Comparing Chinese Enrichment (Primary/Preschool)

[shylyn]

jedamum:

Woodlands a bit far out for me.... considering that I am not proficient in my driving skills yet :oops: .

Hi Jedamum
I'm also tempted to sign my boy for the Woodlands branch after reading Taramind's reviews..but distance wise, BB is much nearer..ur DS1 has been attending e bb branch right? How long & how r e teachers there? Rem tt ur DS2 & my boy is abt same age (hope my memory didn't fail me ) think might be in that class ur ds2 attended if i intended to sign him up. Opps..just realise tt i didn't know which day u r attending..so might not b same class.

jedamum:

Can they? They told me no parents allowed after initial trial.
I'm ok that they told me upfront that my kid is not ready. It is better than to pacify me and tell me to give it a try, then when my kid really have difficult settling in, I need to withdraw and forfeit my fee payment (had bad experience with other enrichment centre actually :P).

I'm hoping to slowly let my boy attend the class by himself..but experience told me, very diff...he will cry one.. :oops: hoping someday, he will be able to attend classes by himself w/o making a fuss

jedamum:

Last Saturday when I sent my ds1 to berries, my ds2 actually excitedly ran into 'his' classroom, and spout the 2 words that he learnt during the trial - i guess he was paying attention after all! I think he was expecting to see the same pile of toys .

wow..ur ds2 can multi task..hee.. :lol:

[jedamum]

My ds1 has been there since mid K1. Now he is in P1. So far i am satisfied with the teachers. My ds1 is the sit and listen type, so he does not give teachers any problem .


I didn't sign my ds2 up. The teacher told me that he is not ready considering that he has not started any playgroup/daily class.

Overall, i like the staff/teachers there. Last Saturday when i was there, I saw a teacher 'teaching' a parent (whose kid is in Pri sch) some HYPY basics.

[googaga]

buds:

Children, aye...
No matter how long they take to settle in, they WILL settle.
With a tough mummy, it can work. A patient teacher with
a patient ear will help too. Hehee.. Oh yes, and a teacher
with strong arms definitely has a plus. All that carrying (of
children) will build biceps!

Hi Buds, i totally agree with ur comments above! Cos i was that \"tough\" mommy who chose to be oblivious to my son's cries n i'm lucky that the teachers at woodlands are so loving n patient to him. One assistant teacher will sit him on her lap, coax him or even carry him if he's not ready to sit on his own. This carried on for abt 4 to 5 mths if i remember correctly. And one fine day he just walked in willingly n even look forward to the class every week! Hope this will encourage other mummies here : )

[tamarind]

jedamum:

tamarind:

While at Bukit Batok, I have seen mommies sitting in with their kids for many weeks. I myself stayed with my girl for quite a while when she first started at N2.

Can they? They told me no parents allowed after initial trial.

I am a very thick skin mommy. I never asked whether I can sit in or not. I just assumed that I can. The teacher did not ask me to leave leh. My girl was very sticky to me, but later I promised to buy her favourite food (kueh lapis !) then she agreed to let me go. Her classmate cried for many weeks, and the mommy had to sit in throughout the 2 hours. I think Bukit Batok has a new centre head now, may be she is more strict with the rules.

Bukit Batok Berries has very good and fun loving teachers, but they are just too nice to kids. If the class is big it can become very noisy and out of control. At most the teacher will say \"I tell your mommy later hah\".

The teachers in Woodlands Berries seem to be more \"fierce\", but the controlled environment is better for my kids. I think my boy's K1 teacher is quite serious and boring. But he does not complain so no problem


To other mommies reading this,
Woodlands Berries has the best centre head I have ever met in any pre-school. She is very nice and caring. I highly recommend the school !


shylyn,
Bukit Batok Berries is good, but you need to find a smaller class. You can ask them how many kids in the class at each specific timing. My girl used to be in a class with a total 4 kids only. In a small class, each child has more attention from the teacher.

Orchard Berries is also good, then you can drop your boy and go shopping.

[hugeclaw]

Due to distance and convience, thought if sending my k2 boy to Han Language at kovan, it’s seems that this school is not very popular in this forum. Mind to share any experience with Han Language?

[keithmummy]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


Hi,

I am thinking of starting my boy for Chinese enrichment.
He is taking P1 higher chinese.
Anybody has sent your kids to Berries or Tian Xia?
What do you think of the school? :?

[shylyn]

jedamum:

My ds1 has been there since mid K1. Now he is in P1. So far i am satisfied with the teachers. My ds1 is the sit and listen type, so he does not give teachers any problem .


I didn't sign my ds2 up. The teacher told me that he is not ready considering that he has not started any playgroup/daily class.

Overall, i like the staff/teachers there. Last Saturday when i was there, I saw a teacher 'teaching' a parent (whose kid is in Pri sch) some HYPY basics.

Thks jedamum for your reply..indeed helpful..think i should call up e centre tomo..cos after dropping them an email on Mon, no reply till now

Will u sign ur ds2 once he is more ready?

taramind:

The teachers in Woodlands Berries seem to be more \"fierce\", but the controlled environment is better for my kids. I think my boy's K1 teacher is quite serious and boring. But he does not complain so no problem

I would also prefer a teacher to discipline my boy..cos knowing his 'pattern' he needs someone who is firm yet loving to teach him..he knows exactly who can be bullied lah..but then again, i shall try out personally & if really they r unable to take him to hand, then consider 'shifting' to Woodlands one..

taramind:

Bukit Batok Berries is good, but you need to find a smaller class. You can ask them how many kids in the class at each specific timing. My girl used to be in a class with a total 4 kids only. In a small class, each child has more attention from the teacher.

Orchard Berries is also good, then you can drop your boy and go shopping.

Thks for the tip..hmm..wonder whether to pop by this sun to check out... :roll:
orchard branch huh...aiyo..doubt i can go shopping...my boy will be like super glue..esp for the 1st few session..

[mckenzy]

we’re pulling our p5 boy out of Berries… reached a point when the material and training not enough to cope with his school standards…

[Mummyprincess]

I remember last yr, I went for a talk conducted by Chang Mei Hsiang of Eduplus. From there, we were told to be prepared as our child's marks for P3 will drop at least 10 marks. That time, I was like, isit, sure or not? This year, I was shocked to find my P3 girl CA marks dropped drastically. :shock: Previously, her CL marks used to be Band 1 for P1 and P2, are there any parents of P3 experience the same?

[MdmKS]

Mummyprincess:

I remember last yr, I went for a talk conducted by Chang Mei Hsiang of Eduplus. From there, we were told to be prepared as our child's marks for P3 will drop at least 10 marks. That time, I was like, isit, sure or not? This year, I was shocked to find my P3 girl CA marks dropped drastically. :shock: Previously, her CL marks used to be Band 1 for P1 and P2, are there any parents of P3 experience the same?

Most schools nowadays dont have CA1 for P1-3, hard to track by now. Usually, P3 mark get dragged down by compo when comes to SA.