a mother's dilemma...

Iman is going to be 4 next year....

So both of us are thinking to send him to a playschool.. but we still have not decided where or do we want to send him...

Iman dah sibuk nak sekolah, keep asking when he can go to school...

I wanted to send him... but it's just so hard to find the RIGHT school for him... and truthfully I am frightened...

Not that I'm afraid he could not adapt, but I am more afraid of the syllabus that they offered to a 4-year old!!

For now, I just want Iman to learn the basic skill of communications, learning how to make friends.. He should be developed to know what he likes/dislikes, he should explore all things so he can think of what he want.. and because learning is suppose to be fun... I don't want him to be pressured or forced to learn.. That is not right for kids.. again they suppose to understand that learning is fun!!

Character building & exploring is very important for this age... but I see most kindergarten or play school (actually there's no play school in Malaysia, try google it... you'll find mostly offer pre-school education) in Malaysia emphasize too much on (exam-based) education & somehow forcing kids to learn too much before their age...

I mean at 4, there are kids afraid to go to school because they have not finish their homework (buku tak payah cerita la, tebal mcm buku sekolah rendah), having exams & teaching kids multiply or a 3rd language (BM pun tak lepas tatabahasa lagi..)???

I mean, yes it's good exposure, but that's too much.. What happen to drawing, singing, playing clay, dancing, role play etc??? I thought kids that age should be playing more because that's how they learn... (seriously.. am jealous of my friends in oversea because they have that kind of play school for their kids...)

Iman is a smart kid, he already know alphabets & numbers... he know how to spell simple words & knows how to count.. I'm thinking of teaching him simple math, you know 1+1, 1+2... so he knows the concept of adding... because I see he likes numbers more than words..

But one thing I notice is, he does not like writing or colouring... maybe because he too has OCD (blame me..). When he's coloring, he does not like the colors to be out of border or when he's writing (follow the dot..), he does not want his writing to be messy.. So when he saw that he's not writing perfectly, he just gave up!! Then he'll said "Iman tak pandai la.. susah.."

We are still encouraging him to write more, actually to make him understand that doing something a bit messy is OK (I am praying hard he doesn't get carried away with this OCD)... and to let him know that it's OK to fail, as long as he try his best...

That's why we're thinking to send him to school... Maybe when he sees other kids are trying too, or getting compliments from his teachers, he can be encourage (not forced) to write or learn new things...

And that's why I am looking for a place where he can have fun learning. Because I'm afraid, if he's not being encourage that way (being scolded or punished if he fails), then he will be afraid of schools...

So anyone have any idea where I can send him next year?? (suggestion in Skudai area only please...)