Preschool is the first step in child’s academic journey and can serve as the basis for all future learning. According to the U.S. Department of Education, preschool plays a large role in later academic success. “Children in high quality preschools display better language, cognitive and social skills than children who attended low quality programmes.”
Once your child is ready for the playschool, choosing the right preschool become a daunting process. The following steps may help you to sort through the preschool and to decide the right place for your kid.
Figure out What is Important to You
Parents are best judge of their child and only they know better what type of the environment will suit their kid best. Think about your child’s personality. Is she shy? Does she make friends quickly? What do you want from your child’s preschool? Are you looking for a rigorous academic programme or something more socially-based?
Check with the school to find out the details on age qualifications and other factors such as potty training.
To meet child’s individual needs, you want to find a school that offers small class sizes and low child-teacher ratios. The classroom should have lots of toys and other play items that are clean, safe and in easy reach of little people. If there is an outside play space, make sure it is fenced in and ask if the staff is trained in first aid.
Make sure the schools you are considering employ teachers that have earned early childhood education degrees.
How will your child get to school? Will she ride a bus or will you pick her up and drop her off? How far away is the school from your home? These may seem like secondary concerns, but they are very important. If it takes a long time to get to school, your child may be too excited by the time they get there. At the same time, if preschool also functions as daycare for your child, a long car ride may serve as important quality time for your family. A preschool close to where you live may make it easier for your child to foster the friendships she makes in school.
At some point, doing a site visit to all of your potential choices is necessary. (If a school does not allow you to come for a visit, cross it off your list.) Call ahead to schedule a mutually-convenient time so you’ll be able to meet with either the school principal, director or a staff member to talk and take a tour of the facilities. You may also want to ask if you can observe a classroom in action. If you are permitted to do so, don’t approach the teacher or children during the lessons and try to stay for at least a half hour so you can get a real feel for how the class runs. After you’ve done a visit on your own, and once you’ve narrowed down your choices, find out if it’s possible to bring your child to the school to see what she thinks. Most schools will welcome the opportunity to meet potential students and a visit will also help your child start to understand what preschool is.
Priority number one in choosing a preschool? Picking the place where your child will be most happy. Academics are important, but your child has a lifetime of formal learning ahead of them. Preschool should be a place where your child learns to love school and learns to love learning.
I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)
Thank you webmaster for such a meaningful blog post. I am impressed with your view on How to Choose the Right Preschool for Your Child | Shemrock Blog.
I don’t even know what to say, this made things so much easier!
I wanted to spend a minute to thank you for this.