Preschool Insights and Experiences

[marose17]

^ Sis, taga-Marikina ka, I assume?

Check out Links School for Life at Woodridge Subdvision after Tumana and before Loyola Grand Villas.  The owner of the school used to be the principal of Ateneo Grade School.  I like the school, maganda siya and it's inside a village.

[DV]

Are your kids pang-umaga o panghapon sa school? Why? I'd like to get some insights on this. I know mas alert ang bata sa umaga, pero I'm leaning towards afternoon classes dahil sa 1) our transportation logistics, 2) mas ma-traffic sa umaga, 3) pag may bagyo usually late na ina-announce ang cancellation of classes, 4) para di masyadong nara-rush sa umaga/easier transition.

How about you, moms?

[marose17]

My kids are in the morning class.  Ever since kasi, early risers sila.  Also, my husband and I take them to school before we go to work.  Preparation na din iyan for grade school kasi magiging whole day naman eventually ang class nila so I think it's better for them to get used to going to school in the morning.

[DV]

^Thanks, marose17!

[hunny_ally]

Since toddler school morning classes daughter ko. I want an easy transition for her come big school. But for kinder 1 this coming school year, it looks like she'll be in the pm classes. They give priority to old students for the am session

[WandaWits]

Are there any good preschools in Katipunan na pwedeng 3 days a week lang ang class? Parang this early, I don't want to oblige my 3 year old daughter to go to school everyday muna.

[marose17]

^  Links School for Life offers 2x, 3x a week classes for toddlers.  It's in Woodridge Subdivision though, just after LGV, not in Katipunan.  The owners are from LGV and one is a former principal of Ateneo GS. 

[whinx]

help me mga sis hanap ng mgandang school for my 4-year old daughter. We live near pasay road... TIA

[jaiaquino]

^there's assumption in sanlo.

[WandaWits]

@ marose: Sis, yan ba yung papuntang Tumana from LGV?
Is it a Montessori school? May feedback ka?

[marose17]

^ Yes, yan nga ang  way to Links.   Links is not a Montessori school.  I visited the school last year and inquired about the summer programs.  I found it nice and the staff were very cordial.  That was how I learned that the owner used to be principal of Ateneo GS.  Yung 1 classmate ng sons ko sa swimming classes sa LGV ngayon, taga-Links.  3x a week ang pasok niya last year.  He just turned 3, I guess.

If you want a Montessori school, Family Montessori offers a beginner's class for 2 hours a day daily.  No 3x a week class though, but perhaps you can make arrangements.  I think my friend's daughter went 3x a week tooo when she first started at 2 years old there.  Personally, I found daily classes for my kids okay naman.  My kids were a few weeks shy of turning 3 years old when they first went to FM.  They were in the regular morning classes na, the 3 hours per day, daily.  It was a good and enriching year for them.

Okay din sa Montessori Child Development Center also along E. abada.  I considered that school before kaso di pasok sa sked naming mag-asawa ang time ng morning class eh.  The former  owner of MCDC is from LGV din.   Nag-change na ang owner pati staff yata ng MCDC so I don't know if it is still authentic Montessori though.

[WandaWits]

^ sayang sis, hindi pala Montessori. I really want my kids to start in a Montessori school, kase they feel like playing & learning at the same time. From what i observed sa son ko, maganda foundation niya coming from a Montessori school. My daughter's teacher in Kindermusik said experts recommend talaga na mag start ang kids at a young age sa Montessori not in a Traditional school kase and tendency daw madaling magsasawa ang bata when they grow up (like when they're in College na).

Sis, I already went to FM & Montessori of Loyola. Ok din ang FM but mas nagustuhan ko ang Loyola in terms of the materials & the way the directress oriented me. I think the directress is also a speaker for Montessori teachers/schools here in the Philippines and highly trained in the US. Ok din naman ang feedback from the parents whose kids graduated there. Pati yung grading system nila mas detailed compared to FM. When we went there I was surprised that my daughter went alone with the teacher. Super mahiyain kase daughter ko and hindi basta basta sumasama sa ibang tao. The directress asked the teacher to assess my daughter that same day (so hindi na niya kinailangan pa ipa- sched which also saved my time). I plan to enroll her this summer. Yun nga lang kase sabi nila as of now they only have AM classes for the coming school year compared to Family Montessori na may PM class, plus everyday nga rin ang classes kase they want na ma-train agad ang kids going to school everyday. Yung son ko kase PM class sa Ateneo so gusto ko rin sana sabay na sila. Sana mag open sila for PM class.

[marose17]

Nasa list ko din ang Montessori of Loyola before but I didn't get to visit because nagustuhan ko na sa FM.  And sa phone kasi medyo weird ang nakausap ko sa MOL.  Ayaw magbigay ng range ng tuition fee when I inquired over the phone tapos  medyo tinarayan ako ng kausap ko haha kaya hindi ako ginanahang puntahan ang school.

Paano ang grading system sa MOL?  Walang grades kasi sa FM but we get progress journals twice a month, and I can talk to or email the teachers anytime for my concerns.  I also like the fact that my kids' developmental pedia is very familiar with the school  because she sent her kids there as well.

Anyway, we are spoiled for choices of preschools in our area.  I'm sure may mapipili ka ding school.  Sa ngayon lang, mas marami talagang morning class at daily class kesa sa requirements mo.  Try Gymboree sa Eastwood.  You can ask hunny_ally kasi from what I remember hindi rin daily classes at first ang daughter niya sa Gymboree. 

[WandaWits]

^ Ganon ba, ayaw mag disclose baka akala competitor? Hahaha. When i called them up before I went there, sinabi naman sakin yun nung teacher na nakausap ko over the phone. Actually comparing the tuition fee, mas mababa sa Loyola. I don't know lang this coming school year kung mag increase sila. Sabi kase ni teacher Stella, as much as possible she wants na affordable pa rin ang tuition fee nila inspite of the materials they use. She buys all the materials from the US & impressed ako talaga. Yung grading system sis, hindi rin numerical ha. Pardon my term, but yes, it's a sort of progress report nga but quarterly ata nila yun binibigay. Pero super detailed and mas mahaba, reporting every aspect in the child's development. Actually, when we went home I was already decided na dun na i-enroll daughter ko..but ngayon kase I'm thinking na kung may other option ako makita (a montessori school that offers class 3x a week) baka i'll consider that na rin. 

[marose17]

^ Maybe you can make arrangements with the school?  Baka 3x a week lang for the first month or so and then, slowly daily na.

Actually, Montessori is best experienced daily, so that the child can get used to the routine.  Don't worry may pacing naman iyan at hindi naman isasabak sa materials na hindi appropriate sa age and readiness ng daughter mo.

As for the pagod factor, my children easily got adjusted to going to school daily.  They also have classmates na girls din who were as young as 2.5 years old when they first started going to the school kasabay ng kids ko and they did well naman.

As far as I know, there are 3 Montessori preschools in the Loyola Heights area:  Family, MCDC and MOL.  Further along, sa may Blue Ridge, there's Abba's Orchard and sa may White Plains, there's Philippine Montessori Center.

[hunny_ally]

Anyway, we are spoiled for choices of preschools in our area.  I'm sure may mapipili ka ding school.  Sa ngayon lang, mas marami talagang morning class at daily class kesa sa requirements mo.  Try Gymboree sa Eastwood.  You can ask hunny_ally kasi from what I remember hindi rin daily classes at first ang daughter niya sa Gymboree.

marose, actually S started on a daily toddler school at 2yrs 11mos. They call the level Pre-Kinder, for kids 2.6 to 3.5 years old by June 01. she attended the gymboree weekend classes prior to that, but it's not the preschool program but the 1hr core classes. There's a level prior to the Pre-K called Nursery (for those 1.10 to 2.5 years old by June 01). It's 3x a week classes and usually offered during afternoons. But i remember when S was in Pre-K, they had to make the lone Nursery student to join the Pre-K class since the student did not have any classmates. her lessons though were still for the nursery level. Last school year, there were no any Nursery students for Eastwood. From what I know and have seen, there are more Preschool enrollees in the Trinoma branch.

But I agree with you ang daming choices in the katipunan area. I'm toying with the idea of enrolling M in a school there but hubby dislikes the idea of the daily travels for him that young.

[marose17]

^ Als, super okay naman your experience with Gymboree kay S di ba.  Proximity is a major consideration for me in choosing a school.

But if you want to put M in ADMU, may advantage ang preschool in Katipunan area.  Para kasing most of the schools in the area are geared toward preparing little boys for ADMU.

[hunny_ally]

^yup ok naman. proximity wise it's the perfect location since isang tumbling away lang kami.

socially, i've seen her and her classmates really bloom by the end of the school year. there were some na iyakin at the start of the school and ni hindi makatingin sa eyes mo when you talk to them, but later on they'll be the first one to approach you and talk to you. like what they say a gymboree preschooler is "curious, confident, cooperative, persevering and a good communicator". i've seen all of those in S. Nasobrahan lang ata sa curiosity and confidence  that it gets on my nerves sometimes (thats a whole different story).

but (may "but" talaga), academic-wise, i'd rate it average-above average, lalo na if you'd compare it to traditional schools. yeah i know it's not fair to compare a progressive to a traditional since the approach is different. though i've seen some worksheets of my kids' friends or heard feedbacks from them, im not sure how different their lessons are from the traditional ones (they ended the year learning how to tell time and do basic addition and subtraction). pero parang nakukulangan ako or maybe I'm expecting too much from S? but i guess they really try to teach the lessons based on the students' pace, hindi minamadali. I like though how they cultivated and developed the love of learning of the kids.

Re progress report, they have semestral assessment and PTA with the teacher. But even before this, the teacher would tell you if a student has problems with a topic and they'll ask you if you can reinforce this at home. They believe that learning does not end in school and highly encourage it that parents run through the lessons with their kids from time to time. sometimes they send home worksheets but nothing along the lines of the assignments they give in other schools. usually just a page or two and no pressure to do it if the kid is not up to it.

The teachers also email weekly newsletters (with pictures) on what they discussed during the week and what to expect the next week. They tackle 1 book at the start of the week and try to incorporate it with their lessons. Like when the week they discussed about amphibians, they had the Frog Prince as their story book of the week. Same goes with school activities. When they discussed about reptiles, they scheduled a field trip to the crocodile farm. Or when they discussed about the community helpers, they visited the police and fire stations nearby. They also incorporate their core classes which I like. My husband was surprised when my daughter was humming an old nursery song my husband is familiar with. She said she learned it in class when they were discussing Eastern European music.

[candyzire]

Any feedbacks for hope christian  high  school pre-school in benavidez?
May nadiscover din akong school at Alvarado st binondo Xiao tai yang learning center
Meron bang may alam nun Soto mommies?

[cherrhys]

^My eldest studies in HOPE, their pre-school is Montessori method.  Super ok for me.  Are you Chinese?  If yes, you might find their Chinese subjects a bit too easy as some of the parents there says but me, I have no complaints.