The Playgroup

I wanted to post an entry about the playgroup Ashraff attended to as soon as I returned to the office yesterday (coz this is the only time I got access to the Net).
But...hey...work seems to have increased by two-fold during my two days leave (boss ni macam tak ingat je aku ni nak cuti tak lama lagi...).

Now what I did was to type an entry in my notebook at home while the boys were fast asleep, and immediately published it as soon as I reached the office. I have no extra time to blog hop. So am very sorry for not visiting your blog lately. Will catch up on all your stories when most of the tasks are done.

Anyway, back to the playgroup. On Monday we did send Ashraff to his new school. It’s not as I anticipated it will be (anti-climax betul cerita aku ni..hehe). The place is improper. I was informed that the place is a shop, selling Islamic stuffs, mostly books and muslimah clothings. But, I don’t expect it to be small, crowded and a bit dark inside. One of the rooms is converted into a classroom, where the centre runs most of its activities like math & science workshop, parenting talk and also this playgroup. Despite the overall look of the place, the classroom is quite ok – bright and airy.

The class was supposed to start at 9.30 am, but we arrived 15 mins late. There are two teachers (including the owner) plus three other children, who at that time were doing some exercise like creeping, jumping like a frog and swinging. Ashraff was immediately turned off by the exercises. Maybe he is not used to some of the movements. Or maybe he needs some time to acclimatise with the whole new environment.

While me, I’m disappointed from the start. Perhaps I’m comparing this new playgroup with LW which charged 3 times more expensive than this LKS playgroup. It’s not fair, I know. But I can’t help not to compare…

Then the children walked out from the class like a choo-choo train. Alhamdulillah, at this point of time, I can see the smile on Ashraff’s face as he joined the line. It was trampoline time. The children have to walk on a plank and then straight away jumped on the trampoline. Jumping is of course Ashraff’s favourite, thus at that moment, dia lupa sekejap ibu dia.

Next, was the colouring time. Each child was given work sheet, plus a piece of colouring page. Ashraff did half way and lost focus, just as I expected. He could not sit still at one spot for more than 5 minutes. Even at LW, the teacher and her assistant got a hard time making sure than Ashraff concentrates. Just for your info, Ashraff is this close (a very short distance between ibu jari and jari telunjuk) to being classified as ADHD child.

But in LW, they make every session short so that the children is not bored. And within each session, they make sure that the children discipline and obey the rules, in a gentle and subtle way. After few months, the children got used to the routine and rules, and they behave accordingly. For example, if the teacher put a mat, the kids will immediately sit on the mat coz they know that it’s time for story telling/read aloud. In this new playgroup, however, the colouring session took more than 30 minutes! And they don’t emphasize on discipline. So if you are bored, you can go wandering about wherever you want too. Entertain yourself with the stuffs you have in shop. Like Ashraff. He got so bored, he went out from the class, and went to the trampoline area, which is at the other end of the shop and no one cares to call him or bring him back to the class. He found a toy box at the corner of the area and played all by himself. The teacher is busy entertaining other kids.

After few minutes, he got tired of the toys, and wanted to go back home. He almost cried.

At that point, I could not resist the temptation to complain. I looked for the owner but apparently she has went out to send a crying child home. So, I talked to one of the assistants instead. I told her I want to pay for this session only and I don't think I want to send him in for the next class coz my child is bored. I gave her what a piece of my mind. Something which I've been holding back for the last one hour. Bayangkanlah, you bayar and hantar anak you pergi playgroup, but he ended up playing by himself. Like baik duduk rumah macam tu!

But if u imagined me screaming at the top of my lung, scrape those thought away. I'm not like that lah...Despite my blood is boiling at that time, I tried to control my intonation and my volume so that orang kata, takdelah sampai memalukan myself and the person that I'm talking too (there are other people in the shop).

She took note of all my points and shall discuss that with the owner. Oh by the way, this playgroup does not have trial class. So, if your child wants to join, then you have to pay the registration fee and monthly fee there and then.

After few minutes, the owner returned. Still unsatisfied with the service, I immediately voiced out my frustration, complaints and suggestions to her. I told her my son has been playing by himself. He missed out on read aloud as nobody calls him to join (I memang tak push dia to go in coz I'm just observing and imagining the situation as if I were not around..in fact, I tak layan pun dia main sorang2) . Nobody shows him how to do the worksheet too. I told her about Ashraff's characteristics and active nature and said if no one here can't control him, then I don't think he is suitable to join this playgroup.

She then tried to convince me by detailing the whole programme where by on Monday it emphasise more on academic like read-aloud, doing work sheet etc. While on Tuesday will be more on living skills like cooking and baking, arts and crafts..or going for an outing or swimming.

I take note of that and said I'll give one month a try and see whether Ashraff loves it.

This owner then asked Ashraff what he loves to do and Ashraff told her that he wants to jump on the trampoline. So she gave the permission to do so. After few jumps, she called Ashraff in and Ashraff immediately followed her instruction. She then had a one-to-one reading session with Ashraff and showed Ashraff how to do the work sheet. Ashraff did it perfectly with not much complaint. I was contented at that time. Well, at least he got something beneficial today.

Then after the 1 1/2 session is over, I had another talk with the owner. She asked me how playgroup in LW is conducted. We have more of a mum-to-mum talk rather than parent-teacher talk. She told me that in LKS she wants the children to have fun instead of restricting them on a schedule. At least not for the first few sessions coz at this point of time the children are emotionally unstable. Their loved ones like mum and dad are not around. So, if you try to discipline them, then the more retaliate they will be. I agree with her point.

In LW they do it on weekend, where parents could tagged along, so they can force the children to follow a certain routine, and should they end up crying, the parents will be there to console them. It's different from this new playgroup, where the sessions are done during weekdays.

I told Hubby my experience with this new playgroup. He told me that if we can no longer afford LW and this new school is also so-so, then we stop sending Ashraff to any playgroup. Oh, oh. That will be my last choice. At least no matter how bad a playgroup is, if he can learn something from it, be it to socialize, English or Islamic (plus the fees is not that expensive), I think it's way better than having Ashraff to stay at home and watch CD almost all day. And from the look of it and knowing how fast Ashraff in grabbing information, I think he can learn something from this new playgroup. It takes time for him (and myself) to adapt.

After all, our plan is to send him to a proper full-time kindergarten next year. Playgroup is just a platform for him to prepare himself for school, that's all. So like I say, we'll see how it goes and we have until the end of the year to judge.

Should you are interested in the playgroup, here are some details:-
Venue : Near Giant, Taman Permata, KL.
Time : 9.30 am -11 om, Monday and Thursday.

I wouldn't say that this playgroup is bad coz it all depends on your child's character and how you perceive it to be. Like another mummy who send her child there, she said that her son loves the place and she loves it too. I guess I'm comparing it too much with LW. I should be more open...and be fair. Just look at the fees...you can't expect too much from that kind of fees.

Oh anyway, just to flush away my concern on Ashraff's schooling, I decided to survey some of the kindergartens near by our house. I came while the children are still there so I could observe how the classes are conducted. I like this one centre. Nope, it's not one of those "franchise" kindies. It's just a normal, self-owned kindy. I love the atmosphere - spacious with big pool at the back, it's clean, bright and airy and most importantly, it's just few houses away from my parents' house. Strategik kan? So BIG probability we will Ashraff there next year.

Oh my, after reading back my entry, I sound so much like one pathetic, higly stressed and kiasu mommy!! My son is still small but I'm treating the whole issue like macamlah nak decide mana universiti nak masuk...or what job he should pursue...
Gosh, I should take it easy...Still a long way to go...hehe...