Rain Tree Montessori Schoolhouse aims to provide the highest quality childcare services for parents and a nurturing learning environment for preschoolers. We are committed to offering true Montessori education, and are proud of being able to deliver true bilingual  (English and Mandarin) Montessori programme for children aged 2 months to 6+ years old, although Singapore’s preschool system does not make it easy to foster an authentic Montessori environment.

 

Learning in Rain Tree Montessori Schoolhouse is child-centred and focuses on self-directed, self-motivated and independent learning. All materials in our learning environment are purposeful yet naturally encourage children to interact with them and learn at their own pace. While we follow the principles of the Montessori approach in our teachings, all our activities align with the Early Years Developmental Framework (EYDF) and Nurturing Early Learners Framework (NEL). These frameworks are set by the Early Child Development Agency (ECDA) and Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore. We offer mixed-age classes and groupings are based on a child’s learning needs, interest, readiness and ability. As such, children are given a positive, safe and clean environment to develop in the most healthy and holistic way possible.

 

The Montessori philosophy and approach to learning paves the way for children to blossom in a prepared environment, allowing children to exercise their ‘freedom’ to explore and learn in the process. The word ‘freedom’ may sound daunting to parents as one wrong misconception is that a child needs to be in a controlled environment to prevent unruly behavior. When the child’s unruly behaviors are controlled, it becomes easy for teachers to ‘teach’ and thus the child ‘learns’!

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The concept of teaching takes on a new meaning in a Montessori environment. The childcare teachers’ role is to prepare the environment and observe children’s interactions with the environment. It is through these observations and facilitation that a childcare teacher can plan a child’s learning. Oblivious to the fact that they are being observed, children plunge into the prepared environment with enthusiasm and excitement. Given the wide array of Montessori teaching materials available that are planned to meet the child’s needs and interests, their excitement is justified! Being left on their own to work and to interact with peers and materials, children learn to regulate their emotions and work out how to share among themselves without intervention from the adults. The childcare teacher only intervenes at the point of presentation of materials and serve as a guide for children: to share and to provide more information or knowledge.

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It is a great enjoyment to watch children working in a Montessori environment with ease and calmness. This is what Rain Tree Montessori Schoolhouse would like to achieve – children learning in a holistic manner, where they are given due respects as individuals and helped to bring out as well as reach their highest potentials. Every child is unique and Rain Tree Montessori Schoolhouse’s pedagogy aims to tap on this uniqueness, holistically.

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While Rain Tree Montessori Schoolhouse advocate authentic Montessori philosophy and pedagogy, our curriculum aims to fit in with the local learning framework. In fact, we are very proud to say that our curriculum covers more than required to meet the framework targets.

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Our philosophy basically touches on the core of human psyche. While academic excellence is of great importance, a Montessori childcare environment gives that extra boost to children’s development by making allowance for physical, emotional, and social development in a very relaxed environment. Our children’s work in a prepared Montessori environment is not termed as ‘play’ simply because the materials are pedagogical in nature – meaning, in every material, there is a direct or an indirect learning happening. Imagine the joy a child achieves by exploring and working with a material that satisfies his/her inner need to master certain skills! As parents, you will get to see your child mastering certain skills without being imposed to do so. The beautiful part is, while one material allows mastery in one skill, say, physical, the same skill will help the child to master his/her abilities in another area like cognitive. This link is what makes Montessori education still so relevant in today’s world. Children need an environment to nourish their inner souls while learning and gaining knowledge.

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Rain Tree Montessori Schoolhouse's environment is inclusive of world cultures. Language learning is part of our preschool curriculum. As we focus on English and Mandarin languages to cater to the general population, we are open to introducing aspects of new languages within our learning environment.

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We also believe in having fruitful and meaningful partnership with parents and community. Parent participation is most important, the closeness of the parent-school connection determines the level of a child's overall growth and development. We look forward to building a great and warm community with you to nurture our children at Rain Tree Montessori Schoolhouse.