late application

[bumpkin]

Sorry for the confusion, carang. I meant Kiangsu & Chekiang School (I am from mainland China but living in the States now, Su Zhe is Putonghua / mandarin abbreviation of this school's name.)

I just feel that one has to be in the environment in order to learn the language so I can't say that I am open to anything. He already mixes English and Mandarin together when he speaks now, introducing him to Cantonese would be even more confusing, especially none of us understands it at the moment.

Another question, he is still in diapers now and we just started potty training. What is the "standard" expection on that at schools? Does a kid need to be 100% off-diaper/training pants before they can be accepted at a kindie?

Thanks in advance,

Bumpkin:Butbut

[bekyboo44]

I think if your child is 3 and starting kindergarten they need to be toilet trained, i.e. 100% no diaper!
I think you will find it difficult to find a sch that will accept a child at 3 who is still in diapers.....as no teacher/assistant is going to change their diaper during the day!

KCIS is oversubscribed! My son is 15 mnths and due to start kdg in Sept 2009 and his name is already on waiting list for KCIS.....they have already recieved a number of applications for his year.

[chubbysan]

hi bumpkin,

i hv fren who was on waiting list for KCIS, and she manage to got a space just b4 the new academic term start. i believe some parent register v early and withdraw last min and hence, there are vacancy. This happen to us for Victoria Kindergarten as well. So, no harm putting your kid name on the waitlist.

[Neha]

hi

how early can we register ? I checked with Victoria and they said that kids born in year 2006 will go to K1 in September 2009 so the forms available only in September 2008 same for ESF. Does every school have different registration dates.

Thanks

[bumpkin]

This is exactly the reason why I get frustrated about moving to HK. In the area where I live, probably only one third the kids under three would go to a child center or pre preschool, what they do there mostly is just play. They focus more on social skills that young children need to develop. I can hardly find words like curriculum on these places' web. However, since no one begged us to move to HK, we have to play by the HK rules.

B:Butbut

[carang]

no, you do NOT have to play by hk rules. you do NOT need to get sucked into the system if you do not want to. i haven't been. the ONLY reason i am considering sending my child is that we live WAY out of town and there are no children his age around to play with.

a three year old's main job should be play. i still believe that. even if i decide to send him to school, i WILL NOT care about homework/tests/assessments etc. his reason for being there is to learn the social skills I BELIEVE are more important.

i am NOT passing judgement on those who really want their children to "learn". it is my belief that children "learn" best through play. i do not believe that i am succumbing to the local mentality by considering school or that it is necessary to do so. if your child does well at the primary school interview, it has no bearing what kindergarten he/she went to. your child can still be accepted without any kindergarten at all.

[bekyboo44]

I agree with Cara, I personally think there is way too much pressure on young children in HK and that homework for kindergarten aged children is just ridiculous! Reading books with Mummy and Daddy is something that any kindergarten should encourage but anything more than that is just insane!

I think preschool education is important for a lot of children, by the age of 3 a lot of children need the new environment, learning opportunities and challenges that kindergarten brings and provides.
HOWEVER not all children do, and recent resarch in the UK shows that pushing children at too young an age into pre school education (espec boys) can be disastrous for how well they do at school later on.

My son is only 15 mnths old and already on lists for kindergarten.....because I have chosen where I want him to start school carefully and it's important to me that he gets a place. My decision hasn't been made on academic results alone.....if you can talk about such a thing for 3 year olds!!!!! :)

A lot of popular kindergartens in HK are oversubscribed and if you want to gurantee a place for your child there you do, to a degree, have to buy into the system.

Schooling is not compulsary for HK children until the age of six.

[bumpkin]

If possible, I centainly want to be your child at my next life. :yeah2

However, pressure is not totally a bad thing. Competition can also be beneficial. What's more important are how we deal with them and to teach our children how to deal with them. After all, aren't there always something like that at work or in our lives? and we do have the right to pull out our children, don't we?