Considering Tiger Tots, Child’s World & Smart Start pre-school for our 3year old. Reviews and thoughts of any of these preschools are appreciated to assist us in making the decision.
Where are these schools? Are they in Taipei city? I’m near the Taipei/Taoyuan county border around Yingge/Bade area. Does anyone know some good schools in the area? I brought my daughter to Kid Castle but their foreign teacher has a thick Slavic accent.
Thanks.
P.S. my daughter is 3.5 yrs old with limited English ability.
Don’t see the problem with a thick Slavic accent, providing the teacher’s English is grammatically correct. Pronunciation differs across the world anyway - better she understand all types of English than just the US accents. 
here are my suggestions:
- find a small school. There were only 7 kids in my son’s class and so he got lots of attention from his teacher and developed a close bond with his classmates and teacher. At some small schools the boss of the school is also your kids’ teacher, so they have more of a vested interest in doing a good job.
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avoid the chain schools. some of the branches are good, but sometimes I feel they are more concerned with the bottom lone than the kids.
3. Find somewhere near your house. That just makes sense, there are good schools all over the place. We are in Zhonghe (considered by some to be Taipei’s “armpit”), but we love the school that our kids attend. - Ask around. Parents all over the country have gone through the same type of search as you, ask parents in your neighborhood and get feedback, they will have lots of opinions I’m sure.
hope it helps…
Thank you for the tips! Have actually received few PM on this topic. We now have an idea what we are looking for and what each of this school has to offer.
Appreciated!
Smart Start teachers do not really seem to have a clue in my opinion. Tiger Tots seems like the other a Day Care. The only one I thought was decent was Chinese Montessori School. Check it out before you finalize your decision. If you don’t like it, no problem, choose one that you like.
From working in a Taiwan kindergarten/preschool and in Canada, the most important thing in my opinion is the teacher, low student/teacher ratio, cleanliness of the washrooms and kitchen. If you go to a school, make sure the principal introduces you to your child’s teacher. This is the person who is directly responsible for your child’s well-being. Make sure you trust and respect this person from your chat.
Don’t be wowed by the curriculum, all of which is irrelevant at this age. It does not matter what a child learns when s/he is 4 or 5, as long as there is balance and variety, and that is fine. Some schools will have a great yard or playstructure, but to me, that is not at the top of the list. I like taking our kids to play at the local elementary school everyday.
As for the cleanliness and organization of environment, look for soap accessibility & number of sinks (30 students or more sharing 2-3 sinks is not going to get their hands clean), cleanliness of toilet, how toothbrushes and cups are stored, and check out the kitchen. So many children get sick, especially when they are so young and you need a well organized school and teacher to be able to do the things the way you like it.
We chose a little Chinese school with a low student teacher ratio, only 12 students in da ban (SK) and there were only three classes in the whole school. The teacher was confident and experienced.
Cheers,
JJ
I believe that Tiger Tots is much more than every other daycare program. I know all the teachers have degrees in education and have years previous work experience teaching in western schools. The curriculum is based mainly on the students interests and teachers spend much time preparing the lessons and providing a stiimulating enviroment.
If I lived closer , that is where I’d like my kids to go but I’m in NeiHu. I did sign them up for the summer camp program which they enjoyed very much.
Smart Start teachers do not really seem to have a clue in my opinion. Tiger Tots seems like the other a Day Care. The only one I thought was decent was Chinese Montessori School. Check it out before you finalize your decision. If you don’t like it, no problem, choose one that you like.[/quote]
Hobart - you wrote the above back in Feb. and I’m just wondering why you said “Smart Start teachers do not really seem to have a clue in my opinion.”? Can you elaborate? I’m sending my daughter there as it is one of the few all-day English preschools in the Tienmu area.
Thanks.
How about HESS Kindergarten?