reiner:

err... hubby went there aro 6am last yr after checking out from here w the feeback on the timing to q... we still cldnt get the am slot we want... some already there @ 3am hor.... siao lor...

Wow seriously? Is this for Nafa kindy or just their art classes? Can anyone share why their programme is so sought after? I don't personally know anyone (except friend of a friend) who sends their kids to Nafa so I don't have any first hand info. I'd really like to know why they're so popular!

I'm expecting my 2nd child now and am being super kiasu! Thinking of what school to send baby to next time!

Maybe because NAFA is the only kindy that specialises in art and also provides quality classes in music, etc? I know quite a number of other kindys and childcares also include art, music, drama etc in their programme, but somehow no one else has the same level of reputation or hype as Nafa!

Charmaine_chong:

Teacher refused to reveal in details how many story books have been exposed to kids, how often and what kind of books. She simply advised that we read to them as and when we have time. We have library corner, drawing corner, block corner... so it depends on what books the kids pick.


When i queried further in average how many stories will be exposed. Then she answered 2 stories a week.


Fuzz, may i know which kindergarten has good reading programme? Can pm me.

May i know how old is your child?

I would be quite annoyed if the teacher refuses to share such info openly! I understand if teachers don't always stick strictly to the class schedule, as it's not good to be too rigid with young children anyway. They should always be encouraged to explore, as that's the best way for them to learn. So sometimes a certain activity may run over time, etc. To me, that's ok.

But I feel it's important for teachers to be open about sharing what they do each day, about your child's progress, how he/she responds to different activities, etc.

Anyway I'll pm you in a minute. Oh my boy is now 4 and 1/2.

tamarind:

You mean the 四五快读 books ? Check out my blog :

http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2009/12/teaching-chinese-at-home.html

You can try to look for them at Maha Yu Yi bookshop at Bras Basah level 3.

I bought it direct from http://www.dangdang.com. Thanks to these books, my girl is able to read long Chinese novels (each over 70000 words) since she was in P1. Some of the books that she has read are used by Berries in their P4 to P6 classes.

However, parents need to be good in Chinese in order to use these books. The instructions written for parents are not easy for those adults who cannot reading Chinese newspapers comfortably. Click the following link to read a page :
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/SzQMM0_2kGI/AAAAAAAABas/fiu6YIcA5gk/s1600-h/b2.JPG

You can try this series of books :
http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2009/12/basic-chinese-500.html

There is Hanyu Pinyin, and they are easier to use, just point and read. The Basic Chinese books are available at Popular.

Hi thanks for sharing this info! Both me and hubby are quite bad in Chinese so this will come in useful. I'm always worried I will teach my son the wrong pronunciation for Chinese words!

Charmaine_chong:

I ever feedback to principal at child-care to voice out my concern that the children have not been exposing to lots of story books. Since they are attending full day, so i suggested to the child-care to look into daily reading aloud. The principal answered me that the CC is busy and always rushing, do not have enough time to expose kids for reading program. They will do it whenever they can but not regular basis. Hmmm, what a dissapointment!

Hi Charmaine I agree with you. It's true that the childcare schedule can be busy, especially if they plan activities in the afternoons. But I find it hard to understand why there's not enough time to do some reading - if not daily, then at least once in 2 days!

I try to borrow bks for my son from the library every week, as his CC doesn't have a big collection of books. But I've heard of some schools that have a good reading programme and they get the kids to read a few books a week and to share what they read about. My friend also told me that her daughter's centre has a tie-up with the national library and they bring in a whole range of books regularly for the centre.

So it can be done! It's whether the CC wants to or not. Maybe sometimes they don't have enough teachers or resources. I guess every CC has its own way of doing things.

dokomo:

Regarding the colouring part, its true its the lazy way out for the teachers. One colouring was held during the english time slot and another colouring held during chinese time slot. Plus the teachers just dump the papers and crayons to the kids and let them colour by themselves without much explaining what is the meaning of the picture or the words that come with the colouring sheet. Then the teachers will be bz with more cleaning up again.


Wonder if i am expecting too much or if this is the norm cos my nephew at another ccc also does a lot of colourings.

Hi dokomo, 2 hour playgroup and enrichment sounds good. I would do something similar if I weren't working full time!

Regarding twice a day colouring, I definitely don't think you're expecting too much! My boy attends childcare and they hardly do colouring. I have a few friends who are in the childcare industry and I've seen their weekly timetables and asked them about their daily activities (when I was researching for childcare for my son). Never seen colouring twice a day!

But it's true that quite alot of the time in childcare centres is spent on sleeping, eating, bathing. After all, the kids are there for the whole day, so no choice.

The actual amount of time spent on lessons is similar to half day childcare or kindergarten - about 3 hours. For me, it's important to find out what the kids do in the afternoons. They shouldn't be just watching tv or colouring. And many centres actually have quite good afternoon programmes, like art and craft, music, gardening, etc. They're fun activities but also allow the kids to learn something.

I would much prefer to send my boy to kindy and plan activities for him in the afternoon or send him for enrichment. But unfortunately I don't have much choice. For now. I'm exploring options to work part time, as we're now trying for number 2. Hope it works out!

Shoe:

You get what you pay for though... My dd was in a basic kindy. She came back with limited learning experiences

Hi Shoe, agree with you to some extent. There are some centres that charge v cheap prices and you can tell why just from looking at the place, programme and teachers!

But I've also heard v good things about some kindys/childcare centres that charge reasonable fees. To me, I'm willing to pay more for a good centre with good teachers, a good programme and a nice environment. But not if the high fees are because of a big brand name and aggressive advertising.

My boy is currently attending childcare which costs abt $900 before subsidy. To me, that's a fair amount. If the fees are slightly more, that's ok too, but it must be justified by the teachers, programme and environment.

I'm considering other options that are nearer my home instead, as I may switch to part time work later this year. So I've been actively checking up on childcare and kindy options.

dokomo:

Hi Fuzz,

Agree with you, putting them at full day ccc is like throwing them into the deep end of the pool. Btw, do most ccc make the kids do colouring at least 2 times a day generally?

Hmm personally I don't like the idea of doing so much colouring! What purpose does it serve? I never heard of any centre doing it twice a day. To me, it sounds like a lazy way out. Easier for the teachers. Just give the kids colouring pencils and some drawings and leave them to do their own thing.

I've read quite a lot about early childhood education and also learnt from friends and relatives who are in the industry. It's actually not ideal to make kids do colouring on ready-made templates. It doesn't teach them creativity. It's better to give them the art materials and let them create their own artworks.

rachelam:

Hi Fuzz, I agree with you. My child is about 2 and I sent her to the stamford little genius full day program directly. Like you mentioned, it was really painful to drop and leave my daughter, sort of like what you mentioned - throwing her in the deep end of the pool.

Just a week into her program, my daughter started adjusting better. Quite pleased that Stamford little genius allows me to start off with a full day trial at only $40 per week before considering to switch my daughter to a half day program.

I am looking for a good chinese program. Any recommendations?

Hi rachelam, glad to hear that your daughter is adjusting better after only a week. That's great!

Yes I agree that it really helps if the school has a more flexible system of allowing you to do a trial to see if you/yr kid is more comfortable with full day or half day. Some centres can be very rigid and I think that makes things tough for parents who don't know what to expect and don't know how their kids will react and adjust to the programme. I know that such changes/flexibility makes it hard for the school. But personally I feel that if they're more flexible, it's also an indication that they may be more caring and their main concern is the child's wellbeing, rather than just running the business efficiently.

As for Chinese programs, I've heard that Berries is quite good. I find private tuition more effective though.

$1k is after subsidy right? That’s quite ex. If the price before subsidy is $1k and we pay $700 with subsidy, that’s reasonable. Sigh, have to think carefully about this. But their programme sounds interesting. I’ll prob make an appointment to see the place soon. Been too busy at work!


Nowadays it’s so common to find centres charging super high fees. Some of them have big ads and open so many branches. I don’t want to be paying for all their marketing and branding campaigns!

To me, the brand name is not important. What’s most important is the centre itself, if it has a nice clean environment, good teachers, whether it’s well run, and if the kids seem happy there.

$1k is after subsidy right? That’s quite ex. If the price before subsidy is $1k and we pay $700 with subsidy, that’s reasonable. Sigh, have to think carefully about this. But their programme sounds interesting. I’ll prob make an appointment to see the place soon. Been too busy at work!


Nowadays it’s so common to find centres charging super high fees. Some of them have big ads and open so many branches. I don’t want to be paying for all their marketing and branding campaigns!

To me, the brand name is not important. What’s most important is the centre itself, if it has a nice clean environment, good teachers, whether it’s well run, and if the kids seem happy there.