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HYGIENE
One area parents may want to pay attention to is health and hygiene.
A mother who wanted to be known as Mrs Azyyati encouraged parents to ask preschools how often they disinfect classrooms, how they manage the outbreak of illnesses or diseases and how many toilets there are.
The 33-year-old said her two-year-old son contracted hand, foot and mouth disease twice in a span of two months while studying at his initial preschool.
“The school didn’t seem to be able to contain the spread of the virus (as) there were ongoing (HFMD) cases for quite a long period of time,” she added, saying the incidents prompted her to look for another school.
ECDA said preschools are required to notify parents if students have contracted infectious diseases, to enable parents to make an informed decision on whether to continue to send their child to school.
CURRICULUM
The type of learning experience that the preschool provides would need to suit a child’s temperament, says Assoc Prof Lim.
“For instance, if the preschool’s curricular and pedagogical approach … relies a lot on academic learning and seatwork, this kind of programme might suit children who actually enjoy sitting at a desk, already have some foundation in academic learning such as reading and writing,” she explained.
“If the preschool provides a lot of objects for playful learning, conversations and movement-based exploration, then this might suit children who like to be physically active and are very curious about their immediate environment and enjoy working with others.”
For Ms Teo, for instance, she also considered if the preschools had other programmes beyond academic learning.
“Aside from in-class learning, I also look for curriculums such as play-based curriculum where it corporates art, music, stories, dance, cooking, nature exploration and inquiry-based learning,” she added.
SCHOOL CULTURE
Ultimately, parents’ view of a preschool may be shaped by what they can glean about the culture of a childcare centre.
“I think if I were to put my grandchild into a childcare centre, I would first determine how the people in the centre make me feel,” said Dr Christine Chen, president of the Association for Early Childhood Educators (Singapore) or AECES.
She cited the example of a childcare centre where she was greeted courteously by a staff member. “I sensed the culture of concern, care and kindness in this centre where humans are being respected and trusting relationships can flourish,” she added.
Assoc Prof Lim encourages parents to pay attention to the preschool’s overall “climate”, saying it should be a calm and respectful environment where adults are responsive to one another and towards children’s ideas and feelings.
“When working with large groups of young children, preschools should feel like a ‘village’ coming together to care for and educate children,” she added.
“The atmosphere should be one where children and adults co-exist and are engaged in playful, joyful experiences, with productive noise and not absolute silence.”
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