Our first born is gonna be starting formal school in a few days time, so my husband and I thought that it would be a great help to enrol Rafa in a play school in preparation for his first day as a KG1 student. 

My son is already well prepared in terms of academics -- he knows the alphabet (both capital & lowercase letters) and its sounds, and he can identify shapes, colors, and numbers 1 to 10.  I'm positive that I've done a pretty good job teaching him the basics.  However, I must admit that I failed to train him in terms of the socialization aspect needed for school-readiness.  Good thing most nurseries here in Abu Dhabi are open all year round to accommodate applicants at any given time!  Perhaps, the only challenging part would be finding one that would fit your budget because apparently, nurseries/ play schools in this part of the world can be really expensive.

Whizkidz Toys Hall was referred to me by a friend (Thanks, Miss Yana!).  I personally liked and chose this play school because: (1) it's more affordable compared to other institutions; (2) it has good facilities; (3) teachers and assistant teachers are all kabayans; (4) majority of their students are also Filipinos; (5) they do have van/car lift service for the kids; (6) you have the option to choose from their three class timings -- 10am to 12nn; 12:30pm  to 2:30pm; or 3pm to 5pm; (7) you can also choose whether you would have your child attend a class daily, 2x a week, or 3x a week (rates vary); and (8) apart from socialization skills, they also teach children academics and arts & crafts.  There's just basically more freedom to work around your schedule and given budget with their program offerings!

Since we barely got two months left before Rafa officially starts with big school, my husband and I decided that our son would benefit most from this experience if he'll attend the daily class (monthly fee is AED 900 plus registration of AED 300) -- so he'll get used to the everyday routine of a school environment.  In addition, the car lift service will also be more 'sulit' because the monthly fee of AED 400 is actually standard regardless of whether your child is going to school daily, 2x, or 3x a week.  

As expected, our first day in Whizkidz had been an eventful one!  My son was used to have mommy by his side ALL.THE.TIME. all his life, so getting him inside the classroom alone, by himself, had been a really great challenge (and filled with so much drama) for both of us.  The new place and faces might have overwhelmed him and caused him to be scared, and so he couldn't help but cry.  Honestly, I was teary-eyed, too!  Perhaps, mommy's having separation anxiety issues as well, but I have to keep it together or else both of us would end up crying.  What a shame!

Anyway, it took Rafa only three days to overcome his fears and after that, he's all good!  The moment he got used to the routine and knew what to expect, he didn't get scared anymore.  In fact, he already started to enjoy and love school!  Oh, what a relief! 

Indeed, time flies.  We're now down to our last three days in Whizkidz and I'm pretty sure Rafa would miss his teachers and classmates.  I hope he'll also love big school as much as he loves play school.  Thank you so much for all the fond memories, Whizkidz Toys Hall!