Pre-schools for 2 year old? monetessori?

[Jane_S]

Hello,
We've got a possible move to Singapore coming up next year. We have a 2 year old. We'd like to get him into a morning pre-school.
I've been doing some research on where we can afford to live. We want to be walking distance to an MTR line (as we'll both we working down at Raffles Quay) so my boy's pre-school will need to be walking distance from our condo....
The areas that I get the feeling we can afford are district 20, 21, 23...but it seems that 21&23 are not on MRT lines...
Basically we can afford about 3000k in rent, need 3 bedrooms, would like approx 1600sf, and need some basic facilities (a childs pool & playground...a tennis court would be a bonus!).
Ideally my maid would be able to walk my boy to school (or in a pram) and pick him up....
Can anyone tell me where some nice little pre-schools are (in the areas I can afford)...that way I can narrow my search to the districts that have a pre-school for him and are on an MTR line.
Anyone's help is much appreciated!
Thanks very much.
Jane

[Jane_S]

no one can help?

[langkawi]

It really depends what you are looking for. Are you looking for an expat experience for your kids? or a local experience?
How much are you budgetting for preschool?
Also, what second language do you want your child to learn. If you want him/her to learn Chinese, I recommend Pat's school house. It's an expat focussed preschool that does a bilingual immersion programme.

I also like Learning Vision and Hungry Caterpillar.

You can read review of singapore preschools here:

http://sg.theasianparent.com/reviews/

Hope I've helped.

[fresian]

You should consider living in East coast (served by MRT's East West line - the green line). Has direct link to Raffles PLace (ie nearest to Raffles Quay). District 20 (Bishan, braddell, etc) isn't going to be very exciting, whereas East Coast will have all types of food, beaches, etc. Do check it out. East Coast has lots of good schools too.

[Hildegard]

Hi,

There's an awesome little school on river valley road called the bluehouse nursery. its a Reggio Emilia inspired centre. Im a nanny here in singapore, and the little boy i look after goes there. Its the most beautiful school. it is quite expensive, i think its the 3rd most expensive pre school in Singapore. anyway, check out their website:

http://www.thebluehousenursery.com/

[samsarah]

Hi Jane,

I chanced upon this thread while surfing for something else. For the residential areas you're looking at, perhaps you can try serangoon/braddell area. There's a number of condos with the facilities that would meet your requirements and I believe rental can be within your budget as well. It's also near Serangoon or Lor. Chuan MRT which is a north-east line I believe. I'm actually working at a Montessori school within that area. It's a MOntessori school called Lumiere Montessori House. We accept students from 2 - 6yrs. Perhaps you can have a search on us at www.mumcentre.com.sg as we don't a website as yet. Hope this info can help : )

[hbw65]

There are tons of pre-schools for 2 year olds in singapore no matter where you live as everything is also just short taxi ride away. i think you just have to do some research online or type in some keywords to start with. Expat Living, The Finder always has advertisements....off hand there's also: Eton, White Lodge, Pat's Schoolhouse, Julia Gabriel, Montessori (tons around), PlayDays and Little Hands. Many of these have mulitple locations around Singapore too.

[JimH5]

There is a terrific Montessori school on Newton Road just south of the Novena MRT.

My daughter became friends with some of the girls (ages 3-5) who attend, and they're all very sharp and well mannered.

[Maria K]

Playdays in Sunset Way, Clementi (area 21) is excellent. They offer flexible attendance from 1-5 days. The atmosphere is very open and happy thanks to the teachers who are all extremely approachable, friendly and well-spoken. The centre is on ground level with an outside play area and spacious, brightly lit (natural light) studio rooms. The language of communication is English with daily short session of Mandarin. Most of the families I have met there are native English speaking. Playdays is very conveniently located and easy to reach. Their website address is www.playdays.com.sg but I highly recommend a visit when you get here. Its not the same as just looking at photos. Our two year boy old goes there and most important for us was that he was in a safe, happy environment and well looked after. Our elder son, aged 5 years, also went there. He loved it and never brought home so many paintings, and collages etc in his life. There is no strict daily program as such like in some kindergartens which is sometimes too much for the little ones. Instead the terms are age-appropriate theme based with a heavy emphasis on art. At the end of each session/day, parents or guardians are welcomed in for a music session. I think álmost all of the teachers play the guitar or piano! Good luck with your search. We were really lucky with ours .

[nina001]

How much do you pay for playgroups.com.sg?
Im lookin on them right now but dont know the fees.