Creative Child & Starfish -at all Montessori?
By Expat Sueño •
My almost 3yo son is in a wonderful Montessori program here in the U.S. and I would love to continue that line of education for as long as it is practical (which may only be preschool).
We will be living in Qipco and I've been told that Creative Child and Starfish are the nurseries/preschools that are nearby. Are either of those remotely Montessori -- as in unstructured play, learning life skills through doing them, emphasizing personal responsibility/involvement, etc?
If not, are there other schools that are within a reasonable drive that might be a better match for us?
Thanks,
Expat Sueño
Dear readers:
My name is Fabiola Barrios the current director of Creative Child Nursery. I would like you to know that every now and then I read this website because we can always learn and improve if we listen carefully to our customers and those who are not.
I would like to mention that our curriculum is based on American/Canadian standards. We don’t have a Montessori orientation because we organize our classes by age and our program follows a specific routine. We do, however, encourage our children to be independent and we give them their own space. We promote active learning and we believe more in the process than in the result. That means we give our children the possibility to choose what they want to do in our free play sessions, art classes and sensory time. One thing that our customers are looking for in our school is the development of social skills and the fortification of our children’s self-esteem.
If you would like to have more information about our curriculum you are welcome to visit us.
Dear baedaebok (or D.B. father of H.B.)
We are always open to receive comments, suggestions and also complaints that our customers may have because it gives us the opportunity to grow and improve. However, in your baseless accusations I see only judgment without reasons. This is why I would like to clarify a couple of things in this public space.
We have a pre-school class (from 36 to 47 months) because this is a service for all those parents who does not have another option in Doha. The Ministry of Education says that a nursery school should only accept children under 3 years old, but unfortunately not all schools in Doha have a pre-school program from 3 years old. This is why we had a meeting with the MoE 2 years ago and we received authorization to run this program for those children who are in the following situation:
a. Their birthday is in September and they don’t have the minimum age required for the program.
b. They will attend a school that starts from 4 years old.
c. They did not find any space and they are on the waiting list or
d. They arrived in Doha after the school year started and they have to wait another year to apply
In the past we did not follow a specific curriculum for 3 year olds and we were using the two-year old curriculum, but with more complex activities. This year I saw the opportunity to improve this curriculum and in September we will offer a specific pre-school program. This does not mean that we did a bad job before because we can proudly say that our students have been accepted at very good schools, as in your case. We don’t run this program because we are money hungry, it’s because we have some customers who really need this service.
Unfortunately your judgment of our school nurse does not give her the opportunity to learn anything and on the contrary just offended her deeply. When your daughter was at our school I was informed several times that our nurse advised you to see a doctor because of her constantly running nose. We have to inform the parents when the children are sick. In addition to doing her job, our nurse was concerned about her. I don’t believe she deserves a comment like this. We should be very careful and human when we express our opinion because on the other side is a human being.
It’s too bad that the rest of the parents who have their children in your child’s old classroom are not here to share their opinion about our teacher who is doing a fantastic job. We have some parents who came to our nursery because they heard about her and her class.
If you would like to discuss this matter in greater detail, you are more than welcome to drop by our office and visit us.
Sincerely,
Fabiola
Yes, the nurse at Creative Child recommended the female pediatrician at Al Ahli Hospital. Both the nurse at CC and the pediatrician have been invaluable. Our first year here has been rough on our girls’ immune systems.
Oh sorry I read it as the nurse was one of the best paediatricians! Some nurses, yes, but one thats been in Doha 20 years....no way jose....
"It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid."
- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
I think she was saying the nurse recommended to her one of the best ped. in Doha...
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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Gawd a nurse with over 20 years in doha will no way be a paediatrician! Heaven forbid!a bit deskilled I would say!
"It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid."
- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Creative Child is by no means, shoddy, unprofessional or a sham. These are heavy accusations. We have had a wonderful experience with our two daughters at Creative Child. The director has made great changes to the nursery – offering both 5 & 7 hr days, a new summer program, expansion of facilities, new indoor gym equipment, language classes in English, French (excellent teacher BTW), and Arabic, yoga classes in September, monthly book orders and discounts on programs. She has certainly done her research in the field here.
The reason the Government extended Creative Child’s 3-year class was to allow for a grace period when the new nursery regulations took affect in 2007. I was unable to place my daughter in a school last year. There are still very few spaces available for children in schools.
The nurse, with over 20 years experience in Doha, is extremely competent and very quick to identify problems and stop the spread of viruses at the nursery. She is concerned for the well-being of all the children – she visits each class and each child every day. She has also gone beyond the call of duty recommending reliable babysitters and, in my opinion, one of the best pediatricians in the city.
The only way to find a suitable nursery for your child is to, first, register your child in a few nurseries; and when you arrive, visit them and choose. You will, then, get a good feel for what is best for your child. Good luck!
I changed my tune about Creative Child because I finally realized their shoddy practices. It is sad when a place that you adore turns out to be a sham.
This is why I recommend against Creative Child. No, DD hasn't ever attended Starfish Lane but colleagues say it is good. It could end up like Creative Child but hopefully it is more professional.
No, I would not say they are small. Very comparable (in size)to other nurseries around town.
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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Baedaebok, what are you basing your recommendation on? Has your child ever attended Star Fish? Any why the change of tune? On July 17/07 on another thread you had only positive things to say about Creative Child.
How quickly things change when life just doesn't go your way.
emgee, from what I understand Star Fish has a waiting list because they are a small nursery...one of the reasons I guess they are opening another branch. Can anybody confirm?
sounds like most nurseries here...
"It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid."
- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Go to Starfish Lane. It is professionally run (management, teachers, staff, nurse) from what I hear. I would recommend NOT to send a child to Creative Child. DD (darling daughter) was in the 3-year-old class for half a semester before we pulled her out and put her in a REAL 3-year-old class: Newton International School. Creative Child management (Fabio) are money hungry. They only run the 3-yr-old class for profit. The teacher there has no direct experience for this kind of class. The staff nurse is out of her mind.
The actual lead teacher are native speakers of English. But all the other assistants are non-native speakers (Arabs, Filipinas, and Indians).
If you want to get into Starfish Lane - either of their schools then get on it now. They have huge wait list which confirms the previous comments about how good they are.
are teachers in all these kindergardens / schools are native english speakers?
My son goes to Creative Child and we love it there. The staff is friendly, they have great facilities and the environment is warm and caring. We checked out Star Fish and weren't all that impressed, it's a nice nursery, but we got a better vibe from CC.
To answer your question Alexa, a woman named Fabiola has been the director since Sept 2007.
I live in QIPCO. My son is the same age as yours. The closest nursery to QIPCO is Fun First. It just opened last summer and has had great reviews from the other parents I know whose children go there. The other nursery I would recommend is Star Fish. It is about a 10-15 minute drive from QIPCO. Neither of them is Montessori-based.
U can visit Doha-mentessori.com and can contact them on
[email protected]. They are loacted in Ain Khalid which is towards Salwa Industrial Area. I am cancelling my sons registration for next semester, due to location.
The British Montessori school is COMPLETELY across town from the West Bay area. My child has gone to Starfish for 2 years now and my son is about to start. I really love it there. They are about to open a new one even closer to West Bay - directly across the street from College of the North Atlantic. Might want to call and see if you can get into #2 for the Summer or September.
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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
We got into Creative Child for the Fall and I'll keep him there just in case. . .but the answer to my husband's "should I still put him on the Starfish waitlist" question will now be "yes!".
Hopefully some Montessori folks will come out of the wordwork to give me some additional guidance :)
Expat Sueño