Ascension Kindergarten - Or kindy nearby Boon Keng/PP

[dimension]

hi gweichen

so which does ur child attend?
canaan church is quite near my ILs place
but i can’t seem to find much info about their curriculum, fee and structure etc

hai i like ascension leh. coz my nephews there. i know they learn many interesting things like gymnastics, music, chinese poetry. but most impt is my nephews like the school, unlike those they attended previously

[gweichan]

My son is in Canaan Church. I like the Principal and teachers there. Before I decided on Canaan, I went to Ascension, Kim Keat and Elim Churches to speak with the Principals.


I shortlisted Kim Keat and Canaan and had very long conversations with both Principals.

You can make appointments to visit the kindergarten and find out more about their curriculum, fees and etc.

[dimension]

hi gweichen!!

thanks for your reply! can i know how does your son find Canaan?
what kind of activities do they do there? whats the class size?
what are the session timings like for nursery class?
i think most impt for me is for my kid to enjoy the school.

i really would appreciate talking to someone who actually attend the school
instead of the Principals (i mean usually they say good things mah lol)
did u pick canaan over kim keat coz its nearer to the mrt?
but i have emailed them for a visit. waiting to hear from them.

[meiah]

Hi,


Does anyone have any feedback on Ascension kindergarten? Would like to know if their programme is sufficient to prepare a child for p1, and if the children there are happy.

TIA

[lavlow]

meiah:

Hi,


Does anyone have any feedback on Ascension kindergarten? Would like to know if their programme is sufficient to prepare a child for p1, and if the children there are happy.

TIA

Hi

I'll like to find out about this too, especially k1 & k2 level if it's enuf to prepare for P1. Basically, there're many gd feedback that the kids love the school and is happy. I think it's bcos there're many play and fun activities there, but how about technical academic teachings?

From what I heard, seems that no worksheets or homeowrk to bring home except readers (i may be wrong). then within the 3hrs there - minus away time spent in assembly hall singing etc, lunch dunno 30mins or more especially when there's bday party, cum playing outside/indoor, left how much time to do serious studying??

Some PCF/PAP k1 already doing spelling for eng n chinese, then lotsa readers/worksheets to bring home daily, and at end of k1 the kid is suppose to be able to write a storybook of their own... and daily lesson stretch 4hrs and more if there's enrichment that day... fees cheaper some more!

Anyone experienced mummies with kids from Ascension Kindergarten share information on this please, thank you!!

[peggy]

Hi,


My gal is in K2. She is very happy whenever she goes to school. Even when she fell sick also asked to go school. For Chinese, AK has engaged a school to conduct extra chinese class outside school hours starting from K1. it's like twice per week and lasting 3 hrs each session. But but, they only accept about 25 students and of course u hv to pay extra. They have extra programmes like gymastics, computer, speech and drama where they engaged outsiders to conduct them (have to pay extra again, but it's optional). School fees plus the additionals worked up to about $660 per term. And the extra chinese is about $400 per term (60 hrs).
Weekly homework will be given on weekends and weekly spellings from K2. As for languages, personally felt that it is not sufficient enough to prepare them for P1. Most parents send their child for enrichment classes which I believed many parents did whether they are in AK or not!!!
Environment wise is definitely VERY GOOD !!! They are very well organised and teachers there are very experienced and many have worked for many years. Unlike some schools where you see high turnover in teachers. Most importantly, my child must be happy to bring herself to school daily and not being \"dragged\" there. Hope I have provided some useful info to you.

[lavlow]

peggy:

Weekly homework will be given on weekends and weekly spellings from K2. As for languages, personally felt that it is not sufficient enough to prepare them for P1. Most parents send their child for enrichment classes which I believed many parents did whether they are in AK or not!!!

Hi Peggy

Thanks so much for the info. I must say your girl is really a darling! If only my girl is like that, I'll be very very happy!!

Can check with you what type of weekly homework do they give?
Is it only given for k2 only?
Spelling is both english and chinese? How many words?
k1 & k2 still go to the playground to play?
What do they if they dun join when rest of the class for gym & computer??
How about Maths? Is it sufficient?
Is it convenient for you to share which enrichment school do you send your girl to?

Thanks again for your help.

[peggy]

Hi lavlow,


You are most welcome !! We are here to share, right ??

Homeworks are given for K2 only. It's like 1 or 2 worksheets. Is a different subject each week.
Spelling - english weekly (8 words) & chinese fortnightly (学校，蜗牛 - 4 simple words)
No more playground for K1 & K2. For PE, they have gym or sometimes even hockey. There's also simple cooking session like making pancake, scramble eggs...etc. So no worries about not having playground.
For students who opt out gym, computer or speech & drama, their teacher will provide arts & crafts or may just stay in their classrooms. Their classrooms are equipped with books n fun stuffs.
For maths, should be ok....learning addition and substraction 1 -20, ordinal numbers..But dunno about next 2 terms yet.
I send my gal to Lcentral for english and to CMA for abacus. Should say she is quite well prepared for P1 english and maths. As for chinese, teaching on my own.
You should make an appointment with AK and pay a visit to the school. But now a bit too late coz school is closing for holiday. You shld go there during school hours so you can see how happy those kids are & the way teachers handle them
Hope I have answered your queries !!

[lavlow]

Hi Peggy


Yes yes, now i have a clearer picture of what to expect for k1/k2, thks.

wow! you are teaching chinese yourself! salute! cos i find chinese difficult to teach and maths = vomit blood!

Side-track abit... do you know between LCentral, British Council, Lorna Whiston - which is better? (i know you aldy chosen Lcentral - but any particular reason?). I'm thinking of sourcing one for my girl next year but dunno which to choose.

For CMA, it only teaches abacus? Is it sufficient to cover P1 to P 3? How about things like problem solving, maths concepts etc?

[peggy]

Hi lavlow,


We hv not tried BC, so cannot comment on it. But heard mixed comments from friends who had sent their kids there. As for LW, my older boy tried b4 but , no result. LC was highly recommended by a friend so I tried it out in oct 2008 when my gal was in N2 until now. Recommended a few friends there n they were very happy with the results. My gal is now taking P1 Preparatory class. Wow!! The spelling words are very difficult. You'll see words like interesting, magnicient and not table or chair... !!! But luckily, my gal can managed them. In fact, in her whole class of 6 kids, most of them did quite well too!!
As for CMA, besides abacus, they also teach mental arithmetics. So far quite useful for my gal when doing addition and subtraction.
For chinese, just got a call today from AK's chinese school (extra lesson) that my gal can enrol for next term (she is the 1st on the waiting
list). So I have no worries for chinese now !!!