Most big schools nowadays require their incoming Pre-K to attend at least 6 months of Nursery or Playschools, and I am one of those mommies who are having second thoughts about sending our babies (yes, babies!) to schools early. You can read about my thoughts about this here.
However, many mommies of the millennials, I would like Baby Charley to have a good foundation that will prepare for our target big school, and life in general. My roommate (my husband, btw) and I have had discussions on this and we're on the process of discerning whether or not to send Baby Charley to a playschool this school year.
I think Charley would benefit from early socialization and interaction with other kids her age while learning things we may not be able to teach her on our own. On the other hand, my roommate feels that Charley is just too young for school. Period.
We do acknowledge, however, that soon (or probably next year) Charley will be attending a playschool in preparation for our target big school. Here are some of our non-negotiables.
1. Location and schedule.
As much as possible, the playschool should be in or near Makati or Taguig, so Charley won't get tired during her travel time.Moreover, we also prefer playschools that are flexible in schedules. I know some schools offer a 5x, 3x, or 2x schedules for toddlers, and th
ese options are really important to us. Personally, our family prefers a twice a week schedule because it gives Charley enough time to rest.
2. Approach.
Big schools and playschools follow different approaches in their curriculum - traditional, progressive, and montessori. You can read about those approaches here. The big school we're eyeing for Charley is an example of a traditional school; however, as much as possible we wish that her playschool should have a balance among the three approaches. I don't know how it's possible, but we have this notion that playschools should be fun for kids without sacrificing the essentials.
In our case, we just want Baby Charley to reach her milestones appropriate for her age and to be less sungit at home. Believe me, we have no plans of making her a Promil-baby! 3. Teachers
Teachers can make or break a student, and are the strongest reasons why a student would like to attend school. One of the mommies I talked to had teachers on the top of her priorities for her daughter.
We're not looking for the best teacher ever. I believe Mommies simply want a teacher who loves and is passionate about what she's doing.
So far, here are some of the schools we have in mind. We're scheduling a visit to each of them, and I'll update you through my blog and future posts, Mommies, as soon as possible. For the mean time, I have provided a link to their websites and contact details so you can check on the schools, too.
2/F Three Salcedo Place
123 Tordesillas St., Salcedo Village, Makati
(02)555.0497
0917.533.5081
https://www.facebook.com/PlayworksMakati/
playworks.salcedo@gmail.com
2.Colors and Shapes Learning Center
Ground Flr. Unit G8
Prince Plaza Condominium
106 Legazpi St., Makati City
0927.527.1234
http://colorsandshapeslc.wix.com/main
colorsandshapeslc@yahoo.com
3. 9th Avenue School
M/F Active Fun Bldg., 9th AVe cor 28th Street
Bonficaio Global City, Taguig
0917.801.PLAY
(02) 856.1478
play@9thavenueschool
www.9thavenueschool.com
4. MindChamps International Pre-school
Penthouse Level, Jecoprime Building
20th Drive, McKinley Business Park
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
enquiries.ph@mindchamps.org
www.mindchampspreschool.org
5. Summit School
University Parkway cor 38th Drive
Bonifacio Global CIty
0917.673.6789
OR
16 Sta Potenciana St. Urdaneta Village, Makati City
02.881.9032
0917.834.3565
bankstreetsummitschoolofc@gmail.com
www.summitschoolph.com
6. Little Archers Learning Center
1012 Arnaiz Avenue
San Lorenzo Village, Makati
02.546.6059/ 0998.9928.229
littlearchersmakati@gmail.com
www.littlearchers.com
Please let me know if you have other playschools in mind, too. Thank you, Mommies! :)
Is "playschool" the new term for "preschool"? My son went to a preschool when he was 3 years old. The school helped him overcome his shyness and improve his social skills, plus he got to be part of different musical productions while he was there.
ReplyDeleteI think playschool is play-based compared to our traditional preschool. Like what my roommate said, it's the school before preschool. :)
DeleteHi, Mommy! How old is Charley? I, too, am planning on sending my little one to school when she hits 2 years old (she's just 16 months now), though the husband thinks it's too early as well. Hehe!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, have you tried looking at Kids At Day School (http://www.kidsindayschool.net/contact-info)? My husband's niece and nephew went there, it's a progressive school, and I think they admit kids as young as 2yrs old. :) And the teachers there are really nice! :)
Hi, Charley is 16months, too. That's why we're scouting for a playschool na para by next year we already know where to enrol her. i'm also considering of giving Kids at Day SChool a visit, but they havent replied to my email yet. Thanks for the heads up, Mommy. :)
DeleteYou're welcome. I'm following your blog na for the updates hehe! If ever you get the tuition fees, is it okay if you include them? Hehe! Thank you! ;)
Deletesure. im just prepping my article for playworks. Thanks so much! :D
DeleteThis post is very timely, just last week my wedding planner and i were talking. She mentioned now that before preschool bunny needs to attend playschool first. Haven't really had time to check on schools yet but I do plan on enrolling her first to gymboree. But thanks to your list I will have othet options! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting, Mommy. I'm going to post reviews of each playschool, and I hope I can be part of your journey in looking for a playschool for your little one. :)
DeleteI tried playschool before, but my son does not love it so mas better na ako na lang magturo :-) then he went to kumon for a month then summer class buti n lng he got accelerated we were not able to do nursery. Tipid ng one year
ReplyDeletemommies are really the best teachers. I'm happy that you got tipid. that's really great, especially with the tuition fees now. Unfortunately, our target big school really requires at least 6 month-attendance in a playschool. Kapit lang. :D
DeleteThanks for visiting. :)
Traffic being what it is now, location is the primary consideration for me too!
ReplyDeleteTrue, Mommy. That's why we;re scouting for a playschool that's just near where we live. :)
DeleteThank you for visiting.