Lately I've been feeling a little disillusioned with Gymademics. I'm not the disciplined kind of mother who meticulously practices flash card reading with my daughter. Besides, the flashcard method has its detractors, with some claiming that it stunts a child's imagination.
Although Kai Lynn has since settled well into class and is thoroughly fond of Teacher A, I notice that her learning has somewhat plateaued in recent months. Furthermore, the school seems to be in expansion mode but is lacking of good teachers. Save for Teacher A and the principal, I don't think the rest of the teachers cut the mustard. Some of the teachers who have known Kai Lynn since Day 1 carry thick native accents and still cannot pronounce her name properly to this day (It's Kai Lynn, not Kaylin, for goodness sake!)
Yesterday's class was a disaster. There were 4 additional kids on trial (in addition to the existing 3 students) and Teacher A wasn't around. The class was conducted by 3 other teachers, all of whom seemed uncoordinated and relatively inexperienced. Kids were running everywhere and it was a chaotic mess trying to complete certain exercises within a certain timeframe. Kai Lynn certainly did not enjoy herself and refused to participate in some of the exercises, repeatedly asking to be carried.
I've since starting exploring other alternatives for Gymademics and notice that Julia Gabriel's bilingual playclub for 18 mos to 3.5 years seems to be a popular choice for many parents. The class size is bigger than Gymademics but the teachers seem better skilled and the curriculum more enjoyable, with a focus on fun. Unfortunately, the price is also dearer at >SGD60 per lesson. Have signed Kai Lynn up for a term (comprising 10 lessons) starting this Saturday at their Rochester Branch and am quite looking forward. Will update this blog to share the experience.
Here's the breakdown of the initial payment I made at Julia Gabriel
SGD695.50 (inclusive GST) for class fees
SGD100 (deposit)
SGD10.70 (library fees)
SGD51.36 (one-off registration fee)
Total: 857.56
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