If there is anything I learned through my preschool hunt, it is this – preschool hunt is very subjective.  How I assess a school is going to be very different from how another person assesses a school.  What is important to me may not be important to you.  Preschool hunt is largely influenced by how we want to bring up our children, and this is one thing no two parents are alike.

My Mistake
The very first mistake I made was to rely entirely on other people's recommendation.  Due to the lack of experience and plain laziness, what I did was to simply see where a family member put her children and follow suit.  It turned out to be a complete disaster, through no fault of that family member.  I should have done my homework and been more involved in the process.

Don't get me wrong.  I am not saying that you should not ask around, see where other parents are sending their kids and what they say about the schools.  In fact, it is important that you do so.  What I am saying is that you should not rely solely on such information to make your decision.  There are so many other things to consider!

After making the mistake that I made, I found myself in a situation where I had to do my own hunt from scratch within a month.  That was only shortly after my son started school.  I sent in the notice of termination and had only 1 month to find another school for him.

I decided to sit down and think through what I wanted in a school.  If you do an internet search and visit websites like ParentCentre, you will find articles and checklists relating to the subject of hunting for schools.  Of course, these are overseas sites and some of the factors for consideration are not relevant to us.  It would be good for you to sit down, think through what exactly you want out of your ideal preschool, what are your needs, your child's needs, and come up with a checklist for yourself.  As I said, such things are very subjective.  Your list will not be same as my list, even though there will be some common factors.

There were a few factors that were very important to me :

1.It must be a childcare centre.

I have written about the different types of preschools in my other article Preschools - What Are They.  For me, one of the main reason for sending Dominic to school was so that I would have some time to take care of the baby.  In other words, I needed a child-minding service for half a day.  Hence, the school has to meet this need of taking Dominic off my hands for half a day, as well as not having school holidays for me to deal with.  Based on this crucial need, all kindergartens and enrichment centres were struck off my list.

If your need to to find a childcare service to take care of your child while you are at work, you should not be looking at a kindergarten or enrichment centre just because it is very well known for producing good students.  Unless you have alternative childcare arrangement for the rest of the time when your child is not in school and during school holidays, these schools will not be suitable for you.

What I am trying to say here is that you have to know what you need.  A good education is definitely a relevant and important need.  However, you have to prioritise your needs and if you can't have both, then you will know which is more important.

2.Must Not be at HDB Flat Void Decks or in Commercial Buildings

It is very important to me that Dominic gets enough outdoor time.  I am under the impression that schools situated at the void decks of HDB flats usually lack this.  I could be wrong.  In fact, I think MCYS may stipulate a certain amount of outdoor time.  Nevertheless, I was betting on the fact that a school having its own grounds will provide more outdoor opportunity for the kids.  

As for schools situated in a commercial building, I viewed them unfavourably because I didn't like the fact that the kids are in enclosed, air-conditioned space the whole day.  Bugs and germs spread easily within the ventilation system.  On top of that, the children may not even get to be in the sun at all.