Nursery or Kindergarten??

[CelineChua82]

Hi i like some advice on whether is Nursery or Kindergarten is good. I am staying at bugis area.. So looking for somewhere near town. Please help to give some recommendations please.Currently i am looking st these few schools;

1. St James Church Kindergarten
2. Kindergarten @FMC
3. Littles Hands Montessori
4. Newton Kindergarten
5. Little Woods Montessori

Thanks in advance!!:001_302:

 

[Ting]

sorry, im quite confused..
do u mean preschool/childcare??
cos i thought b4 kindergarten, the child need to attend nursery right???

how old is your child now?

 

[Ting]

I've been to many kindergartens this year (yes, I work with different schools) and I am particularly impressed with kids that are from Montessori.

They seems to be much more smarter and academically ready.

of cos. montessori is so much more expensive than normal schools.
but what i heard (not very sure myself) is that they way montessori teaches is quite different from what the local pri sch teaches.

 

[CelineChua82]

of cos. montessori is so much more expensive than normal schools.
but what i heard (not very sure myself) is that they way montessori teaches is quite different from what the local pri sch teaches.

My son is only 8mths. But now i am choosing school for him. or do you call it like playgroup?

 

[yan2]

My son is only 8mths. But now i am choosing school for him. or do you call it like playgroup?

If I am not wrong.

If center is purely teaching no childcare service, it calls " Kindergarten or preschool"
depend on each school, some starts from PreN - 3yrs old, Nursery, K1 and K2. Some starts from Nursery - 4yrs old, K1 and K2
Some center like CS Montessori, they have playgroup(2hrs) from 18 months.

If center has childcare service and teaching, it calls "childcare center"
They take in children from 18 months. They will take care of the child's need while you at work, at the same time - teaching (N, K1, K2)

Also other private center like gracekids, neo tree, JG, GUG : they conducts classes like gyms, sing-along, art and craft, etc...

 

[Ting]

My son is only 8mths. But now i am choosing school for him. or do you call it like playgroup?

i think play group doesnt start so young.. prob arnd 2 yo i think.
they call it play grp or presch..
u choosing sch for him when he is how old?
childcare is diff from playgroup. in CC they do teach too but its more like u place them there due to work commitments.
if its playgroup, its only a few hrs, just to let them learn abit n socialise.

 

[CelineChua82]

hmmm i am looking at to put him in play group when he's abt 2yrs old.. probably not child care centre.. coz most of the sch have play group, nursery then K1 & K2. Just wanna see which sch is good..

 

[camom]

If you want to look for childcare, then I'll suggest you go to the childcare link in MCYS's website to check out those you've shortlisted.

https://www.childcarelink.gov.sg/ccls/home/ChdCccSrch.jsp

Usually the centre might have better track record with MCYS if the license granted is 24 mths.

Aims aside, you will have to decide where (near home or office?) you want to place your child, then search for those around the selected area, shortlist, then ask for comments/feedback from friends/colleagues/forum, before you go for recce and talk to the person in charge. Otherwise, it will be very very overwhelming.

My elder gal is in montessori cc, my younger one will most probably be as well. Most monte sch in S'pore are not true monte, so no worries about not adapting to Pri sch. The sch should have prepared them adequately for P1 by the time they finish K2 (at least that's what my gal's sch does). For this cc, they start lessons proper playgrp actually (of course in Playgrp, they do learn thru' play). There's a checklist of what the curriculum covers for each year and what they've accomplished and how gd they are at the task. Monte education is gd cos it is ability-based.

 

[Ann Maria]

You are right!!! Montessori children tend to be smarter than kids from thematic school. Nowaday so many school claimed to be Montessori but they don't supply sufficient Montessori materials for learning. Make sure you ask the principal or supervisor show you round the centre to see wat they have to offer in a Montessori school. Visited Sunny Bunny Montessori myself and I think it is a must see for any parent who wants to enrol your child in Montessori school. This centre has a very complete and comprehensive range of materials which I have never seen in other centre. It is located at Sin Ming Ave. Go and gain some knowledge from this centre before you go and look at other centre near your home. You will probably have a better idea of wat to look for in choosing a Montessori centre! The operator is also very helpful, she will probably spend more than an hour to show you round. So go there only if you have time to spare. Happy searching.ancing_tongue:

 

[Agnes Chua]

U r rite!! I fully agree with you. This is a must see Montessori child care centre. It really opens up your eyes! They even have Montessori materials for infants. I was attracted by the pictures they posted at Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket then I visited last month. I saw a teacher teaching gramar to K2 kids. You noe they use solid symbols to teach gramar and the teacher is now doing a master degree course in early childhood education. Somemore their fees is only $900, very cheap compared to many other Montessori school. What I like is they don't charge extra for other programme like speech n drama, music and movement and even chinese abacus!!! Just too bad, I stay in Jurong and not driving. Thinking of moving nearer, somemore the centre is so near Ai Tong, next time go primary school also better chance to go Ai Tong. Hee Hee.