At what age did your kids start school and why?

[Bob12345]

Curious at what age you all started sending your kids to school here in Thailand, and most importantly, why you started at that age?

 

I've twin boys who are now 2.5 years old, and unlike many other kids in our moobaan they are not going to school yet (some start the day they turn 2 or even a bit earlier - wow).

We plan on going to see some schools shortly, but my wife and I are thinking to wait till they are 3.5-4 years old before sending them there... or maybe even later.

We do go to swimming classes weekly and they can play with kids in the neighborhood when they want, so the social aspect should be covered for now.

[DavisH]

Kindergarten in Thailand can go for 3 years. I recall my son going from 2 /or 3 until 5 years old. I don't know if all schools are the same. Many kids can read and write even before they go to primary school. Those in an EP can also converse in English at the same time. International schools are probably different. 

[sammieuk1]

The quicker they go the quicker you pay in your case x2 my lad went last year at 4 I think to soon but I was over ruled ????

[BritManToo]

39 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

We plan on going to see some schools shortly, but my wife and I are thinking to wait till they are 3.5-4 years old before sending them there... or maybe even later.

I waited as well.

The Thais are keen to get rid of them so they can go to work.

[BEVUP]

They actually think it will make them better, along with the after schooling hrs

[richard_smith237]

From the age of about six months we (either my Wife or I when I wasn't working) took my Son to a Playgroup, the primary goal was exposure to other kids, to learn to group play etc and have a bit of fun.

 

From 2-2.5 yrs old (Nursery 1) my Son attended Kindergarten - 3 mornings a week, 9am 'til 12 noon, the primary goal there was independence and exposure to other kids, socializing and confidence.

 

From 2.5-3.5 yrs old  (Nursery 2) my Son attended Kindergarten - 3 mornings a week, 8:30am 'til 1pm, again the same goals were continued, fun, confidence, playing with other kids & socializing under guided and professional supervision with an educational basis. 

 

From 3.5-4.5 yrs old (K1) we increased to 4 mornings week, 8:30am until 1pm with a couple of additional after school activities (swimming and football - which my son wanted to do), again the intention of continuing the same goals, basically having fun with an educational basis. 

 

From 4.5 to 5.5 yrs old (K2) my Son has attended school 5 days a week from 8:30am until 2pm with 4 days of after school activities until 3pm (football, swimming, lego and bakery which he loves). My son also has extra curricular Thai (my Wife is Thai but we mostly speak English at home). At this age education starts to take greater precedence and I would describe the goals as obtaining the underpinnings of a solid education while having fun (learning the basics, literacy, numeracy).

 

From 5.5 yrs old (next semester) my Son will attend Year 1 at a Major International school, this is where his education takes precedence, but I also expect that he is in a fun and enjoyable learning environment. 

 

 

Some may ask why we placed our son in Kindergarten so early at the age of 2 years old? simply put, he was showing clear signs of wanting to socialize more, play with others more and see the world outside, we thought it would do wonders for his confidence and social skills and it did. 

 

IMO: Choosing to play your child in a Kindergarten at an early age is an individual choice, evaluating how the child responds is of great importance as at 2 years old it could be too early, however, a confident young child may grow with such independence from an early age. 

 

 

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Edit: This is ThaiVisa, I've read comments before about only lazy parents placing there kids in school early, that it doesn't do anything for them etc... such comments are those of the ill informed, uneducated or those who maybe permitting a little jealousy to fester through as they were unable to offer the same advantages to their children but face a lack of maturity permit them to be open and admit such - The School hard knocks and the University of life eh... you can't teach common sense... I've heard it all, those spouting such rubbish in similar threads are just too dim to get it (that's that naysayers dealt with then - but they'll be along soon, once they get home from the bar !!)

Edited June 10, 2019 by richard_smith237

[richard_smith237]

 

8 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Curious at what age you all started sending your kids to school here in Thailand, and most importantly, why you started at that age?

 

I've twin boys who are now 2.5 years old, and unlike many other kids in our moobaan they are not going to school yet (some start the day they turn 2 or even a bit earlier - wow).

We plan on going to see some schools shortly, but my wife and I are thinking to wait till they are 3.5-4 years old before sending them there... or maybe even later.

We do go to swimming classes weekly and they can play with kids in the neighborhood when they want, so the social aspect should be covered for now.

 

It seems you have the basics covered...  Swimming classes, playing with other kids in the neighborhood and recognition of the advantages of your boys socializing with others outside of the home.

 

3.5 to 4 years is also a good time to start school, starting at 2 could be too early for some kids whereas for others it works very well for them. 

 

 

Someone may try to point out that the best education system in the world is Finland and they start school at 7 years old. Which is true, but they don't classify Nursery and Kindergarten as school (which it isn't really) as the focus is more on play, socializing etc and a few of the basics as they approach Y1 (which is age 5.5 to 6.5 for my Son). 

[naboo]

My daughter started in a rather modern Thai nursery at 2 and stayed nearly a year. I wanted her to play and socialise which kind of happened, but there was one hell of a lot of wasted time rote learning both English and Thai alphabets. We did this out of necessity. She'd been getting irritable, not wanting to go to nursery, and when I went in one morning I saw why, kids sat on their spots, repeating after the teacher. I pulled her out and she went to the UK for a couple of months to work on her English. Thankfully my mother is great with kids and this time back in a family environment was really positive.

 

From 3-5 she then went to an international kindergarten where the focus was on social interactions, play and allowing the children to explore their interests. I think the  stimulation in those two years really pushed her on more than we could have offered at home. If I had the time and resources to organise it at home, I would have, but again, necessity.

 

She progressed to a good international school in Bangkok for the start of Primary (British system, so starts at 5) and, though she was behind others at the start of school in her reading, she's caught up.

 

I had a friend who kept his son home until 6 and then sent him to a Thai school. First day he had homework to learn some spellings for the week. This kid didn't know the alphabet, had spent his whole time running around and playing at home. In my ideal world, my daughter would have run around chasing chickens for the first 6 years of her life. Trouble is, kids here are pushed academically at a young age and starting school that late leaves you so far behind you might never catch up.

[Bob12345]

10 hours ago, naboo said:

My daughter started in a rather modern Thai nursery at 2 and stayed nearly a year. I wanted her to play and socialise which kind of happened, but there was one hell of a lot of wasted time rote learning both English and Thai alphabets. We did this out of necessity. She'd been getting irritable, not wanting to go to nursery, and when I went in one morning I saw why, kids sat on their spots, repeating after the teacher. I pulled her out and she went to the UK for a couple of months to work on her English. Thankfully my mother is great with kids and this time back in a family environment was really positive.

 

From 3-5 she then went to an international kindergarten where the focus was on social interactions, play and allowing the children to explore their interests. I think the  stimulation in those two years really pushed her on more than we could have offered at home. If I had the time and resources to organise it at home, I would have, but again, necessity.

 

She progressed to a good international school in Bangkok for the start of Primary (British system, so starts at 5) and, though she was behind others at the start of school in her reading, she's caught up.

 

I had a friend who kept his son home until 6 and then sent him to a Thai school. First day he had homework to learn some spellings for the week. This kid didn't know the alphabet, had spent his whole time running around and playing at home. In my ideal world, my daughter would have run around chasing chickens for the first 6 years of her life. Trouble is, kids here are pushed academically at a young age and starting school that late leaves you so far behind you might never catch up.

Very sad to hear the experience your kid went through at Thai nursery. I see the same happening with a Thai couple here in the moobaan sending their 3 year old daughter to Thai school. She went from being super smiley and playful to being much quieter and acting more "adult like" (which I see as negative for a 3-year old - like coming across as tired and having too much on her mind). When someone asked her if she liked going to school she put her head down a bit, shook her head a bit, and quietly said "no". I can understand as she is 3 and already gets homework. 

 

And very valid comment at the end, it is becoming a rat race. You need to get your kid in school at age 2 and start doing homework and as soon as everybody does that, you need to start even earlier and push even more homework onto them to get an advantage. I do think kids can make up if they start later, given you send them to international school. For Thai school they will be too far behind quickly and at the speed they keep going it is hard to catch up. In the end, when they graduate university, it wont matter anymore if they knew the alphabet at age 3 or 6, or if they started reading at 3 or 10. By then other things matter and thats where many Thai lack. 

[Scott]

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[justin case]

keep them home as long as you can, or they will end up like most thai ZOMBIES

[cardinalblue]

Parents dump their kids at nursery school here to get rid of them - not to get a jump on learning....

 

my kid went 3 years of kindergarten - in hindsight one year too many....maybe even two...

 

started at 3; could have waited until 5

[Catoni]

My children started public school in Grade 1 when they were five. My wife and I never sent them to kindergarten of pre-kindergarten. 

    Reason we kept them out of kindergarten and pre-kindergarten was for me to teach them how to read fluently before they entered Grade 1.

        I was seriously against the way they taught reading in the public schools in Ontario, Canada. 

   My wife and I were tremendously pleased with the results, even though we were criticized by others when we started, including relatives. They told me I couldn’t teach them because I was not a teacher. They told me that we hire teachers to do that job and you have to be trained and it takes years to learn. The local public school reading teachers were totally against the way I taught our kids to read.  Bullshit! 

    I would do the same again in a heartbeat. It was perhaps the greatest thing I have ever done and will ever do. To teach my own kids how to read with fluency, to enjoy the printed word...reading for pleasure, and open up the world of knowledge to them.

      There wasn’t a kid in the neighborhood their age and even several years older who could touch my kids in reading. 

    So very happy with the decision my wife and I made. ????

Edited June 12, 2019 by Catoni
Correction

[1FinickyOne]

in our village they start abt 3 or so and just for a few hours a day... it is a baby sit play time as well as some socializing w other kids and they dont need to go every day... no fee. 

 

if something like that is available it is quite flexible.. try your local wat

[Jumbo1968]

My son started at 3, he had very limited speech to the extent we took him too a Speech Therapist/Behavioural Doctor as we thought he had a problem, dyslexic. She wanted too continue with Speech Therapy at 4000 Baht a session, his Mother said no even though I was prepared too pay. After a few months at school and a very patient caring teacher he started too talk. Now a year later his speech, Thai and English is not a problem so sending him too school was an excellent idea. 

 

I do think the hours are long, 8 till 4, he could finish at 3 but staying till 4 means he does his homework at school. I also think in my opinion it’s too much work at his age, addition /subtraction and English but he appears to be coping fine. It is also good that he is mixing/communicating with kids his own age.

[Bob12345]

48 minutes ago, Catoni said:

My children started public school in Grade 1 when they were five. My wife and I never sent them to kindergarten of pre-kindergarten. 

    Reason we kept them out of kindergarten and pre-kindergarten was for me to teach them how to read fluently before they entered Grade 1.

        I was seriously against the way they taught reading in the public schools in Ontario, Canada. 

   My wife and I were tremendously pleased with the results, even though we were criticized by others when we started, including relatives. They told me I couldn’t teach them because I was not a teacher. They told me that we hire teachers to do that job and you have to be trained and it takes years to learn. The local public school reading teachers were totally against the way I taught our kids to read.  Bullshit! 

    I would do the same again in a heartbeat. It was perhaps the greatest thing I have ever done and will ever do. To teach my own kids how to read with fluency, to enjoy the printed word...reading for pleasure, and open up the world of knowledge to them.

      There wasn’t a kid in the neighborhood their age and even several years older who could touch my kids in reading. 

    So very happy with the decision my wife and I made. ????

Sounds interesting, I am willing to try to teach them some general stuff although i dont want to pressure them or limit their playtime too much. They will be young only once.

Care to share how you taught them? Based on which method/book?

[brewsterbudgen]

My son started at an International Montessori school a few months after he was 2.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[rickudon]

Our daughter went to a private nursery when  she was two and a half - for one day. We went early to pick her up, and through a window my wife saw our daughter being 'disciplined' for not sleeping. She was quite traumatised for several days. Naturally the nursery denied it and we had no proof, but they returned the fees when we threatened them with a formal complaint.

 

Unfortunately in our part of the village very few other young children and she was rather introverted. A few months later she started at the village government nursery school (free) and it was excellent. large playground with many toys, and she settled in fairly well. But she never liked big gatherings of children. After that started Kindergarten at 3 at a church run school. Was a computer addict even before Kindergarten, but learned letters and numbers on Youtube at least. No complaints about her schooling so far.

 

I remember in the UK kids crying there eyes out on first day of school. My son having been at a nursery since 6 months (we both worked)  and was completely unphased, and when i picked him up later said "Come later tomorrow, i get to play the computer once the others have left!". These days, i think early schooling is a good idea, hard to find safe play area and playmates.

[Tongjaw]

On 6/10/2019 at 9:40 PM, richard_smith237 said:

From the age of about six months we (either my Wife or I when I wasn't working) took my Son to a Playgroup, the primary goal was exposure to other kids, to learn to group play etc and have a bit of fun.

 

From 2-2.5 yrs old (Nursery 1) my Son attended Kindergarten - 3 mornings a week, 9am 'til 12 noon, the primary goal there was independence and exposure to other kids, socializing and confidence.

 

From 2.5-3.5 yrs old  (Nursery 2) my Son attended Kindergarten - 3 mornings a week, 8:30am 'til 1pm, again the same goals were continued, fun, confidence, playing with other kids & socializing under guided and professional supervision with an educational basis. 

 

From 3.5-4.5 yrs old (K1) we increased to 4 mornings week, 8:30am until 1pm with a couple of additional after school activities (swimming and football - which my son wanted to do), again the intention of continuing the same goals, basically having fun with an educational basis. 

 

From 4.5 to 5.5 yrs old (K2) my Son has attended school 5 days a week from 8:30am until 2pm with 4 days of after school activities until 3pm (football, swimming, lego and bakery which he loves). My son also has extra curricular Thai (my Wife is Thai but we mostly speak English at home). At this age education starts to take greater precedence and I would describe the goals as obtaining the underpinnings of a solid education while having fun (learning the basics, literacy, numeracy).

 

From 5.5 yrs old (next semester) my Son will attend Year 1 at a Major International school, this is where his education takes precedence, but I also expect that he is in a fun and enjoyable learning environment. 

 

 

Some may ask why we placed our son in Kindergarten so early at the age of 2 years old? simply put, he was showing clear signs of wanting to socialize more, play with others more and see the world outside, we thought it would do wonders for his confidence and social skills and it did. 

 

IMO: Choosing to play your child in a Kindergarten at an early age is an individual choice, evaluating how the child responds is of great importance as at 2 years old it could be too early, however, a confident young child may grow with such independence from an early age. 

 

 

------

 

Edit: This is ThaiVisa, I've read comments before about only lazy parents placing there kids in school early, that it doesn't do anything for them etc... such comments are those of the ill informed, uneducated or those who maybe permitting a little jealousy to fester through as they were unable to offer the same advantages to their children but face a lack of maturity permit them to be open and admit such - The School hard knocks and the University of life eh... you can't teach common sense... I've heard it all, those spouting such rubbish in similar threads are just too dim to get it (that's that naysayers dealt with then - but they'll be along soon, once they get home from the bar !!)

Absolutely well said. We did almost identical to you except we started our daughter when she was 2 years old in nursery 1 at a bilingual school. She’s now 6 years old and it’s proved to have been the best decision, she thoroughly loves her school.   

[richard_smith237]

Just now, Tongjaw said:

Absolutely well said. We did almost identical to you except we started our daughter when she was 2 years old in nursery 1 at a bilingual school. She’s now 6 years old and it’s proved to have been the best decision, she thoroughly loves her school.   

There was a huge temptation to send our son to Bilingual School, specifically Amnuay Silpa Bilingual School, which I believe is one of the best out there.

My Son's standard of Thai would certainly be better than it currently is if he attended Bilingual School.

It is my job as a parent to ensure he has the best tools to not only compete on the international market, but if he so chooses, to compete in the Thai market - thus extra curricular Thai is ongoing and an increase in lessons is very much on the cards for his immediate future.

 

My son loves school and is hungry to go every day, he's a highly sociable and inquisitive young being, as many children are, I can't help but feel that the trained professionals at his School have helped guide and develop his young mind with greater success than I would be able to alone.

 

Starting him early was definitely the right choice.

 

 

 

[khunPer]

On 6/10/2019 at 8:43 AM, Bob12345 said:

Curious at what age you all started sending your kids to school here in Thailand, and most importantly, why you started at that age?

About 3½ years old, starting in K1.

There are 3 Kindergarten levels, i.e. K1 to K3.

 

About 6½ years old continued in Primary one.

There are 6 primary levels, i.e. P1 to P6.

 

K3 equals international Year-1

P1 equals international Year-2

P6 equals international Year-7

 

I found the three levels of kindergten classes – or pre-school – as a very useful preparation. Before Kindergarten we (my girlfriend and I) used a nursery that also prepared with teaching numbers and letters, both Thai and Latin-letters (English), and some basic calculation and words. Might improve the child's interest for learning, in our case it seemed so.

 

By the way, OP mentioned swimming class, in our Kindergarten they had pool and taught swimming.

????

[Ulic]

The later the better. Yes, socialization is important but that can be done at home with friends and neighbors. School at a young age is just babysitting not an early educational start. Kids need to be quite mature to learn in a school environment. Kids learning to speak two (or more) languages at the same time will develop linguistic skills a little later than single-language children but will be better off and far more advanced in the long run. Keep your kids at home, play with them and expose them to the joy of learning not the drudgery of rote memorization. 

[Jumbo1968]

8 hours ago, Ulic said:

The later the better. Yes, socialization is important but that can be done at home with friends and neighbors. School at a young age is just babysitting not an early educational start. Kids need to be quite mature to learn in a school environment. Kids learning to speak two (or more) languages at the same time will develop linguistic skills a little later than single-language children but will be better off and far more advanced in the long run. Keep your kids at home, play with them and expose them to the joy of learning not the drudgery of rote memorization. 

Keep them at home with friends and neighbours, what friends and neighbours, they are at work all day, their kids are either ‘farmed’ out too the Grandparents or at school. 

Its the same in the UK, both parents have too work to make ends meet, children are in in Nursery from a few months.

Yes in the old days Mother stayed at home like all Mothers did whilst the Father was the breadwinner unfortunately its not like that in the modern world.

[Catoni]

On 6/12/2019 at 4:58 AM, Bob12345 said:

Sounds interesting, I am willing to try to teach them some general stuff although i dont want to pressure them or limit their playtime too much. They will be young only once.

Care to share how you taught them? Based on which method/book?

I used an inexpensive book called Alpha Phonics by Samuel Blumendfeld that I paid $30.00 for from http://alphaphonics.com/

and a set of phonogram cards from Spalding.org

https://store.spalding.org/p-111-phonogram-cards-individual-size-set-of-87.aspx

 

  Crazy thing is, today the Alpha Phonics book is even cheaper than what I paid for it. 

  There is no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on a program. (Like “Hooked On Phonics) Don’t waste your money. 

   (Careful matching the letters and groups of letters to sounds. You have to try to sound the T, B etc without making the “uh” sound.)

      My kids made a game out of finding “their” phonograms in words. As far as “pushing” my kids to learn to read, it ended up with THEM pushing me to teach them.

     I’d come home from work at the end of the day and when greeted at the door one of the first things they would say was “Don’t forget my reading daddy”

    When they become aware of what they are learning, and the secret of the written language they want to learn even more. It opens up the world of literature to them. 

    Today as adults, my kids have larger home libraries than I do. And they can’t walk past a bookstore or library without going in. 

    Funny thing is, one of my favorite uncles could only read and sign his name. Illiterate and not interested in learning. Sad. His knowledge level was extremely low. However he could take apart and rebuild a simple care engine if it didn’t have pollution control devices and electronics in it. 

Edited June 14, 2019 by Catoni
Addition

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 12:02 AM, Ulic said:

School at a young age is just babysitting not an early educational start.

Not true, they learn the alphabet (both Thai and foreign)

[marcusarelus]

On 6/12/2019 at 2:19 PM, justin case said:

keep them home as long as you can, or they will end up like most thai ZOMBIES

What age did your children in Thailand start school?