Very bad reviews on little wonders Montessori hillview

[appletech]

I would like to share my reviews on little wonders Montessori at hillview... Was so bad that I withdrawn my kids without even finding a new childcare.

My kids aged 2 and 4 were enrolled in the childcare early this year. Then things start to happen..

1. My older kid lost his bathing towel, so I called n the principle reply was.. "Did u label the towel?.. If not we would have use as a rag if towel is not labelled" initially I thought the principle was just very blunt in talking so I just dun it to heart. But then even they found my towel the next day, I throw my towel away too worried that they might have use as rag before.

2. My younger kid got pinched on the cheeks by another classmate with a very bad bruise. When teacher tell mi, they just say that classmate like him find his cheeks chubby etc n brush it off. In my mind, I was thinking the classmate must have pinch my kid for quite awhile before the teachers even notice.

3. Subsequently, every week or every other week, we start to lose things.. Mattress cover, blankets, water bottles, clothing, milk bottle, milk dispenser container.. I feedback to the principle.. Her reply was "teachers getting old will tend to be more forgetful" I understand people forget but to forget every week or every other week is abit too much.. We even overheard a parent talkin to the principle that the daughter lost all her uniforms until she got to wear home clothes already. It was so frustrating that my husband got to check the school bag right in front of the teacher before going off from the childcare.

4. There was then one occasion my kid birthday when we lost the entire bathing bag, consist of clothes n towel. So when we ask the principal, she say nobody open the school bag before yet and they comb the entire school already and push responsibility say must be we never even put the bathing bag in the school bag.. I was so angry I told her the color of towel n clothes since is my kid birthday we planning to go out so no uniform.. She insisted nobody see n ask mi dun be difficult on her as she is only a "middleman".. End up they found the bathing bag next day in another kid school bag

5. My younger kid got a knock on the head. Teacher told mi when I picked him up only.. When I ask wat happen.. The teacher say he bang his head on the wall.. I was really doubtful as I never seen my kid bang head on wall before anywhere home or outside even throw tantrums. And when I go home look carefully , it look like a knock by toys or some objects rather than bang head on wall cos I can see some scratch marks. Since no camera, I just have to believe wat the teacher say.

6. My elder kid fall on the stairs because the stairs safety gate wasn't latched properly. Bring him to kkh n need 4 stitches on chin.. Since my elder boy is very active I can't blame much oso. But then in less than 3 weeks time after stitching.. He injured his chin on the exact same spot when stitches are done again. School never inform us immediately.. Only when we pick him up saw him holding chin with blood dripping.. Ask the teacher, say he scratch his chin.. But my kid is 4 able to tell mi he fall.. Luckily another 5 year old child say my kid fall off the chair n tell us he can show us how my kid fall.. Totally disappointed in the childcare.. No responsibility, and telling lies!! When speak to principal, she say " I dunno anything I not there was mopping floor just now" .. Wat kind of principle is this.. To confirm that my kid really fall, we brought him to kkh the next day worried the fall might affect the stitches.. I even ask the doctor to confirm if is a fall or scratch. Dr very confidently say was a fall cos can see bruise.

Telling lies was the last thing I can tolerate.. I dun wan to wait for bigger accidents to happen.. So I decide to withdraw. Talk to principal abt the teacher lying..and guess wat she say.. “That teacher has a tunnel vision" the exact words the principle say.. The owner of childcare talk to mi n start to tell mi how Notti my kid is, dun listen to teachers, my kid fall because cannot sit chair properly.. Not even apologetic at all...

So disappointing with the childcare. Would really wan to share my review with all parents hopefully pls dun go to this childcare.. Really very very terrible..

PLS SHARE IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE GG TO THIS CHILDCARE..thanks n hope every kid go to school safe n go home safe..

 

[traynhle86]

Start the game off with an example & we'll get the hang of it, kicky.

 

[cheerios9]

Wow....very shocked to see your review. I had recommended this childcare to my sis-in-law and she pointed out this review to me....so I'll share here.

My daughter goes to Little Wonders at Hillview. She has been there for 4 years and is graduating. Overall, I'm very happy with the childcare, so that's why I recommend it. I find that the teachers are very caring and the school emphasizes on teaching the children to be caring and helpful. My daughter has developed to be such an individual. The teachers explained to me that their Montessori philosophy allows opportunities for the children to lead, or help the younger children. Something about the Montessori way. Yes, they do misplace an item here or there when my daughter was younger but I feel that is normal in any childcare. So far, no accidents at the school in her years there, touch wood.... I know that my daughter is not an easy one to settle in but the teachers made her transition time a pleasant one, she adapted very quickly and loves going to school everyday even to-date. As for communication, yes, their PR may not be very good. The principal strikes me as a very open and transparent person.....sometimes you think she can appear very direct or blunt but that's her personality. I prefer someone like that than a person who sugarcoats what they say just to make you feel good as a parent. Once my daughter went through a phase of difficult behaviour and the teacher was very honest with me about being firm with her. It was not very nice to hear it, but it was a parent-teacher strategy that we worked on together, and it worked. Another thing is, the childcare went through management change a few years ago and I noticed the curriculum improved alot. If you like your child to become a vocal and expressive individual, this is childcare for you.

So, I'm very sorry to hear about your bad experience but mine and I know of other parents who are very happy so far. Hopefully, it stops at this one.

 

[appletech]

Just found out recently that a few kids withdraw from little wonders too and changed to other childcare. Reasons are similar to what I mentioned too.. I think as parents we are busy n therefore we are quite understanding but if things/incidents keep occurring too often it will add on to our stress instead of relieving our stress by putting them in childcare.. I guess no parents would like to go through the hassle of keep changing childcare too especially with the hectic schedule as it requires lots of time to view n eventually find a suitable one u n ur kid like.

 

[littlewondershillview]

There are always 2 sides to every story. We do not typically comment on special cases but as this review was so damaging, we feel the need to set the record straight. If the teachers were occasionally misplacing a child's item during the few months that appletech's children were with us, we regret the experience that they had. At the time, the school took the liberty to keep a hyperactive child who demonstrated aggressive behaviour, only because the child showed great improvements over the few months that she was with us. During these few months, the teachers' dedication to keep a watchful eye and continuous reinforcement of this child's behaviour caused them to be exhausted and drained resulting in a higher occurrence of misplacement of items. We assure you that the occurrence of misplacement of items has not occurred in recent months as a result of the increased vigilance on teachers' part and releasing the hyperactive child from our care as it was proving too draining to cope with.

As for the accidents on appletech's children that occurred at school, her children demonstrated a very high accident rate even at home as they would come to school with large bruises on certain Mondays. As for accidents at school, the younger child had on one occurrence bumped his head on the wall in his classroom when he tripped and fell as he was an active 2 year old still learning to settle down to be calmer like the other children. The older child suffered a split at the chin while he was with his mom celebrating his birthday at school. Nevertheless, the school was responsible because one of the safety gates was not latched properly, resulting in the older child's mishap at school. We take full responsibility for that. But overall, their accidents do not occur much under the supervision of their teachers.

As for the teacher lying, it was unfortunate that the teacher had only seen the scratching and not the fall from his chair. As there was no complaints or cries from the child, it was missed. The school understands the parent's distrust and unhappiness but we also understand that there is no perfect teacher. We strive to motivate our teachers to be nurturing, caring and responsible but sometimes, we make mistakes. We may miss little details on a particular day here or there. If the teacher overall adds value to the children's development and when working within the team, and shows willingness to improve, there's no reason why we should not defend her.

For the umpthteenth time, we again apologize to appletech for her bad experience. Her children were greatly missed by their teachers. There was also a parent-school discussion on addressing the behavioural concerns of the children that contribute to a higher accident rate. We discussed a strategy that requires both parents and teachers to work together but was responded with a withdrawal the very next day.

To appletech, we were able to eliminate or substitute certain foods contributing to eczema itch from our menu except being gluten-free. It is quite easy to do...something that you can work with your current school if you believe in diet improving eczema symptoms for your child.

 

[aungsansuukyi]

Thank for sharing the review

 

[frog]

Yes, there are always two sides of the story. At this current digital age, keyboard warriors are common, and it is perhaps considered the prerogative of an unsatisfied customer to complain and share her personal experience at forums. However, I do question the wisdom and merits of an organization, allegedly run by professionals, to be doing a "rebuttal" on a forum, and making comments on specific cases. A wiser approach might be to engage the parent offline, apologise profusely, and request for her to edit or take down or update her post.

When my DD was in N1, she had fallen many times, been mauled by a classmate once, bitten by a swarm of mosquitos (14 bite marks!), walked into bookshelves, etc - the way the school handled the incidents were to my satisfaction (and understanding) and many years later, we still maintain very good relationship with the centre and the teachers.

Your attempt to defend and explain yourself had only demonstrated the lack of judgement and poor management.

And I don't even know appletech!

 

[ayenaingmayzar]

Maybe can upload some picture to prove it

 

[thuzarmaylwin]

Always 2 sides of story there. Don't know which more reliable.

 

[appletech]

Dear all,

What I wan to say now is my kid is happily in another school. After the bad experience in little wonders I start having phobia that my kid is difficult and hyperactive and naughty. And when he was first enrol in the new school I even had to talk to the principal and teachers about what happen and how difficult he is so that the teachers in the new school will be mentally prepared for him.

On the first day of school, he cried when I left but the principal was so nice to accompany and talk to him in the class till he stop crying. When I pick him up on the first day, the principal even feedback he was ok after awhile. The amazing part was the second day of school, my kid actually tell me to go home cos he want to go into school himself.. I was totally impressed as my kid is always quite clingy. Subsequently, since I got phobia my kid is so difficult and hyperactive.. I got to constantly ask the teachers about how my kid is doing in school. So far no complaints.. I even go to the extend askin if my kid is hyperactive and need bring him see dr. So far teachers say he is not.

I just wan to share my personal experience of what I went through in little wonders and to name a few really bad ones that we went through n why we finally decide for a withdrawal. It was so terrible and total nightmare for me and as contrast to now my kid is so happy everyday ready to go school. To me, I feel so happy I make a good decision to withdraw rather than waiting for a bigger bad things to happen. I think a good school with a team of good and dedicated teachers with good principal really make a big difference in the live of a growing child especially when they are at a young age.

As a mother myself or to all parents, I m sure u will understand how it feels or how heartbroken or sad u will be if u pick your kid up from school and he is holding his chin with blood dripping. To all, if you do need pictures of my kid chin, I can definitely show it to u.. pls pm mi for pics. Thanks.

 

[thuzarmaylwin]

Good that ur kid doing well now

 

[April lin]

There's always a two side story but not always the parents are right if they know that their kids are very naughty and active u can't blame on school . This also matters on how you discipline your kids .

 

[jaster150704]

My heart sank to the bottom as I googled for "Little Wonders Montessori Reviews". The title suggested that I must have mi
ssed out a lot of my child's entire preschool life as he seems to be enjoying going to school every day. As I read on to find out what were the "grouses" that the parent has, I sighed in relief.

I will say most things in life is not about having a size that fits all but one that caters to the majoirty and from there customization takes place to the preferences and needs of the person. I am not here to dispute what the other parent has gone through but to share with those who are reading this thread the wonderful experiences both my child and I had during the past 5 years in Little Wonders.

There have been a few changes in the staff of Little Wonders during the past five years. That did not change much of the dynamics of the school. the values and beliefs that stems from a Montessori education. I strongly believe that each individual is unqiuely made and we learn at different pace. My child never fails to amaze me with all the things that he has learnt in school, that is not just academically based but also the values that are incalcated in them. He respected each teacher that comes into his learning journey, simply because he has earned their respect too. Don't get me wrong but my child is not a goodie boy who does no naughty stuff... He still is a CHILD who tests boundaries and limits from time to time. The patience that comes from the teachers are far more than we can imagine having to deal not just with one child (our child) but to do their best in doing what they can for each and every kid in the school.

It came a time we shifted out of Hillview area and there was another school located just below our block. I struggled to decide whether or not to change school for him, out of convenince. The deciding factor that made me stayed on was that I liked how the school actually actively involve parents, helping them to be engaged in their child's school life and moulding them as an individual. You see, education is not just a teacher's job but also the role of a parent. Teaching our child values mainly do comes from parents, but is also further emphasized in the school. It takes two hands to clap and works in two way direction to release and maximise the potential of our own child. The teachers, principal and director have gained my 100% trust.

I have 100% trust that my child, being in Little Wonders, is...
working towards being a disciplined boy.
an independent boy, not just in his daily care but also towards problem solving.
a caring boy.
an intergrity filled individual.
adopting a positivie attitude towards learning.
able to exercise more self control.
trained to become a leader in his own way.
performing at his best in his academics.

With this I end my "lengthy" post and will like to express my utmost gratitude to all the teachers/staff in Little Wonders who has helped mould him to who he is today. Thank you!