before the end of last year, i went on a search for pre-schools. i did my research and decided that i wanted the montessori way for baby c. basically, the montessori way lets the child develop at his/her own rate. they do not force the child to participate in activities. and this makes sense to me because this is how i deal with him too as i don't like to use force. so i visited a number of pre-schools based on the locations that i was willing to venture to daily, considering distance and traffic. so i checked out places in bangsar, damansara heights and mont kiara. i didn't even go in to a few places based on the outlook of the place. they were pretty rundown. one place was swarming (and i mean it) with kids and teachers. another had mold growing on the walls and the floors were icky and sticky. the principal of this place kept on referring to "her boss this and that" to all my questions, which led me to think that SHE was not that invested in her school. another one was so crammed with tables and chairs and they had their "play gym" in an upstairs room which had no ventilation. one didn't want to make the effort to see us on a saturday. a place i really, really liked was only offering play classes twice a week, 3 hours per session AND i had to be present. so, needless to say all these places did not make the cut in my books.
BUT one place stood out. the owner agreed to meet us on a saturday after school was out. so it meant that she went in just to show us around and to answer my questions. i immediately liked her the moment we stepped in as she brought toys out to entertain baby c while we chatted. also, this place was started by her and her partner (both mothers with young babies at that time). either she or her partner will always be around during school hours. number of children are kept small so that kids have breathing space. for baby c's age group, they only have a total of 15 children with a teacher-student ratio of 1:5. the place was clean and tidy. they also alternate between water and sand play weekly. meals are provided for. they give an option of pick-up times of 11:45am or 12:30pm. it was the owner whom i felt really comfortable with which made me decide on this place. it felt like talking to another mum, who has been there and understood my concerns and who has seen almost all. obviously we chatted for sometime as my list (in my previous blog) was pretty long. after visiting this place, i was 90% set on it. but i continued down my shortlist and after i was done, i went back to her to sign baby c up. i got a glimpse of baby c's class as they were having holiday programs on and i liked what i saw. so baby c has been enrolled BUT has not attended school yet as they'll only take him in once he starts walking. and yes, he's NOT walking yet. well...............i used to worry about milestones but not anymore. he'll start when he wants to. :)