All About Montessori

[spring]

Hi david59… thanks for ur info.


This mon, i hav put my gal at tumble tots for a 2 wks trial. Right now im v confuse bcos all along my gal is v sociable to other ppl whom she has nv seen b4. E.g. at playground, she will go approach other children to play. She is v open to strangers. On mon which is her 1st day of trial class, she is v ok, totally forgotten abt me, i wasnt sitting in e class with her but i can see her. However, on tues, she also went in e class happily n i was also nt sitting in with her but standing outside a partition where i can see her, she was playing with something n another boy sitting beside her took away her toy (im nt too sure, din really notice e boy took thing fr my gal but e teacher said tat) n e nx min wad i see is my gal in tears crying n lookin for me. After this she jus cannot be calm down even when teacher try to carry her over fr me. She cont to cry v badly n e form teacher ask me to bring her hm. The follwing day, i brought her to class n this time i sit in with her as she kept clinging on to me. I also notice tat when e class get active n her classmates screaming, she will also start crying.

Sorry i tink i got a little sidetrack, but i really need some advice from u guys. This is my 1st child so i hav no exp at all. Y is this happening? Is e class too active for her? I tink my gal is more sensitive to noise although she is sociable. Or iszt normal for every child to behave like this when they 1st start sch? I really hope someone can reply to me as she stil has 1 more wk of trial, n im deciding between tumble tots or let her try out shekinah montessori. N btw, is montessori school suppose to be more on e gentle side? Looking forward for some advices… TIA.

[mrswongtuition]

spring:

Hi david59.... thanks for ur info.


This mon, i hav put my gal at tumble tots for a 2 wks trial. Right now im v confuse bcos all along my gal is v sociable to other ppl whom she has nv seen b4. E.g. at playground, she will go approach other children to play. She is v open to strangers. On mon which is her 1st day of trial class, she is v ok, totally forgotten abt me, i wasnt sitting in e class with her but i can see her. However, on tues, she also went in e class happily n i was also nt sitting in with her but standing outside a partition where i can see her, she was playing with something n another boy sitting beside her took away her toy (im nt too sure, din really notice e boy took thing fr my gal but e teacher said tat) n e nx min wad i see is my gal in tears crying n lookin for me. After this she jus cannot be calm down even when teacher try to carry her over fr me. She cont to cry v badly n e form teacher ask me to bring her hm. The follwing day, i brought her to class n this time i sit in with her as she kept clinging on to me. I also notice tat when e class get active n her classmates screaming, she will also start crying.

Sorry i tink i got a little sidetrack, but i really need some advice from u guys. This is my 1st child so i hav no exp at all. Y is this happening? Is e class too active for her? I tink my gal is more sensitive to noise although she is sociable. Or iszt normal for every child to behave like this when they 1st start sch? I really hope someone can reply to me as she stil has 1 more wk of trial, n im deciding between tumble tots or let her try out shekinah montessori. N btw, is montessori school suppose to be more on e gentle side? Looking forward for some advices.... TIA.

Just curious:
Are you in Punggol area?

My boy is like your girl, he's very friendly & sociable.

I noticed during my boy's enrichment classes (Tumble Tots @ PP) the same behaviour from the kids (kids are very active & screaming all the time, making learning very difficult). My boy has already grown 'hardy' in CCC, so he'll either fight back if kids snatch his toys or ignore screams.

But I find it disturbing as the class does not seem to be able to quieten down to listen although my boy does learn alot (there are 3 teachers). My boy's the attentive type and will listen even with noise around him, but I'm just wondering why are the other kids behaving that way when they are older than my boy (my boy joins the older kids class as he already know the basics, the other kids are 4 - 6yo while my boy is 2+ going 3yo). I observed the lesson (while sitting in & standing outside), and my boy will sit down & follow instructions (he's so used to enrichment classes already), but the other kiddos are creating a ruckus in the class once their parents go off! The teachers do manage them quite well, but the kids take turns to create havoc! The lesson itself is interesting with many activities & the teaching part has many teaching tools to keep their interest. So, it's not that the teachers are bad but the classmates in that particular class.

This does not happen in his other enrichment classes (not in Punggol area). I'm not saying that kids in this area are naughty or anything, but we've been to so many enrichment centres in & around Punggol, SK, HG & Tampines, most disappointing behaviour came from PG area. That's why we now rather travel for his other classes, only stick to Tumble Tots at PP for phonics.

If you are really in PG area, I think the type of kids will be somewhat the same, the school won't really matter unless you are looking into the curriculum side. But this case, seems like it's more of the behaviour of the other kids that upset your girl, not the school or teachers.

Maybe your girl needs sometime to get used to the noise level & environment also. Some kids are sensitive to noise & they do not like loud or noisy places or are not used to it (especially if they are the only child & have a quiet environment at home).

[winniegal]

hi

any mummies send their bb to little wonders montessori at jalan remaja. pls give comments. thanks in advance.

[spring]

Just curious:

Are you in Punggol area?

My boy is like your girl, he’s very friendly & sociable.

I noticed during my boy’s enrichment classes (Tumble Tots @ PP) the same behaviour from the kids (kids are very active & screaming all the time, making learning very difficult). My boy has already grown ‘hardy’ in CCC, so he’ll either fight back if kids snatch his toys or ignore screams.

But I find it disturbing as the class does not seem to be able to quieten down to listen although my boy does learn alot (there are 3 teachers). My boy’s the attentive type and will listen even with noise around him, but I’m just wondering why are the other kids behaving that way when they are older than my boy (my boy joins the older kids class as he already know the basics, the other kids are 4 - 6yo while my boy is 2+ going 3yo). I observed the lesson (while sitting in & standing outside), and my boy will sit down & follow instructions (he’s so used to enrichment classes already), but the other kiddos are creating a ruckus in the class once their parents go off! The teachers do manage them quite well, but the kids take turns to create havoc! The lesson itself is interesting with many activities & the teaching part has many teaching tools to keep their interest. So, it’s not that the teachers are bad but the classmates in that particular class.

This does not happen in his other enrichment classes (not in Punggol area). I’m not saying that kids in this area are naughty or anything, but we’ve been to so many enrichment centres in & around Punggol, SK, HG & Tampines, most disappointing behaviour came from PG area. That’s why we now rather travel for his other classes, only stick to Tumble Tots at PP for phonics.

If you are really in PG area, I think the type of kids will be somewhat the same, the school won’t really matter unless you are looking into the curriculum side. But this case, seems like it’s more of the behaviour of the other kids that upset your girl, not the school or teachers.

Maybe your girl needs sometime to get used to the noise level & environment also. Some kids are sensitive to noise & they do not like loud or noisy places or are not used to it (especially if they are the only child & have a quiet environment at home).[/quote]

Hi mrswongtuition,

I am actually staying in sk, but i dun mind abit of traveling as i cant find a suitable sch in sk area. Or do u happen to hav any to recommend? U were sayin u tried many sch ard sk,pg,hg n tamp rite? Yes i agree tumble tots class can keep e interests of these toddlers, e teachers r all young n cheerful. Shekinah montessori had called me yest sayin they hav vacancy for my gal, but am stil considering as its nt cheap. I wouldnt wan to pay e deposit, term fee n all, n find out its nt ideal. But again, i wont try i wont know. I am also tinking whether to try cheaper alternatives like e pcf "little step" programme first. Hav u come across this prog b4? Actually i think my gal dun need to go to sch so early as i can teach her e basic at hm, but shes e only child, so its gd to jus let her go mix ard with other kids.

Ooppss… tink im v sidetrack…

[david59]

spring:

Hi david59.... thanks for ur info.


This mon, i hav put my gal at tumble tots for a 2 wks trial. Right now im v confuse bcos all along my gal is v sociable to other ppl whom she has nv seen b4. E.g. at playground, she will go approach other children to play. She is v open to strangers. On mon which is her 1st day of trial class, she is v ok, totally forgotten abt me, i wasnt sitting in e class with her but i can see her. However, on tues, she also went in e class happily n i was also nt sitting in with her but standing outside a partition where i can see her, she was playing with something n another boy sitting beside her took away her toy (im nt too sure, din really notice e boy took thing fr my gal but e teacher said tat) n e nx min wad i see is my gal in tears crying n lookin for me. After this she jus cannot be calm down even when teacher try to carry her over fr me. She cont to cry v badly n e form teacher ask me to bring her hm. The follwing day, i brought her to class n this time i sit in with her as she kept clinging on to me. I also notice tat when e class get active n her classmates screaming, she will also start crying.

Sorry i tink i got a little sidetrack, but i really need some advice from u guys. This is my 1st child so i hav no exp at all. Y is this happening? Is e class too active for her? I tink my gal is more sensitive to noise although she is sociable. Or iszt normal for every child to behave like this when they 1st start sch? I really hope someone can reply to me as she stil has 1 more wk of trial, n im deciding between tumble tots or let her try out shekinah montessori. N btw, is montessori school suppose to be more on e gentle side? Looking forward for some advices.... TIA.

Sorry for the late reply. I was hoping to get hold of this parent whose daughter was previously from Shekinah Mont. to give me some feedback about the school. Unfortunately, I just did not get to see her. She has another younger son studying there. I have another student who have two brothers there too. In December, we have a girl enrolling in my centre who was once in this school. She also has a brother attending the school.

Why do I sound like I am talking irrelevant matter. Well, since I did not manage to get her feedback, what I try to put across is that the school must be pretty good such that these parents are willing to pay so much to put all their children in this school. And I am very impressed with their academic capability. They did extremely well for their recent SA2 exams. :celebrate:

Put your child in PCF or even NTUC My First Skool? I think they are trying to copy the teaching methods of the highly rated private centres but there just do not have the teachers of high calibre to achieve the results. If you can afford high school fee, treat this as an investment for your child's future. Like these kids in my centre, the parents are now paying a fraction of what they used to pay in shekinah Mont.

[jaymumy]

It’s really quite sad behind the truth of MMI in singapore. I’m already in the midst of roaming through childcare center again to transfer my child out of his current one. Given them 1 & 1/2 yr of chances for many times of absence of teachers, with very high turn over rates.


It quite tiring for parents when we have work to worry and yet has to worry about school on and off like that, esp after paying a hefty sum off our salary…

[buds]

icyclaw:

Tot of sending my DD here cos by right montessori is good..., but teachers looked very stern and not really sure whether their standard of montessori are good... Any comments?

Montessori is but another one of teaching methods, hence that's pretty much only theory. In this people oriented industry, it is ultimately the person who delivers that theory into positive practical results driven by passion; that makes any methodology work wonders. For first timers in pre-school shopping, i always suggest to go for trials and gauge the teacher's ability (the teacher who will be taking your child's class) to care for your child's class/group. A good teacher who inspires will be able to carry out ANY method of teaching, with her special touch. Try not to use a big brand name of school or methodology as a gauge to the standard of pre-school establishments. Each centre will have different teaching strengths and headed by different supervisors. Hence, there cannot be a blanket benchmark for one particular education centre/group... or in this case methodology.

[david59]

Wow!!! The two kids who came from Sek. Mont. did extremely well. Esp.the boy who comes in second position at his Primary One level in Nan Chiau Primary School. :celebrate: :celebrate: :celebrate:

[Mystic]

Hi,


I have sent my son to MMI Pasir Ris for about 2 years. he’s in N2 now. My son has told me that his English teacher (name start with S) has accidentally given him a medicine which belong to his classmate. As both of them has the same surname. As a parent, i’m shocked to hear that this kind of incident has happened in the school. I’m very angry how could the teacher be so careless to give my son other’s child medicine. I have informed the principal (a lady) about this. At first, she was very defensive about it, saying sometimes children do anyhow talk. This makes me more angry and shouldnt she go & investigate it before putting a comment like that. How can she be so judgemental that children do anyhow talks, you mean we shouldnt trust our children when they come back from school tell us about what they did in school or what they eat in school etc?

After she has checked with the teacher, she has told me that the teacher wanted to give my son the medicine but later found out that it was not for him, so only give to the girl. But my son has told me that he actually drink the medicine and it taste a little sweet & bitter and still have some left over on the spoon (if he can describe like that, means he has actually drank it). Also, after confirmed with the sick child parent, the child father told us that his daughter has told him that my son do take the same medicine as hers. So now, the teacher is lying? I believed school teaches children not to lie and giving wrong medication to another child who is not sick it is not a small matter. How could we entrust our children to the school like that. Integrity and responsibility of the teacher is very important.

My message across to parent, if you want to put your son/daughter in this school, you might want to think twice about it? Cos this has affected me and i’m transfering out my son in this school and also dilemma & skeptical whether to put him into another MMI or other school.

[loisck]

I have a ex client of mine who sent her girl to MMI Raffles Place. She said it is good in terms of menu. They even provide dinner for the children when parents are working late. The centre is open till 7.30pm which not many childcare in spore are.