Singapore Expats

My daughter is 4 years old. She's two years from starting school in Australia so I'm looking for a nursery that has a play-based rather than academic style curriculum.

The centres I've spoken to said she'd be in Nursery 2 where kids learn to read, write, speak Mandarin, do maths and learn to use computers. With a little bit of play/music/art thrown in to make them better people. Frankly, this is not what I think she needs right now. I want her to make friends, develop her imagination and motor skills, get messy and have lots of fun.

Can anyone recommend somewhere in central Singapore where 4 year olds can learn through play alone, and leave the academic stuff till they're older? And is it too much to ask for somewhere that costs less than $1000 a month (the Blue House Nursery sounds great but boy is it expensive...)?

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

katetherate wrote:My daughter is 4 years old. She's two years from starting school in Australia so I'm looking for a nursery that has a play-based rather than academic style curriculum.

The centres I've spoken to said she'd be in Nursery 2 where kids learn to read, write, speak Mandarin, do maths and learn to use computers. With a little bit of play/music/art thrown in to make them better people. Frankly, this is not what I think she needs right now. I want her to make friends, develop her imagination and motor skills, get messy and have lots of fun.

Can anyone recommend somewhere in central Singapore where 4 year olds can learn through play alone, and leave the academic stuff till they're older? And is it too much to ask for somewhere that costs less than $1000 a month (the Blue House Nursery sounds great but boy is it expensive...)?

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

Hi katetherate,

My daugther is in Nursery 2 and she is in Growing-Up-Gifted located at United Sq (walking distance from Novena MRT).

Although I stay pretty far from United Sq, I am sending my girl to school every morning. To us, teachers are good, curriculum is good too. Although rates are not so near to neighbourhood ones.

CHeck them out.

http://www.gugifted.com/main.htm

Cheers

Hi Katetherate,

I am pretty much in the same boat. All the schools out there are geared toward academia and I was so glad to find someone with the same problem. I checked out this school online http://.stageandsuch.com
They are loctaed in central Clarke Quay and when I called them, the lady was very specific that they had no worksheets, no Mathematics just music, drama, sensory and even swimming! Apparently no term fee everything is by package. I am going down to visit tomorrow will keep you posted.

Dear Local 2009,
Thank you for your recommendation. Much appreciated. I've had a look at the website and will visit this week to find out more.

Dear Angelina,
Thanks for your suggestion, too. I've had a look at the link you sent and would be keen to hear what you thought when you visited.

I've found one you might be interested in: a new play school at a place called Kids Performing. It's in Robertson Walk, not far from the one you mentioned at Clarke Quay. It's just starting up and they're offering free trials from 28 Sept (I think) until early October. Learning through play, lots of singing, drama, art, music. There's a group in the morning for about 2 hours for 1-3 year olds (I think) and a longer session in the afternoon for 4-5 year olds. They can go 3, 4 or 5 days and the fees didn't sound too expensive. I think even five days a week for older kids was still less than $2,000 per term, but I might be wrong about that.

There's a website - google kids performing, easy to find. I'm visiting tomorrow so let me know if you're interested and I can tell you more.

Hi Katetherate,

Thanks for the detailed information. I've been to the one in Robertson Quay. It was not too bad. I really liked Stage and Such. Signed up with them today. I travel widely and termly commitments aren't my thing. When my daughter gets older and attends regular school I would have no choice but to follow school timetables but for now, I prefer the free and easy.

What I adored about S & S were their facilites and flexibility. The concept of booking a class online up to an hour before class time is briliant! I wonder why no one has come up with it. Other schools lock you in and the windows to make up are so tiny! Really friendly owner - I think they are a start up too.

They're all about play and exploration and their outdoor environment is gorgeous. I paid $800 for 23 sessions and the package has no expiry. Everytime I refer a friend who signs a package, I get 1 free session! So my $800 can stretch even further!

That's awfully reasonable so even if I do go twice a week, i'm paying $800 a term and that's pretty sweet. Also what I especially liked was the live music - they have a guitarist there all the time so no CDs all live music. My daughter loved it and for me that's the most important. Sorry everyone super long post