School hunting

I used to thank my lucky stars that I have the support of my in-laws to help babysit my child.

Jayden gets to attend a 3-hour school on weekdays and have his proper lunch & nap in the comforts of a familiar environment. At the same time, it also minimize the exposure of unnecessary diseases such as HFMD.

I thought I could put my heart at ease at least until the boy goes to elementary school. But alas, my luck ran out earlier than I could have expected.

Things changed 360 degrees the moment my BIL's wife gave birth in Adelaide. At first, it was just a simple 'going over to visit them' kind of arrangement. But the dis-organized irresponsible parents had to drop the ball on us 2 days after birth by saying that nobody can do confinement for the poor poor wife (I said poor cause they acted like very pitiful)

And so the MIL have to fly over pronto for 5 weeks which leaves the Singapore home here in a mess - Dylan was in reservist, I was due to fly to Perth for business trip for a week and there was nobody to take care of Jayden!!

Of course, when the well-being of my son is at stake, I will turn into an enraged mother rather than a sympathetic one. We all have our selfish sides so surely, my son comes first. Then again, all these displeasure and discontent could have easily been resolved if PLANNING was made in ADVANCE. I really don't appreciate last minute bombs!

Unfortunately, the damage was done. The FIL took over the baby-sitting for Jayden, the MIL's sister came over to cook the son's lunch and the rest of the adults in the house settled for ta-pao food. I had to accept the arrangement - as long as my son still eats home cooked food, I am happy.

With all the inconveniences going on, I decided that this was the last straw. I have been putting the idea of sending Jayden to childcare at the back of my head. I did consider sending the boy when he turns 4 and that we have settled our new home next year, in addition to him having better immunity by then. But life just don't go as what you plan for sometimes.

In a span of 2 days, I have scouted and rang 29 childcare centres. (I am not kidding. I even have it on an excel spreadsheet) As expected, all centres were fully booked and on long waiting list. Finding a school for kids these days is a torture!

Finally, one of the Oct mummy recommended me Agape Little Uni @ Serangoon. I was apprehensive about selecting childcares as I would prefer someone I know has/is attending the same school.

Dropped by the school and fell in love with it instantly. The place was spacious, facilities were CLEAN, the kind of place I can put my heart at ease for my child to sleep in. I have visited one childcare in private housing before and the cleaniness of the building was atrocious. Can you imagine letting your child sleeping on its floor??!

Back to Agape. The school fees left a lump in my throat. $1.8k for initial deposit - there goes one bag :(

Unperturbed, I decided to bring the son to visit the center himself. He must at least like the school to be in it right?

We brough Jayden to the center. The boy, as usual, was shy in the beginning. But it didn't took him long to get used to the environment. He played the drums on their performing stage, played doh, mixed colors and even spread nutella and sprinkles on a cookie.

And then we asked the ultimate question: "Do you like this school, baby?"

The boy shouted excitedly: "Mummy! I like this school! I want to study here!"

I don't know if it's a moment of over-zealous joy but that was the deciding factor. We signed up on the spot.

Jayden will attend his new school in Dec when his current school term ends. We hope it will be a smooth transition for the boy. *cross fingers*

And for now I can put my heart at ease again.