Some questions about Anubarn.

[Deserted]

Hi all, the little one is heading towards schooling age soon, will be 3 shortly and we are considering what to do. I have some questions and would welcome all input.

1. What happens in Anubarn? Do they really need to spend three years there before moving onto Pratom? Is one one year possible? Three like a long time to me.

2. Do you have to send your child to Anubarn by law? What if we wanted home tutoring instead? Is that breaking the law?

3. Is Anubarn more about giving the child time to adapt to a school set-up and developing socials skills rather than learning anything much?

4. What's the likeliest consequence of a child entering Pratom and not having gone to Anubarn.

Many thanks for your help in advance.

[Puyai]

Most of your questions depend on which type of school you will send your child to and how much money you can afford to spend on education.

Government Anuban Schools could do more damage than good!

Top tier international school will mostly be about developing relationships with their peers and encouraging critical thinking through hands on activities and constructive play.

[Deserted]

It's a private school, meant to be very good because it has won quite a few awards but not one of the super expensive. They have an ILP (Intensive Language Program), but three years seems like a long time to me if they aren't studying much.

[Happy Grumpy]

My daughter is 2 1/2.

She started daycare/nursery last month, so she could get used to it, give her other children to be around etc.

She loves it.

One week of crying, now she's delighted to go, no whining/crying, tells us 'school, school' in the morning and points down the road to it.

1. What happens in Anubarn? Do they really need to spend three years there before moving onto Pratom? Is one one year possible? Three like a long time to me.

The do normal kids stuff, with a lot of marching/singing/Thai conditioning thrown in, and the Thai schools generally try to get them writing from day one. Push the pencil into their hand too soon imo.

2. Do you have to send your child to Anubarn by law? What if we wanted home tutoring instead? Is that breaking the law?

No.

3. Is Anubarn more about giving the child time to adapt to a school set-up and developing socials skills rather than learning anything much?

50/50.

4. What's the likeliest consequence of a child entering Pratom and not having gone to Anubarn.

they would have panic attacks and be screaming their head off for the first 6 months. If they haven't been tutored properly at home, they will be well behind the other students.

[Happy Grumpy]

Go for the least Thai one you can afford.

The less sitting, writing and chanting about He the Genius the better. The more sitting around playing, building stuff with things and others, the better.

[Deserted]

My daughter is 2 1/2.

She started daycare/nursery last month, so she could get used to it, give her other children to be around etc.

She loves it.

One week of crying, now she's delighted to go, no whining/crying, tells us 'school, school' in the morning and points down the road to it.

1. What happens in Anubarn? Do they really need to spend three years there before moving onto Pratom? Is one one year possible? Three like a long time to me.

The do normal kids stuff, with a lot of marching/singing/Thai conditioning thrown in, and the Thai schools generally try to get them writing from day one. Push the pencil into their hand too soon imo.

2. Do you have to send your child to Anubarn by law? What if we wanted home tutoring instead? Is that breaking the law?

No.

3. Is Anubarn more about giving the child time to adapt to a school set-up and developing socials skills rather than learning anything much?

50/50.

4. What's the likeliest consequence of a child entering Pratom and not having gone to Anubarn.

they would have panic attacks and be screaming their head off for the first 6 months. If they haven't been tutored properly at home, they will be well behind the other students.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Our child loves being with other children so much that I am inclined to start her as early as possible but 3 years does seem like a long time to be preparing for real school as it were. Thankfully the school has invited me to speak to teachers and have a look round, which I suppose is a good sign.

[Eddy B]

If you are not in a rush to push your child into school like most Thai parents because of job obligations, hold off doing it. I worked at a Anuban school and to be honest, from what I saw, they do not really learn anything as the classes are rammed with students ( 35+). Social skills will be picked up as she interacts with you and family members. If you have the time to do home learning and can find activities to develop skills at home it would be better. If anything, maybe put your child into the last year of Anuban after you and your wife have had the chance to home teach plus have quality time together because once they are in the school system it gets very hectic with schedules and the Thai way is the best way brain-washing.

[Deserted]

If you are not in a rush to push your child into school like most Thai parents because of job obligations, hold off doing it. I worked at a Anuban school and to be honest, from what I saw, they do not really learn anything as the classes are rammed with students ( 35+). Social skills will be picked up as she interacts with you and family members. If you have the time to do home learning and can find activities to develop skills at home it would be better. If anything, maybe put your child into the last year of Anuban after you and your wife have had the chance to home teach plus have quality time together because once they are in the school system it gets very hectic with schedules and the Thai way is the best way brain-washing.

I understand your sentiments. From what I understand classes are limited to 20 students and the schools so called 'ethos' states that they will be doing a lot of activities. I will visit the school and report back. The main thing is that she loves to play and be with other children but I am suspicious of whether she will learn very much there. We have already started teaching her at home, so I don't know what to do for the best. But my feeling is, as posted already, that 3 years is too long for Anubarn.

[SantiSuk]

All very well saying they should not go to school too early and should stay at home to get interactions. In practice all the kids round here go to school around 2.5/3 years old. My daughter would be playing only with babies if she had not joined the crowd.

She seems to get lots of play and social interaction at nursery school - a Catholic school (12,000 baht a year) but they don't seem to push too much religion at them. She is a happy child which was my number one priority in deciding to raise her within the extended family to ground her in her roots for the first stage of her life

I'm no educational theorist so maybe I'm doing damage by my policy of let em play and go with the flow until say 6-7 years old; show interest with homework and try to encourage English speaking at home. Plenty time for structured education thereafter.

[gerryBScot]

A factor which is often overlooked in this is the likely negative impact starting school will have on your daughter's health. At school she will be exposed to a whole range of germs and bacteria coming into the school with other kids and as a result will come home with coughs and colds and inevitably you'll have to take her to the doctor who will prescribe antibiotics. We had our girl in Pre-kindergarten and took her out after one term because she had a succession of respiratory infections and we felt we had a duty to protect her health. She was 2.5 years old at the time of taking her out and we had an alternative arrangement which enabled her to stay home. She didn't get sick again after that. I wouldn't say the school in question was 'dirty' or 'unhygenic' simply the consequence of sick kids coming to school and being able to mix with 'healthy' ones. Unfortunately sick kids are sent to school and allowed into school regardless of their actual health. I think a couple of years makes a huge difference at this age in terms of a child's ability to fight infection because inevitably going to school will render a child vulnerable to bugs and germs.

As a teacher myself I really don't think there is any academic merit or benefit from starting kids in formal education at an early age.Thai kindergartens often tend to be very 'formal' characterised by children in uniforms sitting at desks for formal lessons; the belief seems to be that there is some sort of gain in terms of getting kids into school early. I don't know what the gain is. In fact I think it is more likely to create an adverse reaction and may also be part of the explanation why education in this country is so poor. If you are familiar with the threads on this sub-forum you will know where I am coming from.

Take your time and perhaps go visit some places and see how they are run. Go see the school at the end of the school day when children are coming out of class. What do they look like? Calm and happy would suggest to me they have had a good balance of activities. Or are they hyper, which indicates to me they will have in all likelihood been chained to a desk all day, doing formal desk based activities and want to run wild.

[Deserted]

Well I did go to the school today to have a look and was pleasantly surprised. The staff were all very kind and welcoming and the children were doing a mix of activities. I was looking at the ILP, which had around 15 per class. On the whole it seemed well run and I could see that some learning was taking place. I didn't see any children upset or misbehaving and it looked with, the staff genuinely liked the children.

As a first time parent it is hard to know what to do for the best, and like one poster said. All her friends are at school, there are only babies that she can play with so at the age of 3 and a half, we will send her.

[Puyai]

A factor which is often overlooked in this is the likely negative impact starting school will have on your daughter's health. At school she will be exposed to a whole range of germs and bacteria coming into the school with other kids and as a result will come home with coughs and colds and inevitably you'll have to take her to the doctor who will prescribe antibiotics. We had our girl in Pre-kindergarten and took her out after one term because she had a succession of respiratory infections and we felt we had a duty to protect her health. She was 2.5 years old at the time of taking her out and we had an alternative arrangement which enabled her to stay home. She didn't get sick again after that. I wouldn't say the school in question was 'dirty' or 'unhygenic' simply the consequence of sick kids coming to school and being able to mix with 'healthy' ones. Unfortunately sick kids are sent to school and allowed into school regardless of their actual health. I think a couple of years makes a huge difference at this age in terms of a child's ability to fight infection because inevitably going to school will render a child vulnerable to bugs and germs.

As a teacher myself I really don't think there is any academic merit or benefit from starting kids in formal education at an early age.Thai kindergartens often tend to be very 'formal' characterised by children in uniforms sitting at desks for formal lessons; the belief seems to be that there is some sort of gain in terms of getting kids into school early. I don't know what the gain is. In fact I think it is more likely to create an adverse reaction and may also be part of the explanation why education in this country is so poor. If you are familiar with the threads on this sub-forum you will know where I am coming from.

Take your time and perhaps go visit some places and see how they are run. Go see the school at the end of the school day when children are coming out of class. What do they look like? Calm and happy would suggest to me they have had a good balance of activities. Or are they hyper, which indicates to me they will have in all likelihood been chained to a desk all day, doing formal desk based activities and want to run

I thought getting a few colds and other mild sicknesses would make your immune system stronger. My son is 3 and been mixing with children since he was born. Yes he's got sick, but has always fought it himself, apart from the once I had to give him paracetamol as his temperature was a bit high. Unless your child is really sick there is no need to visit a doctor.