Saturday, April 24, 2010

Year 2010 Field Trip 1

We went for our first Field Trip this year on Friday, 16th April. Nature Explorer at Selayang was the destination. Not a huge place but filled with activities for young visitors – aquarium, tortoise feeding, giant tortoise ride, animals display –iguana, monkey, insects, etc., fish catching and so on. Children of MHOLC simply love the trip!



























Sunday, January 10, 2010

Montessori Apparatus Introductory Workshop




Despite the popularity of Montessori Method across the country, it is in fact not easy to find a school in Malaysia equipped with complete sets of Montessori Apparatus. Not even Institutes that are producing Montessori teachers.

It is thus not surprising that almost all visitors to Montessori House of Little Capers (MHOLC) are amazed by the completeness of its setup: full sets of Montessori Apparatuses - many could only be seen on pictures before - are found in each classroom, being used day in day out, by teachers and students as an integral part of the learning activities.

Feedback from the visitors was that, in many places the apparatus are mainly for display – just to gain/maintain the title of a “Montessori School.” Reasons for not using? Let’s see some common ones:
- Without the know-how to use them
- The apparatuses are costly
- No time to use

To us, none of the above makes sense. Without making full use of the Apparatus as learning aid, no school should be termed “Montessori School”! Simple as that.

Fortunately many of the educationists share our views. While complaining the owner of their school for not investing into the implementation of “true” Montessori Method, our Principal friends were asking if we could help upgrading their teachers in this area.

We are glad to do that, for the sake of promoting quality Montessori learning environment. The first workshop was thus organized, on 21-Dec-2009 at one of the 4-years old classroom of MHOLC. From 9am to 5pm, the 11 kindergarten teachers attended the workshop were introduced to various Apparatuses for the Early Development Group. From the purpose to the way of presentation of each Apparatus, the attendees have gained an eye-opening, first hand experience of the amazing learning tools.

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MHOLC Launching Special Needs Classes


Over the past 6 years, quite some parents whose child needs special educational cares have come to Montessori House of Little Capers (MHOLC) for assistance. Turning them away – because we did not possess such expertise – was always heart-breaking: children need help, but unfortunately providers of such services are scarce.

However, the thought of helping the special needs children has never left our mind. What is the excuse not to implement the Montessori Method on special needs learning, if it was actually invented to help special needs children?!
Therefore, along the way we have done research on special education methods, sent teachers for special education workshops, and constantly talked to specialists in this area, just to get ourselves prepared.

The day has finally arrived. MHOLC has successfully formed a Special Needs Team recently, and we will be launching the service in early year 2010!

Our Team consists of Mrs. Dianna Eng, a certified Special Needs Educationist with more than 20 years of hands-on experience; Mrs. Zora, an International Montessori Diploma holder involving in Montessori teaching /training for the last 15 years; Teacher Lim Shih and Teacher Chui Teng, both experienced Montessori Teachers now pursuing their degree of Early Childhood Education inclusive of Special Education.

The Special Needs classes will be conducted as per school calendar, from 2.30pm to 5.00pm in the afternoon. In addition, weekly activities together with children of normal classes will be scheduled to expedite the normalization process.

Before admission, children will be assessed in details by a structured procedure for suitability. If the assessment result is favorable, a tailor-made program with specific learning targets will be constructed for individual child, and periodic progress review will be carried out together with parents.

Since the learning activities will be heavily one-to-one basis, aided by weekly therapy sessions, the fees structure will be different from the normal classes. Please call at our office for further details.
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Monday, December 21, 2009

Mandarin Enrichment Class 华小华文加强班

In response to parents’ request, from January 2010 Montessori House of Little Capers (MHOLC) will be conducting optional Mandarin Enrichment Classes for 6 years old students intending to join Chinese Primary School upon graduating from MHOLC.

Students can choose from one of the two classes, namely Class A (3 sessions per week) and Class B (2 sessions per week) according to their needs. All classes will be conducted in the afternoon.




The classes simulate the environment of a Chinese Primary School, by conducting 3 core subjects (Mandarin Language, Mathematics and Science) in pure Mandarin. The purpose is to remove the language barrier so that students can adapt to the Chinese School environment easier.

The classes will be conducted by Teacher Christy, one of the senior teachers of MHOLC, and an experienced tutor for Chinese School students.

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Fairytale Fun Craft Workshop















From 01 to 03 December 2009, a Fairytale Fun Craft Workshop was conducted in Montessori House of Little Capers (MHOLC) for children between 4 and 6 years old, as part of our school holiday programs.

Coached by Teacher Michelle, an extremely experienced and creative art tutor, this exciting and fun-filled workshop guided children step-by-step to make three fabulous crafts: Fantasy Castle, Glittery Crown Picture Frame, and Wooden Spoon Princess Puppet.
Throughout the creative process, children listen to and participate in the role play of the fairytale, while putting in effort to create the crafts of their dream! These crafts they created and brought home sure have become one of their most fascinating learning experiences!
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Teachers Refreshing Training






























At Montessori House of Little Capers (MHOLC), the year-end Refreshing Training is compulsory for all teachers. The purpose of the training is to perfect the teaching skills especially in the area of applying Montessori Apparatuses.

This year, the training was scheduled between 16 to 19 November, from 9am to 5pm daily.

Teachers were trained in groups according to the class level they will be teaching in the next school year. All teachers will take turn to present relevant sets of apparatus in the presence of the Principal and other teachers. Discrepancy / imperfectness in the presentation will be marked, discussed and rectified.

All graduates from Montessori courses recognized that due to constraint in the lecture time, they have limited access to apparatus during their study. Upon joining MHOLC, majority of the apparatuses are “close encounter of the first time” to them. While amazed by the completeness of apparatuses in MHOLC, teachers highly appreciate the opportunities offered by the school in enriching their exposure to the teaching tools and perfecting their teaching skills.

Upon completion of the training, a Certificate of Achievement was awarded to teachers who display mature skills in presenting /applying the respective apparatuses.

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Friday, December 11, 2009

MHOLC is Open for Registration Again!




As new school year 2010 is approaching, MHOLC is busying at answering enquiries and arranging guided tours to our school.

While half of the enquiries come through this website, parents’ enthusiastic recommendation constitutes the other half. Thank you, dear parents! Your strong support has ensured our school staying as an ever-improving learning environment.

Since there are only limited places left in most of the classes, new parents are hereby reminded to enroll early to avoid disappointment.
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