Hi there,

I put my daughter, who is now 2 years old, in the Dunearn branch when she was 18 months.
Perhaps I’ll also share how I selected this kindy as mums have many ways of doing this, as I’ve heard.
I picked about 5 around my estate. And I made it a point to take my daughter along with me on my hunt. We did this late last year. The schools all did wonderful orientations, after appointments were made, for both my daughter and I. However, at the end of our chat, I left every principal with the same line:"You can show me the best curriculum, facilities, teachers, toys, etc…but if my daughter doesn’t buy it, it really doesn’t matter anymore." My husband and I had agreed that our daughter had to LOVE school (of course while learning) first. That was priority. Everything else was secondary.
She had a nonchalant expression for 4 of them, one of which I was rooting for because I loved their curriculum. But I had to check myself. This was about my daughter, not me. She would stay in class, participate in the activities, but look for me 5 minutes later. My gut feel told me no, …that was until we paid Preschool-By-The-Park a visit.
When we got there, the teachers were welcoming, and the principal, made us feel like we were a couple of old friends, back from a long trip. My daughter was given the chance to participate in activities and while I took a tour of the place, she (I kid you not) forgot about me completely. The yellow colour of the house doesn’t just give it a cheery look on the outside, but it depicts the hearts of the teachers who teach in this place. They LOVE the kids as if they were their own. And they put their heart and soul into giving the kids under their care a learning experience that the kids can relate to.
It’s been half a year and so far, I’ve received updates from the teachers via email on a daily basis (except when it gets busy during school celebrations), there’s been an excursion every month, there’s a fun Friday every last Friday of the month where there’s a theme or a whole day of play where all the kids from the different classes get to play together, there’re lesson plan updates, calls to ensure my daughter is ok with certain things that they may want to try with her, …the list goes on! Even a bi-annual PTM which I just attended which was extremely comprehensive in terms of the forms of assessment used.
However, I need to say this: I’m a non-conventional Singapore mother who prefers to stay out of the rat race because as an ex-teacher, I don’t believe in our primary school education system. I’m not the kind who will worry just because my daughter hasn’t learned all the words in the 600 word long list that is part of an objective her primary school has for her. She will learn with purpose and above all, have the right values to be a good person first, above all else.
If you share my views somewhat, then you will LOVE this preschool.