As parents, many of us have fond memories of our children’s schools. But how far would we go to save it from closure? This was the question two mothers faced in 2022 when they received notice that their kids’ preschool, Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare, would be closing.
Enrolment was low and the rental lease on the place was ending. The lease could not be renewed because the landlord planned to sell the building.
But Ang Hui Ling and Poh Ying Xia – both regional managers at multinational companies – felt the preschool was worth saving.
Eventually, the two women put together a six-figure sum from their own savings and bought Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare.
At that point, they had only known each other for a few months. And neither of them ever thought of owning a childcare centre but they loved this one so much they simply had to save it.
FINDING CHILDCARE FOR HER SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD
Poh remembers a time when sending her two-year-old son to school was the greatest struggle of her life.
“My son hated school. The minute I showed him the school uniform, he’d start crying. He’d cry when he was wearing it, when we went downstairs and all the way till drop-off.
“There was a day when he was bawling so loudly just below my house that one of my neighbours banged on her window in frustration because it was very noisy,” she said.
He continued to cry his eyes out daily, even a year after starting preschool. “Emotionally, it was eating me up. It also affected my life and work,” Poh admitted.
Ang (left) and Poh (right) had only known each other for a few months when they decided to buy a childcare centre together. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
One reason for the meltdowns is because her son may have special needs. Since he was one year old, he had not met development milestones at polyclinic screenings, such as maintaining good eye contact and saying “mama”, “papa”, “hi” or “bye”.
When he was 18 months old, Poh took him to a speech therapist, who said he showed signs of autism. The therapist suggested that Poh switch him to a new childcare centre for a change of environment and one with a lower children-teacher ratio, to better accommodate his needs.
But finding a new school was not easy. Some schools were full. Others rejected her outright upon hearing about her son’s condition.
Poh turned to a Facebook group for recommendations. She met Ang, who recommended Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare, where her then two-year-daughter was studying.
Ang, who calls herself a Type A mum, had chosen Sunny Bunny after touring more than 20 preschools. She liked that it followed the Montessori approach, and had a low student-teacher ratio, a strong Chinese curriculum and an outdoor area. Montessori is a child-centred method of education that involves child-led activities and hands-on learning.
“After I became a mum, I really wanted to give my child opportunities to progress to her best abilities,” said Ang, whose daughter Meghan is pictured here. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
But she soon realised the centre was not financially sustainable. “The previous owner did not do any marketing. So when COVID-19 hit, enrolment was very bad. I felt like it might close down,” she said.
So Ang began to recommend the centre to friends and strangers she met in Facebook groups, including Poh.
The latter enrolled her son at Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare in August 2022. It turned out to be such a nurturing environment that after two weeks, he stopped crying and started to look forward to school.
“My husband and I were very happy during that period. It had that much of an impact,” said Poh.
SAVING THE CHILDCARE CENTRE
Unfortunately, this blissful period was shortlived. Months later, in October 2022, the owner announced that she would be shutting down the centre at the end of the year, when the rental lease ended.
Ang started a chat group for anxious parents, including Poh. “Many parents said they were willing to invest in the centre so that our children could continue there. But it was not about the money for the owner. She was 75 years old and just wanted to retire,” Ang said.
The children of Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare learning about the structure of a flower. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
A month later, the owner approached Ang to ask her if she would like to buy the centre instead.
That was November, a month away from the end of their lease. As a long shot, Ang wrote to her Member of Parliament (MP) for help. The MP then wrote to the landlord, who agreed to extend the rental lease for one more year to give the duo time to find another location. The mumpreneurs even got a discounted rate for that year.
Children playing on the trampoline at Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
The two women then began their desperate search for a new site, which had to be near the old location to retain existing children.
It had to be on the ground floor to provide an escape route for children in the event of a fire. It needed a drop-off area for parents who were driving. It also had to have an outdoor area and toilets within the premises.
Over eight months, the pair viewed 30 sites, travelling as far as Bukit Merah, but were unable to find a suitable one. The uncertainty led some parents to withdraw their children during this period.
“It was very stressful. Every morning, we looked at Property Guru and kept hitting refresh,” said Ang.
“Every night, we could not sleep,” Poh chimed in.
Finally, they found a site in Ang Mo Kio and proceeded to shift the entire school, all while juggling their corporate jobs and motherhood.
A SCHOOL FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN
Today, both Ang and Poh have two kids each in the school, turning five and three this year. And their children were foremost in their minds when they built the school.
The new premises has Montessori areas with materials such as spindle boxes for numerical skills, a music corner with drums and string instruments, an indoor gym with a rock-climbing wall, and an outdoor play area with trampolines, a water play table and an obstacle course.
The first floor of Sunny Bunny is filled with Montessori materials for 18-month-old to three-year-old children, as well as puppets and animal miniatures. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
Both Poh and Ang have retained their corporate jobs, while overseeing the strategy of the centre.
Monthly fees are priced at S$1,950. Since they took over in end 2022, they have successfully increased enrolment by 50 per cent; they now have over 40 students and 12 teaching staff.
But for the two mums, the main goal has always been just to keep the school running.
“The period between infancy and six years old is very important formative years. This applies to all children, not just those with special needs. I believe it is important to find a good environment for our children,” said Poh.
But she added that this was especially important to her because of her son’s special needs. “I am an advocate of early intervention. The earlier you try to introduce solutions, the easier it is for your child later in life. Every second is precious,” she said.
The two women have also become good friends. They have weekend meetings at the centre while their children play together and their husbands help out with the kids.
“It’s quite fun because we have become friends. It feels like fun project where we keep encountering interesting situations and partner together to work on them,” said Ang.
CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg.
Continue reading...
Enrolment was low and the rental lease on the place was ending. The lease could not be renewed because the landlord planned to sell the building.
But Ang Hui Ling and Poh Ying Xia – both regional managers at multinational companies – felt the preschool was worth saving.
Eventually, the two women put together a six-figure sum from their own savings and bought Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare.
At that point, they had only known each other for a few months. And neither of them ever thought of owning a childcare centre but they loved this one so much they simply had to save it.
FINDING CHILDCARE FOR HER SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD
Poh remembers a time when sending her two-year-old son to school was the greatest struggle of her life.
“My son hated school. The minute I showed him the school uniform, he’d start crying. He’d cry when he was wearing it, when we went downstairs and all the way till drop-off.
“There was a day when he was bawling so loudly just below my house that one of my neighbours banged on her window in frustration because it was very noisy,” she said.
He continued to cry his eyes out daily, even a year after starting preschool. “Emotionally, it was eating me up. It also affected my life and work,” Poh admitted.
Ang (left) and Poh (right) had only known each other for a few months when they decided to buy a childcare centre together. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
One reason for the meltdowns is because her son may have special needs. Since he was one year old, he had not met development milestones at polyclinic screenings, such as maintaining good eye contact and saying “mama”, “papa”, “hi” or “bye”.
When he was 18 months old, Poh took him to a speech therapist, who said he showed signs of autism. The therapist suggested that Poh switch him to a new childcare centre for a change of environment and one with a lower children-teacher ratio, to better accommodate his needs.
But finding a new school was not easy. Some schools were full. Others rejected her outright upon hearing about her son’s condition.
Poh turned to a Facebook group for recommendations. She met Ang, who recommended Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare, where her then two-year-daughter was studying.
Ang, who calls herself a Type A mum, had chosen Sunny Bunny after touring more than 20 preschools. She liked that it followed the Montessori approach, and had a low student-teacher ratio, a strong Chinese curriculum and an outdoor area. Montessori is a child-centred method of education that involves child-led activities and hands-on learning.
“After I became a mum, I really wanted to give my child opportunities to progress to her best abilities,” said Ang, whose daughter Meghan is pictured here. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
But she soon realised the centre was not financially sustainable. “The previous owner did not do any marketing. So when COVID-19 hit, enrolment was very bad. I felt like it might close down,” she said.
So Ang began to recommend the centre to friends and strangers she met in Facebook groups, including Poh.
The latter enrolled her son at Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare in August 2022. It turned out to be such a nurturing environment that after two weeks, he stopped crying and started to look forward to school.
“My husband and I were very happy during that period. It had that much of an impact,” said Poh.
SAVING THE CHILDCARE CENTRE
Unfortunately, this blissful period was shortlived. Months later, in October 2022, the owner announced that she would be shutting down the centre at the end of the year, when the rental lease ended.
Ang started a chat group for anxious parents, including Poh. “Many parents said they were willing to invest in the centre so that our children could continue there. But it was not about the money for the owner. She was 75 years old and just wanted to retire,” Ang said.
The children of Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare learning about the structure of a flower. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
A month later, the owner approached Ang to ask her if she would like to buy the centre instead.
That was November, a month away from the end of their lease. As a long shot, Ang wrote to her Member of Parliament (MP) for help. The MP then wrote to the landlord, who agreed to extend the rental lease for one more year to give the duo time to find another location. The mumpreneurs even got a discounted rate for that year.
Children playing on the trampoline at Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
The two women then began their desperate search for a new site, which had to be near the old location to retain existing children.
It had to be on the ground floor to provide an escape route for children in the event of a fire. It needed a drop-off area for parents who were driving. It also had to have an outdoor area and toilets within the premises.
Over eight months, the pair viewed 30 sites, travelling as far as Bukit Merah, but were unable to find a suitable one. The uncertainty led some parents to withdraw their children during this period.
“It was very stressful. Every morning, we looked at Property Guru and kept hitting refresh,” said Ang.
“Every night, we could not sleep,” Poh chimed in.
Finally, they found a site in Ang Mo Kio and proceeded to shift the entire school, all while juggling their corporate jobs and motherhood.
A SCHOOL FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN
Today, both Ang and Poh have two kids each in the school, turning five and three this year. And their children were foremost in their minds when they built the school.
The new premises has Montessori areas with materials such as spindle boxes for numerical skills, a music corner with drums and string instruments, an indoor gym with a rock-climbing wall, and an outdoor play area with trampolines, a water play table and an obstacle course.
The first floor of Sunny Bunny is filled with Montessori materials for 18-month-old to three-year-old children, as well as puppets and animal miniatures. (Photo: Sunny Bunny Montessori Childcare)
Both Poh and Ang have retained their corporate jobs, while overseeing the strategy of the centre.
Monthly fees are priced at S$1,950. Since they took over in end 2022, they have successfully increased enrolment by 50 per cent; they now have over 40 students and 12 teaching staff.
But for the two mums, the main goal has always been just to keep the school running.
“The period between infancy and six years old is very important formative years. This applies to all children, not just those with special needs. I believe it is important to find a good environment for our children,” said Poh.
But she added that this was especially important to her because of her son’s special needs. “I am an advocate of early intervention. The earlier you try to introduce solutions, the easier it is for your child later in life. Every second is precious,” she said.
The two women have also become good friends. They have weekend meetings at the centre while their children play together and their husbands help out with the kids.
“It’s quite fun because we have become friends. It feels like fun project where we keep encountering interesting situations and partner together to work on them,” said Ang.
CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg.
Continue reading...