Most desired school for 2yr old?

L

lakai

New member
Hi,
I am thinking about sending my 2 year old son to HK for school sometime next year. I was wondering where best to start him out. Without sounding like a 'elitist', could someone tell me which are the prestigeous non-international schools to apply? I have a flat at the arch which my retired father is living. I appreciate any help. Thank you
 
the best school for a 2 year old is the one that best suits YOUR 2 year old. some schools would be better suited for your child than others. only YOU can make that decision...

and really, school for a 2 year old should have NOTHING to do with being "the best" it should have to do with nurturing your youngster's creativity & confidence and introducing your child to the joys of learning.

why someone would "SEND" their 2 year old child away (i'm assuming you do not live in hk as you said "sending...to school in hk) for school is beyond me. it is MUCH better for the child to grow up around his parents than feel unloved and abandoned at such a tender age.

my personal opinion.
 
unfortunately kids start school from the age of 2 here...way too early, but if you don't go, #1 kids your childs age will all be at school, no one to socialize with your child #2 your kid will be at a disadvantage when applying for kindergarten. so...you will have to send your 2 year old to nursery. i'm not sure where the arch but whatever you decide, you need to make sure that the place is child friendly and that your 2 year old will enjoy the experience. i know of many nurserys in the kowloon tong area, but am unsure how far those are from your place. victoria nursery, tutor time, st catherines...are some names that come up...
 
#1... there are plenty of children around for your child to socialise with, even if you choose not to put him into school.
#2...such a fallacy that you are at a disadvantage when applying for kindergartens! complete rubbish! if you raise and care for your child in a well-rounded environment... if you talk to your child... if you are truly your child's first teacher..... you will have NO PROBLEM getting a place in a kindergarten!
 
I am glad my daughter will be going to school in England and not Hong Kong! Starting school at 2yrs is too young!
 
Hi

I am not sure how you want your child to go to school but kindies around olympic city would be the closest to the Arch. There should be many School buses and Nanny Van going to the Arch. But if you want your child to go to Non- Int then the option would be ESF. If you want your child to go to local school, then he should know Cantonese or Mandarin at the least. Most local kindies are taught in Chinese with English as a second Language.

You can check these website below:
www.victoria.edu.hk, Harbour Green Campus would be near to your place

www.learninghabitat.org, hampton loft campus would also be near to your place.
 
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lesliefu
absolutely agree with carang. parents like you (and please don't take this personal, as i don't know you!) make other parents nervous by making such statements.
when my daughter turned 1 year old, lots of people in my environment asked me allllll the time whether i had already signed her up for pre-nursery/playgroup (whatever it's called for 2-y-olds...). i got nervous, then, and even posted a thread here.
well, i've made my decision: my daughter is NOT going to pre-nursery next year (she's 17 months now), full stop! it's way too early, in my opinion, and i trust my child that she'll catch up quickly on whatever she'll have missed, IF she'll have missed anything at all, that is.
instead, i'll accompany her to a playgroup once a week (1h) to get a rough idea of a kindy, and of course let her have plenty of time with playdates. if, next year, a KG rejects my child after an interview - tant pis! then we'll take her to another one. i'm still soo surprised that parents actually get worried and blame their own child and themselves for not having been accepted at their favourite KG.. that they see themselves as a failure. this is sad and unfortunately, nothing is being done (by the govt.?) to stop this foolish trend..
sorry, as this is a hot topic for me at the moment, i had to let it out of my system :P

lakai
sorry i'm not familiar with any KG's in your area...
 
mosmum...
i took my boy, almost 4yrs old, out of school for the month of November to australia. I will again take him out for a month in march/april to go to canada...you would not believe the number of mothers at my playgroup that asked< "but what about school????"

my response, was "he's 3, what exactly is he going to miss that i can't teach him myself?"
 
Yes, it is very common to let the little children going to pre-nursery school in HK. 9 out of 10 of the friends will do so. Another 1 is a full time mother and she can teach her child by herself. For HK women, most of us have to go to work. My child starts going to pre-nursery school at 2 years old. He cried only on the 1st day and he enjoys going to school so much.
 
gabriel ma
it's great that your son enjoys pre-nursery so much. you know, i'm certain that my daughter would be fine as well :)
the thing that bothers me actually is that hk parents (or parents in hk) really get worried that their child will be "behind" if they don't sign him/her up at a KG asap. i just don't believe that a child who doesn't attend pre-nursery misses out on so much.
you know, and after the child starts pre-nursery, the parents' comment is usually: "whaa, they're doing nothing special, just play, play, play, and sing songs, have snack and toilet time.." first, one can read the curriculum and inform oneself before signing up at the school. second, what else should a child that age learn or do?? i feel that the parents feel such an immense pressure or urge of competition that they're not satisfied with the content and teaching speed of ANY curriculum. dunno if that's just my observation?

EDIT: even SAHM's are keen to send their child/ren to pre-nursery. i don't think it has anything to do with the time that one has to spend with the child...
 
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mosmom,

That's very true in HK. We get pressures from our friends, our work peers when we talk about which KG that our kids going to. Most of my friends (90%) sent their kids to those famous private KG (e.g. Kentville, St. Catherine's, Victoria...etc). Unavoidably, we are competing with each others.
 
i have had a few comments at my playgroup (all from local mums) that they are concerned that the kids "play too much".... the class is 1.25 hours long and we spend no more than .25 hours "playing"! the rest of the time is "doing work", making crafts, singing, dancing and story time....
 
yes - nursery may be a waste of time, but as a teacher myself I see how much "work" gets done. I believe that there are benefits to "play" that are overlooked by parents do not see the educational value of it...YES, there are benefits to play...belows a short article I read regarding this topic...

Developing through play

CHILDWISE by RUTH LIEW


PLAY is fun. Children need to play as much as they need food, shelter and clean air. Children do not need to cram their minds with information. When they play, they learn to be resourceful and seek out the right kind of information for use in their play.

In many homes today, children have more toys than their parents ever did but sadly, the toys are mostly remote-controlled or high-tech in nature. The places they play in are limited and structured. By the time they reach school age, children play only games arranged by their schools or clubs. They hardly make up their own games or play freely with their friends.

Play spaces at home, usually arranged by adults, have stuffed animals, board games and store-bought toys all kept in plastic storage boxes. Some, kept high up on the shelves, are inaccessible to young children. They have to rely on adults to get the toys. When adults take over what children can do for themselves, they will lose opportunities to be creative and imaginative.

Unfortunately I think it is the system that is making us all nervous and uptight about sending our kids early to school....unfortunately from the schools point of view, they find it much easier to screen applications (some schools have over 200 applications for 10 spots) than interview each student, that's simply not possible. This is the easiest for them. Therefore, unless the culture of the schools change, there is really not much us parents can do but to make sure our kids are given the best chance to get into a school that fits their learning type. Would I send my 2 year old to a nursery? From a teachers point of view, yes. Would I take my kid out of school to leave for a family vacation? Probably. Would I question the amount of learning at the school? No because learning does not only happen within a school setting. But, then, why send your child to school, isn't that ironic? Yes, but society is built that way and to not follow the norm puts you at a disadvantage, to me it's as plain simple as that.
 
leslie...
we all agree. a child's work IS play... it's many of the "local" parents that can't understand this concept...
 
Hi, all

just want to share that I, myself, a working mom who has a son, (turn to three very soon). I do think attend playgroup is worth, particularly when you have only 1 child and no experience to deal with toddlers. Joining playgroup, allows child can freely exposure different items and social. You also can see how teacher lead the session, how other parents interact with their toddlers, how your toddler behave. Sometimes, it will provide you a good insight that some areas which you may overlook, or some areas you find yourself overworry. Some playgroup, like offered by good kinder, do offer sand, water play, arts (painting in the wall)...etc. I really think it is very good exposure and I enjoyed a lot. As a working mother, most of time, my maid accompany my son to join the playgroup, she took a lot of picture and let me see, I can see my son enjoyed so much. If you have 1 child and want to get more exposure to your child and yourself, it is not bad to join playgroup. I personally find the playgroup in a kindergarden with outdoor playgroup is good. It is best to attend 2-3 times per week, as child will enjoy/learn a lots in a familiar environment. (Jointing different playgroup in every day is not very good.) Some claim that you can self organize playgroup, which is good provided you can have a quite stable member (including adult and child) and hold it regularly.

This is my personal view. And I really enjoy to review his picture/video taken in his playgroup. Anyway, give yourself a try, then you will know whether you buy the concepts of playgroup/pre-nursery or not.

Cheers.
 
hi kate,
i agree with you. there is nothing wrong with playgroups at all.
where the problem lies is with parents competing to get their children into a "good" kindergarten, so they can get into a "good" primary school, so they can get into a "good" secondary school etc....

the pressure placed on some children is phenomenal and not good for their development.

parents are concerned that their children are "only" playing. they don't understand that when a child "plays" with blocks, he/she is learing spacial awareness and honing hand-eye coordination etc.

THAT's where the problem lies, not with joining playgroups.

have a great christmas!
 
Gabriel ma,

Same as you that my work peers always talk abt which KG that our kids going to. As a mother of three, sometimes I can feel the 'pressure' from them and moms of my kids' classmates coz just like what you said 'unavoidably, we are competing with each others.'

So far as I know, not all the local mums here are keen in putting their '2 yrs old' toddlers to PN. I agree that PN is not a must for toddlers to enter any famous KG. Like my twin daughters, they did not join any PN before they went any K1 interviews but they got offers from all 'famous KG'. However, I agree that someone said the importance of 'playing'... toddlers at this age need lots and lots of 'playing'...they are learning through the playing time/ singing time (see Montessori...), an so on...

There's a question always in my mind that reminds myself how to plan the ECA for my kids...'will a kid start to learn Maths when he turns 1 or 2 MUST be better than when he turns 4 or 5 as normal???'

wish you all a happy new year.
 
Dr.Mickey said:
Gabriel ma,

Same as you that my work peers always talk abt which KG that our kids going to. As a mother of three, sometimes I can feel the 'pressure' from them and moms of my kids' classmates coz just like what you said 'unavoidably, we are competing with each others.'

So far as I know, not all the local mums here are keen in putting their '2 yrs old' toddlers to PN. I agree that PN is not a must for toddlers to enter any famous KG. Like my twin daughters, they did not join any PN before they went any K1 interviews but they got offers from all 'famous KG'. However, I agree that someone said the importance of 'playing'... toddlers at this age need lots and lots of 'playing'...they are learning through the playing time/ singing time (see Montessori...), an so on...

There's a question always in my mind that reminds myself how to plan the ECA for my kids...'will a kid start to learn Maths when he turns 1 or 2 MUST be better than when he turns 4 or 5 as normal???'

wish you all a happy new year.
Click to expand...


Yes, HK moms/ kids are getting too much pressure. BTW, I have tried to teach my child by Montessori but I never got the time.
 
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