Frequently Asked Questions by Parents

Q. Why should we send our child to your school?
A. We are hygienic, intimate and pay close attention to details of your child.  Because of our cozy setup and low teacher child ratio, we are like a big family, always keeping parents apprised and involved in their children’s development.  We are able to customize to the needs of every child.  Our priority is to ensure our children have a happy childhood and nurture them to have a positive mindset towards life.  In the process, we can provide them with a transformational experience via our unrivaled curriculum where we go beyond just preparing your child to excel in whatever education system they choose, but be globally competitive and future leaders once they enter the real world.

Q How are you able to provide such an unrivaled curriculum?
A. We have a team of seasoned and passionate educators as well as senior executives from the corporate world who have led teams and trained young professionals and entrepreneurs from around the world to become leaders.  After being a corporate executive, our Curriculum Director taught and was an academic adviser at some of the top international schools from around the world.  Not only have we personally experienced countless examples of failure and success both in school and the real world, but we are also able to distill the recipe to success and happiness to preschoolers.  As a result, we are able to combine the best of the best from around the world starting foundational years.

Q. What makes you different from other preschools in Singapore?
A. We founded Little Sage for our own infants because we couldn’t find a preschool in Singapore that can fulfill our standards in nurturing our children with a positive mindset and attributes necessary to becoming globally competitive.  Little Sage is able to combine the best of various elements from academia and the real world to ensure children enjoy a happy childhood, be academically ahead and have the foundation to be globally competitive.  Our founder and his wife left their jobs to dedicate full time to Little Sage.  Rather than focusing on profitability, we always focus on the interests of children first because every child is truly like family to us.  No issue is left unaddressed at Little Sage.  We come to work every day thinking how the school can be better than the previous day.

In addition, many parents trust early-childhood educators because they are the experts with the experience, research and certification in early-childhood.  However, whether what our children learn in preschool years will help them ultimately succeed in life twenty years from now and beyond when they enter the workforce is a question commonly raised by parents, which many early-childhood educators may not be able to answer.  At Little Sage, however, we can ensure that what we teach will more than prepare your child to be be Primary one ready, but for the real world twenty years from now.  This is one claim most preschools in Singapore cannot make.

Q. Why is your bilingual program unique?
A. As an English and Chinese bilingual preschool, our standard for Chinese goes beyond meeting the Singapore education system.  Our standard is to help our children build a foundation so they can one day compete effectively with native Chinese speakers in China or around the world.  Many bilingual preschools in Singapore teach Chinese as a second language, which is an inherent drawback and why many children fail to achieve bilingualism.  Our philosophy is that a child can be equally fluent in more than one language if they start at an early age.  Therefore, Chinese and English can both be primary languages.  Many teachers and curriculum directors may know how to teach a language, but to achieve true bilingualism, one needs to understand fully the obstacles a child is experiencing when learning languages in Singapore, and customize the curriculum accordingly.  Similarly, for students whose mother tongue is not English, we have helped many develop fluency in English and excel once they enter local Primary school or International school.

Our Curriculum Adviser speaks six languages, four of them fluently.  She learned them while growing up in Singapore.  Our founder learned Mandarin and English from scratch simultaneously in the US and developed equal native fluency in both.  As a foreigner, he studied in Beijing’s Tsinghua University and completed his Chinese major with local Tsinghua students.  Then they both worked around the world using the languages they know to compete with and lead locals of those countries.  To achieve such results requires much more than having native teachers, but complete understanding of children psychology.  That is why our bilingual immersion program is unrivaled.

Q. To raise a globally competitive child, do I need to send my child abroad to study or travel the world?
A. No. You do not need to be wealthy or send your child to study abroad to raise a globally competitive child. That is a common myth.  In fact, your child doesn’t even need to leave Singapore.  The beauty is all parents have an equal chance of raising a globally competitive child if they have the resolve and know how to fully utilize the resources available to them. However, the foundation must be built starting preschool years. That’s where Little Sage comes in.

Q.How are you able to holistically develop a child under your curriculum?
A. We believe “many roads lead to Rome.” There is no one approach that works for children.  While we know very well the common attributes that successful people possess, there are many ways to develop them and achieve fulfillment in life.  Our unique curriculum is able to nurture multiple aspects of a child simultaneously. All humans only have 24 hours a day, and the time spent at Little Sage will be more productive for the child than the same amount of time spent at other preschools.

Q. Preparing a child to be globally competitive requires a lot of hard work. How can our children be happy at the same time?
A. Happiness is a choice any one can make.  That is why we place tremendous emphasis on the child’s mindset and emotional intelligence.  We nurture children to look at a glass half-full rather than half-empty.  When children don’t come in at the top, we nurture their EQ where they feel optimistic because they still did better than many others and embrace a bright future that presents much more room for progress.  Many people appear successful and happy superficially, but actually suffer psychologically.  We want our children to genuinely be successful and happy both on the inside and outside and give back what they have to the world.  Our senior management have helped many people of various ages, including young children, facing emotional setbacks overcome them and eventually thrive and feel positive about life.