hi cassie, i feel for you. muslim din kami and i had a really hard time looking for a school for my daughter, we've been looking since she's 3 1/2 y.o, she's now 5 1/2 y.o. initially, i enrolled her in a progressive preschool na malapit dito sa house namin. may prayer din in the morning, but it's ecumenical, they refer to God in general (no sign of the cross). pero they pray na both hands together (parang clap position) which is usually for christians. as you know, for muslims, open ang hands, like asking for alms. initially nagulat kami because my daughter told us sa dining table to pray first and then nakaposition na hands niya together. she kept saying na kami ang mali and tams siya. i was very alarmed at first. well walang magawa except pagalitan ng daddy niya. the teachers understand that she's a muslim pero ginagaya niya kasi ang classmates niya.
eventually, we transferred her to a small montessori school (regina maria montessori in pque). she was 5 years old na by then. may ecumenical prayer pa din. she already knew na she prays differently and even tells her teachers and classmates na iba ang position ng hands niya. funny thing is, even her playmates she convinces to pray the muslim way. we just explained to her that we (including her relatives) pray differently, but most of her playmates and classmates will also pray differently. later on in the school year, however, i attended a parent observation. i noticed during prayer time that she was hiding her hands from me. i got the idea then that she had her hands together again.. i felt a bit alarmed but at the same time naawa ako sa daughter ko. at home she prays in the muslim way, but somehow she wants to "fit in" while in school. i didn't talk to her about it this time anymore kasi we will be transferring her to ob montessori next school year (for other reasons).
my daughter now knows may muslim prayers, and she enjoys making du'a very much. she's very aware now of our practices, especially after her grandfather died. i think what's important is to solidify the practices at home.
nevertheless, i will make it a point to speak with her teacher in ob montessori so that they are apprised that my daughter will be praying differently and has dietary restrictions. i hope everything will go well.
just sharing my experience with you, hope everything works out well for you cassie.
there are of course various other options aside from montessori. the best option for muslims, of course, are muslim schools. the next best option would be international schools, then montessori and progressive schools, then non-sectarian schools, and the last, of course, would be the sectarian schools. this ranking is based solely on the religious aspect, btw.
for muslim schools - i'm not sure where you live, but you might want to try the New Horizon Integrated School in Brgy. Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City. It's a good Muslim school, malaki siya, they have a mosque. I've done consultancy work with nhis and know that it's good. I think tf is around 25-30K. I'm just concerned sa location. There's also the Taha Basman school in Maharlika Village, it's patterned after the OB pagsasarili school. I know the owners and can assure you that they are a very smart family. tf is less than 20K!
for international schools - if budget is not your concern, there are several international schools to choose from from north to south of manila. the cheapest of all is the aguinaldo international school in manila. you can google their website to learn more about it. tf for kinder is 58K (P20,000 discount if payment is made on or before May 31), and for grade 1, it's 78K (same P20K discount).
for montessori schools - there are several montessori schools to look for. just make sure it's an authentic montessori school. maraming montessori schools that are heavy on religious practices.
for progressive schools - there are a number of progressive schools in metro manila, especially in quezon city. there's the nest, academeia in qc. there's also the bridge school in the south. the pioneer in progressive approach is jasms in manila.
for me, we chose ob montessori for various reasons including proximity, availability of a bus service (this is our deal breaker) and whether or not she will qualify for grade 1 this coming school year. if not for the absence of a bus service, i would put her in either jasms or the aguinaldo international school, for religious concerns primarily, while taking into consideration the quality of the school and getting a holistic education.
good luck for muslim parents with this same problem. if we can get together to put up a school. this would really be great.
