Visited two very different schools for Tyler today... American Eagle (in the science park) and a Montessori school (Bilingual). A friend was nice enough to offer to drive and accompany me, so I thought why not do a little bit more research with the plan to still wait until Tyler turns 4 for enrollment. Before going to Eagle, I always thought it was really more like an after school activity. So after seeing it first hand, I was pleasantly surprised by the environment. The curriculum is really modeled more after the kindergartens in the US (there's show and tell etc...), so if Tyler attended Eagle the transition back to the US would be seamless. Their strength and focus is really on language proficiency. Facilities wise, there are about 15 - 20 per class with 3 teachers, the classroom layout accomodated the group nicely with a raised/loft area for story and circle time. The details are planned out down to the copious storage/cubby holes separate for bookbags, toothbrushes, things to take home, and shoes (indoor slippers/shoes). The price tag of course reflects what you get, the number of teachers per class and the beautiful classrooms. In Taiwan there's also a premium on an English-speaking environment, with a preference for U.S. and Canadian teachers.
The Montessori school was a new experience. The pre-K (small), K-1(medium) and K-2 are in one large space with subgroups for special activities. The classrooms are bright with large windows and spacious to accomodate the 30 students per class. Not familiar with the Montessori Method, it took me a while to understand how the classroom would operate with the subgroups. There were stations throughout the classroom (sensory, math/logic, science etc...) and chock full of activities to stimulate and delight kids as well as parents. I can see the environment will foster independence quite quickly -- not sure if I'm ready to cut the apron strings so quickly yet.
After a long day, we hit NanLiao beach where my friend showed me a part I haven't been (a beach about 15 minutes drive from home). The overlook was grassy and hilly and a great place to romp and fly kites. We watched the sunset, while Tyler and his friends ran up and down the grassy hills and then down to the beach to make cakes and snow balls out of sand. A pretty nice way to end an activity-filled day!
4 comments:
Sounds like two good options. Do you have to go through some kind of application process?
It's not as strict as in NYC where they look at parents income, background etc... for some private schools. They do consider the boy to girl ratios. Also there's an assessment, e.g., English proficiency for placement.
It's more if they have room in their classes to determine if you can attend.
Yeah, I think the process for getting into pre-school in NYC is very obnoxious.
And that's the silver lining about being in Taiwan. Although childcare/schooling could be relatively pricey at the "name brand" schools, but I think it's nothing compared to Manhattan. I think there are some nice schools, you just have to do your homework.
The really hard thing to find is the wide open playground with grass. That's why I was pretty psyched when my friend intro'd me to that beach with the grassy hills.
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