The first years of life have a great influence on a child's mind and character. Thus early stimulus is very important for a child's development. At Mouse House through experience we have developed a curriculum which is a wonderful balance between Montessori and learning through play.
Our prime aim is for the children to be happy and have fun. They learn to co-operate and enjoy each other's company through discovery and play. Each child gains confidence in their ability and is encouraged to 'have a go' at everything on offer and to learn at their pace. We find their strengths!
Above all we aim to give the children a happy and positive start and a firm foundation on which to begin their school career with a curriculum which provides equal learning and development opportunities for all the children within the Kindergarten.
The children reach their potential with us academically, socially and emotionally whilst having lots of fun and laughter along the way.
We believe that communication is a key part of our school. The more information we share the more we are able to work in partnership with parents to reach your child’s full potential.
Our primary mode of communication is WhatsApp.
On Mondays, teachers will advise parents about the lesson plan for the week and on Fridays, teachers will provide parents with a summary of the class activities so they are able to see what has been taking place at school.
Parents may message the teachers on WhatsApp (during working hours 7.30am to 4pm) should they have any questions. Teachers will also use this platform to message parents over the course of the year, over and above chatting to you at school.
A time is set aside in the first and third term to discuss your child’s progress. A report is sent out in the second and fourth term.
We are only too delighted to chat to you about your child at any time you should need. Although we do encourage parents to make an appointment with your child’s teacher so we avoid discussions about your child in front of them.
An art book with some of your child’s art work and photographs will be kept at the school. This will be added to as the year progresses and will be given to you at the end of the year.
Each child is valued as an individual. We ensure that we offer equality of opportunity to children in every area of our school life. We encourage children to respect each other’s differences and aim to reflect different cultures and backgrounds in our activities.
Mouse House Kindergarten is committed to ensuring that all members of the school community are treated with respect regardless of race, gender, social class or disability. Each child is treated as an individual. We encourage children to respect each other’s differences and aim to reflect different cultures and backgrounds in our activities.
Our aim is to encourage and develop a child’s self-discipline.
Kindergarten staff give positive encouragement to reinforce good behaviour. They speak quietly and calmly to the children and help them to negotiate with each other, often suggesting strategies to help them if behaviour is repeated. In case of very anti-social behaviour, staff work with parents to agree a common approach.
All our policies and procedures are kept at our schools. You are welcome to browse through these should you wish.
Time |
Kindergarten Activities |
8am to 9am | Arrival and free play |
9 to 9.15 | Registration and Group Discussion |
9.15 to 10am | Focus Time Montessori Construction Self Help skills Pencil control Activities, Colour and shape, Sticking numbers, Matching, Sequencing, Cutting, Jigsaw puzzles, Sorting, grouping Introduction to Numbers, Introduction to some Letters Picture Interpretation Own news activities once a week (with drawing and description & when ready, the first stages of emergent writing) |
10am to 10.30am | Snack |
10.30am to 11am | Art & Craft and Topic Including free choice And specialist Activity (drama, music, gross motor skills) |
11am to 11.30 | Free play Outside (or inside in poor weather) |
11.45 to 12pm | Kindergarten Discussions, Story and Singing |
12pm | Home |
This is not a strict timetable, it is produced to give parents a more graphic and structured idea of what we do.
The timetable, for instance, varies greatly depending on the topic or forthcoming event and if the children are working well on one activity the teacher might decide to continue with that activity. Each Topic generally last between one to four weeks.
Mouse House teachers work to a detailed curriculum and this timetable only gives an overview of the range of activities within the curriculum.
Individual children work at their own pace and may well be doing more advanced or different work to that shown in the curriculum.
We are open from 8am to 12pm with an option of a later collection at 1pm which is charged by the hour. Some of our schools offer aftercare until 4pm.
If you would like to register your child, please fill out the attached registration form and return to admissions@themousehouse.co.za. Children may be registered from birth.
Registration is free and once we are able to offer you a place there is a non-refundable R4000.00 placement, administration and uniform. R1070 is used towards a placement, admin and uniform fee, the remaining amount will be used as a credit balance towards the first month’s school fees. If your child does not start in the agreed month the R4000 will be retained by Mouse House Kindergarten.
We would be delighted if you and your family joined one of our 3 kindergartens (pre- schools), but first you will want to come see all of the fun and exciting things that the children get up to every day.
As the start of your journey with us, you can book a showround at the kindergarten (pre- school) of your choice by contacting the head teacher.
After visiting your choice of school, you can send your registration form to admissions@themousehouse.co.za. Once we have received your application form we will place your child on the waiting list for the year registered. We will be in touch in April of the year before your child is due to start, to let you know if your application has been successful. If we are unable to offer you a place then we will happily keep your child on the waiting list until you let us know otherwise.
Applications are dealt with on a first come first serve basis although we do give first options to siblings and we do consider our boy / girl ratios.
Once you accept an offer of a place, your child can start their exciting educational journey at the time agreed with the pre-school.
From the first moment I met Lisa and did a tour of her amazing school, it stood out as the place I wanted my daughter to be. Lisa and her approach to preschool gives you a calm and reassured feeling. The atmosphere is one of professionalism, individual care, gentleness and a very impressive knowledge of children, child care and education.
Her facilities are always immaculate with such fun equipment and activities, which are constantly being upgraded and maintained. The approach to learning is amazing and gives my daughter such a well-rounded education, she has grown in leaps and bounds. All the teachers at mouse house have the warmest, most gentle approach with children, yet with the right amount of kind firmness to keep a classroom manageable. I always feel like my child’s emotions and well-being are of the highest priority and the teachers always have time to chat about your child and their needs. I am always impressed with the maturity and integrity that all the teachers deal with all situations.
I cannot recommend this school highly enough, it is a gem to be treasured.” We love mouse house to bits, thank you for all you do we feel so lucky to be apart of your school
Mouse House has been an absolute delight in every sense of the word. We are at peace everyday, knowing that our son is loved, cared for and respected by the teachers at Mouse House.
We have seen a vast improvement is his confidence, problem solving abilities, interpersonal skills with peers and adults. The school curriculum is something to be admired too, ranging from caring for our environment and the world around us, the Solar System, animal habitats to name but a few and still managing to nurture the love for reading and numeracy in our son.
Constructive play is highly encouraged in this school environment, making learning fun. The best part of all is that our son the loves school and the teachers.
I feel proud to be a part of the close-knit Mouse House family and look forward to having our second child join next year.
Our son started at Mouse House in January 2017. He was an only child at that stage and had only ever stayed with his nanny at home before then. He started off with terrible separation anxiety during the first week or two. In no time the staff at Mouse House had captured his heart and he was coming home singing new songs and telling us about all the amazing things he was learning.
He is halfway through his 2nd year now and we have changed our school plans for him to keep him there for a third year. He hates missing a day at school and absolutely adores all the staff at Mouse House. We could not have been more blessed with such a wonderful school and staff. The children there are showered with love and it truly is a little home away from home for them. We are so looking forward to our daughter starting there next year as well.
The Mouse House Team have a clear passion and love for teaching. This is evident in the way they nurture, encourage and stimulate children.
One gets a strong sense that the children are treated as independent little people, with their own unique strengths and personalities in mind.
Standards for everything at the school are exceptional and consistently high. This makes it a wonderful and safe environment for the little ones.
I particularly love the creative way the children are encouraged to learn through play. The set up every morning is anything but dull! My daughter always gets excited anticipating the morning activities and if I’m honest so do I :)
Most important of all my daughter is always happy to make her way to school every day, which is very reassuring and comforting for me as a parent.
Needless to say I am very proud to be a part of the Mouse House family.
We are so grateful to have been a part of the Mouse House family since 2015! This is an intimate school dedicated to each child's individual development. Our boys have thrived here. We adore the amazing teachers and their gentle, loving and bubbly approach. Mouse House is a safe and nurturing space for little ones on the path to a bright future.
I think the best way to describe Mouse House is as our family. We had no experience with kindergarten schooling prior to enrolling our eldest daughter at Mouse House, and we were naturally very anxious - in the end, nearly a year later we feel that it was the best decision we could have made.
We couldn't be happier with the education she receives there, especially the attention to detail. We could see the difference within weeks - vocabulary, manners, reasoning etc.
We will definitely keep her at Mouse House for as long as possible, and have plans to enroll our second child as well, when the time comes.
We have been part of the Mouse House family since 2015 and our boys have loved it. The teachers are always attentive, fun-loving, warm and care about the development and growth of the children. There are always fun learning activities and our boys are always eager to go to school.
Our eldest is now in Grade R but he still misses being at Mouse House and often fondly recalls all the special moments he has had there. Mouse House has prepared him exceptionally well for Grade R, such that he has never lacked confidence at his new ‘big’ school. It is a special school and we are so glad that we chose Mouse House for our boys.
Mouse House has a very special place in our hearts. Our son spent 3 happy years there.
During that time he was nurtured, loved and grew tremendously in self-confidence.
Every child received ample individual attention in a positive and stimulating environment.
The curriculum is appropriate and well constructed, with enough time for free play and formal activities. My son enjoyed every day at school! We were very sad when the day came that he had to move on. Mouse House was truly a home away from home. I can not recommend them enough.
We have had the immense pleasure of having all 3 our girls kick start their school careers at Mouse House and I cannot recommend this school, and the amazing teachers enough. I have waxed lyrical to everyone who would listen to me since 2014, when our eldest started with Bianca. The unbelievable growth we saw in her, the self-confidence that was built through deliberate re-enforcement and the nurturing, super-fun environment was more than enough to convince me this school is as good as it gets. And watching my other two daughters then blossom into these awesome little people, and to be part of the Mouse House family over the years has been amazing.
Academically, they are more than prepared for Grade R, and have such fun learning that they are so eager and excited to do even more. The teachers have such respect for the opinions and ideas the children bring to the table, and I quite often just linger in the morning to watch the interaction, and leave with a happy heart that my children are not only being taught and taken care of, but also cherished.
Thank you Bianca, and the rest of the Dream Team for being who you are, and doing what you do!
Quite simply - Mouse House is a fabulous school! My little boy has been very happy there for 18 months now and I cannot credit Lisa, and the other teachers and facilitators, enough for the life experiences and lessons they are providing. I am SO pleased that i chose the school for both my little boy, and for us as a family.
The school is wonderfully equipt with excellent educational resources and fabulous play activities for inside and out. The day is well structured which I find gives my son a predictable routine. Each term has a theme, and each week takes a different focus within that theme. Play, art and educational activities all then correlate with this theme, and the creativity of ideas in doing this, is amazing! The things that my little boy has learnt is incredible and definitely keeps me on my toes! The school play they put on at the end of the year had to be seen to be believed – all the children were included, all in full costume and it was clear that a HUGE amount of effort had gone into it!
The children are all incredibly well cared for and safe, and I see that Lisa, is very capable in meeting each of their individual needs - educationally, emotionally and socially. She seems to manage discipline in the classroom in a manner in which the children almost don’t seem to see! The teachers and facilitators were all great when we first started at the school, clearly well experienced in the challenges surrounding this first major separation of mother and child and were able to efficiently and warmly assist both my son and me! Past that, Lisa has continued to be a great resource and ‘ear’ for many things child related and I value the encouraged parental involvement in school life (daily diary, Friday show and tell and parental social/fundraising events).
In essence, Mouse House is a school that provides a perfect balance of fun, amazing creativity, education, understanding, consistency discipline and nurture.
Michael started at Mouse House when he was 3. From the minute he set foot in the school, he loved every moment.
Mouse house has given him the necessary tools and set such an amazing foundation for his school career.
It’s the small things that matter the most and needing that cuddle just a little bit longer made him feel so loved and happy and given him the confidence to enjoy big school to the fullest.
I am extremely indebted to Lisa and her staff at Mouse House for nurturing Michael to his full potential and loving him almost as much as I do and giving him a safe environment to learn and play.
Michael was extremely sad to leave which speaks volumes on how amazing Lisa and her team are.
You cannot go wrong in choosing Mouse House as a school for your child. Best decision we ever made.
Mouse House is a home away from home. The teachers are nurturing, passionate and highly skilled. Both my children have thrived at Mouse House, meeting their full potential. The creative teachers ensure that the children are well prepared for primary school, in all areas of their development. It has been a very happy few years!
We are very proud to be part of the Mouse House Family. It’s a lovely school that has a caring and naturing environment for kids. The dedicated staff have created a great educational space for kids to develop, learn and play in creative and wonderful ways
Locations
Mouse House - Rondebosch
Dulverton Rd, Rondebosch
Lisa: 083 375 3075
info@themousehouse.co.za
Mouse House - Kenilworth
Salisbury Rd, Kenilworth
Bianca: 082 698 2638
info@themousehouse.co.za
Mouse House - Greenpoint
Upper Portswood Rd, Greenpoint
Bianca: 082 698 2638 | Lisa: 083 375 3075
info@themousehouse.co.za