Asha Goes to Pre-school aka Playgroup.

Asha is 2 years old now. I was planning to put her to school when she's 2.5 years old. No particular reason really.. I just want her to make friends, learn new things, other than the TV can teach. I am not particular about the school also. My main concerns so far are only distance, and monthly fee. It's gotta be nearby, within walking distance or by bus, and not so expensive.


Now we are a bit in a lot of uncertainties. My maid may leave us in May. So we will have new adjustments to do.Then I started researching on schools nearby.


1. PCF kindergarten.
They have a few centres around my areas. But only 2 centre have the prenursery classes. Unfortunately when I asked they have different pricing for foreigners and locals, which so unfair (expected of PAP). Foreigners fee will be double of the locals fee. So all those are so not worth it.

2. Zulfa kindergarten.
It is an Islamic kindergarten. I went on Saturday morning to register Asha. But maybe not my luck, it was closed for Maulid Rasul. I think maybe Allah had arranged it so because I wasn't sure about sending her there. It was far and hot!! 1km of walk just for a 3hrs class and there is no direct bus. They have transport bus but Asha is still too small to go alone on it. If later I change maid then I am not sure whether the new maid can manage her chores while waiting for Asha 3 hours outside the class. To walk back and forth is a bit time consuming I find.
Zulfa playgroup class is 3 days a week, each session is 3 hours. Their fee is reasonable, $140 a month.

3. Star tots Playgroup
It is just next to my block. I didn't expect much of it at first because it looked a bit expensive from the banners. I opened their website and it was expensive. But, it turned out I looked at the wrong page XD. They have a lot of programmes, not just for playgroups. They have various courses and programmes, so I was lost on their website. I called them up and managed to get into the right page.
Their class is 5 days a week each session is 2 hours. It is slightly more expensive, $175 a month EVEN for foreigners (huh, take that, PAP). After hearing about the fee and read through the curriculum, insyaAllah I am no more in doubt. I think I have found a good school that suits my needs.

Later when she's in kindergarten I will send her to Zulfa. But for now I just want her to learn while having fun with lots of friends. In that case, I need to introduce her to Islam at home. So I signed her up for Star Tots Bismillah.
I didn't go searching high and low for the BEST school, cause I don't need the best, I only want that suits my needs. So it took me 1-2weeks to search. Alhamdulillah and InsyaAllah it is the best for Asha and me.

-wiji- :)