A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FROM OUR PRESCHOOL HUNT
It’s officially June as of this writing. And talking of June, aside from marking it as the start of the rainy season in Pinas, it also indicates the beginning of the school year. This year, my little preschooler joins amongst a thousand fold of students trooping their school classes. He’s three years old and attending the Junior Nursery class. And much as my Little Bunch is excited, so is the certified stage Mommy me.
But our journey to finding the most suited preschool for Nico was a long heck of a story. Surprisingly too, it was an eye opener and a worthwhile learning experience on the current state of preschool education in Pinas. After a comprehensive understanding about the different preschool teaching philosophies and programs (as I’ve earlier said in this post), we became more conscious in searching for not necessarily a school that has the best facilities, the best teachers and the one that produces the best students, BUT the school that suits and caters best to the learning style of our son.
You see, with the sprouting of so many many preschools with their own marketing gimmicks and promising teaching techniques, the search for “the right one” makes it all difficult for parents. My Mom, whom we jokingly tagged as combantrin 
(because she’s always opposing our littlest decisions) got so impatient with our long heck of a search of a preschool that she commented, “Masyado naman kayong mapili, para preschool pa lang naman eh, masyado ninyong pinapagod ang sarili ninyo. Noong araw, wala namang mga ganyan-ganyan”.
In a sense, my Mom has a good point because the reality is, early childhood education is not yet integrated as part of the existing Philippine educational system. If a parent is to refer to this Department Order, and I quote a part of its provisions, one would just be shaking his head:
While preschool is not yet a part of the educational ladder, the need for early childhood development has long been felt. The present standards for preschool education consider the child, the teacher and the school with the support of the family maximizing the child’s potentials and his capacity for learning. The stimulating and meaningful experiences provided for in the different learning areas will help develop the child in all aspects that will make him a socially sensitive, independent, spiritual and rational individual. The teacher is therefore expected to come up with a class program suited to the needs of the children in that particular area.
But while DepEd had said preschool is not YET a formal requirement for entering formal schooling, the same government agency however requires Grade 1-to-be students to posses General Competencies such as being able to read and write already, making preschool somewhere in between a requisite. Ang gulo ano? Pages 11-13 of the Department Order outlined the General Competencies Expected of Incoming Grade 1 Students, as follows:
I. Physical Development
A. Gross Motor Development
II. Personal-Social Development
A. Personal Skills
B. Interpersonal Skills
III. Affective Development
A. Emotional
B. Values
IV. Cognitive Development
A. Sensory-Perceptual Skills
B. Communication Skills
1. Oral Expression
2. Reading Readiness
3. Numeracy Skills
Taking these competencies as requisites and with the reality that that tuition fees in preschools are pretty much higher vs. the tuition fees for the compulsory school levels, the search for the most-suited preschool definitely became a big deal for us. Call us very meticulous parents, but we thought education is the best non-material possession that parents can provide their children. The Pinoy proverb that goes (and I always hear this line across all walks of life): “Ang edukasyon lamang ang tanging kayamanan na maipapamana natin sa ating mga anak”, has never been so true.
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Sa hinaba-haba man daw ng prosisyon, sa simbahan pa din ang tuloy
And it could have been more convenient should we have opted to settle with the school where Nico joined a playgroup, disregarding some reports of favoritisms of one of the schools’ teacher there. But we still took the risk, only to found ourselves in the end enrolling Nico in the same school. Hay.
I’ve already mentioned in this post about how we came up with such decision but nevertheless, I’m narrating some more and providing relevant links on the stages of searches we’ve gone through. (I thought the following information and links may still be useful to Mommy friends who are planning to send their kid/s to school next year).
For the last three months, we were occupied finding the prospective schools then finally deciding on “the right choice”. I found myself participating in a particular thread of the Pinoy Exchange’ Parenting 101 Forums, getting referrals from families, relatives and friends (to include my seatmates in the AUV I ride on my way to the office), clicking school links on recommendations of Blogfriends, and getting school contact numbers.
I also found a handful of relevant information in this post at MomExchange which has a long long thread of comments on the Pros and Cons of Traditional vs. Progressive Schools. I wonder though how Mommy Jen managed to answer all the comments (which now was up to 93 comments) that even the non-so related questions were asked by readers. Gee, through this post, I was even encouraged to buy a book (though it’s not updated) in National Bookstore called A Guide to Preschools in Metro Manila, only to found out later through frequent searches through Google that there exist a Preschool Directory of the Philippines. Hay.
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Charge to Experience
But anyway, despite inconveniences it caused us (hehe, I even forced Hubby to skip work and do ocular inspections of the schools) and yet, finding ourselves in the end enrolling Nico in the same school, our long heck of search for the most-suited preschool was all worth it, it was truly a learning experience.
Each of these schools that we had a chance to inquire and visit, have their respective plus and minus points, depending on how parents may treat them. I remember this school within our subdivision that we paid a visit. After a good talk with one of the personnel in-charge of the Preschool Dept., I was almost convinced to enrolling my son there as I was impressed with the school’s teaching philosophies (because their approach combines the progressive and the traditional methods). So when Hubby asked me what I thought of the school I said, “Hmm, pwede na rin”. But not until I saw the school’s comfort rooms. Shucks, I was totally turned off.
In a way, the famous line in life “Nobody’s perfect” is also true for learning institutions. If parents of preschoolers would insist on their close-to-perfection school standards, that would make searching for the perfect preschool impossible at all, making home schooling the best option. We realized that the stimulating and meaningful experiences that learning institutions promised to provide aren’t enough. A good supplementation from the parents is definitely necessary to further maximize a child’s potential for greater learning. And that is exactly what we intend to do for our son.
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In case you’re all curious on the schools we almost got our son enrolled to, here’s the top three prospective schools that met our criteria (with considerations of the standards stipulated in the DepEd Order and what the Baby/Parent Center suggested here and here) :
The Community of Learners. This school was recommended by my dear friend Aloi and a couple of our doctor friends who knew the founders of the school. Located in Brgy. Valencia, Greenhills, the school has a competent roster of teachers whose background ranges from psychology, special education and special fields of medicine. Aside from regular students, the school also caters to children with special needs and learning disabilities. The school follows a semi-structured teaching/learning program.
The Community of Learners Foundation
Address: #1 Castilla St. Brgy. Valencia Hills, Quezon City
Telephone Numbers: 721-0987 / 726-3431
HEdCen/The Little Farm House. I learned about this school from Connie (it’s the school where her daughters Sam and Alex attends) a few weeks after she announced the launching of the school’s website in her Blog. It’s a preschool that met above our expectations the moment we were oriented on the school’s teaching philosophies. The school combines the Montessori and the High/Scope approaches that are non-traditional and very holistic. And the good news is, the school accepts children with special needs.
Holistic Education and Development Center / The Little Farm House
Address: #95 Beverly Hills Subdivision, Brgy. Dolores, Taytay Rizal
Telephone Number: 658-3489
Explorations. I’ve heard so many good feedbacks about this school from friends who have their kids enrolled there. Though this school is a less structured one (somewhat like the Bank Street Approach because they have a free-form schedule for kids’ activities), they based their belief that children are active learners, explorers, experimenters, and artists. The Teachers guides the kids through physical and artful activities like drawing, dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments.
Explorations Preschool
Address: #928 Luna Mencias cor. Socorro Fernandez St. Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City
Telephone Number: 724-3320 / 724-4271
12 responses so far
Congrats, congrats… I am so happy for you. Hang in there. I’m sure you’ll...
wow, feng! that’s lots of research! it really takes an involved parent to go through all that data to choose the best school (and not rely on the “majority”—such as since lots of people go to these big schools, you’ll send nico there too…ya know?)
kudos to you, great mom!
jencc, and my many thanks to the thread in MomExchange, dami kong nakuhang tips and advices. i wondered nga how you were able to reply to those comments. i bet hirap na hirap ka maghanap nung mga preschool tel. nos. at pati devt pedia, may nagtanong din. si keechay talaga oh. (if you’re reading this, hi keechay!)
hi feng, this is really informative. i bet i’ll be referring to this post over and over again as i go through the search of the “most-suitable”
pre-school for my adoraBoy. hope you don’t mind if i link you up 
hello there kelly, thanks for droppin’ by here. you can also check momexchange.ph for other useful resources on preschools for your adoraboy.
and re: the link up, that’s definitely OK with me.
Hello Feng, thank you VERY much for the educational write-up! I am presently scouting for a pre-school for my 1 year, 4 months daughter. Being a first time mom, it is really a great challenge for me to look her first school! Thanks!
you’re welcome Mommy Ella!
naku, ganyan yata talaga eh noh, the moment we became Moms, we don’t wanna settle for anything less, we only want the best! goodluck in your preschool hunt, Elle is still very young, but taking a step ahead will surely make the much awaited day of getting her in school easer. 
hi everyone!
my kids, miro and kenji, are currently with golden angels superlearning center in makati –it’s a really cool preschool that educates through creative means. needless to say, although pricey, i am very happy with this school.
but now that miro’s turning prep next school year, i’m already on the lookout for an equally progressive primary school. but all the non-traditional schools i can find are preschools.
are there any creative elementary schools out there? hopefully in the makati area?
any suggestion is most welcome.
thanks!
I agree with you first time moms. Its really hard to look for good preschools. Luckily, I found my sons school. I am also happy with Links Learning Center. Its located at 24 Scout Limbaga St. Quezon City. Its a progressive school that my child attends since he was 1.6 years old. He is now 4 and is beginning to read. The school only promises that my child will be a happy learner all his life. Sinong mommy ang ayaw nito?
I don’t know if I am the only mom whose had such a bad experience, but I enrolled my son in Golden Angels in Salcedo and I regret it till today! It has been 1 year and my son still does not want to go to school, he is now 3 years old. Since he was only 2 at the time, I sat in class with him and was shocked to see that they would tie kids to the chair if they didn’t behave! On the third day, they moved my son to a younger class/group where again I was shocked. They had mixed a special child with the rest of the group and we know that shouldn’t be as they need more patience and more attention. To make things worse, this special child kept throwing himself on the floor and the teacher tied him to a chair! I stepped outside to use the restroom and my son was in the room bawling! I asked his yaya to stay inside with him till I returned and as I returned his yaya tells me, mam let’s go. I asked why and she explained that while I was away the assistant teacher (who is a yaya) said about my son’s crying ‘dapat injectionin yan”! Of course, I never brought my son back there and asked Anelle, the owner to refund me as it had only been 3 days and I paid for half which came out to P57,000. Till today ladies, I have been refunded as she says they do not refund on “installment” payments. As far asI’m concerned, 50% is not considered an installment but anyway.. Just wanted to share my story with you as there are a dime a dozen of schoold out there. Unfortunately for me I fell for her sales talk, and hope no one else gets victimized!
Hi Feng! Reading your article brought me back to the days when I was searching for my daughter’s first school. Funny, I had the same experience. It was really a challenge looking for a school. I enrolled my daughter in a Montessori school in New Manila but unfortunately, I was not too happy with how they handled my child so I was even more meticulous in search of a better school for my only child. Then I found out about Milestone through a relative, and it was the first time I heard about “progressive school” akala ko before there was only traditional and Montessori. So, I researched on it and I liked the concept. My daughter immediately fell in love with the school and the teachers when I brought her to see the school. Though Milestone was in San Juan area and a very young school at that time compared to the Montessori school my daughter was in, it gave me a feeling of “finally my search is over” maybe because of the homey environment and the teachers were young and accommodating, I liked how the presented their program. Then I found out coincidentally that another parent from the same Montessori school enrolled her son in Milestone and they will be classmates. I said to myself that it must be a sign. I cannot thank the school enough for the wonder it brought my child. She learned more because she loved learning and became more caring. She also learned how to socialize well with other kids. This, I was so happy about, though my child is sociable, (meaning not shy) she didn’t know how to interact properly. Anyway, my little girl is now in grade three and is doing well in the big school. I enrolled her in a semi-traditional school. I’m also happy that even if she went to a progressive school, she adjusted well in the big traditional school. My daughter is in St. Paul Pasig now and the boy who transferred with her is also doing well in Xavier (as what I heard).
Hi I’m a mom of a 4.5 year old boy –who started at EXPLORATIONS pre school summer and is now in their nursery class. EXPLORATIONS is, as its reputation has, the most effective, professional, helpful schools around. teacher Papot is amazing! I thought it was all hype coming from mother’s mouths before he went there. apparently, all the good things i heard r really true. my son has grown leaps and bounds. used to hardly talk now expresses himself beautifully!!!!! Pls check out their website. I am also holding a playgroup in my house in Mandaluyong, to be headed by a former EXPLo teacher who is currently finishing her masters pls col 09178000905 if interested Begins august 28 2008–anyone with a 4,5,6 year old welcome to join Thank you
Offtopic, sorry i can’t help but voice out my opinion.
To adie: I am a mom of a special child with autism studying in a regular pre-school. I was really hurt and offended by your (shocked)reaction when you learned that a special child was allowed to join your child’s class. Special children should be given a chance to study and interact with “normal” people, giving them a chance to emulate the right attitude and behavior of the so called “normal” people. And for the normal person to interact with a student who is different/special, it’ll make him/her more understanding in the future of the less fortunate kids who happen to be disabled or handicapped…who knows a friendship may developed too. If they(the normal) weren’t given the chance to mix with a different crowd and understand them, I can see they’ll grow up to be bullies who will make fun of other students just because they look or act different…they can even grow up with no compassion, and would look down on people with disabilities and abnormalities.
A special child can have some issues and difficulties to handle, but with proper guidance of the teacher (and not by being tied on the chair), they can be handled too. Reason why there’s an evaluation and assesment done before a special child gets accepted in a regular school. They should be given a chance too.