Creative O
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Hi Sgwave,
Yes, I feel that the children from Creative O are adequately prepared for P1.
My older son is now primary 3 and he has no major problems coping in primary 1. Actually, a lot depends your definition of ‘adequate’. For me, it means that he is able to take care of himself in school, make friends and participate in class.
The textbook learning part is a lifelong process, and for me, that begins at primary 1. No need to start earlier and also cannot start later. We do keep an eye when my son was in P1 to make sure he knows what he needs to know but there’s nothing so difficult that one needs to learn in kindergarten prior to going primary 1.
My wife and I jokingly defines one benchmark of how my son is doing in school as whether he gets any invitations. Say if one classmate is organzing a birthday party, he/she normally invites 8-10 classmates (out of 30). This could be due to different cliques in the class (which i think is normal). My son’s class was unchanged for P1-P2. We attended the first party at end of P1, which gives us assurance that he found himself good friends. We subsequently attended 4-5 gatherings in P2 and find that its always the same 8 to 10 kids. So for us, these parties allows us to know who are his friends in school which in turns gives us a gauge if he is ok in school.
My younger son is now K2 in Creative O and in fact, I hope he has lots of playtime because it’s going to be a lot less playtime once he goes to primary school. I have no worries whether he can cope with Pri 1 next year.
Cheers,
DP -
I agree with dp, whose youngest son is in the same class as my daughter. My son is in P3 this year and Creative O had instilled independence, teamwork, sociablity among others in him.
If you read from the previous posts, you will realised that Creative O emphasized more on hands on skills (motor skills) activities and projects. These actitivties and projects will provide for the necessary skills for P1 and beyond.
For example, they will start a project like setting up a food stall. The children would then sit down, plan and discussed (teamwork) how to go about doing it. From there they will write down the things they need (writing skills), things to buy, the price (maths) and location etc. Teachers provide only little supervision (independance) till the final day the stall is setup.
My boy was well prepared for P1, he socialised very well and paticipated actively in the school and class activites.
The only setback was his Chinese as we speak English most of the time. So now, my daughter is fairly well versed in her mother tongue.
Anyway, being a Kaisu parent both of children have attended phonics and chinese classes. They enjoyed the lessons as it is also play and learn (same as Creative O)…
Hope this help a bit… -
Hi,
As a preschool educator, let me chime in. Project work (such as the one mentioned in setting up a food stall) is great for:
1. application of academic skills e.g. children have to give a name to their stall and write it down. They also have to come up with the menu. In the process, they are learning how to spell, perhaps using their skills on phonics or sight words. They learn that reading and writing has a purpose in life (for communication) and in the process, develop a positive attitude towards reading and writing.
2. instilling a positive attitude towards learning : In the course of setting up the food stall, they may encounter problems (intellectual as well as social) which they will have to solve. This teaches them perseverance and asking the right questions to solve real life problems.
As Lilian Katz, a well known educator said, a good curriculum should develop children’s knowledge, skills, dispositions and feelings. Project work, if carried out well, achieves all of the above. These will serve the children well beyond just primary school.
By the way, I have no vested interest in the school. -
Hi dp, bear Ho, Han Seo,
Thank you for sharing your views. I was quite worried as my girl who just started k1 keep telling me abt playing in school and having no lesson. No doubt she is enjoying herself in school. But, having read the various discussions on what kids need to know before p1, I feel so stress as she has yet started to read. -
Hi Sgwave,
Just to share that my wife reads to both our sons before bedtime and we visit the library to borrow many books at one time. I find that my elder P3 son seems to be more willing to try to read by himself at a younger age. My younger K2 boy can recognise some words but not very willing to read. He prefers to pass a book to mummy and then enjoy mummy reading the story to him. As long as he is willing to pick a book for mummy to read, we figure that one day he will eventually read by himself.
So different kids will learn things at different pace and we are quite relax at kindergarten level. But once in primary school, we had to push our P3 son a bit harder (than he prefers) to make sure he keeps up with the pace stipulated by the school syllabus. Not much choice there.
The only thing we probably would prepare my K2 boy for P1 is han-yu-pin-ying (hypy). The primary school covers this part quite quickly, like within first 6 months in P1. We might enrol our K2 son in the 2nd half this year to give him a bit of introduction for 3-4mths before school opens. We feel that the learning pace for P1 in the Chinese subject is faster compared to English and Math. I would prefer P1 Chinese to be slower and focus on recognising simple words and proper writing strokes first. Then introduce hypy in P2 for more difficult words.
Notwithstanding the above, we may eventually decide not to enrol because the emphasis is not longer on hypy by middle of P2 and also due to time constraint. On top of the martial art and chinese dance lessons he has in Creative O, we recently added badminton, swimming and abacus lessons for our K2 boy because he wants to join his P3 brother’s activities.
Lastly, I do not know which K1 class is your girl in but i feel that your girl is in good hands as this year’s teacher combinations for all 3 K1 classes are very good. My older boy was taught by Teacher Linda and she is absolutely fantastic.
As long as your child is happy, she will be learning.
dp -
HI DP, It’s nice to read so much comments here about Creative O. I couldn’t agree with you more!
My girl last year transfered to Creative O and now in K2 Starfish, I am happy with her progress in school.
My son is in Nursery Cheerful class, he is also doing very well… -
Hello,
I was wondering if anyone had an introverted child who blossomed at Creative O? My little girl joined the school this Jan and her teachers have commented that she is not joining in class activities. She is a little timid by nature, and not very ‘athletically’-inclined. Her previous teacher at another play group she attended mentioned that she is rather self-contained and will do well in a Montessori. While I would like my little girl to grow up confident and outspoken, I am starting to wonder if Creative O is a good fit for her, given its emphasis on outdoor play. She has been very upset everyday when I send her to school. Would love to hear your advise if you have been through a similar experience. Many thanks! -
Hi Sophieng,
I have seen a few introverts, reserves and quiet kids in Creative O over the last 5 years. All of them have ‘blossomed’…I think it’s a matter of time. Besides outdoor play, the school has plenty of activites to build one character.
Talk to her and ask her why is she upset, give her encouragement. Find out from the teachers how she behaves after sending her. Work together with the teachers to see how best to bring the best in her.
Hope she will be ok and enjoy herself… -
Sophieng,
I think at a certain point in time, changing of environment is unavoidable. There is always insecurity when one moves out of the comfort zone. Imagine if this happens when she is in P1 and you do not know why. Since you have already made the change, why don’t you try to find out why and address her concern. From there, you could help her out. You know her best. Don’t give up. -
Hi Sophieng,
You did not mention how old is your daughter. So i am not sure if my experience with my older boy is relevant.
My older boy (who is P3 now) joined Creative O only in K1. Prior to that, he was in other school where he was not participating in class and would be typically be the only boy walking around/ doing some other things when other children were sitting in a group listening to the teachers. This behaviour continued when he joined CreativeO.
Before our first meet the teachers session, we were worried that the teachers might say there’s something wrong with him or that his behaviour needs to improve etc. To our surprise, the teacher said he was normal (which was great news to us) and had good points like helpful, compassionate etc. My wife actually shed some tears on the spot. Teachers who can see the good side of every child are invaluable and we are grateful to the teachers for that.
Gradually, my son began to participate more in class, made some friends and really bonded with the teachers. I would say he has improved a lot compared to when he just join CreativeO. My son have very fond memories of his K1/K2 teachers and he still meets 4 ex-CreativeO classmates weekly because they have same badminton or swimming lessons.
My advice is somewhat the same as Bear Ho and Sgwave. Firstly, if you just joined, give your child time at least 6months to settle down and for the teachers to know your child better.
Secondly, listen to what her teachers in CreativeO have to say after 6 months. There are many experienced teachers who would have seen many children to give an opinion. Talk to the principal, Ms Tan, about your concern if necessary. I find that she gives excellent advice, most of the time in short and straight to the point form.
Lastly, although you said your child is not "‘athletically’-inclined", studies have showed that exercise are good for the overall development of young children. Also, as what Bear Ho mentioned, there will be other character building activities.
All the best and i hope your girl will blossom happily in CreativeO.
dp
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