@A-N-N: My daughter currently goes to Smallville. (Cycle 2 siya now, parang Kinder 1 siya sa other schools.) It's a progressive school, so they are taught to do things by themselves to become independent. My kid's class has only 9 or 10 students - 1 of them was accelerated a few months after classes started. I have no regrets in enrolling her. The teachers super love the kids, and the kids love them back. But I love their emphasis on reading: they teach reading using phonetics - a very effective tool for the kids because most of them can now read words on their own.
We are also reminded that a school is but a component of learning. As parents, we should also help them learn. So when we guide the kids with their homework, we are also encouraged to use phonetics to read. It seems tedious at first, but it's very effective. I used to read storybooks to my daughter before going to sleep. But now, she reads about 95% of the book by herself. (Sometimes nga, baligtad na kasi I get sleepy when she reads to me.) And we read different books every nights, so hindi siya "kabisote."
They have culinary day once a month. They have kid-friendly facilities, kid-size - like toilets/urinals for kids, small sinks, etc. They have other subjects also, like writing classes and basic math. (Very impressed lang talaga ako sa reading program nila kaya I discussed that first.) They also have Grades 1-3, but kaunti lang ang students for the graders. But I guess okay din ang turo for them kasi the graders are the kids who were there since SVM started.
Tuition is a bit expensive, though. I think next school year would cost around 80k from playschool up - almost same amount yata as Ingenium. (Progressive school kasi kaya most of them are very pricey.) Pero ang alam ko din, discounts are sometimes given, especially if maaga ang enrollment. But if you ask me, sulit naman ang bayad kasi my daughter has progressed soooo much in just a couple of months.
For playschool, there's this kid there na very quiet lang when he first started. Hindi talaga siya masyadong nagsasalita, even at home. Pero now, he talks na when you talk to him. Nakakatuwa iyon, kasi we saw him progress talaga.
If hindi lang gusto na ng husband ko na ilagay na namin siya sa big school (kasi kaya na daw niya,) I would still insist na doon muna siya for about a year pa. (She'll be 6yo na kasi by March, so as per DepEd standards, incoming Grade 1 na siya dapat by June.) My only regret is that I didn't insist on taking her to SVM school earlier.
Let's just say that if I have another baby and SVM is still around, I'm definitely coming back.
I hope this helps you in your quest for the perfect school for your little kid. ISYC (which we also considered last year) is also a good progressive school, pero you have to give your reservation really early. As of now yata, ang alam ko ubos na ang slots for any level.
ISYC or Smallville - both are really good schools. Good luck!
