Mummas of little tykes may already know that it’s that time of the year. No, not prepping for Christmas; rather it’s time to suss out which school is the right one for your child.
In fact, if you’re thinking of just starting to look around now for a January start, you might already be a little late in the game. Many good preschools that are sought-after have an extremely long waiting list; some parents put their child’s name on it just after they’re born!
While that might seem kind of hardcore, even as a laidback parent, there are some pros and cons to consider when deciding where to place your kid for the next four years. Here are some to bear in mind when your long or shortlisting schools for Junior.
Proximity to home or office
Many of us are still working from home in these pandemic times but if you still need to be at the office, factor in the distance to pick up your child from school. A “premium” school that is longer than 15 minutes away from your start or end point will quickly lose its lustre when you’re stuck in your daily commute. Not to mention, some schools fine parents who are late picking up their child from the centre. No one needs that kind of pressure in their lives.
So before you get suckered in my the nicely decorated classrooms, pretty playgrounds or cool enrichment activities, check the address of the school. If it’s location means cannot reasonably fit into your regular life, then give it a hard pass.
What’s the school curriculum?
You might have done some research and found out that there are different types of learning styles used by different schools. Some promote a Montessori style of learning, while others are more traditionally classroom-based and teacher-led. There are schools Waldorf-Steiner where kids don’t use textbooks of any kind and yet others that emphasise the use of Mandarin as the main language of communication.
It all depends on what best supports your children’s needs, based on what you already know as their Mumma. Got a kid who is curious and can’t keep still? He might be better suited to having more free-play and have him lead his own learning. Does your kid need special learning tools or aids? Best to start early by looking for a school with allied support services that can coach his learning foundation to help him cope for the rest of his school career.
City vs country school?
Of course, this is a trick question! Singapore is too tiny to have a countryside, yet there is something to be said about schools that are located within a building as opposed to one that is standalone, with its own large compound for playing.
It might be a matter of convenience to enrol your child in a school located in the same building as your workplace. Perhaps it’s even subsidised by your company because of that. However, consider other factors that might serve your child’s needs better. Got a kid with allergies or who needs a special diet? She might benefit from being in a non-aircon environment with lots of opportunities to be outdoors rather than stuck in a unit within an office building or a mall.
What’s next after pre-school?
Yet another consideration is what you have planned for junior once he completes his preschool or kindergarten experience.
It’s pretty common for most local Singaporeans to move on to the local school system in Primary 1. Yet there is a small but growing number of parents who are opting for homeschooling or online school, even before COVID times. With more learning resources available online more so than ever, it has become a viable studying route that parents are considering for their children, not least as a way out of Singapore’s famously stressful education system.
Yet others who are non-locals also have the option of international schools, offering the IB system from preschool level. If this is a system of learning that you’re aspiring towards for your child, then it makes perfect sense to choose a school that would allow him to progress seamlessly from Kindergarten level to Elementary.
While these questions and consideration might seem like a million miles away from where you are now, with blankies, diapers and baby carriers still, time really does pass in the blink of an eye – especially in the first two years.
It’s never too early to keep an eye out for baby’s first school and here are a list of Preschools that can be found on our Directory!