Monday, December 17, 2007

Search for that 'perfect' pre-school - Still ON


Come Monday & I am all enthu to re-start the hunt for that 'perfect' pre-school for my now very bored son. (The photo above is from his previous pre-school in Singapore). It has to follow the Montessori method of teaching, there should be a low teacher-student ratio, they should have a playground, they must be clean & hygienic, the teachers/directresses must be soft & gentle with the kids, they should be...., the school has to... oh well the list never ends. Well actually it ends, but these are things that are very important for the child.

Well today I decided to visit a school while returning from Aadi's Gymboree Art class. We can manage only one as the class ends at 12, and Aadi is sleepy or hungry or both !! So off we went to Gymboree & then as soon as class was over we hopped into uncle Sebastian's taxi & went off looking for Fungarten Kindergarten along Lorong Marrof, we found the house number correctly, but there was no sign of Fungarten, the place had some other name, & looked run down. Even then I went in & enquired with the lady. There were a few kids inside, mostly day-care ones I feel, & seeing them Aadi decides to take off his shoes & run inside; and I am trying to get the lady to tell me where Fungarten relocated to...well my enquiry was futile, & I went back to the taxi with Aadi howling away for not being sent inside the school. He went off to sleep on way home & was dozing for a good couple of hours. During which I racked my brains, Google, and everything else I could think off to find some more pre-schools in Bangsar. Finally I decided to cut it short & stick to the few names that I have, One of them is Tasks Jaunty Montessori, the other is Words. I liked the latter one more as I have gone through their web site & the place looks fun. So now I have decided that enough is enough, I will choose between these two only...well except that I want to check out Children's House also!! but they are closed until 7th January, and I cannot bear to keep Aadi away from school till then.

So now Wednesday will be the-day, the day that we finally decide. I have plans to also carry some cash so that I register there n there if I like the school. So wish me luck for Wednesday!!

4 comments:

Sandeep said...

Nice informative post. We are also in a same boat in a search of a good Montessori school. Please update when you get something good ..may be I will also try to update on my blog when I have something...

Hui-Wearn said...

Hi i'm hui-wearn and i've read your comment left on my blog. do contact Moh Cheng - the principal of Lil Beansprouts Montessori at 012-3546498. The preschool is currently on holiday. do mention my name or my son's name : Evan. Location is Pantai Panorama Condo which is near Bangsar.

mrika said...

Hi .. stumbled upon your blog somehow. :-)

Just wanted to say my son attends The Children's House in Lucky Garden, Bangsar. I've been very pleased with the school since he started there in January '07. Am wondering ... which school have you decided on for your child? And did you get to visit The Children's House at all?

You mentioned the key factors you look into when choosing a school - teaching method (montessori), teacher student ratio, cleanliness and hygiene ... well, Children's House fit my requirements, and I too was very particular when doing my search for the best school for my child. :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi, I wonder which school did your kid attending eventually. our will be in 2 next year. We like her to exploring her schooling period enjoying her social life a bit. so,I am currently doing my research of montessori school @ bangsar too.

Me & My friend went to the Children House @ Damansara Height and Bangsar, both are not as good as we expected, the space of the place/environment/introduction of the teaching method. We are compare this one against the Chiltern House, Julia Gabriel.

Then We went to the Brighton Smart Pre-School (previously called: Taska Sri Montessori) at Damansara Height, the directress's introduction and showing us around the classes, facilities, activities, even demonstrated the equipments and teaching methods, some children's activities workbook to us, very informative and impressive. The environment and the space of the place is satisfied. The directress is a foreigner and they using the Jolly Phonic as part of the school programme teaching method.

Today, went to the WORDS, gave me an impression likes a Childcare centre. Then I drove pass the Jaunty Montessori, the playground isn't have enough facilities for children to explore.

We hope that we are not being expected too much for our children.

We wanted our children study / learning/enjoys the fun of their 1st time schooling before they go to the primary school. If they have a bad experience in the pre-school, then it will be having difficulties go to primary.

We known there are many kindergartens in Bangsar, to get a good one...is difficult, further their price more or like the same too.

We judging based on:
1) Hygiene
2) Cleaness
3) Facilities & Equipments
4) Teaching methods & Activities
5) Teacher:Students ratio
6) Safety & Security
7) Character / attitude of the teachers /carers. i.e. helpful / friendly.
8) Not too Commercial!!
9) Not too academic. learning thru play... coz after all they only kid under 6 years old.

We still hunting...as we have plenty of time. Currently our lil is going to Chiltern house, then Gymboree play class.

Please let us know if you have a good experience montessori school in Bangsar.

Thanks so much.