sending child to nursery?!

[mosmom]

hi moms
i'm curious to know whether you choose to send your child to a playgroup/nursery class when s/he is 2 years old!
my baby is one year old and whoever i speak to nowadays asks me: "have you applied for a kindie yet?" uhm... no.
what is your opinion, and what do you do?
my mind tells me that this is insane, and i don't want to be caught up in the hk craze of "educating" my child sooo early!
i was thinking of going to a playgroup with her maybe once a week next year, or attend a music lesson. and basically letting her play with other kids at home or outside. wouldn't that be enough?
i've taught in a kindie before (not on the 2-y-old level, though), and if i remember well, most of the time was spent bringing the kids to the wc, having them eat snack and letting them play smthg or sing songs..
or is it that parents simply want to have some 'time off' by sending their little ones to a nursery so early? thank you for your inputs

 

[spockey]

Hi Mosmum

I sent my son to nursery once he turned two because
he showed signs he was ready (Secrets of the Toddler whisperer) as he was getting bored at playgroups. He started with half a day then later, he went on to attend full day once a week (afternoon sessions were with mixed age).


He LOVES school. Everyday that he doesn't attends school, he asks for it. It was definitely more than just about the WC, snack time, singing songs and playing. The school he goes to is unique though.

It was definitely NOT because of the pressure from the HK culture to start schooling early. He was simply ready for more. And it has been the best thing we've done for him. In fact, he loves being in school so much that we have enrolled him for full day nursery everyday in the new academic year.

I've made the decision based only on his needs.

 

[oh mommy]

Spockey

Which school your kids go to? Sounds like a good nursey

 

[spockey]

It's Jing Jing International Kinder near Lingnan University in Tuen Mun. The principal and afternoon school teacher is an English lady, Mrs. McHugh. Small class size - 8 in a class.

 

[jyap]

How do we know if our child is ready for nursery ? Can you please give some advice.
Thanks.

 

[MeowMeow]

hi moms
i'm curious to know whether you choose to send your child to a playgroup/nursery class when s/he is 2 years old!
my baby is one year old and whoever i speak to nowadays asks me: "have you applied for a kindie yet?" uhm... no.
what is your opinion, and what do you do?
my mind tells me that this is insane, and i don't want to be caught up in the hk craze of "educating" my child sooo early!
i was thinking of going to a playgroup with her maybe once a week next year, or attend a music lesson. and basically letting her play with other kids at home or outside. wouldn't that be enough?
i've taught in a kindie before (not on the 2-y-old level, though), and if i remember well, most of the time was spent bringing the kids to the wc, having them eat snack and letting them play smthg or sing songs..
or is it that parents simply want to have some 'time off' by sending their little ones to a nursery so early? thank you for your inputs

My understanding is some schools allow you to send in the nursery application form when your child has turned 1. This way you'll most likely have a spot at the school, as we all know good schools have long wait lists.

Hope it helps.

 

[carang]

i had NO intention of sending my children to "school" before they were at least 4.

my son is 3.5 and he will be starting 1/2 day in september. he, too, is looking forward to "school". he's been coming with me to the playgroup that i run for the past few months and LOVES going "to school" as we call it. he now knows that at mummy's school we speak english, but at his new school the teachers speak chinese...

although he loves coming with me (and i love it too), my hubby and i decided that we wanted him in the chinese environment. i'm not interested in the homework or tests or any of the stuff that i encountered when i was teaching in kindergartens here... i just want the chinese environment for him.

you don't have to get stressed out about it if you don't want to. you can always find somewhere for your little one... it might not be the fashionable "brand name" school that everyone else wants into, but it will suit your purposes, what ever they may be.

good luck!

 

[mosmom]

thank you all!

spockey
will read into the book, secrets of the toddler whisperer thank you! it's great your son loves school!

carang
exactly! i always thought "NOT before 3 years of age". and now all these questions...

generally saying, i find it hard to figure out at the moment whether my child will be ready for school.. i mean, she can't walk and talk yet.. sigh! and i don't want to sign her up just for the sake of it and because 'others' do.

 

[carang]

then relax about it. it will all work itself out in the end. be prepared for some to look at you as if you are nuts, though. there's no need to give in to the peer pressure.

at the age of two, what you should be looking for is somewhere to socialise your child. a place where your child can begin to learn how to share, take turns, listen to and take part in story time, a place that allows your child to learn how to use their imagination and where they can begin to show some creativity, a place that can help them develop their fine (finger/hand/eye co-ordination) motor skills and their gross (running/jumping/throwing) motor skills is FAR superior to somewhere the kids sit at desks and learn to read/write/recite (mathematics tables/nursery rhymes etc).

a playgroup is the ideal place for this.

for all of those who buy into the mentality that you MUST have the right pre-school, so you can get into the right kindie, so you can get into a good primary school & secondary school, so that your child will be guaranteed of acceptance into Harvard.... this is just not the case.

if your child is competent in expressing him/herself, is able to listen and respond appropriately when spoken to, is able to use their imagination when answering questions, is able to use their initiative when solving a problem you should have NO TROUBLE passing ANY interview for primary or even secondary school.

good luck! stay strong in your beliefs!

 

[spockey]

at the age of two, what you should be looking for is somewhere to socialise your child. a place where your child can begin to learn how to share, take turns, listen to and take part in story time, a place that allows your child to learn how to use their imagination and where they can begin to show some creativity, a place that can help them develop their fine (finger/hand/eye co-ordination) motor skills and their gross (running/jumping/throwing) motor skills is FAR superior to somewhere the kids sit at desks and learn to read/write/recite (mathematics tables/nursery rhymes etc).
a playgroup is the ideal place for this.

for all of those who buy into the mentality that you MUST have the right pre-school, so you can get into the right kindie, so you can get into a good primary school & secondary school, so that your child will be guaranteed of acceptance into Harvard.... this is just not the case.

I am going to agree with Cara here. I don't think going to school should be about trying to get into the best primary/kinder especially if the child isn't ready. But I do understand it from the local perspective though, many parents don't have a choice if you are going to use the local system. We don't have to and so we are fortunate enough to place him in a nursery that doesn't hothouse the kids in preparation for premier local schools here. Kids afterall are simply kids.

JYap, I really can't put my finger down on what was the exact signs but my son was just ready. He was ready for something more independent and we didn't want to hold him back. I think it was his independence more than anything else that made us decide that he was ready for school.

Mosmum, DON'T succumb to pressure! But having said that, like I mentioned, I do understand it if you are going to be using the local system and hoping to end up in the premier schools.