(2009/07) July 2009 MTBs

Sam,
I am in denial about the whole education deal. I know some friends who waitlisted their kids at popular schools like St James when they were 1 month old! When my kid was a month old I could only think about getting though to the next month, let alone the next five years. I have no planning skills; or maybe I just didn't feel kanchiong enough. At this point, I have not waitlisted for anything nor made any enquiries about schools, but I can feel it hanging over my head.

But yes, definitely nervous. I don't know what I should be doing. I don't see myself as the kiasu pushy parent but I know the competition will be tough once school kicks in.
 


RE: Development
Why rush growing up? Try talking to this mom whose kid is waaaaaaaaaaayyyy too fast? I miss K's toothless smile which I did not have for long.
To be honest, I was concern when he did not crawl when most of the July babies were crawling, then he crawled on time but I recorded his first step on April 26th, which means, just 9mth 2wk old. Now I am worried.. I just don't want him to be JACK (the movie starred by Robin Williams).. Oh dear, imagination running wild...

And I especially dislike when older family members tell me "because you great grand relatives has this, and the grand relatives has and this generation relatives may have hence.. " implying my generation (will) have and my next generation will too!!! (I rebuke it in Jesus mighty name, that all the generation curses been redeemed thru the blood of Christ!

Indeed, the bb mimic us alot. K's meal time is very messy, he want to take over any utensils in my hand, and he even tried using the chopsticks.. Wow, my 4 boxes of cargo is landing in less than 1 hour!! Finally, booster seat to "contain" him!

RE: Egg (white)
Friend & PD advised me to start with egg (white) if I haven't yet to.. It's for MMR preparation.
I already start egg white even before he turned 1, such like pancake, French toasts, and scramble eggs. K dislikes hard boiled eggs, guess it's the texture from the yolk.

Japa, I have been giving Kaelem seasoning (initially very reluctantly) ever since ETirto told me her experience with her #1. I am better with salt (and even pepper), and if I can, I avoid sugar. 1. because of his teeth, he has another 4 before a full set; 2. he is a bundle of energy, and I think sugar will make it worse.

K loves fried Bee Hoon & Kway Teow in soup and . I had fish ball K.T. (in soup with lots of cut chili) almost every lunch when I was awaiting the preg result.. I gave him rat's tail before, they just kept slipping from his hands.

RE: Education
Lavenderbear, I missed your post on the open house, did you go and how was it?
Have you looked into Capstone? I think my neighbor first kid went there, I am not surprise if she will send her #2 there..

Sam, yes, I am getting nervous too. Especially when I know preschool plays an important part in school selections in future. e.g I was telling Joanna, if Edna goes to Chiltern, she is very likely to be very uncomfortable in a "normal" public school as the method of teaching is very different.
My hb loves the Singapore edu system, but I think it's mass. I dislike when the subjects in diff streams are catered not according to the pupil's individual strength but his or her total grade. I think you understand my point.
One colleague used to tell me, the system here is very "unforgiving", the kid is expected to be born smart and disciplined, which I do agree in a lot of ways..

I am very lazy to think about what road leads to where.. I think I just send him to Maris Stella Kindergarten (already checked with my church, they are not having any full kindy facility when the new church is built and pastor informed me few of the pastors' children are in M.S). My top choices of pri sch are ACS and Fairfield Methodist.
In my years of growing up, I saw children from diff sch being exposed to diff options and sadly, it's usually kids from better sch are shown options of higher standards while the mass are exposed to the lower tier of the "professions". I dislike this as it makes the kids from the common public schools feel "THIS, is good (enough) for you", making them narrow minded, or is tunnel visioned a better word to describe?
 
Sam,
I'm nervous as hell too. Feeling so unprepared fr it. And to make it worse, the husband's reaction is 'huh'? Be interested in a few minute (what are the different sort of phases in pri 1 registration and which one do we qualify for?) then stealthily go back to watching anime while I go into panic mode about MR's education.
He thinks I'm a worry wart while I think it's good to be prepared for what is to come... Sigh

It's comforting to know I'm not the only one who's starting to feel unsettled by all this =p
 
$2800 per mth for Chiltern is WAY out of the budget. I believe it's not that heavenly fantastic. How can a preschool fee is so damn expensive. Still cannot believe my own ear when I heard from HBB. Even Eton house is not that expensive. Unless you buying chanel bag every other mth, can put deposit to buy St. Regis already. hehehe...
Yeah I think like Kim said, unless you intend to have them to go through 'international-school' teaching kind of path till primary then it makes sense. Otherwise, those local kindergarten school is good enough in preparing the kids to P1. And still, when registering your child to P1 is another different story and stress manz.
Coolkero is the one of the first among us who managed to go through balloting for Methodist Girl School in phase 2C. Very lucky! As for myself, I registered as Parent Volunteer to be under phase 2B for next year intake and got REJECTED liao! because too many want to be PV and such a popular school, although I stay within 1km, still need to ballot. OMG.
To enter ACS off course is great but I don't want my kids to ask for the latest gadget or the limited edition of Bvlgari watch that they would seen from their friends...you know...unless my hb drive a porche then I will consider la...

When I looked around for kindergarden for my #1, I immediately fall in love with Marisstella. Beside the fact that it's near my place, the school environment is great and very similar to my own kindergarden since it's a Catholic school. Big garden & playground, have little chappel and convent. Got pet zoo, have a common hall with little stage where the kids will perform on special days like Christmas, etc...Even tough I set my mind of this school already, compared to the other kiasu moms, I was too late and only manage to enrol him to the afternoon session for Nursery level. He only could be transfered to morning session for K1.
Another important thing to note is, the fee is just about half of St. James. St. James got very commercialized and start accepting deposit for registration long before the school intake itself. The only different I can see is, they have their own swimming pool. And, when I chat with my gf whose kids in that school, it seems like they are a bit more advance in term of spelling and math, whilst in Maristella, they still 'learn through play' kind of teaching. I don't mind this kind of teaching anyway, since they're being kids for once in their lives and I don't want them to get too stressed up by the school work too early. Anyway, generally from K2, they will kick start the preparation for P1 already.

Kim, you can start enquiring about the Fairfield Methodist, because I heard, as long as 1 parent have the Methodist cert, then the child will have priority under phase 2B. Or, if you want to even have a better chance, move to my place...hehehe...for sure can get in.
 
Sam

Like I was telling HBB, I feel guilty not sending C to any educational classes like JG like u girls are and only sending her for physical ones because of her condition I have to make the tough decision of tackling her physical problem first then worry abt the educational one later cos i simply don't have the time to do both. I really pray I am doing the right thing but sometimes when I see other children her age knowing more things than her then I start feeling guilty all over again and wonder if my decision is right but I always tell myself dun compare with what other parents are doing cos each child is different.

In fact for my older girl all her extra classes are things she likes like ballet, swimming, tennis and nothing educational cos I thought since she already go to full day cc poor thing if i still send her for more educational classes. I want her to still have a childhood and behave like a little girl and not some overstressed brainy child. I try not to let the "unforgiving" school system here in Singapore overlystress me cos i always belief there is always a talent somewhere in each child that he or she will find later in life that will make him or her good at it. Again this is a decision I have to live with.....my elder girl attends a neighbourhood cc and I intend to send C there too when she is 18mths. But so far she is learning quite alot from her school so I really dun think the pre-school part of sending to "branded" schools is that impt. For me I am an old girl of a "branded" primary school but i am really thinking twice abt sending both girls there cos really dunno if the girls can handle the stress and also whether I can handle the stress!

So guess what I am trying to say is that parenting is never right or wrong but we just have to decide what we think is best for our child and live with it
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KK, i had a look at capstone, it's already full for next year intake. In addition, they only accept for 3 years old.
As for myself, I should be putting my boy into Learning Vision @ Alpha, i was comparing between IBP and Alpha. Alpha has got a better environment, more spacious. Understand that LV runs all its centres themselves, specialised teachers get posted to different locations every week to provide training. I dont want to send my boy for more enrichment courses so i think this is a better option for him. Someone mentioned Cherie Hearts, but i understand that it is a franchise so quality may differ between the centres. There's a Cherie Hearts opp my mum house in West Coast, i heard many negative feedback on it from the neighbours.
 
Ladies,
I haven't waitlisted for super popular preschools yet, but I do have some in mind that my ILs will be able to pick her up from school without too much trouble, based on some merits that they have, but mostly because they have a balance of learn-thru-play and academic. I don't want to have to crash course her for Pri 1. Sometimes there isn't an easy way out; some lightbulbs in their heads need to be switch on for them to figure out what works for their learning journey. But I agree the elite are sometimes given different choices to learning and hence different approach to life.

Etirto, I had a colleague who schooled in ACS, and yes he told me that too, he wasn't as privileged as his classmates and often he wished he had the latest and coolest too. If I were successful in securing a place in an elite popular school, I won't be able to give J all those, but her parents can only teach her what's the true value of things, at least what has genuine value hahaha.

At the moment, I don't think I am where my primary school of choice is, and I'm just going to be prudent about my choices for the preschool phase, can't blow everything at just preschool. Rather use the moolah on locating within that 1km on a strategic choice.
 
Sam,
I'm one of the KS mummy about the education system... So u're not alone yah... Look at my FB, so many ppl saying I'm so KS and etc... Luckily, some understand and had provided valuable insight about the current P1 situation...

Regarding preschool,
We have decided to place Gen in either MMI or Learning Vision @ RP as MIL wanna take care of her after AM session... These 2 are walking distance from her home, at least won't be so inconvenient for her...

Kim,
Etirto is right about the affiliation to get into ACS group of family or Fairfield Methodist if either one of you is in Methodist Church... I read that Paya Lebar Methodist Church is one of the affiliated one... U might wanna check if ur church is affiliated with ACS and FMPS, if yes, remember to get a recommendation letter from your church when registering for P1 and moving closer to Etirto will certainly helps in the Phase 2B balloting...

Etirto,
Many schools are facing situation where they have 100 over applicants for parent volunteer (PV) but need only 10 PV... SAHM seems to have higher chance to get selected as some of the school need volunteer during office hours which the FTWP can't be able to volunteer at such timing...
Seriously, u might want to consider going the grassroots way if u wanna register under 2B... It's the most tedious way of getting recommendation letter thou with no guarantee that u might get the recommendation letter to be eligible for 2B... It's a gamble plus many many luck to get thru the entire selection process... A big effort but depends on individual whether it's worth trying or not...
For us, clan is first choice... Then I'll get SC to apply as PV while I apply for RC... And the final still depends on luck at balloting, no guarantee that we'll be lucky to get in... A big effort but I felt it's worth trying... Since my work have to liaise with other gov sectors like CDCs, etc... I jus treat it as networking for the sake of my job as well...
 
Not frightening lah... Jus some of the stuff I read which might come in useful for those who are clueless about the different phases in education system... I'm one of those clueless also... At least now I know wat is going on... And unlucky that SC and me are not the privileged ones who comes from better schools... So have to be hardworking lor... At least u comes from a highly sought after primary school which many parents fail to let their kids get in even after 2 years of volunteer work... A headstart way ahead of the 2B registration... U dun even need to think about clocking 40hrs of volunteer work... Jus register when time comes...
 
Hi mummies1

Long time since I logged in!
poohbear, Y is also like C, still cruising. Doesn't dare to let go.
We actually thought that he would walk when we were away, but no. Still refused to let go.
BUT I have something to share. You know how they say to get soft soled shoes? In France, everyone says the opposite and so I let Y try on a pair of hard-soled shoes in France and he was a lot more confident in walking although he still doesn't let go. The shoes cost me a bomb though! Like 55Euros and that's already discounted! More ex than my shoes!

School - OMG. Cannot believe that that it can cost almost $3000!! That's more ex than some international school monthly fees!
We still don't know where to send Y. Sigh.
 
Chiyojade. Bishan got lots of good school. check the one nearest to you. Even Maristella is not far from your place and you can get the baptism cert (as long as 1 parent is Catholic) to get into phase 2B. One of my friend just manage to enrol their son there.
The other super popular is Catholic High. My damn lucky friend went through the balloting and manage to go in! only 9 seat available for 80 applicant for phase 2C!
 
Hi Mummies,

I'm from Dec 09 thread & am looking for a gd condition exersaucer/Jumperoo. If u have any to let go, pls PM me pic + price. thanks!
 
Dino-mum. I just gone through the procedure of becoming active community leader. Almost pengsan la. So confusing and it said that it need much more 'working' hours compared to PV and not guaranteed that you will have the eligibility letter. Somemore I will have newborn baby soon, wahlau...I think I give up before I try.
May be Jerene can share the experience with us? How is the procedure and steps to become the NC member? And another confusing issue is, the school is falled under West Coast GRC and the one that I stay is Dover CC. Does it mean that I stay in different GRC and cannot serve in the school GRC (in this case, is west coast GRC). After reading the thread in kiasu parent, still so confused about it.

Lavenderbear,
There is a LV near my place (I think it's the IBP one). But if I'm not wrong, it's within the building. so the kids have to take elevator or lift everytime they need to go outdoor playground and the aircond is centralized, meaning all the germ from offices and shops within the building is 'shared'. LOL...
Is the alpha one in the normal school house kind of environment? I mean, in the landed house with it's own garden & playground? Where is it?
I'm planning to enrol my girl to Cherie Hearts (yes, quality depends on which branch) at Holland. my #1 was there from 20mths-3yrs old. Environment and hygienic is great. The student comes from lots of various nationality (japs, korean, local chinese, malay, caucasian, etc). They have special makcik to cook for their meal fresh everyday. my boy only learn to eat solid during those time (most of the time at home he only want to take porridge).LOL. They even help to toilet trained him. The teaching method is great too. Chinese is taught twice a week. A few times in the term, they will have excursion.
 
Cherie hearts sounds good. :)
I would like a mix of nationalities. Not just Western or just local, because I think they can learn a lot from the different cultures.

Anyone knows of somewhere like that around Bishan area, or not too far from here?
 
Etirto,
Becoming a community leaders is like what I mentioned in my FB, the last route I wanna take coz it's the most "tedious" one. But then, it's so difficult to be selected as PV for the v popular schools, so going the community leader is the alternative but there is no guarantee of getting that recommendation letter just like me joining the clan... Think u are confused about the definition of GRC, NC, RC, CC, etc... I've checked, FMPS and your home belongs to the same GRC (West Coast), and the nearest community centre from your home is Dover CC. Thus, you need to go to Dover CC to register yourself as NC member. The first year, you'll be with the NC as a "observer", meaning you need to attend the meetings, etc... Then from "observer", you'll be promoted to EM (executive member)... Once you reach EM, you can request for the recommendation letter. But try to show face at the crucial period lah, esp the months before you wanna request for that letter.

In case you are still confused about the constituency thingy, I quote an example below so you have a clearer picture:

1) There are 4 GRCs under South West Community Development Council (CDC)
- Hong Kah GRC
- Jurong GRC
- West Coast GRC
- Chua Chu Kang GRC

2) Then at West Coast GRC, it is further divided to 5 division
- Telok Blangah
- Pioneer
- Ayer Rajah - West Coast
- Clementi
- Boon Lay

3) FMPS and your home falls under Telok Blangah division
- Your NC is Dover-Normanton
- The community centre in your constituency divsion is Dover Community Centre
- There are 7 other RCs in your divisions but these are for HDB residents (these offices usually operate on the first level of selected HDB flats: for purposes like Meet-the-MP session which usually falls on Monday, accompany the MPs ard the area nearing to election period, encourage residents to hang the Singapore flag nearing National Day, etc, etc)...

That's wat I digested from the tonnes of forum post thou... But the breakdown of GRC, division, etc are accurate lah, jus that the work which one does at NC/RC I'm not so sure about that...

FOZ, maybe you wanna share with Etirto and me on your experience with serving the constituency/grassroot? Tks in advance yah...
 
Etirto,
I agree with you that it depends on which branch we go to for Cherie Hearts... The one which your #1 went to is at Holland, which many expats stay, thus there are lotsa of different nationality of kids schooling there...

Preschool:
I went to Cherie Hearts @ Woodlands today, frankly speaking, I'm not v impressed thou, the place looks so small and cramp... But the teacher-kids ratio is met thou... I went to Learning Vision @ Republic Poly, wasn't allowed to go into their compound at all. I stood outside to talk to the person, and I thought I saw a office inside but they didnt invite me in to talk thou... Asked me to come back on Sat morning if I wanted to find out more about LV... Decided that LV is out coz it's at the other end of RP, we had to walk at least 1km jus to reach LV from my MIL... ~faintz... but then, their compound is bigger than the rest of the preschool I've visited later on.

Next, we went to Modern Montessori (MMI) which is just 50m from MIL... the compound is small thou but i dun see any overcrowding there... The admin staff elaborated the montessori system to me, the class schedule, wat we be expecting, type of meals, etc... quite informative thou...
Their fees for full day: $609.50 (after subsidy for Singaporean Working Mum), $909.50 (w/o subsidy). Half-day: $545.50 (after subsidy), $695.50 (w/o subsidy).

Third place, we went to Kinderland/Crestar... The compound is big, fully air-conditioned, full facilites like dance studio, music room, etc... The best thing i like is their kiddo toilet is so clean, suddenly have the urge to go in and shit when the person bring me ard and show me the toilets also... LOL!!!
Their fees for full day: $660 (after subsidy for Singaporean Working Mum), $810 (after subsidy for Singaporean non-working Mum). Half-day: $600 (after subsidy for Singaporean Working Mum & non-working Mum).

Our last school is Cherie Hearts.
Seems like the compound is v small coz i felt its a bit overcrowding. MMI and Cherie Hearts compound are the same size but MMI doesnt seem to take in so many students (maybe its considered quite ex in the neighbourhood also ba)...
Their fees for full day: $420 (after subsidy for Singaporean Working Mum), $720 (w/o subsidy). Half-day: $400 (after subsidy for Singaporean Working Mum), $550 (w/o subsidy).
 
For Mummies who wanna spend big BIG moo-lah on preschool, here is the information on Chiltern House.

Chiltern House East Coast, Turf City, Mountbatten:

N1/N2/K1
Half-day (AM) - $973.70 (with GST), $823.70 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Half-day (PM) - $909.50 (with GST), $759.50 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Full day - $1947.40 (with GST), $1647.40 (after subsidy for Singaporean working mum)

K2
Half-day (AM) - $1061.44 (with GST), $911.44 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Half-day (PM) - $991.89 (with GST), $841.89 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Full day - $2122.88 (with GST), $1822.88 (after subsidy for Singaporean working mum)

Chiltern House Halifax Road and Forum
N1/N2/K1
Half-day (AM) - $952.30 (with GST), $802.30 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Half-day (PM) - $898.80 (with GST), $748.80 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Full day - $1904.60 (with GST), $1604.60 (after subsidy for Singaporean working mum)

K2
Half-day (AM) - $1037.90 (with GST), $887.90 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Half-day (PM) - $980.12 (with GST), $830.12 (after subsidy for Singaporean)
Full day - $2075.80 (with GST), $1775.80 (after subsidy for Singaporean working mum)

This school is out of reach for the Dino family thou unless we dun think about having #2, surviving on porridge for 3 meals daily, selling off our cars, no more toys for lil dino...
We are sticking to those within $600 monthly for full-day ard MIL area...

Btw, those who are interested in Chiltern House, you have to register in Jan 2011 for Jan 2012 Nursery 1 intake, registration fee is $300 (before GST) and is non-refundable.. Deposit is between $890 to $910 (depending on which branch).
And yes, you can use CDA account to pay for the school fees.
 
Wow Dino-Mum, thanks for all the info! I'm really learning a lot here, and starting to get more and more stressed and nervous about all this.

Just wondering: does Montessori 'teaching' matter in your choice of school, or just 'normal' learning-thru-play methods will do? I'm also not sure just how authentic the Montessori experience is in some of these franchises.
 
Actually, I'm still v clueless about Montessori and other teaching method... I have yet to digest the information booklet yet, but the first thing I digested was the school fees... Keke...
For my selection of preschool, the distance from my MIL to the school is my top priority, I dun wan her to walk/travel such long distance to bring/ pick her from school... For myself, I seriously dun remember what I do during my preschool years, not even a single thing... But I could remember v v clearly wat happened in my primary life from P1 onwards... That's i'm spending much more effort to get into phase 2B to get her in a good pri school (not top school thou)... She spent 3 years in preschool (N, K1, K2) but 6 years in pri school... That's a lot more years... Some parent may not agree with me but that's wat I felt speaking from my childhood experience thou... I hate my primary school, hoping to erase memories of it... But luckily my sec school is fun... Preschool is important but primary school is even more important... That's y I'm not willing to spend so much on preschool...
 
Of course I'll be disappointed if there r too many ppl applying for NCPS and I didn't get ballot in for Phase 2B and 2C... But then, like I say earlier, as long as there is a way to get her register earlier than to wait for 2C, I'll still try even though there is no 100% guarantee of securing a slot... Every chance is a hope for me, at least I have 2 chances at 2B and 2C... NCPS is not a top school, nor a top 10 ranking school like RGPS, Nanyang, etc, nor a SAP school... Just that it is one of the better school in my neighbourhood plus it is near my home, is a co-Ed school and not a Christian/catholic school... Prefer I should not say it's a good school earlier since it dun fall under the same category as ACS, RGS, etc...
Most importantly, I only had to slog for this few years to get a chance for her in that school and since I'm intending to have #2, it sure worth the effort as my #2 will be secured a place there once she get in...
In our pri school years, teachers do hit, slap the students, mine too... Every now and then, my teacher will get the notti boys to stand outside and slap them one by one on the face... Then every forthnightly assembly session, there'll be a caning session for the super notorious boys in the school who always commit like theft, secret societies activities after school, etc... I still remember the public caning and the fierce red mark of my classmates' face.... But now the education system dun condone all these anymore even in those not-so-popular neighbourhood schools... So I'm not worried about that... Whether she'll be able to cope in NCPS, I'm not that worried either... The better ones will be in better class while those who need more help in another... There will be the better students and not so academically-inclined students in every school where they will be handle differently... And no girl school for her, else I have to go thru the whole volunteering thingy if my #2 is a boy...
 
Perhaps many might think that it is not worth it to spend time volunteering jus so to be eligible for Phase 2B, my hubby is one of them... But it depend on individual lah, we dun wanna judge whether the parent is v KS or plain stupid to spend years jus to do volunteer work for P1 registration... Before I became a parent, I always wonder wat goes on in these parents' mind why they could shift their house, volunteer work, find MP, etc jus for a place in the primary school... But now I finally understand lah... Enrolling for P1 is so damn easy during our time, I wonder y it became so complicated even though there are more schools ard... Or the birth rate is so high nowadays? Even neighbourhood schools are in such high demand that my colleagues fail to be selected as a parent volunteer at Pasir Ris PS... And it is not those prestigious "branded" primary school... Imagine the situation at RGPS, ACS esp when there are so many old girls/boys who are waiting to register their kids there...apparently chances of going to such schools are slim unless the parents came from there as well...
 
Btw, any mummies here have sent their older kids to Kinderland? I've shortlisted Kinderland and MMI since these 2 are the nearest to my MIL and cost-wise is about the same... Which 1 is better? I'm looking at the branches at Woodlands.
 
dino mum
I've been to kinderland and MMI at other branches. They are on totally different programmes. If you are fine with montessori programme, then i find MMI has a better environment cos their teacher ratio are normally kept lower. But there are also other feedback that montessori programmes r very different from our primary school way of education. So some kids may have problem adjusting. I get mixed feedback on this as some friends told me their kids learn much better under this programme. I've been to 2 MMI centres, one in town and one in the east. Both centres are located in the building and has no outdoor activities.... something i don't really like as it means the child is enclosed in the air-conditioned area the whole day. But if you are looking at half day programmes, probably that's not a issue.

Kinderland has lots of enrichment classes which of course must top up. I can't tell much about their programmes. But my general feel is their classes and environment are more messy... probably cos they have more students.

What time of the day did you visit the 2 centres? Cos at different time of the day, you see different things. Go during their busy period (ie. morning classes, lunch time) and you will get to see how the teachers/helpers run the show & how the children behave.

Just to share... we ever went to one school which we visited during the children's nap time. We see everything peaceful (hahaha... since most of sleeping). place very clean cos the cleaners already clean up the place. But when we were there during the first few days after enrolment, it's totally different cases. Rather chaotic and teachers were not in control.
 
japa,
My sister's comment about pat school house is the teachers very loving and caring. But my nephew got kicked out cos he was in his terrible twos and kept bitting younger girls =p My niece is there now and she loves her school
 
Bbethan,
Tks yah... I also read that these 2 teaching method v different but I still can't figure out wat exactly is Montessori still... The MMI I went to is located at Lvl 1 of a HDB block, it is non-aircon... The Kinderland i went to, the person was saying that the music class, etc is only for full day student and no need to pay additional... I'm tempted to enrol her for full day since there is not much price diff between their half day and full day, also the additional things like music class, computer class, etc makes it more worthy to enrol in full day... Jus that the MIL can't bear to be separated from the girl for such long hours daily... Haiz...

Japa,
Think the waiting list for Pat's schoolhouse is as long as Chiltern House... Better check early since left with 4 months to go b4 registration for N1 intake starts on Jan 2011 if Pat's also need 1year in advance registration... Not sure if the school fees are as "spectacular" as Chiltern but might not be too far off thou...
 
Oh yah... Bbethan, u r right about the timing of visitation to the centers... I went to Cherie Hearts when the kids jus woke up and going for their toilet break, it's pretty messy... MMI, the kids were sleeping, so there's nothing to see... Then for Kinderland, the kindergarten kids are having birthday party while the pre-nursery are having their tea-time... V organized I would say... My hubby wanna drop by again when they are teaching b4 he would even consider which 1 to choose... As for me, I dunno which 1 to choose thou...
 
Dino mum
hehehe...maybe by then if yr #2 comes along, she won't say the same thing since she'll be busy with #2
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probably for a start can try out half day first then switch to full day when she can go for enrichment classes.

At the end of the day, the kiddos must be happy
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Sigh. I'm at home on mc with a mild case of mastitis - sore painful breast with slight congestion, fever, headache, bodyache.
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I think it could be due to me trying to cut down my pumping at work from twice a day to once!

Went to a 24hr clinic last nite at 10pm after T slept - saw the dr (who is obviously younger than me! Just graduated!) who said he didn't think it was mastitis but a viral fever. WORSE - he asked me to stop pumping/nursing the affected side in case it's mastitis.
WRONG!!! I told him - eh, by doing so it will worsen the mastitis - later become abscess ah?!!!!
Then he said "oh ya, right, you have a point. Don't stop pumping/nursing then"
then said he will check the medicine book to see what medicine he can prescribe for me. I said yes I will also be checking that online (all healthcare professionals got access to medicine in Msia & sg online) on my iPhone.

there and then, I decided to visit my regular family dr in the morning
 
TJE,
I dunno how to convince MIL leh... Unless right now, I'm preggy... She "she bu de" lah... U also going to enrol JE for full day?

Montessori - I also curious about that, can anyone elaborate?
 
My point is - it's a bit worrying to see that some drs are giving the wrong advice. What if I was not aware and followed his advice!!??

But age is not the only factor. Young dr or old dr, if inexperienced in family medicine can give advice & medicine that is inappropriate. There is also a dr in his 50s near my home who just started practising in a clinic. Before that he was in research & academics. He is also not so sure about his drugs and signs & symptoms. He knows only theory.
And I disagree with him before when he gave me a medicine that is a combination of 2 drugs one of which I was allergic to. I told him. He said nevermind just try.
And I came back a few hours later with swollen eyelids (allergy).
 
TJE
u refering to Josiah Montessori? Heard that's not bad too. I went to the Millenia Walk one but that time was the peak of some virus, they didn't allow any visit to the centres. A lot of ang mo kids there. the centre staff quite stuck up.

I also dont know exactly what is this montessori about and how it works too. All I know it's a more hands on approach to learning. Eg, we learn 1,2,3 through the numerics. But they have tools and materials to learn through counting instead. I'm equally confused. Ask the teachers there and they can explain better. in my opinion, if we were to reinforce learning at home, we parents must know how to & how it works, else the child will be confused. don't know if i'm right.
 
muffingal,
wah piang. The docs you visited sounds like my company in-house doc. My colleague's allergic to asprin, precibed him some asprin drug claiming the drug suitable for people who's allergic to asprin. When my colleague checked on the internet and went back to check with the doc, doc told him to "try. If not you won't know". Duh. I'm starting to only trust experienced doc with their own clinic then those docs who gets rotated around different clinics.

Hope your fever subsides and blockage clears soon. I'm also trying to reduce pumping. Cross my fingers and hope I don't get hit by mastitis again. I can understand how miserable it feels =(
 
to put it simple: Montesorri = teach at your child phase. so each kid will be attended personally and they all may be doing all different stuff although they all sit in 1 class. Plus, they use special tools to teach. This is totally different concept from local primary teaching method, whereby the 'slow' one have to die-die to catch up with the 'smart' one. This is my basic understanding about Montesorri. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. So, this method is definetly out for me. I think I can accept more if it's more into specific subject e.g math. (so it's more like tuition kind).

My main criteria to choose the preschool are:
1. Not enclosed in a building with centralized aircon.
2. Must have it's own garden/playground
3. Hygienic (find out whether the school has ever HMFD history or wadsoever)
4. Affordable fee and near our place.
The rest, like food and curiculum, all about the same standard.

You can ask to sit in the class and follow the activity for a few days so that you'd know better about the school.
After choosing the school, the next thing to worry is separation anxiety. That can be a very stressfull period for some mums and kids.

St. Hilda sounds like kindergarden to me, not a child care. they usually run on 3 hour program. And they follow national school holiday. You may want to check, usually the youngest is for 3yrs old (nursery level).

Cherie Hearts is a child care centre which have full day, half day and also flexi hour (15 hours a week, up to you what time you want to drop your child). The flexi hour is about $450 if I'm not wrong. They can take from 18mths onward (playgroup).
 
Dino-mum, thanks so much for your 'research for me. I think no harm hor to try to register as NC. ok, tmr I will walk to Dover CC and enquire. well, rather then just wait for your luck, right?

oh ya, another pre-school to consider is Lorna Winston. They were famous for the speech and drama enrichment. a few yrs back they open a new preschool which is at alexandra. (it's a child care). Quite a few of my gf send their kids there. They have a very good feedback about the curiculum. But the environment is also more like 'celebrity' kind. All mums drive either X5 or porche and live in sentosa cove or sixth ave, namly area.

Things to note: usually the fee for normal kindergarden is half of child care centre. And in kindergarden, your kids MUST be toilet trained already (no diapers are allowed). Child care centre opens on sat and also during national school holiday.
 
I think God path my way already. Start from Jan 2011, Nigel's school will be half an hour longer. 8.45-12.15pm and if I send Naomi to cherie hearts (which is on the way), it's gonna be 9am-12pm. isn't perfect???!. so I can pick and fetch the 2 kids in 1 go. Safe the school bus fee of $110 per mth. YAY
 
Hi gals

long time no c. Been busy planning the itinerary for my japan hols.
happy.gif


anyone has the peg perego travel bag can lend me end oct till early nov? Pls pm me. Thanks!!! The bag is so ex!

Wow u gals are talking abt pri sch even tho our little ones just turn 1! I'm sending my kids to our Alma maters so dun have to volunteer. Dun care even if they wanna ask for gadgets, we'll just have to handle it well then. Yes, my boy will be going acs. Haven't decided which one tho. Pri or junior. My gal will be going to my convent school. So glad we dun have to go nuts over pri sch choices. We definitely made the right choices for sec sch since we only attended them in sec but they all have pri sections and are affiliated. I think not many schs have this priviledge.

As for kindy, registration starts as early as mar for some schs so call and ask. When we started looking for kindy for my boy in apr, we realized that the registration has passed for some choice schools! So be ks and call to find out. All schs registration period is different.
 
Re: Low Weight Gain/Poor Appetite
Char hasn't gained much wt over the last 2.5 mths; only 300 g
sad.gif
I thought her appetite has improved over the mths but at 13 mo, she's only weighing 8.4 kg (juz above 10 percentile). Being sick over the weekend would probably hv brought it down some more... I don't know what to do? She is still eating pureed food with some noodles and porridge but not drinking enough milk (less than 300 ml/day). She has been weaned off bm, but won't take on FM or fresh milk. Now with cough and infection, her already small appetite has reduced further. And she's in the self-feeding phase, every spoon I feed she would spit out! Help! I don't know what to do? Is there a miracle food out there where she can gain wt by eating little?
 
Noelle! give her banana,egg and sometimes cereal too. If she refuse food dont force fed instead give an alternative food. My girl's thirteen months weighing 13.4kg but she's tall so she looks chubby.Now past few days she's refusing her porrige and rice.So i am giving her more fruits and cereals to replace it.
 
Noelle

my gal is 8.5kg. Not much better but I'm very happy already. She eats so well but still dun gain much. Like waste food on her. She's taking more than 900ml fm per day on top of her solid meals still so tiny. I guess she's like me coz I am also skinny when young and had a hard time putting on weight. When I was in uni, I merely weighed 37.5kg.

For my son, his dietitian has advised to increase calorie intake by adding olive oil/butter to his food. U can try pediasure too. Give cheese if she likes whether in the normal form or cooked with the food like baked pasta. When giving bread, give milk bread. Give yoghurt with fruits too. Ice cream also can. U need to increase her calcium intake. Since she wants to self feed, cut the vege into strips and let her feed herself. Brocolli florets are good too. Let her mess it up. It's difficult in the short run but will benefit u in the long run coz she'll feed herself earlier.
 
mommies looking at CC options might 1 2 try carpe diem, can't remember if they have half day programs though. i've yet to visit the pl, the branch near alexandra hosp (will do so in oct) but based on feedback from friends, is quite good. my guess is, is prob more montesorri style.

lorna whiston is expensive. i've seen for myself this 8yo girl who attended lorna whiston classes when young. can speak v well, perfect english, however her mannerisms & the way she carries herself at such a young age, terrible. i get that impression (by listening to her talk) that the whole world does not exist except she her & herself. spoilt brat.
 
noelle
can give avocado too. good fats.

lina
my mil always remind us that it's no point sending the kids to whatever branded school or enrichment class. Yes... it does help academically. But at the end of the day, it's the manners and values of the child. No point having a smart but bad-mannered/snobbish/spoilt child. That's why if u see most kids now, they dont' know what is respect and are so choosy over many things. Out of the times you were offered seats when preg, how many are the youngsters and how many times do u encounter teenagers who close their eyes upon seeing u preggy/carrying babies, etc... worse still, they just ignore you and continue sitting. i had to agree with her on this point. but in today's society, i find it really hard to balance.

mummies
can i know how much snacks are your kiddos eating?
my gal can snack (puffs/rice crackers/fruits/etc) the whole evening from 7pm when i come home all the way to her sleep time at 9pm n she can still finish her 180ml before sleep. i don't know how much more she's taking in the day since i'm not around. if i don't give her something to munch, she'll be v listless and cries/whines which i try to avoid giving her the pacifier.
 
mashy
wah ur gal is almost as heavy as edna!!! LOL
edna is less than 9kg!!!!!

bbethan
now i avoid giving edna snacks at home.. if any i onli giv yoghurt.. its alot of snacks if she eat fr 7-9pm everyday leh... how but giving fruits?
i bought some organic rice cracker fr four seasons for her to snack on when we go out for dinner thou
how bout playing w her n distract her?
 
Bbethan

your gal isn't very big either.
happy.gif
so if the snacks are on top of her meals and milk, I think it's fine. Or maybe u can increase the portions during meal times?
 


hbb
ya... her snacks incl fruits too. she has to be distracted in order to stop. like that, i very busy ah. sometimes i just on the barney disc n let her watch. u know, sometimes after a day's work, i just want to sit there and switch off a bit. maybe i hv to feed her cheese to stop her fr snacking cos she hate it... LOL!!!

mashy
her meal portion already big enuf to fill her up. after every meal, her stomach is full and round. i also dont know where her food all go to. she's even lighter than yr gal. only 8.2kg when i weigh her last wk. i am not so worried abt her weight. but just worried she becomes a junkie and put on the wrong kind of weight.
 
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