Education is a matter of great concern for every parent. Many friends who have immigrated to Hong Kong do so for the growth of the next generation. Since the introduction of the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme, all non-profit kindergartens in Hong Kong have been regulated by the Education Bureau, with school inspectors conducting unannounced on-site visits to observe classroom situations annually. As a parent, it is crucial to conduct your own on-site observations and inquiries before choosing a school. As long as you are observant enough, you will certainly be able to judge whether a school is an ideal choice from minor details. Below are a few points compiled by our editor, and you are welcome to add more.
The basic indicators for selecting a kindergarten can be roughly summarized into four points:
1. No writing before the age of four
Before the age of four, a child's hand muscles are not yet fully developed. If they start writing too early, it will not only dampen their interest in learning but also lead to incorrect pen-holding posture because the index finger lacks sufficient strength, causing the middle finger to be placed incorrectly. Naturally, they will be unable to write beautiful characters.
You might want to observe how others hold their pens; it is estimated that eight or nine out of ten people with incorrect pen-holding postures received their early childhood education in Hong Kong. The incorrect way is to press both the index and middle fingers on top of the pen barrel, while the correct way is to support the pen barrel with the middle finger underneath. Why do so many Hong Kong people coincidentally have the same pen-holding problem? This is entirely a sequela of holding a pen too early. When they were young, their small fingers lacked the strength to write, so the middle finger ended up on the pen barrel to help the index finger. Over time, this habit became difficult to change!
There is plenty of time to enhance academic knowledge later. First, let children have a passion for learning. Once their hand muscles have developed, the effectiveness of learning to hold a pen, write, and study will be twice the result with half the effort. There is no need to rush.
2. Located on the ground floor and having an open-air playground
The closer a kindergarten is to the ground, the stronger the child's sense of security. This is related to gravity and magnetic fields. The Earth is a giant magnet with two major magnetic fields at the North and South Poles, while the human body is a small magnetic field with magnetism and polarity. The Earth's large magnetic field constantly exerts an influence on the human body's small magnetic field, and it changes with the seasons.
The Earth's magnetic field affects human growth, development, and physical health. The human body's internal organs and tissues all have biological magnetic fields of varying strengths. A person's biological magnetic field needs to be constantly replenished by the Earth's magnetic field. Like sunlight, air, and water, geomagnetism is an indispensable nutritional element for humans, and some even call it the fourth element of life.
Infants and young children are more sensitive to magnetic fields than adults, so they are more susceptible to subtle changes in the environment, and any transition will have an impact on them.
In addition to the floor level of the kindergarten, whether the school has an open-air playground should also be included as a major consideration. An ideal campus environment must have sufficient sunlight, air (please note that fresh air is not the same as air conditioning), and sufficient opportunities for large and small muscle exercise. A learning environment close to nature can promote children's brain development, while physical training can lay the foundation for physical development and writing ability.
3. Full-day or half-day classes
Dual-income parents are very common in Hong Kong. Because they cannot take care of their children personally, many parents choose to send their two-year-olds to nursery classes as soon as possible, feeling that it is better to let them learn something in kindergarten than to leave them with a domestic helper or elderly relatives.
However, from the perspective of early childhood psychological development, this is not an ideal arrangement. Before the age of four, children have a strong sense of self, and their need for playmates is not strong; instead, they tend to play alone. Even if they are in a group of children, they may play by themselves. Entering nursery school too early and leaving a familiar and safe home environment may be a form of "torture" for them emotionally.
If the child is cared for by the mother, it is better to choose a half-day class. This is because most of the afternoon activities in full-day kindergarten classes are more like childcare, such as napping, having snacks, singing, playing games, etc. These activities can also be carried out at home under the guidance of parents, while academic teaching is concentrated in the morning.
When choosing between full-day and half-day classes, one should also carefully consider the caregiver's method. For example, if the child would otherwise stay at home watching television for a long time during the half-day they are not in school, then it is better to choose a full-day class. Even if the kindergarten activities are not ideal, they are still better than watching television at home.
4. Carefully select the teaching method
Hong Kong is a diverse society with a wide variety of early childhood teaching methods. The most common ones include: project-based learning, multiple intelligences, Montessori, integrated story activities, Orff music teaching, etc. In terms of proportion, most Hong Kong kindergartens adopt the project-based learning method.
Regardless of the teaching method, how it is implemented and practiced is the most important task and mission of a kindergarten. As long as the advantages of a teaching method can be maximized, choosing which method becomes secondary. Because all roads lead to Rome, all teaching methods aim to achieve the goal of holistic development for young children through different approaches. Everything should respect and understand the needs of children, rather than shaping children to meet the subjective expectations of adults.