Articles

Aunty Nan: Queen of The Kids!

Published by SchoolAdvisor | May 26, 2015

We had the privilege to interview an intelligent, beautiful warm and kind lady who brought the Montessori Method to Malaysia almost thirty years ago. Nan Civel is the founder The children's house, a chain of pre-schools in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.She has strived to encourage Malaysian parents to accept that each child is a unique individual who grows at their own pace.  We share the inspiration behind her foray into this field and how she has left an indelible mark on the early childhood scene in Malaysia.

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Committed to a Great Cause

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Being the only matured student in class among a sea of blode haired and blue eyed youngsters did little to hinder her in pursuing a thousand hours of teaching over a three year course. In addition, she had more than a thousand hours teaching in three preschools in the United Kingdom before returning to Malaysia.In Malaysia, she began a labourious process to develop the Montessori manuals together with a team of admnistrators which eventually culminated in the opening of the first Montessori preschool in 1986.

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Adventurous  Risk-Taker

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Having climbed the corporate ladder for about 10 years, Nan Civel felt something was lacking in her life. It was then that she decided to quit her job, move to the United Kingdom and pursue her life's calling in Early Childhood Education.Defying her parents' wishes to stay in a management level position in Unilever, she pushed on and believed in Maria Montessori's ideas even when it was unheard of in Malaysia.When she began her first preschool in the mid-eighties, funds were scarce and she had to manage on a strict budget, yet she proved the naysayers wrong. Today, The children's house has about eight centres around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor serving over a thousand children from fifty countries.

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Innovative Visionary

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  Montessori's Methods, developed in the 19th century are still valuable and relevant in the current world. Nan has managed to keep the curriculum fresh and interesting for over three decades to thousands of children from different countries.The preschool has zoology,botany, culture, language arts, biology, history and even gymnastics incorporated into their curriculum. In addition, parents are viewed as an ally in helping the children develop and thrive emotionally,socially, physically and spiritually.

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Persistence and Perseverance

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 Nan believes that each child is different and has their own developmental milestones. She believes that children are not little adults who can be pushed and forced into moulds. Each child must be allowed to develop at their own pace.For example, a two and a half year old cannot be expected to write beautifully as they are still learning hand-eye coordination. Therefore, she provides paper for them to scribble on to learn how to focus on a task and improve coordination. Progress, she believes is a process. Parents need to practice patience with their children.What are you waiting for? The children's house beckons you today.