Anfield playgroup

chwmama313

My boy is studying in the playgroup now. He's 18 months old. The program is:

15 min free play
15 min English circle time - talk about days in the week, weather and monthly theme (it was "about myself" last month and "animals" this month)
15 min free play
15 min PTH circle time
15 min outdoor play
15 min snack time
15 min art & craft
15 min circle time (story telling and singing/dancing)

Once a month they have "cooking time". It's not really cooking, but the kids get the chance to use knife to cut and spread. Also, each month there is field trip.

My boy has also been in TT since 7.5 mths old and we have just quitted.

chwmama313

We are targeting at international school and this is the main reason why we stick with Anfield and quitted TT. If we join both Anfield and TT, by boy will have to go to playgroup on 4 consecutive days which is too much for him. If you are not targeting at int'l school, I think both schools are good, but let me give my opinions as well.

TT
- Clean and very toddler friendly. Everywhere seems spotless and spacious. In the classroom, kids have room to walk around and play without much bumping into other kids. Chairs are of suitable height that kids can easier sit on by themselves (of course this is provided that they know how to sit on a chair themselves)
- Circle time. For most of the time, they sing songs and then also read a book. Sometimes there would be group activities like asking kids to match and stick a picture onto the wall or make a group artwork. Generally the songs are sung with music and they are very nice ones. Kids love dancing with the music. In my boy's class, they mostly play Barney songs which I really like as well!
- Activity centres. There are 15 min English and 15 min PTH activity sections each time. They are structured similarly just with different teachers leading them. During each section, there are 3 activity centres with one being art and craft. In other sections, kids get the chance to practice their motor skills by using spoons to scoop, putting straws, popsicle sticks etc. into boxes/bottles. Other activities they do can be matching puzzles, lego, colour/shape matching. I love these activity centres very much ad most of time the materials are DIY by the teachers. I also like the way they have each table for sensory, cognitive and creative (art and craft) activties.

Why I quitted TT? As mentioned, it's mainly because we target in'l. I was a real struggle for me to quit TT because my boy enjoys it a lot, esp the singing/dancing time. However, one thing that is not quite suitable for him is that the current toddler group starts from age 1. This means at the start of Sep, there were a bunch of small kids joining, while my boy was 18 months. This 6 month gap does make a difference and we could feel that the teaching curriculum went backward, i.e they became a lot easier. For the current month of Oct, the theme is "circle" and "colour orange" and yes, it's for the whole month. It seems their themes are quite random. Also, since my boy has been here for nearly a year, some of the activity centres got repeated and he started to lose interest in some of them and refused to play. In a way, it seems he is not learning much new things but in general, he's very happy there. This may be because he's very familiar with the environment and the songs they sing.

chwmama313

Anfield
- Classroom. Comparing with TT, I think Anfield is more suitable for older kids and I suppose that's why they don't have playgroup for below 1.5 yr old. Kids don't have to take off their shoes in the classroom. Classroom is also smaller and it's very easy to bump into each other.
- Circle time. They talk about the days of the week and the weather each time. Kids take turn each lesson to pick up the corresponding card and stick onto the wall. Songs are not as nice as those in TT (sometimes with no music played) but kids still enjoy. They have a theme each month so everything (songs, artwork and storytime) is related to this theme. They each have a handbook and the theme map/details are stuck in it at the start of each theme. In this sense, I think Anfield is more structured and it's very much like a kindergarten.
- Free play. Instead of the activity centres at TT, there is free play time at Anfield. You may think it's free paying with toys, but I think kids can also learn through play. Some of the toys are there in the room every time, but some are rotated. You will get to know what your kids are interested in/ good at and teacher also encourages you to stimulate your kids through play.  
- Morning prayer. When we arrive in the morning, all kids play in the playground (this include kinder kids). When the bell rings, they have to line up in front of their class teachers. The principal will then say a short speech and everyone with then pray. Next they go to their respective classrooms. So toddlers are also treated like kinder kids.
- Field trips. Last month we went to a playground in Kowloon Tong. Apart from free play, there were sections for group ball play, circle time and storytime. Next week we will go to Kadoorie farm which fits in well with this month's theme which is "animals".
- Cooking time. Each month they get to make their own snacks and this is led by the principal.

Anfield stresses more on discipline, e.g. at the start of the term, the principal literally came into our classroom and advised the caretakers to speak in English with the kids, switch off mobile phones, not to speak to each other but to encourage their own kids during class.

We have also applied for the pre-K program and targeted at their primary school at the moment.

chwmama313

回復 Vianna33 的帖子

I'm not sure if it's difficult to get into Pre-K or not. After I submitted my application, I rang them up and asked about the chance of getting in. I was told that as long as they still accepted your application, it's not yet too over applied. They will confirm acceptance in the coming Dec/Jan.

chwmama313

回復 lalawowo 的帖子

Yes, Miss Sally is my boy's teacher. She has only joined Anfield for a few months.

chwmama313

回復 lalawowo 的帖子

Were you in Miss Sally's class in the Summer term as well? How was it different from what I have described? I quite like the Acting Principal now, but the original one is going to come back from the primary school in Nov. I haven't met her so don't know how she is like.

chwmama313

回復 AhKaAhKa 的帖子

I think you can either ring them up and ask or keep checking their website to see when the application is ready for download. They will contact you soon after (a few days may be) they have received your application. It's first come first served.

chwmama313

lalawowo 發表於 12-10-12 08:52
Who is the original principal that you are referring to? For my understanding, the original principa ...

I was referring to Ms. Jarrett. It mentioned in the notice that she is now at Anfield School and will return to Kowloon Tong kindergarten campus in Nov12. That's why I thought she's the original principal. Is it not the case? As my boy is attending the morning class which starts at the same time as the kinder kids, they pray together in the playground. Was your kid in the next section from 11am to 1pm? There is actually another field trip in Nov so all together in autumn term there are 3 field trips. There are two playgroup classes in our early morning section. The teacher is Sanam. I'm not sure if that's a pre-program, but kids do look older.

chwmama313

Kowloon Tong

chwmama313

My boy was at Dorset campus, Wed and Fri classes. Morning class Eng teacher was Ms Katie and afternoon one was Ms Lynn. Both are very good teachers!

chwmama313

DonaldTsang 發表於 12-11-7 22:54
Hi what do u mean N class? Is it a pg?

N class means Nursery (2yr old) class. Only Whampoa campus has N class and Kowloon Tong campus only has Pre-K.

chwmama313

DonaldTsang 發表於 12-11-7 22:56
Sorry I might miss something from your thread. May I know again when u start to send you kid to join ...

My boy joined TT since he's 7.5 months old. Started off with once a week, then when he reached a year old, he attended twice a week.