300 children poisoned in China kindergarten
This was a productive Saturday as we:
1. Checked out the new neighbourhood
The place is *almost* as nice as the one we live in now. There’s a better playground (although smaller) and a public park nearby. It’s in a higher density area with many people going in and out of the area. Nearer to restaurants and shops. Just 5-6 minutes away from his potential preschool 2.
The apartment we visited is much, much smaller than the current one but the furnishings are newer. That means the owner maintained the place! Cleaner, brighter bathrooms and kitchen.
No lake view. Further from the market. Further from the supermarket. Further from my favourite public park.
We’ll need to wait for the agent to call us to view other places.
2. Checked out potential preschool 2
I’d mentioned earlier that we will enroll him in abilingual Chinese preschool soon. We checked out another two this week.
PRESCHOOL 1
I’d call this a local Chinese preschool as there are no foreign students there. The building is really old although the playground and fields are nice and spacious. It’s also one of the most established preschools here and near to the wet market.
A lady was stationed at the entrance to check each kid’s mouth and hands. She also took their temperature using a digital thermometer but she merely wiped the tip with a cloth! Hmm…
Children who have a fever will be sent home but those with a slight cough or cold will still be allowed to attend. Yikes!
Their fees are RMB750 per month and no uniforms are needed. When we popped in for a visit, I was introduced to the English teacher. I perked up and was happy to meet a smiling Chinese lady.
She couldn’t understand “August” until I said, “ba yue” and her spoken English was limited to introductions and greetings. Sigh…
I also didn’t like the interior as the classrooms reminded me of my old Convent primary school in Kuala Lumpur – rackety desks with paint stripping off, dusty floors, noticeboards full of holes, autographs and other markings LOL
With a 1.3 billion population, it’s common to have 30 kids in a group, even for toddlers aged 2.5-3. I had *the wind knocked out of me* when the principal of Preschool 1 told me that.
With 2 teachers to a group, that’s a 1:15 ratio of teacher:super-active, uncooperative, unpredictable Terrible Twos! O_O My Malaysian mum group confirmed this.
All the kids appeared rather messy that I shudder to think of the conditions of the food and toilets.
I almost cringed when she said, “Zank-you for coming”.
PRESCHOOL 2
Preschool 2′s surroundings appear cleaner and airier than Preschool 1. Naturally, they charge higher fees i.e. RMB1,500 for 9.00-4.30 pm (2 snacks, lunch).
There’s a registration fee of RMB150. Uniform fees are RMB120 (winter) and RMB70 (summer). But they will only wear these on Mondays! Expensive costumes…
What’s nice is that they have a max of 15 kids for his age group. This brings the ratio back to the accepted level of 1:7/8 plus an ayi to clean up after them.
The dining hall is huge and looks like a mini image of dining halls in boarding schools. I told the principal that he’s a fussy eater and also wouldn’t sit still for his meals. She *assured* me that the ONE ayi would ensure that he ate all his food. Do you think so? I’d like to believe that but…
The WCs are really cute as they have mini-sized sinks and toilets. I’ll definitely take photos IF he enrolls there.
For now, Preschool 2 sounds OK as they allow me to take him home at noon and will adjust the RMB399 charged for meals. If he’s just going to nap away in a *crowded* room with 20-30 over kids, he may as well do it at home!
Tell me, what do you think of the 2 preschools?
