Recently, I recieved alot of emails from fellow parents asking about which preschool my son is currently in. I am really sorry that I am unable to share more information about this school as it concerns our privacy and our son's safety (we never know how is lurking around in the cyber world!).
However, I can share with parents on the criterions my hubby and I looked at when selecting a preschool for my boy.
1. Location
Depending on your childcare and work arrangements, this will be an important factor.
If you have elderly parents or maids looking after the kids when they are not at school, it is best to choose a school near home or a school with a reliable school bus service.
If your work is flexible or you are a SAHM with your own transportation and you don't mind travelling, then you can expand your scope of search to a wider area.
I personally chose the school bus option after searching the multiple preschools in Punggol area.
I did find 2 which I liked but they failed on certain criterions which I personally feel are very important.
Since the school bus picks up and drops off my boy at our void deck, it's easier for my maid and myself too.
2. Price/Budget
Not everyone earns a million a month, so you need to consider your family expenses/income before setting an amount that would be comfortable. I personally have a fixed budget for my boy's education (including enrichment classes) every month. Therefore, if I chose a preschool which had higher fees, I have to cut down on other enrichments.
There are preschools charging simply $80 per month or lesser and there are those charging $1500 per month or more. Again, you have to weigh the price you are paying versus the quality of teaching/materials and exposure to experential learning.
I personally feel that it's alright to pay alittle more for quality materials/teaching if you have the budget.
3. Materials/Quality of Teaching
As mentioned in the previous point, the quality of teaching and materials used during lessons is a very important factor. Some schools have their own trademarked systems while some will adopt/adapt other systems to use.
I personally prefer trademarked systems as there is a certain level or quality control when it comes to implementation of the program and the materials used. It might be more expensive but it's worth it.
As a very KS parent, I chose a preschool with a strong academic syllabus. My boy is in preschool for 2.5 hours a day. My wish is for that 2.5 hours to be filled with SOLID LEARNING. Not 'learn through play'. He can learn through play AT HOME, with me. I do plan activities for him like baking cookies, playing with fondant to decorate cupcakes, playing pretend, etc etc. Outings are also planned to let him experience hands-on learning with us. My main goal is for him to understand that SCHOOL IS FOR LEARNING, not play! Enrichment classes can incorporate play, but not in his formal preschool.
So, I chose a school with their own trademarked system and they are also very academic-conscious, they give the children extra work to ensure that they are ready for Singapore's Primary School system.
4. Caring Principal, Teachers and Staff
I love feedback from the schools so that we can reinforce values/rules at home too.
I chose a school where the Principal knows all the kids and parents personally. She makes the effort to talk to us about our values and the values they teach the children. I love it that they are very strict in terms of behaviour and manners.
I went down personally to observe how teachers punish the students when they misbehaved and found their techniques very successful. They will pull the child aside and explain why it's wrong to do it. Then they warn them that if they did it again, they will be asked to sit at the side of the classroom to observe the activities instead of being able to join in. IT WORKED! My mischevious monkey was tamed!
The school bus uncle is also fantastic. Sometimes they would arrive early when sending him back and we have not gone down yet, he will actually bring him up personally while the teacher accompanies the other children on the bus! This is EXCELLENT service!
And at times when I need to change the drop off location at the last minute (sometimes we would go to my mum's place instead), all I needed to do was to SMS him before they leave school and he's always so accomodating! He's so friendly with the students and my boy simply loves him. On days when my boy refuses to go to school (cos he would prefer to stay home to play with me or watch TV), we would just remind him that Uncle _____ is downstairs waiting for him in the nice school bus and he would spring up and run to the lift! I remember his reaction very vividly!
"Oh! Uncle ____ is here? He is driving the big school bus? I love it! Let's go, Mummy!"
5. Student-Teacher Ratio
In many popular preschools, each class has 15-18 kids and only 1 teacher plus 1 teacher assistant. I personally find it crazy because the room is very cramped and the kids do not get much personal attention from the teacher. At their tender age, personal attention is extremely important to weed out any potential problems like dyslexia and poor handwriting.
My boy's class only has 8 students with 2 teachers. He loves it and so do I! The teacher will write feedback in the communication book and very often, they will call or SMS me to keep me updated.
With such a small student population, it feels more like a small family. We are updated very quickly on any upcoming events/news.
6. Homework
While many parents criticise the need for homework at N1, I personally find it good. It's just simple worksheets on writing numbers/alphabets which they learnt in school. Plus, they have storybooks to bring home to read.
It's a good habit to start them reading and understanding the need for homework since young. My boy will do his work WILLINGLY (read the post on how we motivated him to love homework: http://mwtuition.blogspot.com/). They also get rewards when they are able to read new words taught them (of cos we have to practise with him at home using flashcards).
7. Layout and Facilities
My boy's current school is split into 2 nearby locations within the same compound. I like this idea because they seperate the N1/N2 and K1/K2 students. This reduces the risk of outbreak of diseases such as HFMD. They also have their own toilets (some preschools do not have them, especially those located in shopping centres).
They also have a large outdoor play area (but it is currently under renovation, so they will go over nearer to the K1/K2 area for outdoor play).
8. In-house Enrichments
For busy parents, it would be good if the school has enrichment programs.
The preschool my boy attends has extra enrichments (of cos you will need to pay for the additional classes). These enrichment classes include piano, swimming, chinese, abacus, art, mental maths, etc etc. They also have school bus service to send the kids home after enrichment!
Due to budget constraints, I did not send my boy for their enrichment programs. However, they do have holiday classes for these enrichment programs and school bus service is still available even during holidays! To prevent 'after-holidays-return-to-school-sickness', I enrol him in the holiday classes. He loves them! He will come home chatting non-stop about his 'adventures'.
As parents, just remember...
At the end of the day, we want our kids to be HAPPY. No point forcing them into a school they do not like (even if we think it is the best).
I did put my boy for trial classes at his current preschool before we made up our minds.
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