For mothers like us with preschool-aged children, it can be difficult to decide whether to place our children in a pre-school to prepare them for kindergarten. For working mothers, it seems practical to send their children to preschool during work hours. For stay-at-home mothers, they may have different opinions. Whatever it is, searching and finding the most appropriate preschool can be a daunting task.

For me, I went through this situation last year, when Little Edison was 2+ years old. I couldn’t decide whether I should send him to preschool when he turns 3. By the time I finally decided to do so, I missed out big time. When I called various preschools around Sept last year, I found out that they were mostly full for year 2010 intake.

I couldn’t believe it. It’s only preschool! How could they take so seriously the enrollment of a 2-3 years old toddler? Some of the schools have waiting list, with more than 20 parents on the list. We had no choice but to put ourselves in waiting list and hope for miracle to happen. And it really did happen! We managed to secure a place for Little Edison in one of the preschool that we’ve shortlisted. We’re indeed lucky.

Now that it’s over, we’re so relieved that we found the right preschool and our little boy is doing fine at school. It can be an exhausting and time-consuming process, but at the end of the day, when we see our children loving his school, it’s all worth our hard works and efforts.

Today, I would like to share what I learned from my experience, and hopefully this will help you to plan for this process better.

1. Plan early and ahead

You need to start contacting the various preschools of your choice way before you decide whether it’s time for your children to start preschool. Remember – enrollment periods for these preschools are many months in advance. You may end up in the waiting list if you missed the enrollment periods.

2. Define your requirements

What you want your little one to achieve in preschool – learning the ABCs, reading and writing early, or simply to allow him/her to gain more social independence? What type of program or curriculum that you are looking for? Besides the curriculum, you also need to examine the costs, locations and reviews on the preschool by talking to your friends, neighbours or simply checking from the internet or forums.

Here are some useful websites that you can use as a reference:

MOE Kindergarten Profile – you can check the total enrollment and monthly fees.

MumCentre Preschool Locator – you can find preschools near your home or workplace by postal code or keyword.

3. Start your search and visit the preschool in person

First of all, call up the preschool to inform them about your visit. If possible, bring your child along during class time (if they allow). See how your child react during the visit and what’s his/her impression of the school. Talk to the teacher or principal to understand the school curriculum. After the visit, ask your child if he/she likes the school, the classroom, the teachers or the children in the school. Their feedback is the most important!

4. Weigh all the options and make your final decision

This is the most critical step. Think about the curriculum, costs, school hours, logistics issues i.e. sending your child to and from school, location, the food provided by the preschool, teacher-to-student ratio, environment issues i.e. whether it is air-conditioned etc.

5. Actual registration

Make your registration with the preschool once you’ve decided. You are required to pay a deposit during the registration. The deposit is refundable (most of the time) but please check on the terms and conditions.

Once you have registered your child, you can start to gradually prepare him/her for the first day of school. Finally, be proud and confident with your choice! You certainly deserve a big pat on your back for spending so much effort in this activity. Even if you finally decide that your child is not ready for preschool, be assured that your research and consideration is what led you to the right decision.

Share on Facebook

Possibly Related Posts:

• Places We Love at Changi Airport
• Parent-Teacher Meeting
• First Day of March
• Product Review: Noddy Fun Book
• Mother, Maid and Child Relationship

Last month, I received a letter of notification from school about our first parent-teacher meeting that has been scheduled on 29 April 2010. It was our first parent-teacher meeting at Edison’s school.

Of course, I was anxious and excited. I’ve been counting down to this special day. I suppose it will be interesting to hear from the teachers what my little boy has been doing in school for the past four months.

The teachers, principal and other staff members of the school are very friendly, patient and caring. Daddy V and I are happy that Little Edison is in good hands. Every morning when I drop him off at school, his teacher receives him with a warm and cherry smile. Occasionally, I get updates about his progress at school from the communication book and through phone calls. This parent-teacher meeting will be our first face-to-face meeting with the teachers to discuss about his performance in school.

In general, Little Edison is adapting well at school. He is displaying most of the milestones of a 3-year-old. He is very alert and he has strong observation skills. He can adapt to the structure of the typical school day, understand rules and regulations if these are explained clearly to him. He is also confident to try out all indoor and outdoor activities at school.

One thing that really took me by surprise is that he is rather quiet at school. On the other hand, he prattles away non-stop at home. He can speak fluently and appropriately with us. The teacher has commented that his silence at school probably arises because he is not yet fully at ease with the other children and adults. She will continue to encourage him to be more vocal in class.

He spends much of his time on his own activities rather than playing with others. The teacher described it as “solitary play” which is quite normal for children under the age of 3. It takes time for a child to master the art of playing with other children and demonstrates social behaviors. We were relieved when the teacher mentioned that he didn’t display negative behaviors like hitting other children at school.

There are lots of everyday challenges that he is expected to manage on his own (although still under supervision by the teachers). For instance, he needs to be able to attend to his toileting needs independently. These include knowing when to use the toilet, be able to pull his pants down and back up again tidily as well as washing and drying his hands afterwards. I was impressed when the teacher told me that he can very well do it on his own.

To us, every little achievement he has made at school is as remarkable as setting foot on the moon. We want him to have a good time at school, enjoy his company of friends and develop a love for learning.

-

Share on Facebook

Possibly Related Posts:

• School Update
• First Class Excursion
• Finding the Right Preschool
• Edison – 2 Years, 10 Months
• Haircut

The first two weeks were very stressful for all of us. Little Edison was crying badly at school. It was also a terrible heart-breaking moment for us every morning when I send him to school. My mind was full of uncertainties, I was contemplating whether to stop sending him to school but I persevere.

It has paid off finally. He is now comfortable at school; he starts to interact with other children and he is also doing much of his works by himself. We observed that he is slightly more independent now. He wears shoes and takes them off by himself. He carries his own bag and water bottle. He is learning to eat on his own too.

At school, the teacher commented that he likes outdoor activities very much. He will run and climb – up and down until he sweats out. The teacher will have to change his clothes after the outdoor activity. Every morning, the children will sit in the hall and they are taught about Jesus in a fun loving environment. Besides singing and story-telling, they do a lot of hands-on crafts too.

These are some of the hands-on crafts that our little boy did at school. Every piece of them is a gem to me.

-

Share on Facebook

Possibly Related Posts:

• Finding the Right Preschool
• Parent-Teacher Meeting
• Product Review: Noddy Fun Book
• Parent Orientation
• Nursery One

Oh, did I ever tell you that we have withdrawn Little Edison from Shichida Method brain-training class in Dec 2009? Perhaps I’ve forgotten. We left in Dec 2009 after completing 6 terms. Main reason is that Little Edison started to lose interest and concentration in the class. I felt that the lessons are getting too advanced for a two-year-old, and that caused him to lose interest. He spent more than half of the time wandering at the back of the class instead of participating.

This Fun Book uses one flip grid and twelve numerical plastic boards to develop into mathematical and logical challenges. A wide selection of topics are being covered including numeral, mathematics, shape, color, time, animal, plant, weather, upper and lower case, daily life and so on. There are three different levels of difficulties in various topics catered for different learning ability and progress.

What is inside the Noddy Fun Book?

• 10 colorful fun books
• A flip grid
• 12 numerical plastic boards
• 1 parent guide
•  Color markers

How to use it?

• Step 1:

Open one of the fun book and the flip-grid. Take out the number pieces and put the empty grid on top of the book so that the lines in the book correspond with the squares on the grid. Place the number pieces on the left-hand side of the grid in sequence (from 1 to 12)

• Step 2:

Follow the instructions on the top left corner of the book. Take a number piece from the left-hand side of the grid. Look at the pictures on the right-hand side and find the matching picture. Place the number piece in the empty square of the matching picture. Repeat the same with the other number pieces until all the 12 number pieces are transferred to the right-hand side of the grid.

• Step 3:

Once you have completed, close the flip-grid and turn it over. Check whether the color combination on the flip-grid is the same as the answer key in the upper-right-hand corner of the book.

Noddy Fun Book contains 150 games. You can also derive new games using your own creativity. This product is patented by Learning Age International Co., Ltd. (Taiwan). I bought this set from SMH Bulk Purchase at $70+.

When I played this game with Little Edison for the first time, it was quite a challenge getting him to listen to my instructions. He was too excited and started putting the number pieces all over the places. Nonetheless, we still managed to complete one game. For the second time, it was a whole lot better. Now, he understands the objectives of the game and he is able to concentrate and complete two or three games at each session.

All in all, I think that it’s a really great product.

–

Share on Facebook

Possibly Related Posts:

• Finding the Right Preschool
• Review: Vitacreme B12
• Parent-Teacher Meeting
• First Day of March
• Parent Orientation

However, being the only child at home, he was rather spoiled by us. His terrible two is also at its peak now. He screams to get his way; he cries and throws things on the floor in a fit of temper. He is uncooperative during feeding time. Recently, he also fusses during bed time, as if all his terrible two and feeding problems aren’t enough to drive me up the wall.

I’m totally lost and I don’t know how to survive through this stage. The only help I can think of is school. That is why I’m going to send him to school next year. I’m not trying to shirk my responsibility to the teachers. However, with a new environment and under the guidance of experienced teachers, I do hope that he will become more matured and disciplined.

One of the very important lessons learnt during the orientation is coping with separation anxiety for the parents as well as children. Most new parents feel acutely nervous when their child begins school. We may worry about our child’s adjustment or we just miss spending time with them. While this is completely normal, we have to have faith with the teachers. Maintain a positive attitude, give our child continual assurance and positive image of the school will help our child to lessen their anxiety. It’s a transitional period that all of us have to go through.

On the first day of school, one parent is allowed to accompany their child in the class. There will be four teachers (as compared to two on normal school days) and sixteen children in a class. On the second day, no parents are allowed in the classroom. However, if they are worried, they can remain outside the classroom and take a peek at their child. On the third day, no parents are allowed in or outside the classroom.

We bought two sets of school uniforms as well as PE attires for Little Edison. We paid about $750+ for the term fees, worksheets, school materials and uniforms. The classroom looks like a giant toy store, with heaps of toys, story books, tiny tables and chairs. There are also outdoor and indoor playgrounds, rides, water and sand play area. There is really no reason not to love this school, except that he is not allowed to bring his two good friends along – his pacifier and smelly pillow!

Little Edison getting ready to visit his school 

From a doctor to an egg seller in the market and a restaurant manager, he is as happy as can be…

His uniforms and PE attires

Share on Facebook

Possibly Related Posts:

• Finding the Right Preschool
• Parent-Teacher Meeting
• First Day of March
• Product Review: Noddy Fun Book
• Nursery One