Mommy & daddy took leave today to visit pre-schools. We were ambitious. Mommy had planned to visit 4 schools today.. but that would have meant almost the whole day - 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. It was tiring and so we decided on 2 in the end. Haha. Lazy mommy! And we chose the 2 that were nearest to home, and nearest to each other.
We visited Learning Vision and Mindchamps.
First stop was at Learning Vision. We didnt like it. The school was really big and clean and they had some pretty cool multi media facilities but we didnt like the environment inside the school. It had an open concept.. very few rooms, and each group of children were divided by just some low cabinets. It felt a little like a market place, really noisy and crowded. Because there were no rooms, when one child cries, the other kids from other groups could hear. How could this be conducive for learning? Anyway after observing the class which Wayne would join in if we enrolled him here, mommy & daddy kinda ruled this place out. It was quite a mess, the teachers didnt seem to be able to handle the group of children well.. although the teacher was in the midst of teaching them Chinese, the teacher was unable to command the attention of the children at all. The kids were distracted by other things and the whole place just felt really disorganised.
Next stop was to Mindchamps, our 2nd visit there. The last time we visited Mindchamps, it was on a Saturday so we didnt manage to observe any classes. So this time, we made a trip there again to have a look at the teachers, students and classes. And we were happy! Mommy & daddy are quite sold to this place already. It was a total different experience from that at Learning Vision.
The classes were conducted in a very orderly manner. The place was very clean and organised. The children in the playgroup class (Wayne's age group) were well engaged in the activities the teacher was conducting. The room for the playgroup class was quite big (compared to a tiny cluttered corner at Learning Vision) and looked nice and cosy. The manager there, Mr Kayne, spoke well, took time to explain the schedule and curriculum to us. The children there seemed to like Mr Kayne very much as well. Unlike at Learning Vision and quite a few other pre-schools, the afternoon sessions at Mindchamps were not spent just sleeping and what they call "free play" where the children basically are left on their own to do their own thing, which felt alot like child care, not something we were looking for. At Mindchamps, they have some English & Chinese activities scheduled as well.
But what struck us most was the children there. The children looked very happy. They were well behaved, spoke well, interacted well with each other and seemed very well mannered. And most importantly, they seemed very happy. Although it was school, the children appeared to actually enjoy being there. Which is very important, cos the reason we are sending Wayne to pre-school is for him to have fun with friends his age!
Wayne's behaviour while we were at Mindchamps further gave mommy & daddy assurance that this could be the right pre-school for Wayne. One where he could hopefully adapt more easily. Both times we brought Wayne here, he seemed to feel at home and would run around himself, playing with the toys. He didn't cling on to mommy like he would normally do in a foreign place. At Learning Vision, mommy had to carry him all the while there. So, we were really glad Wayne seemed to feel at ease at Mindchamps. Of course, mommy knows that the first month will be very tough for Wayne having to adapt and be apart from the people he is so used to being with. But in the long run, mommy is sure Wayne would love coming to school!
The entrance to the classrooms
Daddy at the entrance, checking out the parent's bulletin board
Wayne peering in, wondering whats going inside?
The gym room where Wayne enjoyed running around on the padded floor
Running to and fro.. entertaining himself as mommy & daddy spoke to Mr Kayne
We still plan to visit other preschools just to be sure.. but mommy is very keen on Mindchamps already. We also haven't decided when to start Wayne in school but perhaps July would be a good time. We'll see.
Mommy's really glad, at least we know there's this preschool we really like for Wayne.
