Developing an all rounded child

As new mothers, we often get a bit anal when it comes to selecting our child’s first preschool or nursery. I know I was!

When Tee was 2, I had already visited up to 15 preschools within the vicinity and found what I thought was the best playschool for her at the time. And it really was the best for younger children except that it was bloody expensive, but nevermind that since she had some sponsors. She went and excelled but after 2 years, started to get bored as progress was slow.

So I looked again, and sent her to a homeschool whose results really impressed me. It was also the first place ever that I dropped Tee off and she didn’t shed a single tear despite being dropped off at a new place and with new people. She was 3 and a half.

Later, this homeschool turned out to be too strict and Tee no longer loved going to school so I took her out again. If she didn’t eat fast enough, they would scold her. If she didn’t write perfectly, they would scold her. She was getting scolded everyday. And with her chilli padi mouth, I knew she was in for some serious punishment real soon.

Whichever school you send your child to eventually, whether it be a Chinese school, a local Government school, a local private school or an international school; each school is geared towards a particular philosophy which tends to stimulate your child in certain areas but leave the other areas to get weaker and weaker. The more you practise your math, the better you get at it whilst your English falters.

I have been sending Tee to Insight Kids for a term now, not as everyday school, but just as an afternoon class that she loves and have now decided that I will send her to the new Insight Kids Preschool starting next year. Because not only does she love it, it is the only school that I know of that encourages a holistic approach. Meaning that it stimulates your child’s weakest link to develop an all rounded well-balanced child. The next closest school to this would be International school which is pretty all rounded except that they leave out the emotional well-being of a child because really, who cares or has time to really develop a child’s emotional health in school? What more the fact that we are in Asia. Seriously, the schools are not into that.

Yet, the latest early learning research in the US and UK have professed that all preschool and primary school syllabuses be developed to incorporate a more all rounded approach with an emphasis on emotional development, even more so than what is already in existence. So our Education Ministry have followed suit to SAY (not necessrily DO…..yet) that we too want a more wholistic education syllabus. We shall see. In the meantime, whilst they get their act together, I’ve enrolled Tee into Insight Kids Preschool where Teacher Student ratio is 1 teacher (child psychologist) to 8 students. It will be a school of not more than 30 kids in total. Small and intimate, occupying a corner link house in Medan Damansara with a large enough garden for outdoor play.

I already see results with Tee from this approach where Tee is asked to share her feelings at the beginning of every class. Is she happy, sad, dissappointed, angry, excited, blablabla…..and why. Then the class continues with some organisational skills, some memory skills, some lateral thought skills, some logic skills, some creative skills, some academic skills and then ends again with more emotional skills.

I highly recommend it and there are not many places left but if you’re interested, call 03-20936178. I have volunteered myself myself as their marketing agent (hope I don’t get sued for this!), not because I have anything to gain, but because I really love children and feel this is a really good place for children. I don’t know a single child who goes there that doesn’t love it.

Fees for Insight Kids Preschool (2-6 years old) – RM2540 per semester (4 months)

Refundable Deposit with school – RM2540

Other Fees – RM500 for registration, insurance, materials, nurture indicator report of your child.

The first 20 kids for the preschool gets a 10% discount for semester fees and further discounts if you refer a friend. Call to find out more.

If you are not interested in the preschool, then you must at least go for their classes which start at RM180 per month. Well worth it. Seriously.

What I love still about the programme is the fact that the teachers are so dedicated and truly love the kids with a passion. After every class, they’d tell me what Tee did in that class, like what she said when they played chain story (once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a castle….. and Tee continues with…..and then a shark came from the moat water and ate up the 3 little pigs that were hiding in the woods!), like how she solved a Sudoku puzzle (what?! she can do Sudoku?), like how she acted when role playing as the little explorer, like what her favourite food was (porridge, apparently….not McDonalds or french fries or chocolate!) or what she thought herself to be good at (running really fast, hahahaha!!!). I am learning so much more about Tee and it is so exciting that your child may not necessarily tell you everything but tells others 🙂

And then to back up her learning each week, there is also a written report of what the child did and what level she is at for each area of her brain. Goals are set for each child and monitored throughout the term to check progress. There is also a suggestion sheet for parents to further implement what the child has learned during the week should the parent wish to do something fun with the child at home. I wish I had thought about this programme before they came out with it!

Now, don’t listen to me because I talk a lot of crap!!! Every mother will say their school is the best except for the really honest ones, and to be honest, I have only come across two so far.

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3 thoughts on “Developing an all rounded child

  1. Undoubtedly if I had the money, I’d love to send my son somewhere where they can channel all his energy into productive thinking and produce amazing results. However, I’ve just gotta stick to the quaint little montessori just a couple of minutes away from home. 🙂

  2. Thanks for sharing this Patsy! You know, I thought I was a little bit anal too for doing my research now for my kid..heheh..glad to know I’m not alone..;-). Will keep the day classes in mind cos I know I definitely can’t afford the full preschool thingy.

  3. hi patsy…i was referred to your blog from insightkids..i was there last week to check out their pre-school programme and my dear hubby has given me a task to do some ‘investigation’ with parents.
    oh dear..i am soooo glad that you have blogged it out on them.
    kudos!
    the fee i must say not that cheap and relatively like sending them to international school thus it explains why i have to be a ‘mrs. smith’ for ‘mr. smith’!!!hope to see you there one day….

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