To enroll or not. That is the big question.
EJ is showing readiness for social interaction. The problem is, there is only a handful of babies in our building. One is already his playmate. But we rarely see them because their schedules don't match. EJ naps between 12nn - 3pm and his playmate naps between 2pm - 6pm.
In as much as I am worried about my anxiety and boredom (no friends to talk to, nothing much to do), I am more concerned about my baby's welfare. Of course.
So I suggested to my hubby to enroll EJ in a toddler class. He told me to look for a place.
I was looking for toddler schools/nursery near Jalan Imbi. Unfortunately they are all located in Ampang area. We have to take 10-minute taxi ride to go there. But I still checked one school.
The Children's House
What I like:
a) Montessori approach
b) Teachers are montessori trained
c) Place is clean
d) Security is okay
Schedule for Toddler class (18-month up to 2 1/2 yrs old):
Monday to Friday. From 9AM -12:00NN
Fees Schedule:
RM 350 - non-refundable registration fee
RM 500 - one time non-refundable reserve fund payment
RM 3,400 - one term's fee (about 4 months)
RM 80 - school kit
After seeing the schedule and the fees, I'm having doubts whether it is still worth to send EJ to a nursery school.
EJ usually wakes up around 8 or 8:30. If classes starts at 9, then we would have to rush every morning or I have to wake EJ up earlier.
The fee is another matter. Converted into USD, one term's fee is approximately $1400 (or 55,000pesos). Plus the taxi fare would amount to around $190 every month.
Now, I have no idea how much parents are paying for their toddlers class but I feel the above fee is a little too much. I'd rather put the money into his college fund.
My hubby said EJ would benefit a lot from going to school. The school teaches them how to eat on their own (snacks and lunch are included in the fee), interact with other kids (mostly expat's kids), and most especially become well adjusted and able to utilize his capabilities to the fullest (according to their brochure). And added bonus is I get to have some "me" time which is timely for my recent "poor me" attitude. I said "yeah, for a price."
Now please tell me, Am I just being too kuripot (stingy)? Will EJ still grow up to be an outstanding man even if I don't send him to a toddler class now?
Any advice?
UPDATE:
We have decided not to enroll EJ yet. We're going to wait until he turns two and then I'll look for another toddler school. I actually checked Steps Ahead Learners in Ampang also. It looks okay and a bit cheaper than the above school.
9 comments:
-sa iyong katanungan, OO naman! bat ikaw outstanding, di u naman nag-attend ng toddler class...on the other hand, can afford naman kayo so why not diba? hehehe...(lalong pinagulo ko ang pagdedesisyon mo anoh? hihihi)...kisses to cutie-eh-eh EJ!
A toddler class is a great way for EJ to learn more and interact with kids his own age. It's really quite surprising how tuition fees have dramatically increased over the years. The price you mentioned however seemed very high when I compare it at the rates here.
Hope you come up with the best decision for your child. Take care.
Happy Mother's Day!
Well, toddler classes do seem to be the 'in thing' nowadays. But people in my generation never went to any such thing and we grew up just fine. Of course, the social situation is different now than 30 odd years ago. But still, that price tag!
Why not have your own at-home toddler class? There is no reason why your child cannot learn from you the same skills he would in class. If you are worried about the social interaction bit, perhaps you can get together with a few other moms, and rotate venues, and you don't even have to meet every day, once or twice a week should suffice, and hey presto, you have your own toddler class, minus the outrageous fees!
Okay now, I'm only mom to a dog, so perhaps I'm not qualified to make any suggestions in this regard.
Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!
Well, why don't you try the Emilio Reggia approach???? hehehe...
Wala lang....wala kasi akong maisip! But i would prefer na he goes to a toddler class kasi he is super intelligent na ngayon and he develop more kung may social interaction talaga...
Put him in school, its part of socializing and he would gain confidence, independent.
Of course,mom is still hs best friend and best teacher....
ala eh, shop na ng lunch box,crayons and pad lol
Cas - waaahhh, outstanding? I wish!!
Rachel - Happy mom's day to you too! Mahal nga ata mg toddler schools dito. But I'm still looking for cheaper ones.
Shanaz - Thanks for dropping by. And thanks for the suggestion too. Will definitely consider that.
Bonangskie - Ano nga Emilio Reggia approach?? hehehe. Tsaka exagg na yang "super intelligent" description mo ha? Ninang ka nga ;)
Ate Fran - hahaha...korek, shopping galore talaga if ever matuloy mag school.
belated happy mom's day to you. i've been lurking in this blog of yours since last year. hahahah!
anyway, pareho dilemman natin. my son will be 3yo soon. i wanted to send him to school as early as 18months, but i was hesitant. my first priority though was my son's socialization since he doesn't have a playmate. we're living in sg since 2005 and wala syang playmate at all. well, aside from me. hehe.
anyway, we finally sent him to gymboree when the little guy and i had a 3 month vacay in cebu. 1 hour/class per week. trial and error lang, kumbaga. besides, playgroup lang naman kasi ung concern ko is socialization.
so there he was, having a grand time running around. but the downfall is, his attention span is so short, that he gets bored to longer sitdown activities. i then realized, iba-iba pala ang attention span ng bata. i reckoned too, na the money i spent in gymboree was put to waste because he got bored with the set up after just ONE class! imagine!
so i let him finished the 1 month class.(kasi sayang ang binayad ko. hehehe!)di na kami bumalik dun. maganda sana, pero i can't force the child to do things that he doesn't like.
in short, bumalik ako sa pag homeschool sa kanya. hehehe. atleast, i was able to save a little. and while homeschooling him, i've learned that he likes arts the most, and "reading", too. although he really can't read read.
so mag trial and error ka rin. if ej loves it in school, i so envy you for having your ME TIME. if not, homeschool mo muna. buy materials and stuffs that you find necessary for ur curriculum.
but i know i have to send my little guy to school soon. i'm just a little apprehensive because he still can't talk like kids do. and for socialization issues, we let him in public playgrounds so he can interact with children of various ages. most of the time though, he's choosy with kids he'd like to interact with. and there are times that he'd rather ran around on his own.
so i'd like to say, observation is a tool for parents.
Hi, katherine. Thanks for coming over. I think I'd do just that, observation, i mean.
Will go to another toddler class tomorrow for a trial class. let's see what happens :)
sige, sige, exchange links tayo. hehehe!
Post a Comment