It's a little long route to childcare but if it'll all work out well and a good way to let her adapt, then why not. (:
Did a fair bit of research and recce for playgroups and childcare centres in areas like Bukit Gombak, Bukit Batok and Yew Tee. And so here's some information to share.
PLAYGROUPS
Startots (Edufarm)
Bukit Gombak Sunshine RC
Block 531 Bukit Batok Street 52
Environment: It's located inside a RC, a relatively decent room. The walls fully pasted with teaching materials and drawings. It's not colorful in any way, so not very appealing to me. There are mini chairs around, no toys visible, and no dangerous objects around. It's air-conditioned and clean too.
Teacher/Principal: The teachers were aunties who were probably around their 50s. But spoken english was acceptable. I didn't like it cos the main teacher is covered with thick and wayang getai makeup. Totally couldn't accept it. Preschool teachers should look simple and clean.
Curriculum: Stated on the website that they uses Letterland for teaching of phonics, something which I am indeed very keen on, cos I'm doing that at home too. This would be a good reinforcement. But the teacher there told me she has her 'own materials which are much better'. She didn't tell me prior until I probe when I saw no Letterland characters on the wall. She showed me the book she uses to teach, and it's all yellowish and with brownish dots. When I probe about the daily curriculum, she showed me a paper pasted on the door, explained word by word. But she added that she 'doesn't follow the curriculum'. Enough said, not impressed and no enrolling Kayla there.
Fees: S$175/month
IMO: I don't like it that the teachers do not follow the guideline to teach and doesn't use the provided materials. It is okay to supplement the lessons with additional materials. But it is not right to take out components of the structured lessons and just add in your own with you deemed as 'better'. And furthermore, they don't look exactly like professional/trained preschool teachers. I have to agree the fees are really attractive, but I would rather double that to give my daughter a good headstart.
Little Learners
Hong Kah North Community Club
30 Bukit Batok Community Club #03-04
Environment: A wide classroom with a few teachers around. Fully air-conditioned and located in a Community Club which is currently under major renovation works till end-July 2011. Have to climb stairs as the lift is out of order too.
Teacher/Principal: Friendly and quite fluent spoken english. Have assistant teachers to help out the class. Looks friendly as well.
Curriculum: More focused on play and not education. They do have phonics lessons and so on, but probably not the important part of the learning in class. A big part of the class revolves around songs & rhythm. Others includes, attitude & behavioural training, story telling, art & craft, etc.
Fees: S$140 (PA Member), S$150 (Non-PA Member) /month + Materials Fees of S$60/term
IMO: Didn't like idea of sending my girl to a playgroup to have a main focus of just playing. I would like her to learn more than that. Furthermore, the premises are having a huge reconstruction. There's sand, dust, bricks every where I go. No lift to access too.
Tulip Montessori
Blk 642 Chua Chu Kang Street 64 #01-65
Environment: I didn't went to have a look at the place. Found out it isn't really convenient afterall.
Teacher/Principal: Spoke to the Principal over the phone on a Sunday. But she spoke to me very patiently and answered every single of my query, I have to say she is really meticulous for that.
Curriculum: It is a partial Montessori centre, and uses materials imported from Holland. It is a centre providing only playgroups and enrichment lessons, no childcare services. Ratio of teacher to students is 1:5 only, as compared to the 1:8 as regulated by MCYS.
Fees: S$900/term for 5 times per week of 2-hours playgroup classes.
IMO: Didn't final shortlist this centre as it wasn't very convenient for me and I wasn't too attractive by the curriculum. The whole curriculum is roughly about Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Creative Activities, etc. Very attractive line up. If they have a more accessible outlet for me, I would further consider it.
Ichiban Montessori
Block 505 Jelapang Road
Environment: It's quite a far walk from Jelapang LRT station, especially with a toddler. Situated behind a rubbish dumping area. It's more of a before and after school care centre, the first area after stepping in is the space for playgroup classes. Very open in right infront of the toilets. Non-airconditioned and it's a little stuffy, quite warm. I think area is considered small if it's going to cater to more than 5 students. Area was quite clean too, when I visited they just finished cleaning up the place.Teacher/Principal: Spoke to a teacher, if I remember correctly, Teacher Susan around 50s already. Not really good. English was well below average, didn't pronounced 'theme' correctly. Sentences has lots of 'leh, lah, hor, ya lah'. Has a way with kids, and probably makes them feel comfortable seeing someone looking grandmother-ish.Curriculum: Teaches thematically, every month the theme changes, i.e. body parts, days of the week. I couldn't remember much cos it's so warm I feel like getting out right there and then.Fees: S$460/term of 3 monthsIMO: Quality of teacher is very important to me. So I'd prefer to get a teacher who is better versed in English. Location was a far walk from the LRT, striked off the list once I realised how far it is. Ventilation should be okay as it is not air-conditioned as well. But it should be fairly warm with so many toddlers around in the morning. If I were to choose, the curriculum doesn't reap of what I pay for.
Amazing Stars Montessori House
Greenridge Shopping Centre
Blk 524A, Jelapang Road #03-01
Environment: Place is lively, brightly colored, fully air-conditioned and spacious. Took a look from outside only. The kids look pretty happy inside. The smell of disinfectant was slightly overwhelming though, maybe they just did sanitizing. There's electronic security lock and safety gate. I feel quite positive in that environment, I do not hear screaming kids or crying toddlers.
Teacher/Principal: Only spoke to a teacher for 5 minutes at the door to know about the program and fees structure. Teacher was friendly and pretty young. Spoke english well and positive also.
Curriculum: Bilingual classes and Montessori approach. Not too sure how Montessori they exactly are, but reviews were pretty good for their outlet. The waitlist was long too. Their Flexi-care services of 3 hours has a long waitlist. I've yet to receive a call from them yet.
Fees: Flexi-care S$500, Half Day S$600, Full Day S$780 (All prices before any subsidy)
IMO: It can be a good place for all-in-one services, which I need. The waitlist is too long, as I can't wait for them all the way. Place gave me good vibes and I feel positive. Plus I saw happy kids, so it makes me feel that the place can be a good choice.
Agape Little Uni
Block 632A Choa Chu Kang North 6
Environment: It's a standalone building by itself, together with Foo Jierong Tutors Consultancy. It's some 3-4 mins walk from Yeww Tee MRT station, just 2 stations from mine. Covered walkway through multi-storey carpark, no shelter for a 3 metres walk. Playgroup classes enter through another entrance which need not walk through all the stairs. Inside is more like bomb shelter. Classes are conducted in a relatively spacious classroom. Craftworks and teaching materials all pasted on the walls. Colorful, tidy and bright. It is fully air-conditioned as it's located underground.Teacher/Principal: Mrs Mohan, the Principal attended to my appointment personally, which I like. She showed me around the classroom, teaching materials, students workbook, etc. Gave me details about Agape's teaching approach. Provided me with brochure without me asking. Saw 2 kids having enrichment classes on a Saturday with a teacher. They look very happy having class with the teacher. They have 3 teachers (for now) specialising in 3 different aspects of the class, English, Mandarin and Phonics. Pretty good and I like it that the individual teachers bother to respond to my call when I request to speak to them.Curriculum: I like it very much that they uses Letterland, which can complement my teachings at home. Bilingual lessons to introduce vocabs in English and Chinese. It provides detailed portfolios of my daughter's progress. They do portfolios for the child every term and also have family gatherings including us. The workbooks that Mrs Mohan showed me looks interesting and toddler-friendly too. Every Friday, is something like TGIF, more 'relaxed' and more games.Fees: S$280/monthIMO: I like the place and the curriculum provided, especially Letterland. I always think curriculum is very important, and I like it that the school teaches with a system in set. Principal was very patient and answered my queries instantly. My husband doesn't like it as much as me as it's a bomb shelter kind of feel and he don't really feel good about it. This is still my first choice, I don't mind the traveling and waiting, if all these meant well for my daughter, it would be paid off in folds.
CHILDCARE CENTRES
MMI
Blk 368 Bukit Batok St 31 #01-485
Environment: I only past by the place and I find the place messy. Wanted to request for a visit, but I turned my back and went home after seeing that. Apart from that, all the teachers were Indian. I'm not racist at all. But I still think there should be a well-balanced ratio of teachers of different races. Like there should be Chinese teachers, and Malays etc. A playground is just a stone throw away, very convenient for outdoor play. I see kids rolling on the floor and some still eating by himself while others do some reading with the teachers. And the classes isn't even full, probably maximum of 8 students to 3 teachers. Very terrible management I see.
Teacher/Principal: They weren't friendly when they saw me looking through the windows and door. Didn't even bother to smile at me and stuff.
Curriculum: If I'm not mistaken MMI teaches by their own Montessori teachings. Check out their website for more details.
Fees: Please call to check. If I'm not wrong, the centre near me is about 1K.
Kinderland
Blk 309 Choa Chu Kang Ave 4, #02-01
Environment: The centre is located just beside Lot One, the building with Gain City in it. Location wise is really pretty convenient. It's rather large and there are probably 8-10 rooms in it. I was greeted by a Little Tikes slide and mini playground after the entrance. I like it that there is security system installed for it. It is together with Crestar, a dance school for kids if I'm not wrong. Parents/caregivers sign in and out their child. The vibes of the place was pretty positive, kids generally looks happy and even waves and say hi to Kayla. But I didn't like it that the students look a tad too relaxing and all curling in a corner. Dining area is clean and kitchen appears clean too. Aircon not too strong and all the kids are in long pants. I like it very much that the walls are pasted with articles and photos of activities the kids do, and also lots of children works! Very inspiring.
Teacher/Principal: Teachers I see are mostly aunties probably in their 40-50s. Overheard a teacher who's sending the kids for toilet break saying, '现在有客人在，要好好表现hor!', which means "There's visitors now, must behave properly hor!" Generally I think the teachers look decent, probably not to my personal liking. But most of them do speak proper, as what I heard.
Curriculum: From what the teacher explained to me, I think it is a pretty standard curriculum, nothing particular to scream about. But their intake in pretty weird, and to be frank, I couldn't quite understand even till now. To enrol Kay, I can only do so next year (2012), when Kay is 3 years old, and that is only in Pre-Nursery, and she slowly progresses from there. Not too sure if this is the norm, but I didn't encounter this system before. I would like to enrol her earlier instead of holding her back to wait for this intake. No halfday for this centre.
Fees: Full Day - S$877.20(WM)/S$727.20(NWM)
IMO: They didn't move me actually. To me it was just a decent enough place. And to speak that their fees are really higher than average private childcare centres. So I didn't continue to shortlist them. I couldn't justify the fees for the classes that I see.
Carpe Diem Kinder Ace
Block 626 #01-622 Bukit Batok Central
Environment: The childcare is broken up into two bays, separated and requires walking on void deck. And children needs to shift from Bay 1 to Bay 2 probably a few times a day, depending on the lessons requirements for the day. Place looks rundown, and not very well-kept. Not dirty or dusty, just looks very dilapidated. Toilet looks gloomy to me, didn't notice if there's light sources. Not wet but looks very small.
Teacher/Principal: I was brought around the place by Teacher Rama. She explained stuffs to me patiently and even asking me if I would like to know about certain stuffs. Most probably cos I didn't ask much cos I wasn't really interested anymore. The teachers I managed to catch a glimpse of were an auntie, a China national, and a young teacher. And best of all the young teacher was supposed to be supervising kids playing with toys, but she was too engrossed in her phone that she didn't know I was watching and also calling out to her. Very bad impression I have already. Just before I left, Teacher Rama helped to intervene with a mini conflict, and my husband and I both felt very intimidated by her. So not to mention about the kids and also what about when there are no visitors, what would it be like?
Curriculum: Carpe Diem claims to be a multi-intelligence approach childcare, however, I couldn't see how different it is from other childcare centres. My guess is that it has too much franchises to really go work out a system to make sure all franchisees adhere to the advertised curriculum. I'm not the least bit appealed at the curriculum and the vibes of the centre. So don't even think about how the teachers fared.
Fees: Please call and check.
Little Footprints Schoolhouse
373, Bukit Batok Street 31 #03 - 244
Environment: The centre is located in the vicinity of my house. Probably just a 2 minutes walk away. It is located right above Prime Supermarket and Just Education. It's on the third story but has got no lift services, only way up is via stairs. and it's quite dangerous to say as the centre doesn't have a safety gate to guard running kids. Place is really big and vibrant colors. There is an outdoor playground area which I think it's quite dusty and I find it too warm. When I went it was bathtime, and so I didn't get to see how the classes were. Toilets are slip-proof. It was very, very chaotic when I visited the place. Some children are prepping to bath, some are waiting for their parents to come pick them up. And teachers all over the place, parents walking all around.
Teacher/Principal: Spoke to Miss Yeo who is the Principal of the centre. She's rather young, but assertive also. I can see she's very well-liked by children and also parents. I see parents asking her questions whenever she walk around the place. Other teachers I see includes Chinese, Malays too. I don't hear screaming teachers or whatsort.
Curriculum: A very neighbourhood childcare centre, but I think the curriculum is pretty decent. Miss Yeo showed me the menus of the kid's meal, and it looks pretty good, considering that they do not serve pork. But they do not help to toilet-train your kids, which some centres do help with.
Fees: Full Day - S$360(WM)/S$510(NWM) Half Day - S$250 (WM&NWM)
IMO: It was really too chaotic to me that I really felt that headache in me after leaving. Somemore I got 2 mozzie bites over there, and that both my feet got very dirty after the visit. Major turnoff as the centre was full of chaos and running kids, teachers all not looking very enthu with the kids. But I think for the fees, it's really very affordable, it is only a tad more expensive than My First Skool's fees. It is indeed a plus point for me that it is only 2 mins walk from my place, but the school was off the mark so much I couldn't bring myself to enroll her there.
Agape Little Uni
Block 789 Choa Chu Kang North 6 #01-224
Environment: Located within 5 mins walk from Yew Tee MRT station.
Teacher/Principal: I spoke to Miss Ho, who's the Principal. But from what I know, she's no longer at the centre. The place is very clean and bright. All the toys are well maintained and all very neat in their play area. Sleeping around is dim and very condusive for sleeping. There's security system where only authorised staffs get passwords to access the place. I like that they separate different class types; like toddlers, N1, N2. But not like shifting the students here and there throughout the day. Toilet area is very clean, and anti-slip mat all over the place. Kitchen area is clean and closed door, not sharing area with other rooms.
Curriculum: More of story-based curriculum. Teaches Letterland still and puts up kid's drawings/artworks. The whole classroom and walls decorated with colorful and vibrant in general. I didn't get to see how teachers teach cos I went on a Saturday, but the playgroup I saw was pretty good. They do have meet the parents session once in a while, so this way teachers and parents work together for the betterment of the child.
Fees: S$900 (before subsidy), S$750 (NWM), S$600 (WM)
IMO: Place, environment and curriculum meets my expectations, but the fees doesn't. It's on the mid range. But I do not have any income, so to me, it is very expensive. For a working mum it cose $600, if I work I think more than half of my salary goes into this.
My First Skool
Blk 603 #01-45 Choa Chu kang St 62 S(680603)
Environment: Place looks spic and span. All the toys look very clean and very tidy. They're all kept in a very neat manner. The place is non-airconditioned, comes with full length curtains and the surrounding is very windy and very serene. There's a playground in the vicinity too. The centre is made up of 3 bays in total. A fourth on is opening in May 2011. It is the biggest MFS childcare centre I've seen so far.I placed Kayla in quite alot of waitlist but none of them called me back just yet. I hope I get to enroll Kayla into a decent one which is suitable and decent enough for her. (:
Teacher/Principal: Didn't speak much to teachers because the kiddos were napping. But they're generally very kind and speaks very politely to me. I like it that they do not break the rules to let me go in and have a look despite me asking them repeatedly.
Curriculum: Not too sure about curriculum, but I like that the meals are drawn out very meticulously and pinned up on a board at the entrance.
Fees: From what I know it's around S$375 after subsidy. Varies from branch to branch.
IMO: I fancy MFS alot cos of its very clean and neat environment. Plus the school fees are so affordable and reasonable. Just that almost all the centres have got a long waitlist. If I manage to get Kayla a slot, I would have a piece of mind putting her there.
