My family is moving to Taipei in August for the academic year (August 2017-June 2018). My two boys (ages 2 and almost 5 when we arrive) have not been exposed to Chinese so we’d like a primarily English-language preschool (and one that is very relaxed and play-based). A friend recommended Smart Start in Tienmu, as well as Tiger Tots associated with TAS. Tree House in Da’an was also mentioned. I saw some older posts on preschools but thought it prudent to ask for current advice. Our apartment search will depend on where we put the kids in school as I’ve learned to avoid schlepping kids around any more than absolutely necessary.
We also will be looking for help with the kids after-school and some evenings. Advice on how people find a part-time “bao mu” would be grand. We’re used to having Care.com back in the states to tap into a wealth of college students looking for part-time work but I hear that isn’t the norm in Tapei.
Anything else parents wish they would have known when making the move from overseas? Thanks!
Do you want your kids to have any exposure to Chinese? If not, tiger tots is probably the way to go. It’ll be all English, high quality and all that. If you want them to have some exposure to Chinese, then most will do. Definitely go in person and emphasize that you are looking for a relaxed environment.
One problem you’ll have with wanting lots of English is … In Taiwan, kindergartens and preschools aren’t legally supposed to be teaching English. The government doesn’t want any English in schools until first grade. I’m fairly certain this doesn’t apply to Tiger tots because of it’s relation to TAS, but I’ve never looked into it. For the other schools, they all try to find a way around it. Some of them do it by registering as a kindergarten, hiring only local staff with English ability and pretend they don’t teach English. Some of them do it by registering as an after-school program and then teach kindergarten classes. Some just flaunt the law and hope not to get caught.
In any case, make sure you case the place out to make sure it’s what you want for your kids.
Thanks for the input! Fascinating about the legal restrictions on teaching English. I would think that early learning would be encouraged as young children are best suited to pick up new languages. In addition, given the history of repression of uttering any Taiwanese in schools under Chiang Kai-shek, I would think that a freedom to use different languages would be encouraged (albeit my understanding is that it is not explicit in the ROC Constitution, see, art. 11, “人民有言論、講學、著作及出版之自由.”). I found a SCMP article from 2004 in which the then head of the department of elementary education said: “English education should be integrated into the curriculum and not override the learning of other subjects. . . . It is feasible that qualified pre-school teachers can integrate English into their teaching, but English should not stand alone as an individual subject with a fixed number of sessions in the curriculum.” (http://www.scmp.com/article/444483/taiwan-ban-kindergarten-english-lessons)
I am french, I will be in october 2017 with my childs, 7 and 8 years old. I need to find someone to take care of my childs the 12,13, and 14 october. I will be in Tapei
Hello, how are you? Do you want me to take care of them all day? I’m going to school but as soon as I know my schedule I can let you know, what to do you think?
Regads
I’m find thank you, I hope you so. Thank you very much for your answer. Yes, the idea is to keep them almost all the three days. I will be able to be with them for the lunch for sure. I do not have yet my precise planning (I must work), but it should be around 9.30 am-12.30 am and 14 pm-17 pm. When do you will know your schedule ?
Hi, my daughter went to Tigert Tots last year and will be going this year too. She was happy and they take good care of her. The food is bad but you have the choice of bringing your own food. It is a playful environment and she really loved her teachers. It’s cheaper than TAS and when they are so small I don’t think it makes much difference. The only difference is the classrooms, tiger tots’ are smaller, TAS has better infrastructure. But they use the same playground. As far as babysitting I have a good one I could recommend, philippina, English speaker. It used to take care of my daughter but now I have a live-in. They are not officially allowed to work by the hour but some of they do. Thank god because Chinese babysitters are more expensive. Contact me privately if you want her contact or any more information