Preschool for 20mths babe

Reply to Preschool for 20mths babe on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:34:23 GMT

dfstan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:34:23 GMT

thanks for the feedbacks guys, will definitely take a look a few before committing on the school.

Reply to Preschool for 20mths babe on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:11:54 GMT

autumnbronze — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:11:54 GMT

I agree with you too, tankee.

I started out with the 'branded' preschools out of curiosity as I wanted to find out what was it that set them apart from the rest.

After extensive research, I find that to each his own ....

As an ex-educator, my own humble point of view is that Pat's schhouse Halifax and Lim Ah Pin does seem to provide a wholistic education

Reply to Preschool for 20mths babe on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:03:53 GMT

Ryan Sng — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:03:53 GMT

Yupe very true. We have to look at other aspects rather than the branding.

tankee:
My DW and I visited almost all the childcare centres in our neighourhood. And we dropped in without prior appointments to see the \"true\" situation.

we wrote off a number of the established chains when we saw things that really shocked us ...

- using the TV to babysit the children that were waiting for the school-bus and the children were all crowded right infront of the TV, some within 1m from the screen.

- a young child walking about along the corridor unaccompanied

- classroom littered with toys and kids running around... no teacher in the room.

in the end, we chose the one that everything seems well organised. Every child we met was neat and tidy, every room we go to we were greeted automatically with good morning uncle & aunty and smiling faces.

thus, it is better not to choose a childcare purely based on their \"name\". Best if you can take a day off work and check them out yourself.

Reply to Preschool for 20mths babe on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:55:49 GMT

tankee — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:55:49 GMT

My DW and I visited almost all the childcare centres in our neighourhood. And we dropped in without prior appointments to see the "true" situation.

we wrote off a number of the established chains when we saw things that really shocked us …

- using the TV to babysit the children that were waiting for the school-bus and the children were all crowded right infront of the TV, some within 1m from the screen.

- a young child walking about along the corridor unaccompanied

- classroom littered with toys and kids running around… no teacher in the room.

in the end, we chose the one that everything seems well organised. Every child we met was neat and tidy, every room we go to we were greeted automatically with good morning uncle & aunty and smiling faces.

thus, it is better not to choose a childcare purely based on their "name". Best if you can take a day off work and check them out yourself.

Reply to Preschool for 20mths babe on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:40:02 GMT

autumnbronze — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 04:40:02 GMT

dfstan:
i'm thinking of sending to Cambride which is newly open at Serangoon Gardens Country Club. Anyone has any news on this centre? Any recommendations beside Cambridge in this area?

also, thinking about Pat's Schoolhouse at Halifax.

comments appreciated. thanks

Hi dfstan,

Hi, I went to recee Pat's at Halifax some months back.

I was v impressed by the P's dedication in trying to explain the school's programme to me. She never rushed thru, even though there was another parent waiting towards the end and that was aft about an hour. With regards to the school programme, I have no doubt it is sound and wholistic.

The thing that I was concerned about was the steep stairs leading to the upper level in the building and the second was that my DH observed and 'reported' to me that during playtime, 2 kids were shoving and one fell and cried. The teachers were there but none did anything.

There is a Pat's at Lim Ah Pin Road btw.

Mods, maybe the threads shd be merged???

Reply to Preschool for 20mths babe on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:14:50 GMT

Ryan Sng — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:14:50 GMT

dfstan:
i'm thinking of sending to Cambride which is newly open at Serangoon Gardens Country Club. Anyone has any news on this centre? Any recommendations beside Cambridge in this area?

also, thinking about Pat's Schoolhouse at Halifax.

comments appreciated. thanks

I know that Pat's Schoolhouse is more established. But there's a principal whom is really good but had already left and joined MindChamps. Nevertheless the curriculum should be the same. You can ask for a trial lesson and let your child have a feel of the whole curriculum structure. I think that works better because every child is unique and from there you are able to conclude whether which one is more appropriate and suitable for your child.