At Wharton Preschool, our Playgroup programme (Preparatory Stage 1) meets your child right where they are – at the very start of their preschool journey. It nurtures the foundations for confidence, curiosity, and a love of learning.
Playgroup and Nursery at
Wharton Preschool Singapore
Wharton Preschool's Infant Care offers quality full-day and half-day programmes for infants and toddlers from 2 to 17 months.
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Ages 18 months to 2 years
Playgroup Singapore
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Ages 2 – 4 years
Nursery 1 & 2 Singapore
When your child is ready for the next step, our Nursery 1 programme builds on this strong start with more structured learning, richer exploration, and continued support in both English and Mandarin.
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For Ages 18 months to 4 years
The Foundation for Little Explorers
The main focus of learning in this age group (1.5 – 4 years) is to support your child’s sensitive periods for order, movement, and language, while nurturing their independence. Planned activities and everyday routines such as dressing, eating, and toileting, foster autonomy and a strong sense of self-confidence.
In infancy, the child absorbs from the environment. In toddlerhood, the child reaches out, explore and experiments. In toddlerhood, the child reaches out, explore and experiments. Lessons and activities are planned intentionally put the child within their Zone of Proximal Development – challenging and yet achievable – to optimize learning.
“Help me to do it by myself” – Maria Montessori
How Wharton Preschool Enriches Your Child in his Early Years
How Wharton Preschool Enriches Your Child in his Early Years
Through structured play, bilingual immersion, and attentive guidance from our trained educators, your child builds early skills while learning to connect with the people and world around them.
Every child is unique. An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is customised solely with your child in mind ensures that he progresses at his own pace—without pressure from peers, while providing opportunities to break the glass ceiling for those advancing faster.
Our low teacher-to-child ratio makes the ILP truly effective. Fewer children per teacher means each child receives better attention and personalized support.
At Wharton, the focus is always on your child’s physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being.
That’s The Wharton Way.
A Curriculum That Builds Lifelong Skills
🪛 Practical Life
In Montessori, Practical Life develops step by step—imitation in Playgroup, independence in Nursery 1, and mastery in Nursery 2.
Your child begins with simple tasks like spooning, pouring, and wiping, which build coordination and spark independence. As confidence grows, activities become more precise, such as pouring liquids or using tongs.
By Nursery 2, he is ready for complex tasks like folding, food preparation, and caring for their environment.
🖐🏻 Sensorial
Sensorial activities help your child explore the world through their senses — noticing differences in size, shape, texture, sound, color, and smell in a hands-on way. They may stack the Pink Tower to refine visual discrimination, shake cylinders to explore sound, pour water to practice coordination, smell familiar scents like coffee or oranges, or walk on a balance beam to build movement awareness.
Through these experiences, children develop awareness, precision, independence, and develop a sense of order. These skills form the foundation for language, math, geography, art, and music.
🎃 Cultural and Thematic Exploration
Each term, a new theme is introduced, brought to life through role play, songs, and stories. These themes connect learning activities, movement, music, and creative expression, helping your child see the relationships between ideas and experiences.
In a culturally rich country like Singapore, we ensure that each celebration and tradition is highlighted and celebrated. With teachers who know each child deeply, situational teaching is woven throughout the day, allowing learning to be responsive, personalized, and relevant to real-life moments.
💬 Language & Phonics
Language development encompasses listening, speaking, reading, and writing. At Wharton Preschool, we nurture this through songs, rhymes, storytelling, and shared book reading— combined with music and movement to make learning engaging and memorable. English and Mandarin are seamlessly woven into everyday classroom conversations.
Children can begin early literacy training as soon as they show readiness and interest, regardless of age. Our progressive early literacy programme includes over 350 carefully sequenced lessons, designed to build foundational English skills in a systematic and enjoyable way. For this reason, we recommend starting as early as 18 months.
➕ Numeracy
Numeracy is the application of basic mathematical skills to solve real-world problems and make informed decisions. In the early years, it’s all about exploring numbers through touch and play. For example, they might count rods and beads, sort objects by size or shape, or explore spindles to understand quantity. Pouring, stacking, and matching activities also lay the foundation for concepts like order, sequence, and comparison.
By working with these concrete materials, children naturally build number sense, problem-solving skills, and logical thinking, preparing them for more abstract math as they grow.
🎨 Aesthetics & Creativity
Aesthetic appreciation is developed by experimenting with color mixing and shapes in art, listening and moving to varied music styles, and participating in simple cultural celebrations through songs, food, or dress-up.
Your child’s creativitywill grow as they draw recognizable forms, act out dramatic role play linked to classroom themes, and tell stories through movement or simple props. As they progress, their creativity is expressed through painting, drama, or dance, inventing characters in role play or puppet shows, and using mixed media such as collage, clay, or recycled materials to convey original ideas.
Answering Your Questions
1) Which level will my child be enrolled in?
The level that your child will be enrolled in is based on his age in the year of enrolment.
- 2 to 17 months – Infant Care
- 18 months to 3 years old – Playgroup
- 3 years old – Nursery 1
- 4 years old – Nursery 2
- 5 years old – Kindergarten 1
- 6 years old – Kindergarten 2
For children born on 1 January of a given year, they will join the level from the previous year. E.g. Children born between 2 January 2020 to 1 January 2021 will be enrolled in Kindergarten 1 in the 2025 academic year. This is in line with MOE’s age requirement for Primary One registration.
2) What is an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP)?
An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is a personalized roadmap for your child’s growth and development. Think of it as a guide that helps teachers support your child’s unique journey—so they can learn at their own pace, in their own way, while steadily reaching important milestones. It gives insight into your child’s engagement with classroom materials, their problem-solving and thinking skills, use of language and fine motor abilities, as well as how they respond to friends, peers, and adults during play.
3) What is the Zone of Proximal Development?
The ZPD is where learning is most powerful—the sweet spot between what a child can do alone and what they can do with a little help. Montessori guides create environments that let children operate in this zone naturally, through hands-on, meaningful activities.
4) What is a psychomotor tool?
A psychomotor tool is any material or activity that helps a child connect mind and body, building the physical skills they need to explore, learn, and become independent. In our Montessori environment, the tools can be the Pink Tower or the balance beam. At home, it can be something as simple as pouring water from one cup to another—everyday activities that strengthen coordination, concentration, and confidence.
Still wondering if Wharton is the right fit for your child?
Hear It Straight From the Parents of Our Preschoolers
Our son, Zack, has been enrolled in Wharton (East Coast) since he was 18 months old. This was the first school near our house that we decided to do a school tour before enrolment, and we fell in love with it instantly!
The Montessori program has also developed Zack in significant ways– he is relatively independent for his age, as his teachers have taught them to do many tasks on their own, such as putting on shoes and self-feeding. He often rejects our assistance when he fumbles with such tasks, and perseveres to do it on his own (unless he is having a bad day)! Also, to our delight, he is responsible and frequently puts away his toys and books after he is done with them, a habit that I am sure the school played a big role in inculcating.
See Ching (Parent of Zack)
Zander has been fond with all his teachers from PG to K2, especially with his Chinese teachers who helped him with good pronunciations.
When asked what he likes about what he does in school, he says, he enjoys the learning materials and finds them fun. He also loves the food and snacks!
As a parent I specifically like that the school incorporates weekly outdoor play time into their schedule and the recently implemented current affairs updates on Fridays.
Zander’s ability to focus has improved in the last year and he stays well-engaged in learning about general knowledge such as geography, solar systems and railway systems. Emotionally, he has been able to express himself better and as a result perhaps less sudden outbursts observed.
He’s still shy but in general he’s more willing to speak up.
Mei Ling (Parent of Zander)
Find the Right Campus for Your Child
📍Wharton Preschool @ Sengkang
Set in the quiet commercial complex, our Serangoon location combines easy access with a peaceful, courtyard-style design.
Classrooms are fitted with acoustic control and cushioned flooring to support a calm learning environment.
👉 Ideal for families in: Serangoon, Sengkang, Ang Mo Kio, Hougang, and the North-East region.
📍Wharton Preschool @ Sembawang
Our newest and most expansive centre, Wharton Sembawang is also the only campus offering Infant Care. With 10,000 square feet, it includes bright, open classrooms and a private outdoor playground just metres away from the centre. The children are given ample opportunity for outdoor play in a safe area.
👉 Ideal for families in: Admiralty, Woodlands, Sembawang, Canberra, Yishun and the North of Singapore.
📍Wharton Preschool @ East Coast
Nestled among lush greenery, our Upper East Coast campus reflects the calm and spacious feel of a traditional Montessori setting.
Spacious, homely, and connected to nature, it’s the perfect learning environment for immersive, self-paced exploration.
👉 A great fit for families from Bedok, Siglap, Bayshore, Tanah Merah and the East Coast area.
