Mothering Corner

I enrolled my boy into montessori when he was 27 months old. He didn’t like the school at first, but now besides the occasional “I don’t want to go to school” drama once in a while, he smiles happily when I pick him up from school every weekday. I notice a lot of difference in him now. So, I just want to summarize why I chose montessori, instead of other nursery in the first place.

1. He’s is getting better at going to the washroom and using the toilet all by himself. Sometimes, he wants me to help him with the pants, but I know that he can do it by himself now. He still needs some help with putting on a shirt, but I feel that he is getting better at those living skills. Now, he’s learning how to tie a knot.
2. I like the concept that children are not being forced into writing when they are not ready for it. They have coloring at school, but I know that the teachers help him out as he was not good at holding the pencil until yesterday. We took a video clip of him doing his maze, and he’s pretty good now. It’s nice to see that my boy is learning without the pressure to compete with children of his age, if he’s going to normal nursery, he will be writing lots of ABC and 123 which will probably bore him a lot.
3. I like the way they teach maths at school by using beads, rods, toys, and some daily stuffs. My boy is good at counting until 10, after that, it’s just a guessing game.
4. No restriction on what toys or tools the kids would like to play during the first session, which means that the kids can choose their work freely and they can work it out by themselves. The teachers will help out, but most of the time, it’s the kids that do the work on their own. My boys loves puzzles, and I know he plays a lot there.
5. I love his artwork. At one look, I can tell that the teachers let him do it in his own way, but with some guidance. I understand the limitation or development of my boy’s motor skill. So, it’s easier for me to tell if he does by himself, or with some help. So far, all his work is great.
6. The music session is enjoyable. He knows lots of songs that I haven’t taught him at home. Besides, I like the way they learn about other culture through songs.
7. My boy has an ang moh friend and a Japanese girl in his school, so it’s good for him to get to know other children which are different from us.
8. They are very discipline. All the kids are only 18 months to 4 years old, but I’m amazed at how montessori ways of learning have trained them to be so organized.

So, I guess my girl is going to that school too. Too bad they don’t teach Chinese, that’s why my boy has to be transfered to another kindergarten next year as I’m not good at teaching him Chinese.