Julia Gabriel Bilingual Playclub

First and foremost, I love Rochester Mall. In fact, I think its one of the main reasons why I look forward to Kai Lynn's Julia Gabriel class every Saturday. Love the surrounding lush greenery, the bohemian vibe of its specialty shops/cafes (Starbucks is separately housed in a refurbished colonial bungalow!) and the laid back dreamy suburban feel. It almost doesn't feel like Singapore. And let's not get started on Star Vista (another shopping centre just across the road)..its like another paradise in itself.

But I digress...

Today's post is actually on Julia Gabriel's highly popular bilingual playclub. This weekly class caters to kiddos ranging from 18 months to 3 years.  Each session lasts 2 hours and only 1 parent is allowed to accompany the kid. I was initially keen to sign Kai Lynn up for the class conducted at its flagship outlet at Forum Shopping Centre but it was fully booked. The only suitable opening was at Julia Gabriel's relatively new and untested Rochester branch, which has been rebranded as "Cheng Zhu"due to the centre's focus on the Chinese language. This has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The bilingual playclub's curriculum is fun but has limited academic value, as compared to say, Gymademics. Spelling and phonics are virtually non existent. Notwithstanding this, the teachers are eloquent (either proficient in English or Chinese) and highly entertaining.

Key features in each class include lots of music and dance, a nifty handicraft session (centered around this term's theme of "farm animals"), a short skit, snack session and some free time at the centre's very well equipped (and sterile) playground. Approximately 50% of the program is conducted in Chinese and the remaining 50% in English. Each week, children are also treated to a special activity- last week was watercolor painting, this week is sand play and next week is foam play. 2 hours seem to pass in a flash. Kai Lynn definitely seems to be having more fun.

I also appreciate the fact that the centre places much emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene. Teachers are always on the lookout for sick children (parents will be asked to take their unwell kids out of class and attend a make up class) and there are at least 2 breaks during each class for children to clean up and wash their hands. Children are also taught basic rules of courtesy and respect. Before and after class, every child is expected to spend some time greeting and interacting with all the teachers.

We will probably sign up for an additional term with Julia Gabriel after our current package ends. This will hopefully help her to be more accustomed to a structured learning environment and aid her transition to pre-nursery at Bedok Methodist Kindergarten starting Jan 2014.

Playgroup options

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