Preschool Planning

As toddler E grows older, I've begun researching kindergartens to find one that suits him and us without burning a hole in our pockets. Preschool education in Singapore seems to range from the incredibly expensive places that charge a few thousand per term to those that charge a few hundred (with financial aid from the government via ECDA). 

We are planning to wait until toddler E is 4 or maybe 5 years old before enrolling him into kindergarten. I did not want to put him under the care of an institution before he was able to walk and talk (and confident in his bathroom habits). Both daddy E and I were not enrolled in kindergarten until we were 5 or 6 years old and going by the pressure Singaporean children are under today, we wanted to give toddler E a carefree childhood for as long as possible. 

I also read this article on Steven Biddulph, an Australian psychologist who advocates quality child care (there are several other articles from different sources as well, I'll add them to this post later on).

Here's a quote, 

"In a new book, Raising Babies - Should under 3s go to Nursery?, he argues that this growing international body of work combined with neurobiological research clearly suggests that at least during the first two years of life, brain development unfolds at its optimum with one-to-one care. This care could be from mother, father, a loving relative or, if necessary, a single, attentive paid carer."

We are also very aware of the fact that toddler E needs to learn how to be independent and I believe that can be taught at home. Of course if I put him into daycare or preschool now, I could have some child-free time which would be lovely. However, I will grit my teeth and persevere with a toddler attached to my hip (or within shouting distance) for the next couple of years. 

So I took toddler E to a seminar / open house at Wharton Preschool in Ang Mo Kio on 18 May 2013. The school follows the Montessori method of teaching (I'll do a post on the various teaching methods as I'm learning about this too!). 

He seemed to enjoy the session, especially with the lunch lady giving him lots of home-made chocolate chip cookies!

Listening to instructions but wanting to play

Rhythm & Legos

Crafting his 'guitar'