Woodlands bilingual playgroup

thirdculture

Hi all, has anyone been to the Woodlands bilingual playgroup? Any comments on how that compares to the normal English one? Are the teachers as experienced? I find that some other bilingual playgroups are not always well run and you do the exact same thing in Chinese and in English, hence getting half the experience as you would in one language. Appreciate any comments on Woodlands!

chifam

Hi my son now 24 month went woodland mid levels since 12 month old , we found it very good

thirdculture

Did he go to the English class or bilingual class?

chifam

He attends English Class. Prefer single language at a times. Teachers there are loving and he enjoys going to Woodland

caramom

My girl was with Woodland since 1.5 years old until 4, and then transferred to another international school. She enjoyed learning at  Woodland and we are pleased with what the school had offered. In particular, teachers were caring and patient, knowing the strength and weakness of each student. Teachers were all native speakers, my girl's spoken English has noticeable improvement after attending school. We are very satisfied with Woodland (although the fees are a bit higher than other preschools), my girl had a smooth transition from Woodland to her new school.

chifam

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Nice to hear that coz I am considering continue preschool in Woodland. Are you local or foreign parents, as only concern is if one prefer promote to a local primary. Any comments?

thirdculture

Thanks for the comments. I was trying to get more info on the bilingual class but I guess few people have tried it since it's so new.

caramom

原帖由 chifam 於 16-07-13 發表
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Nice to hear that coz I am considering continue preschool in Woodland. Are you  ...

We are a local Hong Kong family and the majority children of my girl's class were foreigners (around 20% of them were locals, I think it varies among different campus). From my observation if parents target local school in the future, they will probably leave Woodland before the child turns 3 and transfer to a local kindergarten for better preparation to primary school. The Chinese level at Woodland would not be sufficient to meet the requirement of local primary school without any after-school tutorial, and therefore almost all children from the preschool program at Woodland will be going to international primary schools. Hope it helps!

tigerboymama

My boy has been attending the bilingual playgroup daily during summer holidays for the past two years and will be attending again next week.  We are very satisfied with Woodland (the teachers in summer classes are regular teachers of Woodland). The teachers are caring and my son's spoken English and Mandarin have both improved.  

The only concern you may have if you are targeting for local primary school is the Chinese - it's very easy compared with the local kindergarten and simplified Chinese is used.

chifam

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Thanks for the advice caramom. Very informative. What is your suggestion on international school? Woodland vs ESF. Seems ESF more popular but Monterssori teaching at Woodland also attractive.

caramom

原帖由 chifam 於 16-07-13 發表
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Thanks for the advice caramom. Very informative. What is your suggestion on int ...

ESF is quite popular among both expat and local families, as attending ESF kindergarten gives you priority for Year 1 admission, if you are aiming at ESF primary school, studying at ESF kindergarten will be an advantage, and in fact only a few graduates from Hillside were not offered a place at an ESF primary school each year, some may be on the wait list. My girl went to the non-Montessori campus of Woodland but I believe the transition from Montessori preschool to international primary school shall not be a huge problem. Whether going to ESF or Woodland may depend on your primary school preference, Woodland kids are admitted to various international schools, such as CDNIS, HKIS, Kellett etc., and ESF kids will mostly be promoted to ESF primary schools. The International Montessori School is also an alternative choice for a Montessori style primary education.

chifam

Thanks!! Is ESF hillside popular , guess the admission criteria is strigent? Do they take local students?

caramom

原帖由 chifam 於 16-07-15 發表
Thanks!! Is ESF hillside popular , guess the admission criteria is strigent? Do they take local stud ...

ESF do take local students. The admission criteria is not too harsh compared to some popular local kindergarten, being able to speak fluent English is essential, it is important that the child demonstrates a satisfactory level of spoken English in order to be offered a place, and he/she will need to listen and respond to the teachers during the interview. I would say the interview is quite casual, similar to a nursery setting (with lots of books, toys, lego, crayons...), it makes children feel natural so that they could express themselves comfortably with almost no pressure.

konew720

原帖由 chifam 於 16-07-13 發表
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Thanks for the advice caramom. Very informative. What is your suggestion on int ...

My friend is the teacher of one of the woodland Montessori campus. She told me woodland is not adopting 100% montessori, thus the montessori teachers do not stay long in Woodland always.

thirdculture

Thanks for your feedback tigerboymama! Do you attend Woodlands for regular playgroup or nursery or another school?

tigerboymama

My son is a big big now... hoho.. and is going to attend P1 in coming Sep.  

He attended local kindergarten for K1-K3 but would spend ~1.5 month every summer at Woodland (half day for K1 summer and whole day for K2 and K3).  I think he has had a very good time at Woodland, in fact so good that he requests us to put him back to Woodland for this summer.

chifam

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