18 month old playgroup/childcare near Tiong Bahru area

[princess_j]

jgal,
yes, i also prefer to hv different class unlike some that I have seen dun hv dedicated classroom and the kids tend to get more noisy when they start to mix ard (e.g. learning vision at bt merah).
then half day prgram that constance enrolled is how much after subsidy?

 

[jgal]

jojoz , ard $700 if i am not wrong, I cant remember liao. but transport is another $180. Abt the same as chilten and pat's school.

 

[beejoo]

Jojoz

can share more on carpe diem at alexandra ?I heard good comments abt it.

 

[adelinecheng]

Jojoz,
can share why you dont want to continue Carp Diem for your younger boy?
Been to Carpe Diem, quite worry about the mosquito issue due to the environment and the inaccessibility..

Arts Kidz,
any more updated feedback on Arts Kidz..we are very close to enroling my ger for this school but still hope for some updated comments.

 

[sunlim]

i am looking around for a child care for my child too. heard there is a new centre starting Jan next year at SAFRA Mount Faber.

went to take a look at the environment...nice and spacious.

www.safra.sg/nurturestars

 

[adelinecheng]

anyone has any comments for this modern montessori outlet at bukit merah?

http://www.modern-montessori.com/presch_centres_bm.htm

 

[princess_j]

zry's mummy,

this mmi at bt merah not v clean, eg. toys and floor and kids are left to walk ard on their own. that was what i saw when i went in the morning last mth.

 

[cass78sg]

Any comments on Eagerbeaver at SAFRA Mount Faber? I heard they are going to move to Bt. Merah Central swimming complex

 

[11042008]

hihi~
back with more update on art kids~
hmmm~~
well i must say it is a good school for my son as he learn quite fast and as the teacher teach through singing~
he really enjoy his lessons there can tell even tho he is 21mth as he come home will sing and also dance what ever that is thought in school~
as for the teachers they will interact with you thru a notebook which i find it good as some times when i fatch my son no time to talk to them~
mostly the kids there are jap~
i enroll him last year when he was 18mth~
i now see more locals coming in already~
the price will be like $950 (before sub) for full day~
$650(aft sub)for full day which is 9am to 3pm~
so far i still cant find any big fault with this school yet~
hope this feedback helps~~~

 

[fifthmay]

Hi,

Any feedback on Nurture Stars at SAFRA Mount Faber??

 

[beejoo]

HI baby

Happy to hear your good feedback on art kids as i have register my boy for the march intake. Is your boy under little Mozart class? cos my boy will be joining this class. But i will only put him for 3 times a week for the initial period.

Btw is your boy toilet trained yet? and can he eat on his own? Cos my boy is not toilet trained and cannot even eat on his own so quite worried for him.

But i still want him to have the chance to socialise and mingle around instead of staying at home all day.

 

[laugh]

Hi baby & Beebee,
Have been hearing gd comments on art kids, any idea how much is for half day?
My boy is coming 13mths & i am looking for those 2-3 hrs playground kind ard Tiong Bahru area to enrol him when he reaches 18mths.

 

[straw81]

hi all,

Just want to share my negative experience at Bright Kidz (at Leng Kee cc). We enrolled our boy there because it is a convenient choice, being only a 5min walk from home.

He started his 1st day of playgroup this week. However, on his 2nd day there, we were informed that the cc had experienced a chicken pox outbreak the month before, and the total infected cases are 8 by the end of last week! My boy has not been given his MMRV yet, imagine our horror to know of this unnecessary risk that he has been exposed to! And we are angry that no one from the sch inform us earlier, else we can better decide whether to delay his first day. What if it was HMFD instead of chicken pox? Will the sch also be slow to inform us too next time?

Anyway, we are not giving this cc another chance. So we have withdrawn our boy from there permanently.

 

[ticktock]

hi all

any updates and review for tiong bahru/redhill area? My boy is coming to 14 months, need to start looking around.

so far artz kids and lorna whiston seems quite good. of course for us leng kee cc is most convinient but 1 bad review so far on the chicken pox outbreak.

 

[shin_yan]

Hi all,

I am starting to look for playgroup/childcare for my boy turning 18 months in jan next year.

Heard of all the positive feedbacks on Arts Kidz and had dropped them an email to enquire on next year enrolment. Arts Kidz is nearer to my house and hope they can extend their hours till 7pm.

I would like to check if anyone had feedback on Dardis Child Development Centre at jalan bukit merah? This childcare is near to my parents house so my parents can pick my boy up easily. For Arts Kidz, they will have to walk to Tiong bahru CC and bring him to my house if the centre don't operate till 7pm.

Appreciate anyone kind feedback please.

 

[kathy]

This thread is gd! Have been searching for a presch for my 2 yr old gal. Hve arrange to view Arts Kidz tmr and cross my fingers that it will be as gd as what all the mummies said. If they are gd, will also trf my 4 yrs old. Her current learning vision is hopeless.
Btw, any feedback on superland montessori? Also considering...

 

[kathy]

I'm back frm arts kidz today. 1st impression is gd. Airy, quiet and serene. The kids are well behaved and all the teachers are so friendly. Am close to enrol my 2 yrs old in may/june this yr. Like to knw some mummies whose child is already there. Only downside is art kidz is not extending their hrs to 6pm. They are firm abt this.

 

[glad_gal]

Hi all!!

Looking for playgroups in RH/BM Central too...abit undecided on if should start my boy (turning 17 months) in playgroup or cc. He is currently taken care by my mum.

Jgal: What's LW??

Bright Kidz is nearest, but whenever i past by the place, dont give good vibes :x plus straw81's review of it sounds bad!

So far me and hb checked out all the ones in Bukit Meral Central - MMI, Learning Vision and EagerBeavers. Me and hb prefer LV of all 3, though it's quite small but at least the teachers seem professional and the environment seems cheerful and clean.

EagerBeaver while is cheap and very spacious, but as it is new, the place appears very dingy when we visited the place in Jan. My hb also dont like the menu that was shown to us. MMI, we were entertained by a prc teacher whom don't even seem to understand Eng, so we were a bit put off

Art Kidz sound good from what I read. But a pity TB CC is abit out of the way, esp when need my parents to fetch.

Am also thinking of short playgroup sessions like a few hours each week. Gymboree at Tanglin Mall offers a playgroup but min age is 2 years old.

Btw, I am in RH

Any RH mummies hee..

 

[beejoo]

Glad gal

may i know which part of bukit merah is learning vision located at?

 

[jgal]

glad gal : LW stand for lorna whiston.
So far so good for my little one. they are very prompt to update us on the FHMD in the school. Everyday, they check the children temp and tongue when they reach school.

And i have been updated since the first case in her class in Feb.

http://www.lornawhiston.com.sg/psweb/index.html

As for the program, they empathized on languages.

 

[beejoo]

Jgal

May i know how old is your gal now? How long does she take to settle down at LW?

 

[jgal]

my gal is 24 mths now. She started school in jan.

She settled down almost immediately. Personally, feel that the teachers are quite well-trained in handling small children.
Incident 1 , they advised parents not to "disappeared" during the first few days when we company the little ones. This is because, the little one will feel "abandon" if they dun know where you went. We were told to tell our children if we are going away so that they "learn" that we will be coming back for them.

Incident 2, they always separate the crying child from the rest of the group. One "floating" teacher will hoax the crying child in another room.

Incident 3, I saw the teacher "talk" a shouting child. The teacher try to make the child understand what she is doing is wrong. Actually, i think 2 yrs old are able to understand.

 

[beejoo]

Jgal,

thks for your advise, what nationality are most of the teachers? a lot of foreigner?
Btw is your gal the very outgoing or shy n sticky type? Its's so good that she get settled dows so soon.

 

[jgal]

my gal is quite confidence and outgoing.

Her English teacher is local and her Chinese teacher is frm china. For K1/K2, there will be a native English teacher to give the students 1-1 reading lesson every wk whereby the each child will be assess on their reading/oral progress.

 

[glad_gal]

Beebee: Learning Vision is at Bukit Merah Central, Surbana One (the old HDB).

Jgal: Ah...ok ok...thanks! Good to hear that your gal settled down to school so fast! I think both personality plus other factors like envt, teachers play an impt role. My niece also loves her playgroup. Now i really cross fingers and toes that my boy would be OK, coz he is quite sticky :x

Anyone heard of Genius Space at Tanglin?? Quite near RH, went to the website looks ok and they have weekend enrichment, which is what i want, but not much review online..

 

[tinky]

looks like i have little choice as some is either too far or too expensive for me. seriously considering superland montessori at grange ave. can someone give me comments?

 

[glad_gal]

Anyone heard of Edufarm?? They like in many locations...nearest one in Hoy Fatt, Strathmore...but I think need enough pple to start a playgroup.

http://www.edufarm.com.sg/index.html

 

[kathy]

glad_gal, you meant we hve to find our own people to form a playgrp? I'm interested. Any feedback so far?

 

[glad_gal]

Hi Kathy!

No need. I called them last Mon and they are already having a playgroup currently. So anytime can just register our kids. And I went down today (Hoy Fatt) to visit!!

My personal take:
The environment - nothing to shout abt, is just a room in the RC, and some of the toys seem pretty old. But the kids seem happy. The playgroup (StarTots) is a Mon to Fri, 2 hrly programme, from 9.30 - 11.30am. The programme breakdown can be seen fr the website. But the price is definitely unbeatable, at $175 per month! That's like the cheapest I have seen so far. Coz prev was considering JG which is really expensive

 

[kathy]

Ya, JG is really exp. Are you signing up ur kid?
I dun knw shd i sign up my gal at Learning Vision or just sign her up for this. She just turn 2 this mth.

 

[glad_gal]

I think i will go for a trial at JG (the Sunday bilingual class) in early May (just after bb turns 18 mths) and then decide. My SIL n colleague gave thumbs up to JG as they felt the lesson was fun for their kids.

So I guess you are looking at a playgroup or childcare too?? Are u FTWM? or SAHM?
Me FTWM but as mum is main caregiver, so not really crucial to look at childcare for now, so just want him to socialise with other kids otherwise he will get too self centred haaa with all the attention given to him at home.

 

[beejoo]

Glad gla

My boy is now in JG too. I should say that he really enjoys his class. And the teachers are very professional and they really make every class so interesting.

 

[glad_gal]

Beebee,

That's good to hear!

So far all the reviews I had abt JG are positive. Wld be calling up soon for a trial class. He normally has very short attentn span would keep walking ard hee hopefully he likes the class too.

 

[kathy]

glad gal, I'm a SAHM, so am looking to enrol her in playgroup as childcare not so crucial for me. Has yr kid went for JG trial? How's it?

 

[glad_gal]

I see, same reason for me to enrol in playgroup also

Nope has not gone! Shld be end May or June for bb to have a 'taste' of it. But I have signed up for JG anyway without the trial haha, the lesson should be starting end of June, when there are vacancies!

 

[fatfish]

glad gal, did u sign up the weekday or weekend class? forum or evans?
Kathy, I currently sahm too and my girl is curently attending the weekday playnest at JG forum and she enjoys the class very much. She reaching 18 mth hence I intend to let her continue but still contempleting on forum or evans..

 

[tulip3]

hi,
just chance upon this interesting thread. Any of the mummies sent their children to bambini montessori?

Artz Kids out of the question cos hours are too short for working parents.

tks

 

[glad_gal]

hi fatfish, I signed up for the bilingual weekend class. At forum. But the trial class on last Sunday, I went to the Evans branch.
My boy quite like it too, and my hb and I like wat we saw

So hopefully will have vacancies by the next term!

 

[kathy]

Looks like my situation like you fatfish and glad gal. My prob is I'm in the midst of looking for a new place, most likely moving to bukit timah area, but haven confirm yet. So it bcomes very difficult in deciding where to send my gal to. She turned 2 last mth and I feel she's more than ready for school.
I call up the weekday playnest but the person on the other line not very friendly...But seems like you guys hve gd feedback. Like to give it a try.

 

[bluejoy12]

Hi Mummies,

Can I know how advance do we need to register our child into playgroup? I thought of sending my child in when she turns 18 mths. I went to Motessori at Bukit Merah last weekend. No classes on on Sat and I was briefed on the environment and what the children would be doing for their daily activities. It was my first playgroup visit and I will be exploring more. One thing i dun like is that, the children would be sleeping on mattresses in the dining area. Not sure if other childcare centre practice that too. Please advise.

Thank you.

 

[glad_gal]

Hi Joy

I think when u want to register really depends on how 'urgent' u want your kid to get into the cc or playgroup place. If it's popular, then I think can register much earlier (before 18 mths) and wait till got vacancies.

I am on the wait list for Learning Vision at BM Central since early Jan this yr (when my child ard 15 mths), the person called just recently and said still got no space and probably have to wait till end of this year! By then my boy would be 2 yrs old, but I am OK coz my mum is the caregiver so not in urgent need of cc.

I checked out abt 4 CC, all said the kids will sleep on those PVC mats (abit like those yoga mat) as it is hygienic and easy to clean.
LV and Montessori - as they are quite small, so I think the play/dining area around the same

NurtureStars at Mount Faber bigger so think they have segregated sleeping area if i rem correctly. Eager Beaver's sleeping and dining also different areas.

Hope that helps!

 

[jarellmum]

hi...
I've a CS montessori uniform "M" size.. brand new... willing to let go at $12.
CS Montessori is located at Bukit Timah Plaza & Tiong Bahru plaza.
Anyone keen... pls drop me a sms at 98488591. thank you!

 

[beejoo]

HI

will appreciate some feedback on Superland Montesorri at Ganges Ave? Any?

 

[chrysalis20]

Hi glad_gal,

I'm staying in RH. I also placed my kid under LV waiting list early this year, also told to wait till end of 2010 or early 2011. My boy is currently 18mths old, turning 19month next sat, ha.

Intend to place him in childcare coz he is very introvert, shy kid. Need him to mingle around.

I also visited MMI, don't really like it coz of the PRC who attended to us, not very professional. LV looks clean, neat and organized.

But meanwhile dunno want to place my kid temporary at cherie heart or not.

I also attended JG trial weekend playground. But forum no more vacanies so looking at evans one as well.

 

[glad_gal]

Hi chrysalis20!

*Waves* hehe we live near each other! My boy is abt 21 months now

Also want him to mingle around coz he is rather sticky...

So Cherie Hearts have space? The one at Depot Road? Find that a bit out of the way as there is no direct bus to there coz we don't drive but I heard it's not too bad...

JG Forum seem to be harder to get slots. Did u enquire when the Evans one will have space? I just started in their new term...this Sun will by my boy's 3rd session!

 

[chrysalis20]

Hihi,

Oh, not the one at depot road, i'm looking at the cherie heart located in harbourfront as nearer to my working place.

Yeah, JG forum really difficult to get slots. I went for trial this sat at evans and signed up there instead. But I still prefer forum's environment.

 

[happymrskoh]

hi any comments on Learning Vision at Surbana One? I am contemplating whether to send my daughter there next year.

Thanks in advance!

 

[glad_gal]

I see

So in the meantime, your boy taken care by....?

Ha initially I also prefer Forum, but anyway Evans got its outdoor play so I think also quite good!

Happymrskoh: Can't comment much, coz haven't got a space in LV yet

So far only seen it once, it's a bit small, but overall I find it a nice and cheerful environment when we went there to recce. But's there a long waiting list! You should register if you havent...

 

[beejoo]

Hi

my boy was at the evans JG for 2 terms, frankly speaking i prefer Evans to Forum cos the former has outdoor activity eg swimming and water play which i felt is more interesting.

 

[chrysalis20]

oh my boy taken care by my mum and mil.

yah plus point abt evan is the outdoor playground. but i requested him to transfer to forum as more convenient.

and i find the class and toilet at forum cleaner... i find the classroom at evans quite stuffy... and there is one teacher which is a malay guy at forum whom teach during weekday bilingual very good, very interactive and he even plays the guitar to accompany the piano which i think is interesting.

and that time car was sent for servicing, thus tried waiting for cab outside JG Evans, so many mosquitoes, me & my husband each got bitten 4 times in less than 5 mins.

so think and think, i will want to transfer him to Forum loh, even though Evans is more fun in terms of playground. aniwei, also long waiting list lah, so dun even know when will that happen.

btw, i just sign up my kid for 2 hours weekday star tots playground at Edufarm located at the hoy fatt road, starting his class there next month. dunno how it will turn out to be.