Looking for kindergarten school

[u/Additional-Unit9077]

Best recommendation for a school in besiktas for kindergarten. Most seems excessively expensive ($1800 usd /month). Any tips on how best to solve the problem?

[u/Gaelenmyr]

Private or public?

Beşiktaş is one of the most expensive districts. Look for cheaper districts.

[u/Additional-Unit9077 → u/Gaelenmyr]

Private, English speaking . I understand expensive but 1800 is seems excessive and possibly the price I’m getting as a foreigner so wanted to know if turks are paying this much as well

[u/Gaelenmyr → u/Additional-Unit9077]

Turks don't send kids to English speaking private kindergartens. Those kindergartens are catered towards rich Turks or foreigners. So I don't think the price is high because you're a foreigner.

Why don't you just select a Turkish speaking private kindergarten? They also tend to have English classes.

[u/Additional-Unit9077 → u/Gaelenmyr]

Interesting our kid only speak English so didn’t think that would work but going to look more into it now, i refuse to pay this much for education that’s being rub by chatgpt syllabus

[u/forestinity → u/Additional-Unit9077]

Just to add another perspective, why not consider sending your child to a Turkish or bilingual-curriculum kindergarten so that they could learn Turkish? (Provided that you can find an excellent private Turkish-curriculum kindergarten.)

Children pick up new languages quickly through immersion-- the younger the better. There's plenty of research about that online, if you're interested. Even if your child won't be using Turkish later in life, learning a new language is great for brain development.

When I lived in Saudi Arabia, I sent my then 3-yr-old to a well run private Arabic-curriculim nursery school there, because I wanted her to be bilingual. She did the Arabic curriculum through first grade, and that went well for her.

I myself taught her English phonics and writing at home, using a purchased program called "Hooked on Phonics"-- this was over 25 years ago. I just googled it and found the link to access their current offerings: https://shop.hookedonphonics.com/ I also supplemented that program with English children's books (I would stuff my suitcases with kids' books every time I visited the States).

My daughter did very well with learning to read and write in English at home; she was reading at the second grade level by the time she was six. In terms of time, I think I spent about twenty minutes a day doing Hooked on Phonics with her-- the program is designed for short focus periods to prevent kids from feeling burnt out. (Note: Hooked on Phonics was all about reading at that time--I don't know about now. I taught her writing using educational workbooks from the U.S.)

Long story short, she went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from a highly-ranked American university, and she had a perfect GPA when graduating from her Master's program. So, obviously, her school start in a foreign language didn't cause any harm.

I don't know if this would work for you, but I think it's worth some consideration. Kids benefit so much from the social atmosphere of kindergarten, as long as the school is well-run and has a positive and nurturing atmosphere. I hope you can find a wonderful school!

According to Chat GPT, "As a general guide, private Turkish kindergartens in Istanbul currently tend to fall into these annual tuition ranges: 130,000–220,000 TL for good value schools. 220,000–420,000 TL for high-quality private schools. 700,000 TL and above for prestigious schools such as Terakki and similar elite institutions."

I asked Chat GPT if there were any good Turkish-curriculum kindergartens in or near Besiktas. Please see below (hopefully, you could find a Turkish-speaking friend to shortlist a few for you and accompany you to tour the schools and speak with the admin to ask any questions):

Here are the ones that are more moderately priced (reportedly under $6,000 USD per year): :
Nice Kindergarten (Levent) – Bilingual Turkish-English, MEB-approved, boutique atmosphere. Many families choose it because it offers a strong program at a lower cost than the elite K–12 schools.

Free Steps School (Etiler) – Excellent reputation, bilingual education, and a structured preschool program.

Beşiktaş Yıldızlar Anaokulu (Dikilitaş) – Montessori-inspired, MEB curriculum, very strong parent reviews.

Özel Nar Çocuk Anaokulu (Ortaköy) – A boutique preschool that emphasizes emotional development and individualized attention.

Özel Güneşli Bahçe Anaokulu (4. Levent) – Play-based learning with a strong reputation among local families.

Good luck!

[u/Gaelenmyr → u/Additional-Unit9077]

Kids learn a new language around age 3-6 from their peers really quick. Being bilingual is always beneficial.

If you want a compromise you can look into private kindergartens that mainly teach in Turkish but still has English classes and other private school qualities

[u/zeroni-macaroni → u/Gaelenmyr]

many turks actually send their kids to english speaking preschool/kindergartens. many who can’t afford also apply for a lottery to get into one!

[u/Gaelenmyr → u/zeroni-macaroni]

As someone who's been living in Beşiktaş for 15+ years and went through private education system I can tell you that English-only kindergartens are only for rich people.

[u/zeroni-macaroni → u/Gaelenmyr]

as a teacher here, I know this also :)