing some intensive home curriculums/practices and achievements by people around me -
Hi vv lim,vv_lim:
non-KIASU - mean just good enough to prepare for normal neighbourhood primary school.
Indeed a kiasu curriculum you listed above that is definitely achievable coz seedling can really grow taller faster if tone wants to pull it intensely...
- A mother shared that her son knew his letters, shapes, colours and numbers by 18 mth old.
- A K1 kid can do 5 digits addition mentally (abacus) within a short time. Completes 400-500 questions in a week. Study time - 10pm to 12 or 1 am every night (cos mother is a working mum)
So, the demand for \"high standard\" preschools is really understandable :roll: .
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