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Updates: Our Children House Montessori Preschool (9 months mark)

 It has been a while since I last updated about Hunter's preschool.

Recently, we had a PTM and I am very glad to say that Hunter has significant improvement ever since he switched out from the POP preschool that he attended previously.

Background

A poll that I did previously with my family and friends showed that their preference is to put the kid near home, so that it's more convenient for fetching back and forth.

We took their advice and enrolled Hunter in a nearby preschool, thinking that we can save trouble for my parents. 

Everything was great for IFC and the teachers were very caring and responsive. It started going downhill when the school switched to becoming a POP preschool.

It may be because of the change in environment, but Hunter started biting other kids when he went upstairs in PG. The teachers also informed that he cried uncontrollably when separated from the IFC teachers.

It became so bad that Hunter was suspended from school for 2 weeks (unfortunately at a time when I fractured my foot and couldn't walk). It was truly a disaster and we had to rope in help from everywhere.

With this, we decided to switch him to another school and after much consideration, we enrolled him into Blossom BlissSparkle. It seems like we do not have much luck in the preschool sector as the operator was taken over after Hunter was in the school for less than 1/2 year.

We contemplated changing school again, but decided to stay put as the whole process was tedious and hard on the pocket.

Current impression

Since the change in management in March 2022, there were not much difference in terms of teachers. School fees also remained the same. The only obvious change is the removal of Japanese Language lessons and the teaching style for the kids.

As seen from the school's name, they adopted a Montessori style of teaching (which I am a believer of) and they did a refresh of items on a periodic basis. Hunter also got used to wearing school uniform to school every day.

Sneak peep of what he does in school:

Eating by himself with training chopsticks

Part of Life skills

Messy Play

Growing plants

Learning how to pour without spilling

Balancing games

Shape matching

Learning his alphabets

Waterpainting

Taking care of the plants

I am very heartened to see that he is enjoying himself every day in school (and it helps that the total school population is small so lesser sick days).

It also seems that the school is practising a form of mixed class (PG and N1), (N2 and K1), (K1 and K2) based on the school's year end concert.

Issues

Of course, with every school, there are some issues (I would be lying if I say that the school is perfect). My gripe is:

- Not so timely updates 

Ok, this might be a expectation vs reality gap as I was hoping that there would be a weekly update. Sadly, the updates are unpredictable and it may be weekly/biweekly.

- School bus timing

The bus arrival timings in the morning is erratic. It could be as early as 8plus am to 9ish am. Not so suitable for working parents. Luckily I could get my mum to help.

- Slightly expensive

We could only afford it because Hunter is an only child. If not, I think it might be a slight stretch as school fees are not the only items we need to pay for.

Verdict:

It's a preschool that you can consider if you are staying around Clementi area. There are not many options available unless you plan to your kid to West Coast area, and IMO, private preschools are still better than the government ones, despite all the talks about schools being equal. However, do be prepared to pay more. (I'm paying about double the price of the POP preschool).

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