Skip to main content

Review: Sunflower Preschool @ Clementi (Jan 2021)

 H has been enrolled in Sunflower Preschool @ Clementi for about 2 - 3 months now. As I was not able to find much information about this preschool when I enrolled him, I would like to share my experience and opinion so that parents are able to have an informed choice.

*Disclaimer: I am not paid for this review*

Sunflower Preschool @ Clementi is located at Clementi Ave 3, near to the Phoon Huat shop, if you are familiar with the place. It takes up the space of a full shop, with 1st and 2nd level. Level 1 is reserved for IFC while 2nd level is for PG to K2.

The CC is quite small and I think there are not probably not more than 25 - 30 kids from infants to K2.

Do note that this may change as the centre is now under the POP scheme and their school fees are comparable to Sparkletots and MFS (actually cheaper because the centre is not GST-registered from Jan 2021.)

As H is only in IFC, I can only review for the IFC portion.


Pros:

Low teacher -student ratio - When I first enrolled H in, the teacher-student ratio is 3: 7. aka 3 teachers to 7 infants for the 5 days of IFC (not on a any one time basis) but I feel that the ratio is still reasonable as there will always be at least 2 teachers at any one time to the 7 infants. The teachers also know us by face since the kids are few.

Splitting of CC and IFC in different areas - Not sure how effective this is, but with only 7 infants, the risk of getting sick is probably lesser?

Cheaper fees - Only from Jan 2021 onwards. We paid $1000 per month before the POP scheme is in place.

Caring main teacher - Teacher Zurah is really good with kids. Hunter loves her a lot and she replies promptly whenever I have questions. 

Quarterly Parent Teacher Session - I have inquired at Sparkletots and MFS and it seems that the sessions for parents are only on a semester basis. In Sunflower, they have 4 sessions a year. I have attended one session so far and the teachers will feedback on H's milestone developments as well as his behaviour in school (which is apparently terrible by the way T.T)

Spacious area - I like that there is a big space for kids to run around in (once they are able to walk). H went in wobbling at 12 months and started walking really steadily (and learning to run) at 14 months. I would attribute this to the constant walking in IFC since he was not allowed to walk much at home (my parents were worried that he would fall).

No diaper rash - I have heard stories about infants having very bad diaper rashes but so far, there are no such instances for H. The environment in the IFC is about 26 degrees which is perfect since H is prone to heat rashes like me ><

Neutral:

Comms booklet - Even though they have an app, it is used mainly for attendance taking and the blasting of emailers to parents. The comms book is a small booklet that indicates H's feeding and sleeping time, as well as the activities he has done for the day. Sometimes, activities done are not recorded?? but it may be due to the oversight as the teachers can be very busy at times.

Mixed-age integration - From Jan 2021 onwards, the children in CC are first situated at 1st level from 7am - 8am before going up to level 2. On one hand, it sounds like a great idea with some montessori elements but is this a way of cutting cost? Time would tell.

Transparency: As the IFC is blocked off by the decals, parents can only peek in and try to locate their kid without letting their presence known. May be good or bad depending on how much privacy is viewed by the parents.

Activities: Can't really tell much but there are art and craft items that are brought back on a monthly basis. I have seen the teachers doing story telling to them too. 

Cons:

Picture taking - Apparently, there are not much photo updates as the principal claims that she encourages the teachers to jaga the kids more instead of focusing on taking photos. They do not take picture for attendance for those who are worried about security. However, in their defense, in the 2 months, I have not encountered a case where the attendance taking is wrong. (probably cuz the IFC is so small)

Assistant teacher - I am honestly not too fond of Teacher Megan; not that she is uncaring but...as she is an acquaintance of my mum, there are usually some kind of unprofessional remarks from her to my mum. E.g. she would tell my mum that the other kids in the IFC are all quiet and guai but H is different... She wasn't explicit in saying that H is not guai, but one would catch the nuance of her remarks. It made for a bit of unpleasantness when my mum comes back and repeats such remarks to us. But this is a personal opinion; it may not be the case for others as my situation is unique.

Admin matters - The principal is not exactly the best at admin. The additional subsidy that we were entitled to were delayed for the 2 months until I went to email her about it. Then, she claimed that she only received it earlier that week when the email from ECDA was sent back in Nov 2020. This may be a concern for parents who are tight in cashflow as the subsidy is only applied 1 month after the actual month of payment. For instance, I have to pay the school fee of $1000 (after basic subsidy) in Dec 2020 and the offset for the additional subsidy is only applied in Jan 2021. 


All in all, I feel that it is an acceptable IFC. All the basic requirements are met. The service is not impressive but IFC vacancies are hard to come by and for the fees (from Jan 2021), I feel parents can consider it if you are living nearby.

P.S: They allowed me to accompany H for the 1st 3 days. I only utilised a few hours on the 1st day and can't wait to go off lol. For the 2nd and 3rd day, we sent him for the full half days without accompanying him. (We were peeking in instead, which was a little hard as our view was sort of blocked) To be honest, I realised that H stopped crying after 5 - 10 mins after we left. So, parents, do not worry too much and let your kid be more independent :D

Hopefully my review has helped in your consideration of IFC in Clementi and feel free to reach out if you are interested in connecting!

Update: Apr 2022: All the teachers mentioned are no longer in the preschool. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Phonics Class at Curious Thoughts Academy (CTA)

Today, I am going to share my review of the phonics enrichment school that I have been sending Hunter to since start of July 2023. To give you the background, Curious Thoughts Academy (CTA) base its phonics classes on Jolly Phonics, and is located in Bugis.  I first got to know about CTA when they launched their phonics workshop. Being the ambitious mum, I thought that I could save some money and teach Hunter phonics by myself. After going through the workshop, I realised the amount of work I have to put in to curate the materials, and I decided that it is best left to the experts and I would just revise the contents with him at home during the week. Below are the information from CTA. They run the classes by terms and classes are tagged by levels.        Price List for 2023                         Hunter is currently in Intermediate phonics and will be advancing up next year.  I love the approach of Jolly phonics as they use songs and actions to capture the attention of kids. As this
Post a Comment
Read more

Our 2D2N trip at JB (Paradigm Mall JB)

At the last recent school closure, we brought Hunter to JB for a long weekend together with my parents. We took the KTMB train again and it was convenient and fuss free as the previous time . This would probably be the last time where Hunter gets to take the train for free. The rationale to choose Paradigm Mall was simple - a one stop centre for everyone. Since we didn't have our own transport, we chose an accommodation which is very near to the mall (2-5 mins walk) depending on which block you stay. The condo is called Platino and it's pretty new. Playground in the condo swimming pool This is how near the mall is. As usual, Hunter's priorities came first, which ended with us going to Utopia for both days of the trip. We signed up for the 3 entries package, which cost RM188. It comprises a free bumper ride and a welcome gift. One adult can also accompany him each time without additional fee. Socks are additional (RM 5 for a pair) because we didn't expect to go in so ear
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Sunflower preschool at Clementi (Sep 2021)

I had withdrawn H from Sunflower at Clementi in Sep 2021. Contrary to the positive experience that I had when he was in IFC, the horror started when he was doing the transition to PG (aka moving upstairs to the toddler class). The negative experience was probably due to the resignation of both his teachers who had been with him throughout his IFC days, and it prompted him to display anxiety while in school. The teachers informed that he was crying at the doorsteps every day when the IFC teachers brought him to transit to the PG class. Regrettably, he started to bite his classmates. We were told of this when he first bit the little child and were encouraged to talk to him and explain that biting is bad. The days went by and once in a while, we would hear of the biting issues. However, the issues were only flagged out when my mum went to fetch him and there were communication issues as my mum couldn't understand much English. It didn't help that I had fractured my foot during tha
Post a Comment
Read more

[Review] 3D2N trip to Sinar Eco Resort, JB, Malaysia with a 2 year old toddler

The long weekend trip to Sinar Eco Resort was our first family trip post-covid. It also served as a birthday trip for PL. As H's school was closed on 2 and 5 Sep 2022, we had to make plans to ensure our sanity. Initially, I wanted to go somewhere further but common sense and logic won out. After much deliberation and consideration, we narrowed the locations to JB and had 2 choices in mind. One is Sinar Eco Resort and the other one is Rainforest Tree House. In the end, we decided on Sinar Eco Resort because of the following points: All-inclusive stay (RM280 per night/pax) H doesn't need to pay since he is below 3 years old. Location (Near to SG. If H falls sick, we could rush back.) Kid's safety (Since it's an enclosed farm, we could be sure that he wouldn't be kidnapped or something along the line. Sorry, I'm just too paranoid) Activities (H loves animals and animal feeding is included in the package) One thing I must say about PL; he is really a do-er. After we
2 comments
Read more

[Review] Lovejoy confinement centre in JB

I did an unthinkable thing, which is to head over to JB for confinement. When I first suggested that, everyone around me warned me against it. They cited the lack of healthcare should I or Hunter is unwell and the inconvenience caused by the distance. I wasn't deterred and pushed forward with it and I didn't have any regrets. I enjoyed my time there tremendously and would go back there again if not for my insistence that I would not have a second kid. All that being said, there are definitely some cons but they are minor issues in my opinion. An unassuming front  Pros: Amazing food As everyone knows, food in JB tastes better and the confinement centre is no exception. 5 meals are provided a day with unlimited milo and biscuits should you be hungry. (Trust me, breastfeeding is hungry business). The timings are 9am (breakfast), 12pm (lunch), 3pm (teabreak), 6pm (dinner) and 9pm(supper). As you can see, I was really well taken care of in the food department when I was there. Huge
Post a Comment
Read more