by on 29/08/2017
After its Ara Damansara branch, The children’s house (TCH) opened yet another branch in a commercial building and it is located in Malaysia’s first and only child-centric enrichment mall, aka The School @ Jaya One in Petaling Jaya. Similar to the 'child-led' environment of The School, this centre is thoughtfully planned and purposefully designed to foster self-directed learning within children.
With 7,000 square feet of classroom and activity space, the centre boasts a contemporary, enriching and engaging environment equipped with a full complementary set of Montessori materials designed to meet the needs of each child. Located on the 2nd floor in The School @ Jaya One building, you would notice TCH’s iconic red and white exterior amongst other enrichment centers on the same level.
TCH Jaya One offers full-day programmes, similar to Ara Damansara, from the age of 18 months to 6 years. The place is brightly lit with full length glass windows so that teachers and staff would be able to keep an eye on the surroundings of the centre, it also helps children to feel less confined since it is situated inside a commercial building. Classes are all conducted on the 2nd floor inside the centre, which also adopts an open space concept where children are not restricted to the four walls of a conventional classroom. There is ample space for children to roam around safely and freely.
I was greeted by the acting principal, Aunty Ain herself at the door. Aunty Ain graduated with a bachelor degree in Psychology in the United States and she believes that working with children is a good way to put her knowledge to use. She joined TCH after graduating and has been with them ever since. Speaking to her would make you feel happy because she is a very bubbly and enthusiastic lady, which came as no surprise when I saw her interacting with children at the centre, she could totally blend in with them. Whenever she walked past, children would excitedly call out “Aunty Ain!”, clearly the children love their principal.
Programmes offered at TCH Jaya One include Toddler, Nursery and Preparatory levels. Programmes for each age group focus on preparing the child for the next level and all age groups are guided by a team of dedicated Montessori trained teachers. However, being able to cope with Primary One education is also a major concern among Malaysian parents nowadays and TCH understands and addressed that concern by offering additional intensive language classes for children at the Jaya One centre. During these additional classes, children will also be able to experience the feel of attending a primary school, so that they would be prepared to fit into a new environment when the day comes.
Teachers at TCH Jaya One are very experienced, some even have more than 10 years of teaching experience. Aunty Ain believes that teachers make all the difference for a preschool. Therefore, she’s always supportive when her staffs are willing to take initiative to attend seminars, workshops and research to further enhance their skills and abilities, but at the same time she would ensure that the flow of events at the school would not be interrupted. The teacher to child ratio at TCH Jaya One is very low and this is ideal for optimal learning; generally teachers are young and spirited and they are always full of ideas. This makes classes / activities more interesting.
Sometimes, parents may send their children for other enrichment classes after school at TCH. The advantage of TCH operating in a child-centric mall like Jaya One is that they are able to provide convenience to their existing parents by providing after-school day care services and help send the children to their enrichment classes in centres located within the mall. Working parents would be worry-free ferrying their children from one centre to the other.
TCH is highly regarded as the pioneer of Montessori education in Malaysia. They have nurtured more than 20,000 children for the past 30 years and have maintained their brand of quality in the early childhood education industry.
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