Kindergartens Near Sentul East

All right, maybe when we were considering Sentul East as a home, it didn't really occur to us to go around and scout for nearby schools and fees first before moving. Sheesh.. we were just to excited about the beautiful condominium, the nearby Sentul LRT and the proximity of cheap food (read Kg Baru) to give due attention to our kids schooling. Serves us right I guess. Now, I am scratching my head over good pre-schools that are nearby and offer transportation. 

If you are considering Montessori schools with good surroundings, I think Mont Kiara, Sri Hartamas and TTDI is still the place to head for. If you are considering kindergartens for 3 year olds that are near to Sentul and don't mind the kindergarten surroundings, there are some at Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Kuching area. 

My scouting experience for kindergartens near Sentul East area is as such:

1) Taska and Tadika Temanku at Menara PJD , Jln Tun Razak opposite Titiwangsa LRT

This was the first place that we went to as it really is close to our place and Menara PJD looks nice. When we went in though the administrator was busy (I think) and the lady that attended to us was busy with kids leaving as it is around 6.30pm (well the guy that I called up asked me to come at 6.00pm). Place is huge, possibilities are also endless I guess but too bad they don't make the most out of it, expected though as the fees are really rock bottom. I nearly couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the fees schedule, it ranges from RM200+ - RM400+ for daycare-kindergarten. Kindergarten offers standard Malay, English, Islamic Studies and am not to sure if they offer Mathematics. The lady didn't have any spare program sheet on hand and even though I requested to the guy in charge (Mr Husen) to email me a soft copy, I have yet to receive it. Anyways, I am not too keen on this place as I observed one boy sleeping on the couch at the waiting area alone and the kids that were picked up was not sent off by a teacher at the door, it's more like parents come and get their kids and go off. Hmm.. I also didn't see a lot of hands on activities for kids and the play area (1 small slide with the side swing sold at Toys R Us) is kind of small for the number of kids that they have. It's a good choice for those that are looking for a Muslim daycare/ kindergarten and value for money but I prefer to look around more for my kids. 

2) Tadika GCC at Putra Majestik Jalan Ipoh 

GCC Kindergarten - The Nearest to Sentul East

This kindergarten is cheerful though area is still smaller than my liking but I love the materials that they have, they have a science room, a lot of hands on materials for kids, I see arts and craft materials, a smart board and they have their own system for English and workbooks too. Fees are also quite affordable around less than RM300 per month and I saw that they have transportation services too. Kids study in clusters though there is no partition or separate classroom for each group. (Erm, they have 1 classroom for 5 year olds I think)  This kindergarten is the nearest to Sentul East and the most decent in terms of location, ambience and programme offered in my opinion.

3) Be Smart Kinder Kids at No2-1, Jalan 3/42A, Taman Sejahtera, Off Jalan Kuching.

Another cheerful kindergarten with lots more students than GCC at Jalan Ipoh, teachers looked more experienced and handled kids really well too. Lots of songs when we came in but that's probably a wind down activity as the kids were going off. Kindergarten is from 8.00am - 12.00pm and they only provide snacks. Lady in charge Miss Meera also looked very competent. Very reasonable fees at RM210 per month. The downside is lack of play area and parking area. Hubby also mentioned that he can't imagine how the noise is going to be like when all the classes are in session as the students are quite a lot. But, I actually like a school with lots of kids, I think it should prepare my kids well for national school environment later at Primary one? 

4) Q-dees at No159A Jalan Selingsing 6, Taman City 

It was kind of difficult to find this place as the roads that lead to it are really small roads and there were lots of turns, maybe we didn't know the best way to head for it as we were using google maps. Anyway, once we found it, hubby didn't really like the location as it is located at the side of the (busy and small) road and is opposite a paper recycling warehouse. So, we didn't go inside. 

After these four kindergartens, I kind of get the feeling that hubby don't really favor these places as no 1: They don't have an outdoor play area (as most are at level 2 shop houses) no 2: they don't take in our 21 months old second son as most are kindergartens and not montessori pre-schools. So, I didn't go to see Smart Reader Kids at 513A Batu 3, Jalan Ipoh. Sigh..seems like another round of pre-school scouting coming up this Friday.