The Monster List of Playgroups, preschools, nurseries and activities for little ones in Jeddah

My good friend, lecturer, international speaker and most importantly supermom, Qurratulain Sikander has compiled a list of playgroups, preschools and activities for children in Jeddah and has very generously agreed to share the information with readers of Jeddah Blog. Click on the links for further information:

Ambassadors Schools Ambassadors Schools is a world-class KG school in Jeddah that helps your child master English, become independent and confident and Live Islamic Values in daily life.

Bellz Montessori Committed to excellence in education!!

Bizzy B Bizzy B is a family “edutainment” center for children aged between 3 and 12 years old. Bizzy B offers unique family entertainment activities with components designed to allow children to learn through play. Bright talk montessori Contact: 6655000 ext. 6208 Building Blocks Education with the goal of building minds for the future. A kindergarten and primary school in Jeddah aiming to give the best international educational while conserving Islamic tradition and culture.

Colors Kids Labs They are still open for the summer program, lots of exciting things to do such as swimming, arts, taekwondo, French lessons, English story writing, vocabulary, and much more. 12- 4 pm Sat – Wed . contact : 6061639/ 0546369465

Enchanted Garden Enchanted Garden Child Enrichment Center is an extra-curricular activity center for children presenting opportunities for creative stimulation, intellectual inspiration and physical challenge within a happy and progressive atmosphere.

Green Leaves Playgroup Our primary focus is to provide a safe and nurturing environment to all of the children. At Green Leaves Playgroup, children come first and we do every thing is necessary to ensure that your child is secure, confident and happy. We really look forward to meeting you.

JackNJill Playgroup Playgroup for ages 1.5 and onwards native english conversation skills motor skills ,phonics, colours, shapes, social development, arts and crafts, sing and dance and much more.

Jeddah Campus School Nursery, preschool and KG. Long hours day care is available. English and Arabic learning An international, self-built curriculum designed especially for children according to age groups. Address: Prince Sultan St (towards Khaldiya district) second right after Meed gas station. First U-turn. school on the right corner. phone number: 6061101 or 0565684400

Jeddah Grammar School At Jeddah Grammar we believe that every child has the right to quality education support. It is our goal to provide the best educational techniques to help all children reach their full potential. All of our application have been created using behavioural techniques that are based on the principles of “Applied Behaviour Analyze”(ABA) using a using a Verbal Behaviour (VB) technique.

Kids Time Nursery Day Care Center

Little 1s Daycare At your child’s second home Little1s daycare we provide a safe, loving and nurturing environment for your child throughout the day. Children are welcome from ages 0 months to 3 years old in our full or part time duty.

Little Book (A kids Library) Little Book is a specialty bookstore for children (ages 0-12). We nurture the love of reading and support those who are passionate about books that honor growing young minds. Our mission is to provide parents and children with a large and carefully selected inventory of quality children’s books. Little Smarties Little Smarties has a special child-centered approach which will feed children’s developing skills and interests at the right times and help them to become confident, capable and in control of their world.

Mama Et Moi Boost your child’s Confidence, Happiness and Ability to learn through play at Mama_et_moi . Lots of activities to enjoy with your child.

Mommy Debs Day Care A Home Away from Home, Mommy Debs Day Care accepts children aged 2 months – 3 years. Timings: 8am – 5pm Location: Al Naeem District
email: mommydebsdaycareis@gmail.com

My Library My Library is the first private non profitmaking Children’s Lending Library in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We have over 10,000 books in English & Arabic for children & young adults. My Library is a haven for Mothers & their children to share books and the love of reading. As well as a twice daily Story Time, My Library offers many courses and activities throughout the year. Rose garden Our Kids Club provides exclusive enrichment programs for children between ages 3 years – 10 years. We help each child develop into the successful human being they were meant to be. Our carefully developed programs allow children to create and build social skills and friendships with others while we enhance our physical with our educational activities.

Young Entrepreneurs The Young Entrepreneur School aims to promote the entrepreneurship characteristics among its students by developing the required skills necessary to stimulate them to become future leaders and entrepreneurs. Thus, stimulating local and international economic growth. If you would like to have your organization added to this list then please email the details to team.jeddah.blog@gmail.com

– Sabaa Ali

Ask Bee: How to Find a Job in Jeddah

Forget Abigail Van Buren. We’ve got our own little expert on matters related to life in Saudi Arabia. She’s something of a know-it-all, and has opinion and information on everything from purchasing fancy grocery items to successfully nailing the ideal job.  We roped her in to share some nuggets of wisdom with us. Do you have any questions for her? Have you wondered where to go and splurge in Jeddah, how to spoil yourself silly, or, let’s say, who is the best dentist in town? Randomness doesn’t bother her, in fact, it turns her on. Whatever it is, wonder out loud, and send in your queries with the title ‘Ask Bee’ to team.jeddah.blog@gmail.com. She’d be happy to oblige.

In this first post, she addresses job hunting, a pressing issue for most women who’ve just moved to Saudi. Read on and find out.

About Bee

Bee is a 30 something mother, wife, corporate consultant and a bona fide prodigy in the art of shelling out unnecessary, unsolicited and often useless advice. The kind people at her office actually pay her for doing this on an hourly daily basis and she returns the kindness by making them lose sleep over random pointless issues. She currently lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with her very sane husband (he takes after his mother) and her two not very sane children (they too take after their mother). Her own personal hell would be to have nothing to do with no-one paying her for pretending to have nothing to do.

“Dear Bee, I’ve been in Jeddah for four months now. I applied to several companies for a job, sending my CV to the email addresses on the websites, but haven’t had any response as yet. General opinion is very discouraging regarding women and job opportunities. I’m sick of staying home and staring at the walls. Please help me before I go crazy, or eat my way to death!”

– Desperate Housewife in Saudi

Dear Desperate Housewife in Saudi

“I HEAR YA” is all I have to say about your situation because not too long ago I was in a similar one. Having moved here from a country that offered very attractive opportunities for smart well educated women (even if I say so myself), it was a nasty shock to be faced with the prospect of being unemployed merely because of cultural issues.  To add insult to injury, they put a not very discreet and perhaps a little threatening “not allowed to work” stamp on your visa so that any evil employment plan you may have in your head is nipped in the bud.

Don’t go by hearsay about doomsday scenarios for women. Step into the field and prove them wrong.

That said, I will go ahead and make a sweeping generalization here; if you are sure you want to work, sooner or later you WILL land a job. Here are my top five tips for being successfully and gainfully employed in Saudi:

1.       Forget about sending CVs to the email addresses that do not belong to a person. Saudi companies are not very tech savvy and email addresses that start with info, HR, jobs, employment etc. never get opened. Instead go to the company contact page on their website and call the company office to get the email address of the HR manager…. or the CEO if you are like me!

Hop straight to the top when job-hunting. Don’t bother with getting a foot in the pipeline, and expecting to be noticed. Most company email addresses are ghost addresses and not monitored.

2.       Most job vacancies never get advertised but the companies here are constantly in need of good talented people in all fields. I can’t even remember how many of my corporate clients have asked me if I know of any good people looking for jobs. Your best bet here is to choose the companies you want to work for and start applying (refer to tip above). The two links below are a good starting point because they generally have a higher percentage of women than usual:

Top 100 Saudi Arabian Companies

Best Saudi Companies to work for

Contrary to what people believe, Saudi can be a land of opportunities once you get the hang of things. There is always a demand for educated, smart young women.

3.       DO NOT underestimate the power of contacts. Talk to anyone and everyone you know and tell them that you are looking for a job. Most people will be willing to help and if they can’t get you a job, the least they can do is share the email address of the CEO/ HR manager etc. at their company so that you don’t go off shooting in the dark.

4.       Update your LinkedIn and Bayt.com profiles. More and more companies here in KSA are hiring through LinkedIn especially when it comes to one-off projects. Put your qualification etc, join relevant local groups and do not forget to mention that you are an Iqama holder and are willing to work flexible or on project basis.

5.       My last tip and something that takes bit of courage is to take this opportunity to become an entrepreneur. Whatever your passion is; be it cooking, dancing, fitness, writing, teaching etc.  Saudi is a land of opportunities. I know of people who have started small home based businesses, promoted themselves through Social Media (Facebook etc.) and are now making more money than their paycheck back home. Above all, you get to live your dream!

 Do you have a question for Bee? Write in to team.jeddah.blog@gmail.com with ‘Ask Bee’ in the subject.