What Do You Expect From Your Child's Preschool

Linda, an undergraduate, dropped me a note and invited me to participate in this survey. She gave me a link to Parenting Times and I thought I would give my opinion and hopefully it will help Linda.

Here goes:

1. Do childcare and preschool sound different for parents?

It sounds different to me. Preschool refers to education provided to children before they attend primary school. According to Wikipedia, children aged 2 to 5 attend preschool. In Malaysia, usually children aged 3 to 6 attend preschool. Childcare basically means babysitting where the care provider would see to the child’s basic needs. In other words, the care provider takes the role of the child’s parent while the child’s real parents go to work. Nowadays, the role of childcare is slowly taken over by preschools which provide after school care to children whose parents have to work.

2 Will parents choose childcare instead of preschool, or vice versa, by knowing that preschools offers more educational services, while childcares are more custodial and most of the time offer full-day service that benefit the working parents?

If I am a working mother, I would send my children to a preschool when they are old enough to attend one and let them stay on for childcare in that very same preschool.

Especially, for Question 3 and 4, Please sort out the options provided, from the most important to the least. In which, the inclusion of some justification and additional important points will be greatly appreciated.

3. What are the requirements that can make up a quality preschool?
- Well-managed curriculum
- Facilities (e.g Library, playground, teaching materials)
- Quality educators
- Learning environment
- Others ___________

I think the most important element in a preschool is the management team. If the management team is strong, they would equip the preschool with good learning environment and good facilities. They would ensure that the curriculum is structured with some element of fun and they would pick and choose quality teachers who are able to understand children and early childhood education. A good management team would also see to the safety of the children and the whole system of the preschool which includes operation, payment of fees, traffic flow, commencement and dismissal, etc.

Learning environment is important to create the atmosphere for learning.

Structured curriculum with some element of fun is also important to ensure children absorb better and to increase their interest in learning. Homework and exam should be introduced to six year old children to prepare them for primary school but it must not be too much as to create pressure among children.

Quality educator is a must in any preschool.

A preschool would not be a quality preschool if any of the above is lacking.


4. How would parents define “quality educators”?
- A degree holder
- Training certified person
- Patience in dealing with the children
- Others ___________

A good teacher should be one who loves children and one who is able to make children love learning. He / she should be patient, kind and sensitive to children’s needs and emotions. He / she need not be a degree holder but should be a person who has undergone certain training or has certain knowledge about early childhood education.


5. Would you, as parents, allow your children to be exposed to technology in their preschool age (3 to 5 years old) as supportive tools in their learning process? Such as: computer interactive game help in the building of creativity, letters introduction with the use of computers, access to internet, etc. (any example of any kind of technology that have helped your children to learn might be helpful)

I would want my children to attend a preschool that uses technology as supportive tools but technology should not be the only tool in the school. Children need other teaching aids besides visual and audio aids because some children learn best when they touch and feel while some others learn best when they move. Different child has different intelligences and aptitude.


6. Finally, any opinions to point out and expectations to be expected from a preschool, please do clarify it further.

Good system (refer to Q3), mainly to ensure a safe environment for children.

So, I’m calling all parents to help Linda by participating in this survey and drop MG a line here. She will link your post to hers to enable Lisa to find your post easily.

Home Schooling

The word “Home Schooling” was first introduced to me by my children’s kindergarten’s supervisor a year ago. My children attend a kindergarten using fungates system and this kindergarten is run by a couple together with their siblings. What aroused my curiosity was that their children were able to help around in the kindergarten everyday. Questions like “Why are the children not in the school at this hour?” popped up and that was how I got to know the word “Home Schooling”. Then I got to know more mothers who home school their children.

Why are more and more people home schooling their children? I have been thinking and I came out with a few possible reasons. Firstly, I think by home schooling your child, your child gets your personal attention and the child can learn better at his or her own pace. Secondly, the syllabus is bible based and many Christians can be very sure that their child is not detached from the bible and at the same time he is learning good values through studies. Thirdly, children who are home schooled do not mix around with bad company and the possibility of negative peer group influence would be minimized. Fourthly, home schooled children have more time to learn other skills.

With the advancement of internet, home schooling has become very convenient. There are many online home school programs but The Jubilee Academy seems to be a good choice. It is an accredited school which offers courses ranging from pre-school to high school including summer school program. The bible based curriculum which becomes an attraction to many parents, is conducted via the internet which includes e-book, CD-ROMs, video and workbooks. The 24 hours a day and seven days a week support and curriculum make it easier for parents to home school their children.

There is just one worry about home schooling our children and that involves the social aspect. Many worry that children who are home schooled have no opportunity to socialize and mix with other children and therefore there is no room for them to exchange views and experience. However, this problem has been curbed by The Jubilee Academy via their social center which is monitored and safe.

If you think that home schooling is expensive, discard that perception because The Jubilee Academy provides an affordable price for all courses offered. It is not surprising if you take into account the absence of concrete classroom, equipments, furniture and all other overhead expenses. If you are thinking of home schooling your child, take advantage of the mid year tuition discount to try out The Jubilee Academy online home school program. Do not hesitate anymore but find out more today!

A Tutor For Karl?

Karl will be in primary one next year. We plan to send him to a Chinese primary school to enable him to pick up the Chinese language because we speak English at home.

It’s really different studying in a Chinese school. There is a lot of homework and that means pressure for the children too. During our time, I don’t remember the syllabus to be that tough. I came from an English speaking family but I manage to excel in the Chinese school without a tutor. Off course I do get some homework help from my parents who are both teachers but for Chinese language, they can’t do much.

Can Karl cope with his studies and homework? Does he need tutoring? If I send him for tuition, will it add on to his burden and pressure? Sending him to a tuition centre would be very time consuming for me too.

I always believe that if Karl can cope, there will be no need for a tuition class but if he is weak in certain subjects, I may consider online tutoring which is more convenient and I can do it together with Karl at the comfort of our home.

Hubby always says that I should put more effort in coaching Karl especially in Math. If Karl can build a strong foundation in Math, he will have no problem learning Algebra, Trigonometry and Probability next time when he grows up.

Let’s hope Karl can adapt well in the Chinese primary school next year.

Fungates Contacts

I have received a few inquiries about fungates and I have talked to the supervisor of the kindergarten my sons attend. Ms. Lydia is very helpful but doesn't really know each and every fungates kindergarten in Malaysia. So, she has given me the contacts of the main office. Should you have any inquiries about fungates, please contact the following and the people in-charge will direct you to the nearest fungates kindergarten.

Here's the contact:

Add: M-33, Jalan Kuchai Maju, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03 - 7982 4827 / 03 - 7983 4827

Email: info@fungates.com

For more information, you may want to check out their website.

Fungates System

This post is written specially for Wen, who is anxious about choosing a suitable kindy for Ian. Both my sons are studying in a fungates kindy and my little girl will be joining her brother next year. So, what I am going to write is my own experience and opinion.

My eldest went to a Montessori kindy for 2 years before I switched him to a fungates kindy. I always find Montessori system wonderful but my son, Karl, was very reluctant to go to school everyday. The teachers told me that Karl was very timid in school and didn't know how to converse in Bahasa Melayu and didn't know his ABC, which I found very strange as he's totally different at home. My neighbour also experienced that with her daughter. When I first sent him to the fungates kindy, he settled down the very first day and looked forward to go to school everyday. That's a relief for me!

My second son, Wayne, took a longer time to settle down. I left him with his teacher the very first day and he would cry the whole day until he fell asleep. That's normal as every child experiences separation anxiety and the best thing a parent could do is to leave their children to the teacher after some reassurance that you will come and pick him up. That's how Wayne became famous and became an example whenever the teachers explain to the new parents: "We have a boy who cries everyday when he first came to school and now he doesn't want to go home when his mummy comes to pick him up."

I find fungates system very practical and fun! Yes, the syllabus is a little difficult compared to the other pre-schools but the teachers use a fun approach to teach the children and the children love it! So, why worry about the syllabus when your child enjoy learning it? I think you would agree with me that children pick up fast!

Fungates uses open concept which means there is no closed classroom for the students. This is to train them to concentrate on what they are doing without being disturbed by others. Some parents may not like it but I find this a good training for my kids. Because of the short attention span, the students will move from one "room" to another (eg: from the class to the music room or the computer room or the gym).

Here's the set of fun cards for year 3 children. It's called the cereal fun and the raisin fun. Children gets to put cereal on the number according to how it is written. For example: For number one, children get to put cereal from top to bottom so that in future, they know how to write number one which is from top to bottom. They will learn number 1 to 10 and alphabets A-Z.

There are various types of apparatus in a fungates kindy and usually they come in 2 per set which is the teachers' set and the children's set. For example, when the teachers teach numbers, they would pick up 1 tile and say: "This is one". The children will then follow by picking up their own tile. Then, the teacher would point to another thing and say: "This is one, one butterfly, this is also one, one flower". The purpose is to teach them quantity, not the numerals.

I love their phonics especially the blends and the silent sound like "sake" pronounced as "sak" with "e" being the silent sound.

What about a science lab in a pre-school? Isn't it fun to carry out experiments to learn something? The children even get to use a microscope! My son loves this session. They learn so many things like how to test whether an egg is good or bad.

There are also thematic learning. The children learn themes like "Animals", "Festivals", "Kitchen", etc. The interesting part is these are so REAL that the children are able to catch up fast. For example: When the teachers teach "Kitchen", the children would be brought to the pantry and the teacher would show them the real pots and pans and the children even get to prepare some simple food and eat it. When the teachers teach "Beach", the children would wear swimming costumes and get to play sand with shovels and pails and even build sand castles. When the teacher teach "Animals", the children get to visit a mini zoo (prepared using toy animals).

Chinese? This is also a criteria when I choose a kindy. My children are English speaking and they are going to a Chinese primary school. Karl and Wayne knew nothing about Chinese but now they can recognize and write some Chinese words. Wayne (4 years old) would go: "Mama, ni kan, tian shang de tian!" (Telling me to look at the sky). The stroke of a word is also important in Chinese language and the fungates ensure that your child learn the correct strokes.

Every friday, my kids would be looking forward to go to school for "Power Fun", a fun activity where the teachers and children will act together in a role play. They would play some games and the winning team gets something.

As for homework, don't worry too much about it. Year 3 children have no homework. Year 4 children do their homework only twice a week whereas year 5 and year 6 children have homework which is manageble (2-3 per day).

Having said that, parents should also consider the management and teachers of the pre-school when choosing one. Choose one which suits you and your child as different people have different needs.