18 month old playgroup/childcare near Tiong Bahru area

hi winky.. that's very good which CC you referring ?

I know that MOE’s recommended teacher-pupil ratio is:
Nursery : 1 teacher and 1 teacher-aide to 15 pupils
Kindergarten 1 : 1 teacher to 20 pupils
Kindergarten 2 : 1 teacher to 25 pupils

.. while MMI normally has a ratio of 1 : 8~10.
 


Hi

Arts Kidz has $200 discount for local mummies.

Hi Jgal
i see.. so ur gal will be in the nursery group. my gal will be attending N2 next yr and it has long waiting list.

The person told me unless we register our kids right after 18months and move up from there... it is quite tough to join in the class in N2 or K1/k2.

ya.. the fees are not cheap too. How is their curriculum like?

by the way, i register my gal in arts kidz.
 
Hi cloudhappy,

With the $200 disc for local mummies at Arts Kids, r we still entitled to the MCYS subsidy?

cheers
 
Can anyone send me info on Arts Kidz. The admin staff suppose to call me but no call yet.bt I would like to enroll for the Jul-Aug 2010 period if there is any cos my bb gal turns 18mths then.
 
we went to check Arts Kidz, the place is nice, well ventilated, and the person we spoke to speaks good english. but my concern is that it is on the 2nd floor, and the playground is at the ground flr and has slope. for those who enrolled their kids to Arts Kidz (specially those 2yrs old and below), do you think the place is safe? my son is really active so im afraid he will try to use the stairs on his own or play in the slope. how does the teachers handle tots when they go from 2nd to play area? cause they say ratio is 1:6, and if that is the case how to go about moving from 2nd flr to playarea with too many kids. pls advise im very keen with ArtsKidz but just have those consideration for now....still thinking what else to consider. TIA
 
I called arts kidz, they told me they are applying for the subsidy, should be available from Sept onwards and they will be open up to 6pm only cos being a foreign owned centre, they like to encourage parent and child bonding time. So they will open no later than 6pm. Quite true also la, some of the staff could be parents themselves.

Mumbebes: why don't you check with the staff at arts kidz. I'm sure they will be able to answer you.

If it weren't for the fact that my child is only 5mths, I think I really like arts kidz curriculum.
 
if have childcare subsidy then suppose they must open till 7pm liao. mcys require cc centre to open till 7pm.
 
i wrote in to arts kidz, hope they get more feedback from interested parents and extending their operating hours to that of a childcare centre.
 
Winky

very happy to know that arts kidz is applying for subsidy and if they can open till 7pm, i will be very keen too.
 
i think so bah. i thought of another q, if a child is in K1, but stay in centre for full day, still can claim for full day subsidy? or only can claim half day subsidy since K1 education is half day and cc service is half?
 
Mumbebes
My boy is in Arts Kidz n he loves going to school (always tells me that he has a great time there
happy.gif
, and those are his own words). The kids always go straight to the playground in the morning when they arrive at school n at 9.30 the teachers will lead them up to the 2nd flr. The teachers will ask the children to form a choo choo train line (they will be asked to hold onto a rope) and will lead them upstairs. There are usually enough teachers supervising in the playground. But if your child is too young or you have safety concerns n do not wish him to go to the playground, you can drop him off in class. There is usually a teacher there in case parents wish to bring their children straight to class. The program there is the really good and you will see the difference in your child. My boy really enjoys the violin and yoga classes. And it's really amazing to see that he really does know how to hold n play the violin (open finger play) even though he is only 2.5yrs old. Plus he used to dislike music n now he is singing n dancing and he is so happy. I am sure your child will really enjoy it there as well. All the kids there are so happy.

Zhe zhe
Yes the kids sleep on a yoga mat in class but I dun see anything wrong with that. Most childcares make the children sleep in sleeping bags which is not any different in terms of comfort but is even harder to clean. You need to look at the overall picture not just these insignificant details. The program in Arts Kidz is one of the best I have seen (even when compared to expensive childcares like Pat's and Odyssey) and the teachers there are excellent. All are native speakers of their respective languages and well trained. They are very good with the kids and if you go there you will find that the kids there are so well behaved. And please recognise that Arts Kidz is a school and not a childcare, so if what u r looking for is just a place where your child will just play, be fed and looked after, then Arts Kids is not the place for u.
 
Hi LiL

Thanks for your valuable post. I am even more relieved now. My gal who is oso 2.5 years old now will be joining arts kidz in jan 2010. Thus will be in the same class as your boy!
happy.gif
 
LiL and cloudyhappy

Its good to hear abt the good feedback on Arts kids. Can i know roughly what is the ratio of foreigners to local kids in this chilcare?

I am intending to put my boy in Jan2010 too but right now my main concern is on their operation hours which hopefully can be extended.
 
Just to check with mummies who have registered your child with Arts Kidz, how old was your child when you went down to view the location. I want to bring my hubby down to view and when my bb is older to bring her too.
 
Cloubhappy
At the moment there are only 1-2 local kids. We r PR, so not local either. But I heard that there will be quite a few local kids joining in Sep. The rest are foreign, mainly Japanese, a few Koreans, British and Chinese nationals. My boy's French friend will also be joining in Sep so the number of nationalities are growing
happy.gif


As for extending their operation hours. To be honest I am not keen for them to extend the hours. As I said, it's not a childcare, it's a school and I dun want them to lose their focus. I understand from the principal that even if they manage to get permission from MOE to extend the hours, from 3.30 onwards it's just basic childcare services only.
 
Lil, thanks for the comment. im excited for my kid to try violin as well =) maybe for the 1st few days ill observe how they handle kids to go from playarea to 2nd floor, the teacher says ok to observe for the 1st few days.

we personally went to artskidz and i can say that the place is nice compared to childcare centers we went to. and i feel more comfortable to send my kid to arts kidz than to leave her in childcare, at least in artskidz she will be able to play and learn. although it seems expensive but what we pay for its worth it, cause its preschool not child care, and kids have lessons e.g. violin lessons- so if you go for lessons like such will cost you more.
 
Hi LiL

I share the same sentiments as you. Not too keen on the extension of hrs as I prefer her to spend more time at home resting, playing her little brother etc. But on the other hand, i understand the needs of some mummies who need help in taking care of their little ones until knock off time. Fortunately, i have my mother-in-law to help in taking care.

Hi mumbebes

I oso have the similar concern on the playground thingy. My gal is very active and i m oso very concern cos the school's playground is quite high, as in the slide, platform, slide stair etc.. will observe and keep reminding her when she goes to school. Then from now to next yr, i intend to bring her more to outdoor activities and play gym (kids' explorer etc) to train her stability and to educate her on safeness.
 
Cloubhappy, if you want to bring yr kid to play gym - i find explorer kid to be expensive, you can try gogo bambini only $5 whole day. but this off topic. just fyi.

btw, i talked to the personnel with regards to my concern on playground (even the venue being 2nd floor and no window grills), but she said, that is why they will teach our kids to be disciplined and to know what should and shouldnt be done..and part of the DONT's is to go beyond playground or DONT climb on things.
 
LiL and cloudhappy

Yes cos i am a working mother and there is nobody else to help care for my boy so the extended hours is quite crucial for me.
 
same here. i have maid and parent-in-law to help take care of my girl, but still hope to sent her to school to learn. Even if i rush, am not confident that i can pick my girl by 6pm.

subsidy is a concern too, if only have one child, i wont mind paying more too.

btw, need to pay extra for violin class, right?
 
Beebee
Maybe you can consider finding a nanny to look after your child from 3.30 to 7pm. Some of the Japanese kids have that arrangement and when they are sick they can also leave the child with the nanny.

Winky
School bus can drop your child off at your parent-in-laws place and you can pick her up from there after work. As for the violin classes, it's part of the program so is already included in the monthly fees. No extra except the monthly excursions which are optional anyway.
 
Hi LiL, mumbebes

I am starting my gal in arts kidz next month.
Will be in the same class as LiL's boy i guess. Is your boy call, "yiming"?

Hi beebee

I heard that they are extending the operating hr to 6pm.
 
Hi, is this thread still active? We have been to look at Arts Kidz and really like the cirriculum but its difficult for me if the operating hours cannot be extended. Have called them to highlight my concerns but they seem quite firm on the policy.
 
hihi~
keen on artzkids as well~
as boy turning 18mth soon~
how much is the fees?
and my boy is not toilet train yet and also dont know how to self feed yet~
so what will happen to him?
as i heard of lots of nasty things happen to bb that dont know all this kana bully by teachers~~~
 
Hi baby

the school fees is $950 for full day. $300 subsidy for local working mummy.

I m not too sure about the feeding part. U may wish to call them up to ask or drop by to see how they manage young kids.
 
Cloudyhappy

I think your gal should have started class at Artzkids oredi? how is everything so far?
But i rememeber someone posted saying that Artzkids is not under MCYS so is working mothers still entitled to the subsidy?
Is the operating hours still till 3.30pm?
 
hihi cloubhappy~
thanks i call and ask le~
yeap onli 25seats for the sub~
i am realli keen~
just my hubby say too ex le cant make it~
*bang head*
but can you feed me with more infor?
so how have ur bb been doing over there?
the class is from 9am to 3.30pm~
so far ok ma?
 
Hi baby

Sure.

Whether a not it is too expensive depends on how your perceive it. If you do intend to send your child for enrichment like speech and drama, phonic, music other than daily preschool, then maybe u will not deem it exp cos arts kidz does all these activities and u may not need to send him/her for more. However, there are also instances where some parents still send them for more classes on top of what is being covered in school.

3hrs preschool like MMI, kinderland charge about $500 per month. No fine arts appreciation, no yoga, no violin, no speech and drama.. arts kidz charges $650 (after subsidy) with enrichment. So it seems worth it to me. Though i still feel the pinch. However, so long my gal benefits from the curriclum and enjoys herself and is in good hands, i will be willing to pay.

Whether a not arts kidz is really that good, i need more time to observe and assess after my gal is there for at least 6 months. So far, i think it is the most interesting preschool in tiong bahru area.

My gal would usually b v tired after she reached hm. I m trying to change her sleeping hr. To sleep early so that she don need afternn nap. She always have problem sleeping at nite if she takes nap in the late afternn.
 
hi beebee

ya.. my gal has started school.

So far, she is ok.. still adapting to the hours. At least she has stopped crying.

She has learnt quite a lot in these few weeks. She has picked up phonic and remembered them quite well. She has previously learnt in GUG but we have not revised for quite a while. Her mandarin has improved and her chines voca has expanded well. She is already bilingual before she started school. Jus that it is even better now. I guess it has to do with her chinese teacher cos she likes her a lot.

So far so good. I hope she will enjoy school and have fun learning.

Arts kidz have applied MCYS. I dun know if it has been approved but they gave the subsidy of $300. I am not too sure about the extension of hours too cos my gal go home at 330.
happy.gif
 
hey cloubhappy~
okok~
i got it~
as i am really an idiot when it comes to edu,lol~
my hubby tell me PAP can le~
i say no way~
as i heard alot of bad feedback tho.
as my chinese and english is not in very good form so decided to have a good school to polish him so i can follow~
i have book an appoinment 2molo~
so will be going there to see if ok then just enroll him then my head will also roll when i come home~
whahaha~

as for sleeping time,my boy onli sleep ard 8pm-8.30pm all the way to 7.30am-8am..
from small i train him to sleep early~
so in the afternoon he will only need one nap time ard 2-3pm like that~
so maybe you wanna make your gal sleep early so she can sleep in the afternoon also can sleep early at nite?

btw where do you stay?
i intent to send him to MY GYM also~
lol~
so i can be occupied and not so siean at home~
 
Hi baby

How old is your boy?

Do share with me your experience and feedback after u visited the school..
happy.gif


ya.. i have not been letting her taking afternn nap and she is sleeping ard 930 for the past few nites... but it eats into our bonding time at nite but i have no choice. Otherwise, she will not be tired in school and her health and concentration level will be affected too
 
hihi~cloubhappy~
well my boy next mth 18mth~
i just came back from there~
not bad nice space and good sunlight and also it is open up~
so very airy~
my son seems to blend in lo~
go look for all those girls and play with him -_-"~~
and also keep running up n down also go into kitchen~
aiii~~
the director tell me he is ready~
whahaha~~
so will be enrolling him in next mth 12th~
so i will see how everything goes from there~
as the kids seems friendly also~
and not much crying baby and fighting baby~
whahah~~

as for your gal~
bond on off day lo~
hehe~
i bond till i wanna go gaga alr~
so have to send him to school so he can have his own space and i can have mine also~
 
hi mummies,
would like to share that my elder son is in carpe diem now at alexandra and children there sleep on spring cot not on mattress which i find it ok, cleaner and save space cos at the end of the day, the cot are stack up and save me the trouble of washing matress cover and the sch dun encorage children to bring pillows and cos of the open vent. environ, no aircon and i feel is healthier this way.

jgal,
my son's class is also normally ratio of 1:5 or 1:6, 10-12 kids per class currently. He's in K1 and its has alwasy been 12kids the most in his class from N1 till now.

i am interested in the MMI at bt merah and art kids, any feedbacks to share?
happy.gif
 
hi jgal,
then u enrolling ur girl in half day or full day? ur girl will not be bb sit by ur maid anymore?

u hv feedbacks on buttercup? can share? i must view the environ first, hehe
 
orh.. i registered for LW before i come across buttercup at tanglin road. Comments on this mmi is quite good, not the regular childcare, more of a pre-school.
happy.gif
but I didnt look further.. hahaha..

I am expecting another baby in Feb, so I have to send my gal to Pre-school. I enrolled her for 1/2 day to see how she cope.
happy.gif
 
jgal,
oic, another baby ar, is a didi or meimei? congrats! ya, i also think is better to start from half day then move on to full day.
 


Jojoz..
happy.gif
Constance going to have a brother. Apparently, LW only have 1/2 day for playgrp. And other good point abt LW is they have dedicated classroom for each class so the learning material is updated regularly according to the theme.
 
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