Preschool is an excellent educational foundation for your child if you want them to be prepared and ready for their future learning endeavors. And the decision of which preschool a child needs to attend shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Parents, is picking the right preschool one of your dilemmas? It can be overwhelming, especially when you don’t have any idea about where to start! Of course, there are plenty of things that parents must consider, including the curriculum and program offered in the school. To help you out, here are some pieces of advice to guide you in choosing a preschool for your child.
Determine your goals
To help you determine the right preschool for your child, think of the things you want your child to achieve from attending preschool. What are your goals? What important learning do you want them to gain? Is it something that’s focused on the fundamentals of academics like alphabets and numbers? Or is it more of the skills and the ability to socialize and connect with other children?
Determine your priorities
What are your deal-breakers in choosing a preschool? Is it important for the preschool to be close to your work or home? Does your child need morning childcare services, afternoon childcare services or both? What specific program does your child need? Make a list of your priorities and use that list it to help you find the preschool which addresses your child’s needs.
Ask for recommendations
Neighbors, family and friends can be very helpful in providing valuable advice when it comes to the best preschools in the community. So don’t hesitate to seek out feedback and recommendations from them. Ask them what they think of the program and curriculum offered in certain preschools around your community. Reach out to your peers who have children in preschool. They might be able to share some helpful insights, too.
Do your research
Doing your research can help you further narrow down your options. Utilize the internet and check each of the schools recommended to you online. Visit their websites and find out more about their program and curriculum. See if these schools offer the things that you are looking for based on your list of priorities. Remove the ones that don’t. By the end of your research, you’ll come up with your top 3 or 4 preschool choices and proceed to the next step.
Do a site visit
As soon as you determine your prospective preschools, it’s time to visit these centers in person. There’s only so much you can learn from checking their site or calling them on the phone. There’s a lot more to discover when you do an on-site tour. Bring your child with you when you do your school visit. Make a list of important questions to ask when you get there. Also make key observations and be ready to take note of some critical points.
Look around and observe if there are any safety concerns, especially around the playground. Find out if the school has some emergency plans in place in cases of emergency. Take a look at the environment, especially the classrooms. Is the place inviting? Are the classrooms conducive to learning? Also see if there are plenty of learning materials that will help facilitate your child’s learning.
Another important thing you need to keep an eye out for are the staff. Observe how the teachers interact with the students. Are the teachers able to effectively capture the attention of the kids? Are they able to build a genuine connection with their students?
When you tour a preschool, you must be able to see that children are enjoying inside the classrooms. This is a good indication that it could be a perfect place where your child will enjoy learning too. Also notice how the teachers interact with the parents. It’s essential that parents and teachers have good relationships as well. This way, they can communicate if there are important concerns that should be discussed.
It shouldn’t be a daunting task to choose the right preschool for your child. You can follow these tips to help you pick a preschool that’s a good fit for your little one–and your peace of mind!