Welcome to The Preschool Scoop!
A body of research shows that preschools play a critical role in children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. It’s no wonder that Singapore, a world-class city-state with a strong culture of academics, boasts more than 2,000 preschool options across the island. Preschools in Singapore offer a range of educational philosophies, curricula, routines and structures, facilities, and cultural and language resources. While this variety helps ensure diverse choices for diverse learning preferences, the abundance of options may also be overwhelming for expatriate parents who just moved to Singapore and are preoccupied with figuring out essential needs such as housing, healthcare, and transportation. This was the case for us when we began our journeys as expatriate mothers in Singapore. Not only did we have to figure out how to navigate a new country, culture, and way of life, but we also aimed to find quality preschools that addressed the unique needs of our multicultural, multilingual kids. This meant hours of research, multiple site visits to different schools, and many conversations with spouses, family, and educators to determine which preschool was the best fit. Sometimes, this also meant pulling our children out of school earlier than intended due to unmet expectations and educational mismatches, forcing us to start our preschool search all over again while juggling work, busy family schedules, and other responsibilities.
Though it was challenging, we persevered, motivated by our trust in Singapore as a welcoming home away from home and the firm belief in the developmental benefits of early education. Along the way, we learned valuable lessons and insights on the preschool search process. This includes understanding the differences in educational approaches—such as play-based, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and traditional—and seeing how they are applied in real-world classroom settings, beyond what is described in textbooks. It also involved learning to identify how these approaches align with each child’s unique background and developmental needs.
We also gained important wisdom on what questions to ask on school tours beyond more obvious topics like the class schedule and tuition fees. These were questions we wished we had thought of from the beginning, especially since schools vary in their day-to-day practices including how they implement different policies like outdoor play and parent engagement. Furthermore, we gained a deep appreciation and gratitude for educators and school leaders who prioritize children’s well-being, and maintain a consistent and open line of communication with parents.
While it’s likely true that we would’ve faced challenges with a preschool search in our home countries, we believe we would’ve been better prepared due to our familiarity with our own cultures, education systems, and cultural expectations. Our experiences demonstrate the challenges expatriate parents may face when adapting to a new educational landscape even in a welcoming and multicultural place like Singapore. To ease this transition, we launched Preschool Pals Advisors to support expat parents with the information and resources we wish we had in our preschool searches.
Preschool Pals Advisors helps expat parents consider the myriad factors and information available to find a quality preschool for their child. Our services include consultations, customized research tailored to each family’s preferences and needs, and accompanying families on school site visits where we analyze the schools with our internal inspection checklist, informed by our preschool search experiences. Once parents enroll their child in their selected preschool, we are also available as a sounding board and guide on what to expect on the first day, first week, and first month of a child’s enrollment. Our offerings are crafted with the utmost care, placing the well-being of children at the heart of our mission. We seek to be a nurturing force for expat families to help ensure all children thrive.
In this blog series, we’ll explore different topics related to our work with families and preschools in Singapore. So follow us for tips, thoughts, and advice on early education with The Preschool Scoop—Preschool Pals Advisors’ blog for expatriate parents seeking encouragement and support as they navigate the preschool years.
Research and Resources