Hello mga sis,
Buhayin ko lang ang thread na to.
My daughter is now 3 yrs old. My husband and I though that it is time for her to go to school. Problem is since first time parents, hindi kami aware na dapat pala as early as January eh nag-scout na ng mga schools.
Recently lang kami nakapag inquire at grabe na pala ang mahal ng tuition fee just for nursery. How much more pag college na.
So here are the schools na napuntahan namin. By the way, these are schools from Taguig since we are based here.
1. The Learning Jungle (BGC, near Mind Museum)
Tuition Fee: 160K++ (Anually)
Progressive School
Eto talaga yung first school na napag inquire namin. My husband and I was really happy with this school. They are a progressive school. We do not have an idea what a progress learning method is and they explained it well to us. Nakakatuwa. The school is very small about 3 classrooms so limited din number of students. Though maliit ang school they have an indoor and outdoor play area. Okay din yung CR nila. They have toilets for kids and wash basins na sakto sa height na pambata. It was so cute. Wala sila mga text books instead they give out worksheets for students. Personally, I like this idea na wala pa mga textbook kasi di ba nakakaawa for small kids to be bringing heavy books to school then back home kahit na may yaya pa. Meron din online portal where you can see yung mga lessons for the day and other activities in school. If in case absent yung anak mo, you can check out what the lessons/activity sa online portal so he/she can catch up.
Basically, my husband and I were sold on sending my daughter here. We like that it's a small community wherein kilala nila each and every students. Kahit yung security guard he knows all the students. We think this is perfect for my daughter kasi it's going to be her first time attending school. Ayaw ko naman i-send sya sa big school agad baka ma-overhelmed.
Now here comes the problem. Since maliit ang school and limited students, naubusan na kami ng slot :-( We'll have to wait until next year and dapat mas maaga pa to secure a slot.
2. Cambridge Preschool (Bonifacio High Street)
Tuition Fee: 200K++ (Anually)
Progressive School
Please bear with me mga sis. As I've mentioned earlier wala talaga kami idea about preschools. After The Learning Jungle, we can't help but compare the rest of the schools we went to with The Learning Jungle.
I think Cambrige is bigger than the Learning Jungle. Though medyo chaotic siya kasi wala actual classrooms. It's just one big open space wherein each area is separated by fences. They said they have an outdoor play area too but we never get to see it. As I was saying, medyo chaotic kasi nga imagine in one area there's the toddle class then in another area, the nursery class and in another corner there's the play area and so on and so forth. Wala talaga division so you can hear everyone. If a class is playing a music, then the other class can hear it, too. Which made me wonder how can they concentrate in their activites. Para na rin sya day care kasi they have sleeping mats where students who have afternoon classes use para hindi na sila uuwi sa mga bahay nila.
Teachers and staffs are mababait and really good with kids. You can be sure talaga that they take care of the kids well. Kahit yung mga younger kids like 1-2 yrs old kayang-kaya nila i-handle. I was really amazed kasi I never thought na pwede na pala mag school mga ganun kabata.
The facilities are okay, malinis and all. They have toilets and wash basins for kids just like the ones in Learning Jungle. We had our daughter tried the 3 day free trial to see if she's ready for school and was happy to get good feedback from them. My daughter enjoyed it as well. As in excited sya to go to class everyday. She did not cry at all and the teacher said she was able to follow mga instructions given to her.
We were not able to observe her trial classes but from what we've been told they are really encouraging kids to be independent and build confidence. For example, they encourage them to eat by themselves, help out in cleaning up and putting away toys after use, brushing their teeth, putting away their soiled clothes etc etc. Overall, happy naman kami with the outcome of her trial classes. We were actually close to enrolling her but I just can't seem to justify the super high tuition fee! If we pay for an entire year that will be 211K but if we pay monthly that will be 24,000/month or 240K for a year!!!
I noticed also from the tuition fee guide that was given to us, aside from the tuition fee, meron pa mga extra classes na ino-offer like reading classes, math and science which cost 10K-12K per month. I was thinking hindi ba dapat included na yun sa annual tuition fee? What if we decided to enroll her but not include those extra classes? Baka naman at the end of school year and when my daughter goes to Grade school malaman namin na hindi pa pala ready anak ko because we did not take those extra classes. Mali ko lang hindi ko na itanong sa kanila. Hay! Anyway, I think okay lang to pay for the annual TF but the extra classes, ay NO!!! Sobra-sobra na in my opinion.
3. Creative Play Corner School (Burgos Circle)
Tuition Fee: 100K++ per Term
Progressive School
Eto naman super OP and out of our budget na. Imagine 100K++ per term. And there's 3 terms per school year so total of 300K++!!! X na kami dito hehe.
But we still checked the school out. Compared sa 1st and 2nd school that we went to, this was actually bigger. More classrooms and more students. When I say classrooms, real classrooms with divisions. They have indoor and outdoor play areas. Clean facilities and toilets for kids. They also have in-house nannys who can help your kids if they need to go to the toilet and clean up. Mukhang okay din yung mga lessons nila and age appropriate talaga. We were able to see yung mga classrooms and the learning materials which we can tell were in good quality. Unfortunately, we can't afford.
4. Leaders International Christian School (Bayani Rd)
Tuition Fee: 128K++ Annual
Eclectic teaching method
We figured mahal talaga mga schools in BGC area so we moved on to Bayani Rd and found some schools there. Tuition fee is reasonable. We do not know about eclectic teaching method. Basta and explain lang samin when we asked was that it's a combination daw of progressive and tradional learning method.
The staff told us that our daughter needs to go thru assessment and we have to pay 1.5K pesos. Medyo na off lang kami becase we're ask if she knows how to read and write. I mean, at 3 yrs old dapat ba alam na niya yun? Isn't that too early? Since, combination nga ng traditional school, they have textbooks din.
We have checked one of the kinder classes. The class was on break when we observed them. In fairness yung mga students nila are well-behaved kahit breaktime. Not rowdy and noisy. It looked like they were having a great time at school. The teachers were also very nice. I think there was 2 of them. 1 Teacher and then a teacher aid. My daughter tried to mingle with the kids and they were so polite and friendly. My daughter immediately felt she belongs in the class.
Based on what we have observed parang okay naman. Thing is I do not see or heard any reviews about this school. This school also offers Grade school and high school. So parang consider na rin sya as big school? Eto lang medyo hesitant ako kasi this will be my daughter's first time so I'm worried dahil malaki yung school and madami students.
Since they're an international school, classes starts in August. So we still have time to think if we really wanted to enroll my daughter. They have school buses too but they cater to those who are in Acacia Estate.
5. MCA Montessori School (Ft. Bonifacio)
Tuition Fee - 38K++ (Annual)
Tradional
This school also offers grade school and high school. Compared dun sa nag assist samin sa Leaders mas accommodating yung staff nila. Here comes the tradional school wherein may mga textbooks and exams and all. No need for entrance exam daw for my daughter since it will be her first time. They showed us some of the textbooks they will use and oh my ang dami! They have morning and afternoon classes and a school bus na available to service in our area. We were not able to check the classrooms kasi nagrerenovate sila. The staff said the CR is also located inside the classroom so if the kid needs to use the toilet hindi na kelangan lumabas ng classroom.
In my opinion, okay naman the school because maayos kausap yung napag inquire-an namin. But after reading reviews, X na rin samin itong school. Tama yung isang sis na nag comment (I am not sure if in this forum or sa smart parenting) na parang public school sya except mas konti lang ang students per class. I do not think also that they practice the montessori way of teaching despite the name of the school. Opinion ko lang to ha. You ask why I say that? Kasi wala na-mention about them being a montessory type of school. Everything explained to us was how a normal traditional school would operate. So there.
6. IMC (Integrated Montessory Center) - Bayani Rd
Tuition Fee: 71K++ (Annual)
Montessory School
This school is not really along Bayani Rd. We have to go inside the military village to get to the school. When we went there I think may ongoing summer classes. Medyo off lang kasi some of the older students there are rude. I do not want to expound any further but let's just say that it gives us an impression/saying something about this school. On a good note, the staffs, even the guards are very accommodating. All our questions are answered naman. They know what they are talking about like their method of teaching, the montessory way which they are very proud of. They have school buses sa area din namin which is 2K per month. They showed us around the classrooms for junior casa and malinis and maaliwalas complete with learning materials. They even have a library for the little kids. My daughter had to undergo oral assessment which we paid 200 pesos for. Pumasa naman sya and they said she is ready for school na. However, my husband medyo na turn off sa CR. They don't have these little toilets for kids but the regular toilet for adult and it didn't have a toilet seat. They said they have "Ates" daw or maybe in-house nanny too na mag assist sa mga kids should they need to use the toilet. My husband was like "for the price they're asking from their tuition fee they could have at least provide a toilet seat". Hahaha sorry but yun talaga comment ng asawa ko.
7. Abba Orchard (McKinley Hill)
Montessory
Last but not the least. This school has campus along Bayani Rd and that's where we went to inquire. Unfortunately that is the campus for grade school. We were told that the preschool is in McKinley Hill so hindi talaga kami medyo na-accommodate. Instead we were referred to their website para makapag schedule for a trial class. Then medyo may hindi lang kami nagustuhan from the way they handled our inquiry. They gave us an impression na they only want certain type of people in their school. So parang very discriminative in my opinion. And because of that X na rin sya sa list ko hehe. Another thing is the location. McKinley Hill is not really ideal for us.
Sorry mga sis if it's super long. I just wanted to share my experience scouting for a preschool. So now I would like to ask for your help and opinions. From the list above eto na yung top picks namin.
1. The Learning Jungle - but then we have to wait until next year para maka secure ng slot.
2. Leaders International Christian School. We only have a few weeks left to think if we really wanted her to go to this school. Please please advise naman mga sis if anyone of you who sends your kids here. I needed feedback please.
3. Cambridge Preschool. I have read that some of our sis here sent their kids here. If you can advise how was it? How are your kids now? Did their experience from this school helped them in getting to grade school? Is is really worth the price? Please share your feedback. I would really love to hear about it.
Thanks in advance.
