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Welcome to the KeEr website

Ke Er International Kindergarten

Here are some of the questions we are most frequently asked. If you have any others, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Montessori Philosophy

Classroom Environment

Communication

What is the philosophy behind Montessori?

At its core, the Montessori system creates an environment in which children are free to develop their own skills and abilities. In the prepared environment, the children learn to explore and make their own discoveries about the world around them. A mixed age group allows younger children to benefit from watching the older ones as role models and at the same time older children strengthen their knowledge by helping the younger ones. This allows the children opportunities for a broad range of social interaction and self directed learning.

Children are given freedom to develop according to their own needs and tendencies within defined goals and limits. This freedom allows the child to develop independence, good working habits and self-discipline, which in turn, lead to high academic achievement.

A big advantage Ke Er has over other schools is the mixed ages and students taking responsibility for their learning. This enables classes to function efficiently as students follow their own interests, demonstrating a high degree of intellectual curiosity, self-discipline and personal organisation.

Who was Maria Montessori?

Maria Montessori (1870-1952), the first woman physician in Italy, developed the Montessori method of education after careful and prolonged observation of children and how they learn.

The International Montessori Council has further information on Maria Montessori.

How does a Montessori school differ from a non-Montessori school? 

At Montessori schools, the teachers will “follow the child.” Every child is free to select their own work and proceed at their own pace. Although every aspect of education is covered, there is no set timetable. The children are respected and valued for who they are and not what for what adults think they should be doing.

Having classes of mixed ages, the older children are encouraged to develop an awareness of the needs of the younger children. They are keen to help and enjoy passing on their knowledge and experience.

Are programs bilingual? 

Our classrooms all have native Chinese speaking and native English speaking faculty. Our Montessori teachers are Chinese and present all materials in their native language. The majority of communication is therefore Chinese with English as a second language.

What do you do when the children never chose to work with characters, letters or numbers? 

This very rarely happens. Normally there will be a time or phase when the child’s interest is aroused and we have an ideal opportunity to present the materials. This is often done by linking an interest of the child’s (for example dinosaurs) to the work in question ("let’s count them”, “this is how we write triceratops").

Other times a child will absorb much of his knowledge of written language and numbers from seeing them presented to other children. We will not force a child to do work which is not going to be constructive, however, if a teacher feels a particular student is avoiding an activity which is within their capability, that student may be required to do the activity.

How do you discipline the children?

Although it does depend on each individual situation, we try to encourage the children involved to solve their disagreements independently. At this age children, particularly toddlers, might need help or suggestions from the adults as to how to resolve problems. If a child finds it difficult to maintain their self-control, the adult might suggest a change of environment until the child feels ready to rejoin the activity or group. Children are expected not to infringe on the needs of the group or their peers.

What sort of feedback do parents get from the school?

There are 2 parent teacher conferences during the year, when every aspect of your child’s development is covered. Parents of primary class children are always welcome to arrange a time to come and observe the classroom.

Parents are kept informed about the school events by a newsletter. There is also a parents’ section of the web site, which is accessible by password. Further information is emailed to parents and posted on this area of the web site.

What about grades and reports?

Parents receive 2 written progress reports during the year coinciding with the parent teacher conferences. Rather than limiting communication to grades these reports are descriptive with more detailed information.


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Ke Er International Kindergarten

Tel: (8610) 5130 7174