Lilypie 2nd Birthday Ticker

Shichida Kindergarten

Friday, November 07, 2008

I received a brochure from Shichida Method last weekend. It says ‘Shichida Kindergarten - a mini university at pre-school level.’ As I read on, the brochure has a very impressive introduction of the Shichida Kindergarten which will be opening in January next year.

I was captivated by their syllabus. Their concept is just the same as university. Instead of the commonly used ‘terms’ and ‘subjects’ in ordinary kindergartens, Shichida Kindergarten uses foundation modules and elective modules. Their syllabus encompasses a wide range of learning, from literary skills, creativity, whole brain learning, convincing speech and lots more. You will be amazed by the level of activities that they introduce to the students.

Good things always come with a ‘price’. This kindergarten is charging a whooping fee of $800 a month, for a mere 3 hours class per day. Currently, I’m paying $800 every 3 months for the Shichida enrichment class that Edison is attending. To me, this is already considered as expensive. I still feel a little ‘heart-pain’ when I sign my credit card bill every 3 months for $800. So, I cannot imagine myself paying $800 every month for this kindergarten!

A typical PAP Community Foundation (PCF) kindergarten charges about $100 a month for a half-day programme. School fees for private kindergartens, however, vary from several hundreds to over one thousand per month for their full-day programmes. Despite the hefty fees, many parents still choose to send their children to private kindergartens.

So, can I conclude that Singaporeans are rich?

Perhaps the role of kindergarten has changed tremendously over the years. Parents are more focused on pre-school education to build up a strong foundation for their children. It’s not just learning A, B and C, but we want an effective education that will nurture our children and challenge them intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially. Better trained teachers, creative and stimulating atmosphere, enriching syllabus and smaller size classes are the factors that contributes to the hefty fees.

Somehow I wonder. My mother never taught me flash cards. I studied in super ordinary neighborhood schools. I’ve never engaged any private tutors. But I can still make it to the university. So, I’m sure my little Edison can do the same too.

But again, time has changed. Nowadays, children are more advanced than their older generations. At a tender age of 1 year old, they are already learning ABC and counting. Their education journey and future career path will be much more challenging.
.....

However, despite me thinking that these private kindergartens are ridiculously overpriced, I am still considering to enroll my little Edison with a private kindergarten. Hehehe! It’s difficult not to be ‘kiasu’ living in Singapore. After all, I’m not going to have ten children. I’m only planning to have two. So, I’m going to give them the best that I can afford.

If you are interested in Shichida Kindergarten, they are having an open house this weekend at their Tanjung Pagar branch. Don’t miss this opportunity if you are keen.

8 comments:

Sin Yee said...

i showed your post to my hb, whether he is interested. he goes, " no time".

what do you mean "no time? you or me".

he goes, "shawn has no time!!" haha

Edison's Mum said...

My hubby said, "So expensive! Forget abt it!" .. haha!

Bryan+Nicole said...

Yah, so freaking expensive! They really know how to make money! Don't think I will send Tristan there also.

Anonymous said...

i was tempted... but looking at the price, i beta not take a step into the facility. worry i might be 'won' over during the open house and 'stupidly' sign some sort of a indemnity form.

Happy Sunflower said...

hmm... expensive or not depends which kindergarten you are comparing with.

Anonymous said...

Hi ,
I was reading your blog recently and quite impressed by your efforts and times you are spending with your son.
I enrolled my son in the SK this Jan but I had withdrew him recently . Like most parents ,I was very excited when I first came to Shichida . I actually wanted to enroll him the SM weekly but I decided to give a try when I get to know their newly formed SK. I think there are quite a number of things for them to improve in order for me to consider again to put him back. He is starting his SM soon which I still quite confident with them.

peggy said...

Hi,
My son is currently in Shichida. I just received a letter from the school last week that they will be closing down due to high operational cost. The worst thing is, the school fees that I payed for December will not be refunded. For a school that is so interested in the development for our children's " kindness, integrity and intelligence," they sure can scheme and insult the parent's intelligence.

Happy Dad said...

I also have a kid in the Shichida kindergarten, but I happen to run a biz and I think they have been gracious to absorb a lot of their costs. Don't forget, they were only talking about the first half of Dec fees which was already paid in July. We were supposed to pay the other 50% in October, which is waived. For me, all kindergartens collect Dec fees IN FULL whether we quit anytime before the year end (without any refund), but they are only closing end of the academic year. So, I think its very fair. Not only that, we leave anytime in Nov, we don't need to pay for the whole month. I told them my kid will stay till the end of school year, but I only pay half the month's fees. That's another big savings for us.

Possibly Related Posts


Related Article Widget by Hoctro