PIPS or Greenfield Playgroup??

[carang]

gracey, learning habitat is EXTREMELY hard to get in at least that is what i hear from one of my partners whose son attends there.

 

[charade]

I'm looking for playgroups for my 1-year-old daughter near Olympic.

Greenfield. They seemed very friendly. A receptionist addressed me in fluent English first (though I later switched to Cantonese). They let my daughter "have a little play" even though school was over. There were a few teachers lingering around, and they were very friendly to my daughter and asked many questions. The only downside is that it's English / Putonghua, and I want my daughter to learn Cantonese.

Learning Habitat. They were less friendly. The two women at reception basically just handed over an application form. When I asked questions, they told me to go to the website. When I asked to see the playroom, they refused and said there would be an open house in October! I mean, it was empty and I only wanted a few minutes to peek in. The only plus is that they teach in English / Cantonese, which is perfect for us.

BOC Kindergarden. This place is run by the HK Society of the Protection of Children, so I don't know if it is only for needy children. It was closed when I went. But I like the idea of my child going to a local Cantonese place.

Any experiences out there?

Gracey, it's funny, I checked out exactly the same kindies as you and had more or less the same impression of all of them, except I'm looking in Tseung kwan O. So I also found Greenfield (in Hang Hau )friendly but decided against as I would be more keen in Cantonese bilingual. I also felt the receptionists in Learning Habitat were not as friendly but they were ok (I didnt ask to look around as there was a class going on) and I also saw the HKSSP kindy... frankly it was my first choice and although Cantonese only, I would have put my son there as the lady at the door was so nice and spoke English to me (which is good enough for me, as long as there are a couple of people I can liaise with in English as a parent for the admin stuff) but I ruled it out as its full day only here...I also got the sense that it's for needy kids, which is fine for me if they would have my son but I think we would not qualify because of our income.