Kindy search #1

The great Kindy Search for MG who was turning 4 in 2013 began with my first visit to  Taska Pintar Ria in Mutiara Damansara. It uses the Fungates system.

During  a kindy survey, a typical mumzilla would look out for the following:

1.Environment - Cleanliness,  Safety and security, Facilities
2. Teacher- student ratio
3. Fees
4. System

There are actually 2 centres - one is a corner terrace house in Mutiara Damansara and the other is in shoplots nearby.  I mistakenly went to the terrace house (it is the more visible of the 2 as it is visible from the main road, just outside the Curve) but found out that it is for smaller kids. The doors were locked, and I had to answer a few questions before being allowed into the kindy (good!). My visit was in the mid morning on a school day (When spying on kindies, it's better to drop by on a school day rather than an open day- although it may be irritating to the teachers, but at least you get to see the real proceedings in action).

I saw some classes in progress- as the classes for smaller kids (2-3 year olds) and noted there was a good ratio of teacher/ assistants to students. The principal also told me that different kids were grouped according to their abilities to understand instructions. As far as cleanliness - it was definitely clean, no issues there. There were safety gates at the stairs. Assistants were also local Malaysian, not foreign helpers. And not overly young (I have no prejudice against youth, but I do value experience that comes with age :) I also liked the fact that the kindy was in a house and had a playground in the garden.

The centre for 4 year olds and above were at the shoplot.   I visited this centre on another occasion, ie on their open day on Saturday as I decided to bring MG along to have a look around. The classes occupy at least 2 shoplots on the first floor, and is pretty big. In terms of equipment, montessori apparatus, this kindy is definitely quite "high tech" as it has a science and computer lab, smart boards (they look like big Ipads!), kitchen and lots of montessori apparatus. It was clean, but then again it's Open Day, it has to be clean! I spoke to a teacher who seemed well spoken and quite passionate about kids. However, the downside for me is that their teacher to student ratio is quite large - max of 28 kids to 1 teacher and 1 assistant (in the first term) and eventually it would be down to 1 teacher iin the later terms when the kids are more settled.


Fees was also reasonable - the monthly fees is comparatively low, but is bumped up by the various charges for the labs etc (fair enough). Not as expensive as Peter and Jane, and Summer Academy.

As for other persons' experiences were concerned, I knew 1 other person whose daughter is there (for daycare too) and a colleague's cousin sent her kids there. Overall, the reviews from them were quite good.


I was on the verge of putting down the money for this kindy. However my main reservation was whether my very active MG who is unable to sit still for short periods of time would be able to focus in such a big class. Also I wasn't sure about Fungates. It is a great concept on paper, I like it but I have heard that it can be quite academic. (if you read my first post, I'm from the school of thought that kids must have fun!! although I know I may regret this later when primary school is upon us!) On the plus side, I have heard that the mandarin lessons are good and kids transition to chinese school easily.


Tadika Pintar Ria, No 1 Jalan PJU 7/11B, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya and Pusat Latihan Perkembangan Pintar Ria, No 21, Jalan PJU7/16A, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
Call 03-7710 0240 or 03-7722 2710 for enquiries.

The Great Kindy Search

Kindergarten, Kindy, Playschool, Playschool.... When my daughter, MG, was 2 plus years old, I had no choice but to begin hunting for the appropriate kindy to enrol in the next year... Being a rather chill person by nature, I've always wondered why parents need to be so "kiasu" when it comes to schooling and the like, but deep inside, I knew that I would have to assume some degree of kiasu-ism when its time for MG to be institutionalised in school..... So for me, there were a number of considerations in making the choice.

 1) Location and Logistics is key - it had to be near MG's nanny's house as the next step for me was to beg MG's nanny to pick her up from school. Hence my search was limited to PJ area, preferably Bandar Utama, TTDI, DU, SS2
2) It had to be non-academic. You read right, I didn't want MG to dread school (like mummy, who still has bad memories of her kindy which was just one road from her home).
3) It had to suit MG - in the sense that MG is one active bundle of energy who is simply unable to focus on anything for long (much less studies and school work)
4) It would preferably have some Christian based lessons. ( I am a Christian and I do think that it is important for MG to learn in this environment, given that it is her formative years)..

Those who are familiar with the kindy/ playschool scene in Malaysia would know these buzzwords "Fungates", "Montessori", "Starlight" and everything else in combination, in between etc. etc .. I was certainly not familiar with these but I have heard that Fungates is a good system, but contains quite a lot of learning. Montessori is good but may not prepare the kid sufficiently for real school.. With the proviso that most Montessoris in Malaysia are not "real" Montessoris anyway.. If you really want to get technical,  I guess I could have done a lot more research, but then again, I am a full time working mum and have to take some shortcuts :)  My "research" started with consultations with some educators whom I knew (ie a former principal from a pretty good school in town) and another friend who is doing his Masters in Early Childhood Studies Down Under.

The educators (ie learned experts in this field), were unanimous that the goal for preschoolers is mainly to socialise and hopefully learn to love to learn, nothing more nothing less. Or rather, nothing less but anything more is a bonus! Hence, my focus was to find a kindy which was able to accomodate different kids, to allow some flexibility and not to confine them to their desks and  books only for those few hours in a day.

There are a dime a dozen of kindys around the area, and based on friends' experiences, kiasu parents' blogs and forums, my search was narrowed down to:

1.Tadika Pintar Ria, Mutiara Damansara
2. Peter and Jane
3. Kings' Kids Early Years
4. Tadika Precious Steps
5. Summer Academy

I will continue with my impressions and info garnered from my visit to the above kindys in my next post!