I’ve been given info/thoughts on this from friends and other sources, but figured I’d ask on forumosa to get even more insight. These are just some broader/general questions as our actual move wouldn’t be for at least another year.
Approximately what are the costs for enrolling in preschool (ages 3 and 5)? Interested in prices for private and local but understand that private is pretty much the only option.
We want our kids to experience Taiwanese education because we feel it will teach them good discipline, self-motivation, and other personal skills. We are not as keen on the other aspects that are commonly criticized, like over-work, focus on rote learning and testing, lack of creativity, etc (apologies if this is not a fair critique) So with this in mind, what’s the best time to transition out of the Taiwanese system? Maybe grade 5? We eventually plan to return to the US. My wife was born and raised in Macau and came to the US in grade 7. She feels that was pretty ideal for her…she ended up doing extremely well in school without any effort lol, even though she couldn’t even speak English at first.
Is it easy to find trustworthy after hours childcare? How does that work? After hours might mean very late at night or even overnight. My wife and I may have the occasional business obligations on US time zones, and potentially the rare situation where we have them both at the same time, so just want to how this could possibly be managed. (and on this topic, are there any coworking spaces that open 24/7?)
As far as cost… It really depends on whether you just want daycare, or actual schooling.
For a preschool that’s actually just a daycare, plan on $10-15k/month.
If you want a good school where the teachers care and your kids will be learning and having fun, plan on $20-25k/month
If you want to go to an amazing program where the teachers absolutely love kids, the kids love teachers, they go on regular field trips, regular outdoor adventures, “science” experiments (making volcanos, etc), and you get a personal call from the teacher regularly, plan on $30-40k/month.
I’ve never heard about overnight daycare… But hopefully someone else will chime in.
The newer co-working spaces (Kafnu, Futureward, The Hive, etc) and some of the older ones (Regus) are 24/7 if you have a permanent desk or office there (I think the newer give you access even if you have only a hotdesk).
This shouldn’t be a problem for you. Even the older business centers (The More?) should give you access if you have an office subscription
If you guys are still looking for a part-time babysitter, I might be able to help out, I accept 400/hr/one child. I am currently a college student at NTPU night school so I would have the whole morning off. Associated with babysitting, I have worked in a American Preschool in Dazhi.
First week for our 2-year old nephew/grandson in preschool/daycare (幼幼班). Really tough to see him go inside the kindergarten crying, knowing that he will be in there until the afternoon.
Kids get used to it quickly. Next week my son goes for the first time. My wife will be around for some time for him to get used to the new environment. It will be easier on him since my daughter is also still in the same kindergarten for a year.
Yeah, probably Covid restrictions.
But on the other hand, this may help the kid to get used quicker with the new environment, the teachers and other kids.
As for easing the pain, @tando’s advice was on point. If the kid sees the parents having a hard time, it will be much harder to adapt.
Don’t worry too much.
If he’s doing fun activities while there, he will soon learn to love it.
I had similar experiences with two of my kids (the third one haven’t start daycare yet), and they change from “I don’t want to go to school” to “I don’t want to go home” in one or two weeks.
Just make sure the kids are being taken care of, and not just put in a corner to sleep. If you can, try to get to school before their time to go home, and watch from distance without being seen. I will give you an idea of how things are going during the day. Do that from time to time and you will be able to see the changes.
I think the play rooms are too far inside to see what’s going on. I am not a parent, but if I were, I’d probably quite anxious to know how the children are taken care of.
I know three foreign families that sent their kids to public schools until the oldest was leaving fifth grade. This allowed them to move back to their home country in time for the oldest to start middle school. With regards to the worthless loads of pointless homework, I know one family that had no problem writing to the homeroom teacher explaining that they will have their children complete certain assignments if the teacher could provide any justification for why they should. In no case was the teacher able to provide a reasonable justification, so their children just didn’t do the pointless busywork. I also know of one family that left before the oldest was 3, allowing them to move back and have their children experience only the US education system. I will say, that last family’s children (now 5 and 8) have no memory of ever knowing Mandarin or Taiwanese, despite having had nannies who spoke only those languages. (They knew the nannies through their church, in case you are still wondering about that)
Routine is really important, and that starts at his bedtime. Make sure that he’s getting an appropriate amount of sleep and has a good bedtime and wake-up routine, keeping everything consistent. I also agree with the school not letting parents in, when a mum hangs around the kid knows it and they will cry all the more for having mummy there to hear it, drop your kid off say goodbye, and then get the hell out. It’s not easy, but he’ll get used to it quickly, the more you stress and worry about the situation the longer it will draw it out for both you and him. Good luck.
