Pre-school / Kindergarten in South Chengdu

[Dumas]

I will be moving to Chengdu with my boy who is almost 5 years old. Any suggestions for pre-schools or kindergartens? I will work near 2nd ring road and Ke Hua Bei Lu, so looking for housing between that area and TongZiLin.

My boy speaks English and Mandarin, as those are my and my wife’s native languages. We will be priced out of the big name international schools, so I am open to Chinese or bilingual programs.

I would also welcome any other suggestions for new arrivals in Chengdu.

[Charlie]

Hi,

I’m not very familiar with the options but Sascha recently published a post on this topic: Choosing a Kindergarten in Chengdu which might have useful info for you.

[Brent]

There are 3 well known kindergartens in the south that I know of. Golden Apple, Soong Ching Ling International Kindergarten & American Eagle Institute (not yet open).

I would recommend checking them all out before you chose one. I have just registered my son in Soong Ching Ling International Kindergarten & are happy with it so far. I don’t know too much about the other schools but if you want to have a look at that one send me a P.M.

[wuhaiying]

Leman International School would be your best choice. Located in south of Chengdu, you might check out on web site

their information number: 028-67038650

[Louise Beynon]

the three kindergartens and schools mentioned above are all very expensive. Since your child is bilingual you might want to choose a Chinese kindergarten, though many people, including myself, find it hard to accept the more structured education style. A good alternative would be a family kindergarten which are proving very popular with middle-class and educated Chinese families and most of these family kindergartens are run on more ‘western’ style education principles of learning through play. Quite a few of them are influenced by the Waldorf Steiner education or Montessori. I know there is one just opened in Tongzilin because one of the teachers used to be my daughter’s Waldorf kindergarten teacher. If you are interested, let me know and I can give you the details.

The Music Box is not for full-time kindergarten age children. It runs morning parent and toddler sessions. But it does have a weekend class for kindergarten children that specializes in music and language which might be worth checking out.

[Valerie]

American Eagle Institute is actually open, but not fully ready. I am an English teacher there and have been since we first started back in September. The company was founded in Taiwan and started with a language institute in Nanjing two years ago and decided to try to break into the community here this past year. The curriculum is based on American English and culture; the parents seem to be very happy with last semester, so I think it’s a good program. The school offers bilingual programs- half day Chinese lessons and half day English lessons; and an international program- all day English. (which will begin in sept.) We currently have low numbers due to our facility opening late. From what I understand, the tuition is considerably lower than neighboring kindergartens.

We just opened the new campus in nan chengdu hui (spelling?), and located just a little down from the people’s first hospital. The school is just outside the third ring road by the Hi- tech metro stop on line 1.

If you want any more info just let me know!

[Kim Duistermaat]

I’d say try to see if you can find an acceptable local primary school with a kindergarten department, I think there are many schools that have affiliated kindergartens; otherwise you will have to start the search all over again when he starts school, sooner than you think!

A friend of ours has their 2-year old in a Chinese kindergarten close to Masters building (Tongzilin, Renmin south road) and they are happy with it, if you pm me I can get you their email.

Also, check out EtonHouse http://chengdu.etonhouse.com.cn/, they have a Chinese division (which follows the same program and teaching style (PYP or IB primary) as the international division) but costs half the price of the international division. Kids are taught in Mandarin and English, giving your boy the chance to keep up with both, and connect to a western school system if you happen to move back. We have looked into bilingual kindergartens and at the three kindergartens mentioned by bwezza for our youngest but found EtonHouse Chinese division much cheaper (and very good). There are campuses at Times Residence, Botanica and two others but I don’t know exactly where, I don’t think in your area. Best contact the school for more info.

I hear (but that is only hearsay) that Waldorf school http://www.chinawaldorf.org/ has a very long waitinglist and is not eager to take foreign kids, but I may be wrong.

And what about Meishi international school http://www.miscd.com/en/index.html , they have a kindergarten department from 4 years I think, are they also as expensive? Worth to check it out.

[Louise Beynon]

yes, the waldorf school has a huge waiting list so is effectively a non-starter. But there are lots of waldorf style kindergartens opening and I have heard even a primary school in Flower City, if that is the kind of education that appeals.

[Dumas]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I have checked out some of the schools above and a few others during my homefinding trip in Chengdu. We haven’t made any final decision yet. When wife and boy arrive in April they will do some visits. I’m also waiting to confirm where I will live. Probably in Tongzilin, but our first 2 choices have not worked out.

[Kim Duistermaat]

Just a small note: I heard today that EtonHouse will open another branch in south Chengdu (chinese bilingual, like Botanica), in August. May be of interest.

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