Hi Cyn! Schoolhouse is great. I'm really glad I sent her there. Katie cried for the first 4 days, then after that, there was no looking back. She really enjoys school, and once she was sick and couldn't go to school, she cried. There was another time when I picked her up from school, she cried as well, because she want to "see my friends". So, from a social aspect, the school fulfills my expectations that she is enjoying herself socially. Academically, she's come back singing songs, and saying the occassional chinese word. I really like that the school has alternate days mandarin, because in a non-chinese speaking family like mine, she won't be able to learn much mandarin if she attends schools that holds mandarin classes 2 hours a day. She really likes her Mandarin teacher, but I think she is quite scared of the English teacher because the teacher is quite no-nonsense. Hahha..I'm very happy with that. They don't teach them the alphabet at such a young age, unlike the Montessoris, and that is something I made sure they didn't right at the start. They have a reading corner where they will read to them everyday, and that's important to me. Once I dropped Katie off at school, and she just went and sat in the reading corner and held a book up and started gabbering to herself. It was really amusing.
As to how they handle the crying. I disappear when I drop her off at school, because on the first 2 days, everytime she sees me, she will definitely cry. So, I figured out of sight, out of mind is better for her. The teachers will give her a hug and carry her. Sometimes, I will peep behind pillars and can see the teachers bringing her out of the classroom alone for a walk, to distract her from the crying. Or when the teachers have to go to the school office, they will ask her if she wants to go along with them, and she will follow them, and stop crying.
After a while, she got used to the school, and would always look forward to the school bus coming to pick her up. The first few weeks, she was actually more excited about taking the school bus than going to school. Hahaha..
She only attends Schoolhouse and no enrichment classes. I may sign her up for ballet when she reaches 4, and maybe art classes since she's loves to draw so much. But, other than that, I dont have any intention to send her anywhere else.