Pre-School Previews

Going on kindy tours has been tiring work, especially when you're traipsing around with a big belly in tow!

I was all confused by all the choices that were available when I started out looking. What was the difference between centres classified as childcares or kindergartens? Did I want a Montessori Programme? If not, what are the other regular programmes anyway? What is in the curriculum? (And did it make a difference to me?) What are the hours like? The teacher-student ratio? What facilities does the school have? How was the physical environment? The classrooms? The teachers? The food? What are the values the children will be taught? And how much did you say it costs again??

(Incidentally, quite a bit of information can be found on the MOE website on pre-school education. Kindergartens run 3-4 hour programmes and are regulated by the MOE. Centres which run half-day/full-day programmes are classifed as childcare centres and they come under the MCYS. While childcare centres may offer learning programmes from infants/toddlers up to K2 level, kindergarten programmes start from the Pre-Nursery/Nursery level. The MOE site states that a child starts Nursery in the year he turns 4, but in reality, many pre-schools now offer Pre-Nursery for children in the year they turn 3. One educator whom I spoke to remarked that Pre-Nursery wasn't really necessary, but was more a political thing, since mothers have to work and having their kids "in school" gave mothers more peace of mind. I tend to agree with her!)

I read up what I could, made a long list of what I thought I wanted, then did what I always do when I cannot make up my mind -- force DD to give an opinion. (Hah.) He listened to all the 1001 things that I had listed and told me that his priorities were really that (1) the kindy be close to home to keep travelling time to a minimum; and (2) the kindy be church-based with an emphasis on Christian teachings and values. Condensed to its essence like that, I knew I agreed with him. At this age, I knew I wanted Noey to continue to be taught to say grace before his meals, sing praise songs, listen to and learn from bible stories and be taught Christian values.

With that, I started my search among the church kindies in my vicinity, adding a couple that were just a little further away into the mix after getting favourable recommendations on them from friends. There are a couple with formidable reputations in my area which are, needless to say, very popular, but I gave them a shot away.

There were the Pros: Kindies with airy grounds and classrooms with no air-conditioning, open spaces for play, kindies with long histories and years of experience running a good programme. Some had a stronger Mandarin emphasis, which I liked, and almost all had an English and Chinese teacher in the class with the students at all times. Christian bible stories were told and taught to children during assemblies and the character programme was based on Christan teachings. The teachers had the requisite qualifications. The children looked happy.

There were the Cons: Large classes with high teacher to student ratios. These averaged 25-30 students to a class by K2 in most of the kindies. 3.5 or 4 hour sessions at some schools which would make the afternoon session (usually the only session available by now) unworkable since classes would effectively be from 12pm-3.30pm/4pm. Some schools felt too "institutional" to me. And the amount of construction going on nearby -- my word, I think every school I visited had some construction going on near it, some in the plot just next door. The downside of being in the Newton/Bukit Timah area I guess!

In the end, I couldn't get away from my fondness for the very 1st kindy I visited. The principal took the time, when I made an appointment to visit, to bring me around personally, and not only show me the facilities but also explain to me the programme that they ran for each level from PN to K2. She showed me video clips which the teachers had prepared for the graduating class, showing snippets of their daily activities as well as their class projects and special events. It was all very impressive, but what struck me most was the fact that she knew all the children by name, and could tell me a little about them, what they were like and where they had gone on to study in Primary school. Likewise when we were walking around, it felt like the kind of place where everyone knew everyone else. Perhaps it is because there is only one class per level per session. It is a small school, but I think that is what I like about it. Another thing that appealed to me was the involvement of the church as volunteers and resources for the school. The principal spoke of the kindergarten being a ministry, which I agree with as well. The teachers were also all Christian. And to top it all off, the fees they charged were the cheapest!

It isn't perfect of course -- the school compound is small and the facilities are fairly basic. No sprawling grounds and vegetable garden, animals and the like. There is also construction going on across the road which looks like it will be going on for quite a while more. There will also be 20 students in the PN class at max enrollment, which is not the ideal teacher-student ratio for me. However I'm hoping that the less popular afternoon session will not be at full enrollment -- 14-15 students would work out nicely I think.

For now, my plan is to enroll Noey in Term 3 and they have obligingly agreed to hold a place for me for him till then. The principal even agreed with me that starting in Term 3 would be better for him than starting now. I took Noey down to the kindy to register and he was quite happy checking it out, though clearly the one thing that caught his attention was the playground! He came home and told his Papa that "Noey went to school" and "the children were listening to the teacher". I hope he took the cue that that would be what he would be expected to do in school!

I'm kind of looking forward to him starting. What a milestone that would be!