Cloud, 6 – China: “I drew a dinosaur park!”

Owen, 5 – China: “I drew animals in the forest at night.”

Selina, 6 – China: “My drawing has magic plants!”

Alice, 5 – China: “I drew the mountain top with colorful buildings.”

Liuge, 5 – China: “My picture is of the universe and a space shuttle.”

James Shiyu Bao, 5 – China: “My painting is of a treehouse at night.”

Liaoliao, 5 – China: “Look at the Halloween night!”

Yaoku – China: “My painting is of a tiger.”

This article originally appeared on pages 34-35  of the November/ December issue of beijingkids magazine. Click here for your free online copy. To find out how you can obtain a hard copy, contact distribution@truerun.com.

For our new column, Ask an Educator, we turn to educators, whether teachers, tutors, or principals, to answer frequently asked questions from parents. To send in your question, email jessicasuotmaa@beijing-kids.com.

This week, our question is:
“What is Montessori and how is it different from other education philosophies? How can parents reinforce the Montessori way at home?”

Answering for us is Su Yeeng Ngion, Montessori Lead Teacher of one of the International Primary Classes at Etonkids Bilingual Kindergarten, Central Park campus with an eight year career in teaching Montessori kindergarten.

What is Montessori?
Montessori education is a child-centered teaching approach developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, which looks at the holistic development and individuality of a child. There are five curriculum areas in a Montessori classroom – Practical life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Culture. Each area is equipped with a set of specially designed manipulative materials.

The practical life materials help children develop concentration, independence, and fine motor coordination through everyday life experiences, such as buttoning, spooning, and pouring. The Sensorial materials help children refine all of their five senses, such as the identification of shapes, colors, textures, and sounds; order (tallest to the shortest); and classification (heavy and light).

The mathematics materials aim at giving children a solid foundation in their understanding in mathematics through manipulative materials, which is to teach from concrete concepts, then slowly move towards abstract concepts. For language, children are first introduced to the sounds of the letters, then gradually taught to blend and form words, after which they move on to reading and writing. The cultural aspect is when children are exposed to Botany, Zoology, Geography, History, and Science.

How is it different from other philosophies of education?
Unlike traditional schools, where everyone learns at the same level, the Montessori approach allows each child to learn at their own pace and ability according to the teacher’s observations. The teacher also changes and adds new materials to the classroom to entice children’s interests.

In addition, the multi-aged grouping is one of the hallmarks of a Montessori classroom. The idea is that younger children look up to older children, and older children in turn learn to care, work cooperatively and impart what they know to younger children. The learning experience in the classroom is not only from teacher to student, but also from child to child learning.

How can parents assist in their students Montessori education at home?
Parents can implement certain Montessori principles at home by providing opportunities for their child to practice independence in allowing the child to do things by themselves as they are capable of. For example, you can involve your children in household chores, such as washing dishes, setting up the table for meals, folding their own clothes, and helping prepare food.

Photo: courtesy of Etonkids

Admittedly, an Easter celebration on April 9th rather than on March 27th seems quite strange.  April 9th is nearly fourteen days after Easter Sunday, conscientiously skipping over Qingming Monday.

In reality, considering the transient and wanderlust nature of the Beijing family community, Etonkids International Kindergarten is absolutely brilliant.

If a family were faced with buying cheaper spring break airplane tickets on the days preceding Easter versus sticking around for an Easter event, they most certainly would pick cheaper airplane tickets.  After all, there are few with extended Western family relations in Beijing; no one is here to protest the absurdity of an untraditional Easter spent in Thailand.  Why not travel out for Easter?  Why not also travel for the school spring breaks scheduled around Qingming?

Although of course, we all like financial shrewdness, introducing children to cultural occasions from many parts of the world is an extremely important aspect to raising a globally minded child. These types of events are even more essential for third culture kids who might not otherwise have access to cultural traditions of their parents.

By holding the Easter celebration after spring break vacations, Etonkids is essentially letting the international family have their Easter cookies and eat them, too.

Last year, Etonkids International Kindergarten held the event at only four of their campuses.  This year, they’ve widened the Easter festivities to include eleven locations!  That makes traveling from around the city with a toddler in tow much easier. (Scroll down for a list of these locations. The admission is free, but don’t forget to register to receive a free Easter gift at your nearest campus!)

Sharing these types of events with all of the kids in the neighborhood and within the kindergarten will help children to have a sense of belonging and connection to their immediate community. Perhaps parents will even find new play date friends among the other cheerful families.

This year the Kindergartens plan to host creative Easter egg decorations, cookie decorations, pie decorations and additional kid friendly games. In years past, they’ve had an Easter Egg Match, Easter Egg Delivery Game, Easter Flea Market, Easter Treasure Hunt, Super Easter Egg Holder Game, Dynamic Curves Game and a Charity Donation Opportunity.

Jessica Suotmaa will be attending the festivities with her cute son Jax; you can learn more about Jessica in this post and look at cute pictures of Jax here.  If you see them, don’t be shy! They’d love to meet you and get to know your family.


Etonkids International Kindergarten Easter Celebration

Recommended Ages 2-4. Neighborhood Easter celebration to involve the whole family. More information in Chinese here. Free, but please register by calling 400.818.9098. From 9.30am – 12.00pm. Palms Springs Campus (Chaoyang), Lido Campus (Lido), Wangjing Baoxing Campus (Wangjing), Peking House Campus (Chaoyang), Central Park Campus (CBD), Global Grade Mansion Campus (CBD), Datun Campus (Chaoyang), Overseas Chinese Town Campus (near Happy Valley), Eastern Province Campus (Changping), Arcadia Campus (Shunyi), Poly Viladom Campus

Photo: George Atanassov (Flickr)

On July 18 from 9am-noon at the EtonKids International Kindergarten and schools campuses will host a water themed family fun day. The day promises to be filled with water games such as Sponge War, Water Balloon Dodgeball, Bobbing for Ducks, and many more.

Parents will be asked to team up with their kids and come up with specially created snow cone to help cool down. For those wishing to attend have to RSVP by appointment to 400 818 9198.

Photo: Ken

In anticipation of the Beijing International School Expo on January 24-25, we will be highlighting local and international schools around Beijing from the upcoming 2015-2016 beijingkids School Choice Guide, which comes out on January 20.

Part of the Etonkids International Education Group, Etonkids International Bilingual Kindergartens feature a bilingual Montessori program designed to develop independence, initiative, and creativity. The school is divided into Nursery (18 months-3 years) and “Casa” (or the Early Childhood Community for ages 3-6) with lessons that promote intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth in the nursery stage, as well as coursework in language arts, mathematics, everyday living skills, sensory awareness exercises, and culture at the Casa stage. Check the website for additional campuses.

Founding date: 2005
Age range: 18 months to 6 years
Grades offered: Preschool and kindergarten
School type: International nursery and kindergarten
Total area: Ranges from 756-2,629sqm
Number of students: About 180 per campus
Is the school accredited by the Ministry of Education? Yes
Accreditations: AMS
Foreign passport holders accepted? Yes
Local Chinese students accepted? Yes
Tuition fees (2014-2015 academic year):
• Midtown Campus: RMB 53,250-72,600
• Olympic Village Campus: RMB 57,600-67,200
• Peking House Campus: RMB 60,350-82,280
• Central Park, Palm Springs, and Lido Campuses: RMB 71,000-118,500
• Transportation fee: RMB 900 per month
• Materials fee: RMB 1,200 per year
• Activity fee: RMB 1,000 per term
• Lunch: RMB 460-900 per month
Lunch offered: Combination of Chinese and western dishes (e.g. three or four days of Chinese food and one or two days of western food per week)
Nationality of students: China, France, US, UK, Singapore, Canada, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Spain, Japan, South Korea and more
Primary teaching languages: Chinese and English
Average class size: 20-30 students
Average teacher/student ratio: 1:5 (Nursery), 1:6 (Casa)
School hours: 8.30-11.30am (half-day), 8.30am-4.30pm (full day)
After-school activities: Basketbal, cooking, drama in English, soccer, fun with English, paper cutting, phonics, roller skating, and yoga
Extra help offered? After-school programs focused on English development taught by English specialists
School facilities: Outdoor play areas with child-friendly equipment, art and music rooms, ballet studios, and more
School nurse or doctor available? Yes, full-time qualified nurses available on campus
Contact: www.etonkids.com
• Lido Campus: Rm C103, Lido Country Club, Lido  Place,  Jichang  Lu,  Chaoyang  District (6436 7368, yjing@etonkids.com) 朝阳区机场路丽都大厦丽都乡村俱乐部C103
• Midtown Campus: 21 Guangqu Jiayuan Bldg, Guangqumen Wai, Chongwen District (6749 5002, gcadmin@etonkids.com) 崇文区广渠门外广渠家园21号楼
• Olympic Village Campus: Southwest corner of Beichen Xilu and Kehui Lu, Chaoyang District (8437 1006, cuilan@etonkids.com) 朝阳区北辰西路与科荟路交汇处西南角
• Peking  House  Campus: 20  Xidawang  Lu, Chaoyang District (5870 6779, tanghuanhuan@etonkids.com) 朝阳区西大望路甲20号
• Central Park Campus: Bldg 19, Central Park, 6  Chaoyangmen Waidajie,  Chaoyang  District  (6533 6995, cpadmin@etonkids.com) 朝阳区朝外大街6号新城国际19号楼
• Palm Springs Campus: Palm  Springs International  Apartments,  8  Chaoyang Gongyuan  Nanlu,  Chaoyang  District  (6539 8967, psadmin@etonkids.com) 朝阳区朝阳公园南路8号棕榈泉国际公寓

Word from a Parent:
“From the moment we entered Etonkids and felt its beautiful and tranquil ambience, we knew we were making the right decision. Etonkids thrives on genuine care and love for its students. Our children would come home excited to tell my wife and I about what new discoveries they made with their teachers.”

– William Ordonez (US), father of Zaley (age 4) and Alexander (age 2)

Photo: Courtesy of Etonkids

Yesterday, we had the chance to attend two interactive workshops at the International Preschool Education Conference, (IPEC) sponsored by Etonkids Educational Group. One workshop was led by James Wright on the subject of attentive listening and how to use coaching techniques to encourage children’s creativity.

Wright is a lecturer of conferences around the world and shares insights based on technique training. He emphasizes ideals of “mutually respective communication” among parents, teachers, and children at schools and educational organizations. In particular, Wright focuses on children, paying special attention to their needs, and uses technique training to help unleash a child’s potential. He outlines the 5 levels of listening as follows:

5 Active Listening
4 Attentive Listening
3 Advising
2 Hijacking
1 Interrupting

To demonstrate the varying levels of listening, one workshop attendee agrees to share a dilemma with Wright. The audience then rates his listening on a scale of 1-10; ten being "superb listening" and one being "not good listening at all." As the volunteer proceeds to tell him her problem, Wright offers examples of all five levels of listening. He begins by interrupting, “hijacking,” or making the conversation about himself, and offering advice. He then demonstrates the difference with the two higher levels of listening; attentive and active listening.

“As a coach, I’m listening because I believe you have the answer somewhere in your brain, he says. "Try to keep a filter of thinking your child is fabulous person capable of extraordinary thinking. When someone asks me questions and wants advice, I will ask questions and maybe through those questions, help you find your answer.”

With partners, we try the activity with our own dilemmas and switch roles. Wright advocates using these questions and techniques to achieve attentive and active listening.

Tell me more?
What do you think about that?
What are your thoughts?
What else?
Permission to speak
Respect Silences

After the exercise, the audience offer their feedback on the experience trying active listening. Many felt that it was difficult not to offer their partner advice or an opinion. Some were nervous in the moments of silence and found themselves wanting to fill it.

Wright asks participants to commit to evening homework. The task is to go home and listen to your child speak for three minutes without interrupting.

“What we’re doing is looking at attention for small children. Give them your attention, even if you think they’re wrong, if you know what they’re going to say – listen and give them your attention. When they stop talking, ask them ‘what more do you think?’ It’s amazing how much people can say when they think they don’t have to be polite. Just give them a one-way conversation.”

To learn more about how to listen more effectively as parents visit James Wright’s website here.

Photo: Victoria Yang

Early childhood educators and parents with young children, mark your calendars: next weekend on August 16-17, China’s first-ever International Preschool Education Conference (IPEC) will take place at Sofitel Wanda Beijing. Co-sponsored and organized by Etonkids Educational Group, the theme of the conference is encouraging creativity in children. IPEC is a chance for parents and teachers to share ideas and explore trends in early childhood education.

The weekend will be organized into two days. On Saturday, August 16, the event will kick off with an opening ceremony, welcoming speeches, and presentations by international experts in early childhood education. Sunday, August 17 is mainly reserved for a series of family education workshops.

Following introductory activities in the morning, Saturday afternoon will be largely geared toward educators. Presentations will cover topics such as how teachers instill creativity in students to using creative technology in the classroom. 

Sunday’s workshops will offer practical tools and ideas for parents to integrate creativity in their children’s home lives. Though most presenters speak English, there will also be English to Chinese translation provided when necessary (and vice versa).

Early childhood education experts from around the world, leaders in bilingual education, as well as members of the Chinese Association for Non-Government Education will attend the IPEC conference.

One of the speakers is Dr. Marlene Barron, an expert in early childhood education with over 45 years of experience as a consultant and educator, and over 30 years as Head of School at West Side Montessori School in New York. Dr. Barron has written books for Montessori teachers and published numerous articles about Montessori education. She will be IPEC’s first presenter on Saturday and will speak on the topic of innate childhood creativity. Currently, Dr. Barron is also Chief Academic Officer for Etonkids Educational Group.

On Sunday, Dr. Heather Bastow Weiss will lead the morning with a talk on the importance of the home environment in fostering a child’s creativity. She will later hold an afternoon workshop on the same subject with emphasis on what parents can do to develop a child’s creativity. As Founder and Director of Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) and Senior Research Associate and Instructor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Weiss and her colleagues work toward ultimately improving practice, intervention, and policy supporting children’s successful development.

A third speaker who might be of interest to parents is Dr. Julie M. Wood, an international education consultant and director of the Jeanne Chall Reading Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Dr. Wood recently directed a school reform project for young children at HGSE called “Three to Third.” She is also is a published author and has also been featured in multiple educational-based publications. She will lead Sunday’s workshop on how parents can use educational media and software effectively at home.

The conference runs from 9am-4.30pm on August 16 and 9am-5pm on August 17.  Lunch will be served on both days from 12-1:30pm. The IPEC conference will end on Sunday with a Chinese musical performance called “The Awakening of Spring.”

For more info, email info@ipecchina.com or call 5681 2485.

Photo: Courtesy of Etonkids Educational Group

Two children in need of life-saving operations will get their wish thanks to money raised at a book fair held recently at the British School of Beijing put on by Roundabout Charity. Roundabout shares a huge thank you with everyone who participated – those old books ended up fetching over RMB 60 000.

Now, another child is in need of surgery so that he can have a chance to live a normal life. There will be a book fair this Saturday from 10am – 2pm at Etonkids Kindergarten Lido Campus with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to his surgery.

Here’s the child’s story and why he needs your help:

"Yuan Li currently attends a junior years migrant school. Sadly his family have been told he will not be permitted to attend high school unless his cleft lip and palate is repaired.
( unbelievable but true and shockingly it is a very common reason for kids to be excluded from school) This surgery is quite easy and will make a big difference in Yuan Li’s life. Well wishers have already raised enough money to pay the surgery cost.

However, Yuan Li was also born with a heart condition that will cost RMB 40,000 to repair. Doctors have advised that he will be unable to have any surgery unless his heart is repaired first. His parents will never be able to afford this surgery."

By donating a couple of old books and by buying some second-hand ones to enjoy, you can give Yuan Li a much brighter future. Half of the needed money has already been raised, thanks to the book fair at a recent Beijing BISS International School. All that’s left is your support!

You can also drop off any donations (clothes, bric-a-brac, books etc.) you wish to give to Roundabout at the fair.