Updates: Our Children House Montessori Preschool (9 months mark)

It has been a while since I last updated about Hunter's preschool.

Recently, we had a PTM and I am very glad to say that Hunter has significant improvement ever since he switched out from the POP preschool that he attended previously.

Background

A poll that I did previously with my family and friends showed that their preference is to put the kid near home, so that it's more convenient for fetching back and forth.

We took their advice and enrolled Hunter in a nearby preschool, thinking that we can save trouble for my parents.

Everything was great for IFC and the teachers were very caring and responsive. It started going downhill when the school switched to becoming a POP preschool.

It may be because of the change in environment, but Hunter started biting other kids when he went upstairs in PG. The teachers also informed that he cried uncontrollably when separated from the IFC teachers.

It became so bad that Hunter was suspended from school for 2 weeks (unfortunately at a time when I fractured my foot and couldn't walk). It was truly a disaster and we had to rope in help from everywhere.

With this, we decided to switch him to another school and after much consideration, we enrolled him into Blossom BlissSparkle. It seems like we do not have much luck in the preschool sector as the operator was taken over after Hunter was in the school for less than 1/2 year.

We contemplated changing school again, but decided to stay put as the whole process was tedious and hard on the pocket.

Current impression

Since the change in management in March 2022, there were not much difference in terms of teachers. School fees also remained the same. The only obvious change is the removal of Japanese Language lessons and the teaching style for the kids.

As seen from the school's name, they adopted a Montessori style of teaching (which I am a believer of) and they did a refresh of items on a periodic basis. Hunter also got used to wearing school uniform to school every day.

Sneak peep of what he does in school:

Eating by himself with training chopsticks

Part of Life skills

Messy Play

Growing plants

Learning how to pour without spilling

Balancing games

Shape matching

Learning his alphabets

Waterpainting

Taking care of the plants

I am very heartened to see that he is enjoying himself every day in school (and it helps that the total school population is small so lesser sick days).

It also seems that the school is practising a form of mixed class (PG and N1), (N2 and K1), (K1 and K2) based on the school's year end concert.

Issues

Of course, with every school, there are some issues (I would be lying if I say that the school is perfect). My gripe is:

- Not so timely updates

Ok, this might be a expectation vs reality gap as I was hoping that there would be a weekly update. Sadly, the updates are unpredictable and it may be weekly/biweekly.

- School bus timing

The bus arrival timings in the morning is erratic. It could be as early as 8plus am to 9ish am. Not so suitable for working parents. Luckily I could get my mum to help.

- Slightly expensive

We could only afford it because Hunter is an only child. If not, I think it might be a slight stretch as school fees are not the only items we need to pay for.

Verdict:

It's a preschool that you can consider if you are staying around Clementi area. There are not many options available unless you plan to your kid to West Coast area, and IMO, private preschools are still better than the government ones, despite all the talks about schools being equal. However, do be prepared to pay more. (I'm paying about double the price of the POP preschool).

Comments

Review: Learning spanish with Wlingua Spanish

It has already been a dream of mine to learn Spanish but due to the astronomical cost involved in picking up Spanish at a language school ( I was looking at las lilas school ), I gave up. So, while I was randomly surfing the net, I came across this app, Wlingua Spanish , which has a 7 days free premium trial and it seems to have quite good reviews on google play. As such, I downloaded the app and started using it. What can I say, it's awesome! I don't know how the basic plan looks like since I am still on my premium trial, but the layout of the course is really pretty good. According to the app, it covers up to B1 of the Spanish course, which equates to around 3 years of study in a language school. That's more than good enough for beginners like us. Below is a screenshot of my progress in 4 days, and I have been spending around 4-5 hours each day on this app. It seems like I got to take a long time even before I can complete the A1 course. T.T This app has a rewar...

[Review] Lovejoy confinement centre in JB

I did an unthinkable thing, which is to head over to JB for confinement. When I first suggested that, everyone around me warned me against it. They cited the lack of healthcare should I or Hunter is unwell and the inconvenience caused by the distance. I wasn't deterred and pushed forward with it and I didn't have any regrets. I enjoyed my time there tremendously and would go back there again if not for my insistence that I would not have a second kid. All that being said, there are definitely some cons but they are minor issues in my opinion. An unassuming front Pros: Amazing food As everyone knows, food in JB tastes better and the confinement centre is no exception. 5 meals are provided a day with unlimited milo and biscuits should you be hungry. (Trust me, breastfeeding is hungry business). The timings are 9am (breakfast), 12pm (lunch), 3pm (teabreak), 6pm (dinner) and 9pm(supper). As you can see, I was really well taken care of in the food department when I was there. Huge ...

Our 1st home

In a few months' time, we will be moving out of our BTO home. It is a bittersweet moment as we have painstakingly designed our place, putting in months of efforts. However, we (or mainly I) decided that we have outgrown this current flat, and require more space for our growing boy. (And it definitely does not help that both of us are currently working in a hybrid mode.) Our place before we shifted in: Our platform bed - You may be amazed that it fits a king sized bed We chose casement doors for the cupboards I love the spanish made wooden tiles! We got it at Soon Bee Huat Our customized racks in the bomb shelter The view from our home After moving in: The kitchen The living room It has been a good 6 years.

Phonics Class at Curious Thoughts Academy (CTA)

Today, I am going to share my review of the phonics enrichment school that I have been sending Hunter to since start of July 2023. To give you the background, Curious Thoughts Academy (CTA) base its phonics classes on Jolly Phonics, and is located in Bugis. I first got to know about CTA when they launched their phonics workshop. Being the ambitious mum, I thought that I could save some money and teach Hunter phonics by myself. After going through the workshop, I realised the amount of work I have to put in to curate the materials, and I decided that it is best left to the experts and I would just revise the contents with him at home during the week. Below are the information from CTA. They run the classes by terms and classes are tagged by levels. Price List for 2023 Hunter is currently in Intermediate phonics and will be advancing up next year. I love the approach ...

Review: NUR1113 (Active Ageing in Singapore)

Apparently this is a year one nursing module. This is another module which is highly bidded for, and a relatively easy module. Lectures can be skipped, as long as you read the lecture slides on your own. All the information had been pasted into the slides, rendering the lecture useless. The lecturer usually just reads from the slides. Tutorials are easy. Nothing much to prepare, and basically, they are logic questions. I remember doing a powerpoint presentation for this module. We also did random experiments in tutorials. However, one thing not good about being the minority in a close-knitted faculty means that you can't really interact with the rest of the module mates. They all have a similar timetable, meaning that you have to suit their timing. Something to consider if you are taking language modules huh.

Revolving stars

Search This Blog