At what age do you apply for schools?

somebodyfamous

somebodyfamous

Registered User
OK I've been reading a lot of posts here but get very confused by dates, being late for applications etc.

My girls were born on 2 Nov 2006 which makes them 14 and half months old today.

At what age should I be applying for them to go to preschool? And then what age to apply for kindergarden? Am I too late?

Should they be attending something this September when they are 22 months old?

What ages is everything?

I know I asked something like this many months before but I'm still feeling confused (and to be honest overwhelmed by having to make so many decisions...)

Thanks in advance!
 
it all comes down the the school that you want them to go to as different schools have different policies.

you DO NOT have to give into pressure if you don't want them to go so young. it's up to you as none of it is mandatory. i never wanted my kids to get sucked into the system so young. the ONLY thing that has made me change my mind is that we moved from DB (lots of friends/kids to play with at the playground) to Sai kung Country Park (only 2 kids his age, both or whom go to school). He has no one to play with except adults and his baby sister. I think he needs the interaction with other kids, so hubby and i are considering putting him into 1/2 day from march. he will be 3yr 1 m when that happens.
 
In September at that age they would normally go to pre-nursery. But of course you can wait until they are three and start Kindergarten. Different schools have different acceptance ages. For some the cut off date is September but others it is December. As your children were born in November you'll have to check the cut off date. I don't think all pre-schools will be full, no harm in asking around. Otherwise if you want them to start at 3, then you'll need to start applying around this coming September time.
 
Thank you so much Cara & Sky. I will first go and check out some schools and see what I think of the environments. Step by step and I guess its not too late either (phew! what a relief!)
 
Hi Somebodyfamous
My little man has been going to playschool/playgroups since 12 months old. I've seen him learn lots from the social interactions. In April (at just under 25 months), he has been scheduled to start an independent (no helper/no parent even the bus pick up!) half day pre-nursery programme from 8:45 to 11:45. I purposely picked the school as it has a very small classroom size... something I would not even get in my home country without paying an arm and a leg.

The decision has been influenced by his signs of independence and what he would be doing if we were back home i.e. full day child care/pre-nursery.

But, for the last year, we have been enrolling him in programmes step by step... once a week, twice a week right to a daily routine now.

Good Luck!
 
ESF - U apply for kindergarten in October 2008 for September 2009 class -

Preschool u can join anytime as long as there is availability in the school of your choice,

Victoria also informed that for class of 2009 which is the date for our kids applications forms will be out only in September 2008.

Like u , I also was confused while reading another thread where moms have already put their kids on the school waitlist for 2009 school year.

Will be Visiting Highgate, International Montessori and Victoria in these few weeks to check things out .

Will let u know

Neha
 
As my boy was born in December 2006, I am now asking around about schools. I hope my sharing can help a bit!!

* age requirements for playgroups vary a lot. The best way is to call those that you are interested and see if you could do a trial. I find trial classes very useful.

* nurseries - legally, schools could only accept kids of age 2

* preschools - vary depending on the school again, but most usually accept kids of the age of 2 as they aim to "prepare" the child for kinders

* kindergartens - most either accept by the age of 2 yrs 8 months or 3 years old. Some even by 3 yrs 8 months/4 yrs. They also set their cut-offs at different times, but mostly at year end or at the time when the kid starts school. I find this the most trickiest part for babies who are born in the last quarter of the year (hoho, and that's our babies!!!) Just not to get things too confused, I guess the best way to shortlist some kinders and apply accordingly.

AnpanBaby
 
Thanks Spockey & Neha!

Had a browse in your blog Spockey - very interesting, really like your writing style - are you a professional writer? - I personally think sometimes you allude something to being Asian or Western when reallly its not :yeah2

Anyway back to the subject on hand - I'm feeling more confident today!
 
Hi Spockey

I saw your post about enrolling your boy in a school with small class sizes and felt I had to share my own experiences. Please excuse the writing, I normally only read, never post.

I had so much trouble finding the "right" school for my girl. I visited "tons" of schools but just did not feel right about any of them. You know that feeling you get when you walk into a school and everything looks nice and teachers are friendly but you just don't feel right? Anyway long story short. I met a lovely little boy on the bus, with his Mum. She told me about a small school in Tuen Mun, called JingJing International Kindergarten. I went down there and absolutely loved the place. I enrolled my daughter immediately!

There are only 8 children per class maximum! That is fantastic!! Most of the schools I looked at had 2 teachers per 20+ kids and that is not the same. What I really loved is the children get to "do" things. Touch, feel, experience things not just "sit down and do work"!!

She has only been there for a few weeks now but she loves it. I had a parent/teacher meeting yesterday and it was wonderful to walk into the classroom and see artwork that she had done hanging on the walls and photos of her doing various activities. Best part was after speaking with the teacher, I felt she really "got" my daughter. I think that comes with the small class sizes. The children can get individual attention.

I have to say as well that my daughters confidence has grown tenfold in such a short time. She was a little timid starting out, which is only natural I suppose. Now she comes home singing songs, chatting happily and talks about school all the time.

I am ecstatic!!:lovedface:
 
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