Are all preschools full of loud dirty kids?

Question

My two year old and I visited a preschool class at her daycare, one to which she will be transitioning to in Jan....All of the kids were loud, in your face, excited, and dirty.

It's the best daycare in town.....but I just couldn't help but to think that all the kids had ADHD and would beat my toddler up.

Are all preschools this way?

Answer 1

This does not sound right to me. If that is the best your town has to offer, then you might want to look at the next town over. Obviously they are not supervising adequately.

I have been in many pre-schools through my work. Only the very worst ones were as you describe. It sounds like who ever is running it does not have the first notion of keeping kids in structure and having guided activities.

A really good pre-school will have structured activities for the kids such as circle time, cutting and paste activities, pre-writing, structured play and movement to music. There will be enough staff to work with small groups of children in different activities. Staff should even be in play areas to supervise and teach social play.

A preschool is different from a day care in that they should be focusing on the following :

    * Personal, social and emotional development

    * Communication, including talking and listening

    * Knowledge and understanding of the world

    * Creative and aesthetic development

    * Physical development

    * Mathematical awareness and development

How can kids be doing this when they are running around and dirty to boot? Trust your instincts on this one. I would not put my kids there just from the supervision problems alone. Even a quiet daycare would be better. Don't subject your precious little kid to this.

The good news is that your child can attend voluntary preschool with the school district when she is four. Check with the school district now to find out how to apply. These preschools have standards and you shouldn't see that behavior.

Answer 2

My experience with daycares is the same as what you found.  Can you find a private preschool in your area?  I run a private preschool and we are not loud and disruptive.  We learn appropriate times to talk and appropriate times to listen.  And it's a very successful preschool - the children love us and so do the parents.  You need structure as well as fun. If you don't get a good feeling about this daycare - keep looking. This is your child you are talking about and she deserves nothing but the best. You need to find a good fit that you are comfortable with.  Any good and licensed preschool will welcome you into their classroom for observation.  Good luck.

Answer 3

Sounds like what happens when you get a large number of small children together and let them play. Yes pre-schools are loud, I would be concerned if they weren't as this would mean the children didn't have enough freedom to play or they were all nervous in some way.

It sounds like the children in this preschool were happy where they were ( loud, excited), were gaining confidence and felt secure in their environment (in your face) and kids get dirty at school as well as pre-school without parents to continually fuss over them - they are learning to take care of themselves.

If the pre-school has a good reputation then I am sure your child will be fine. The staff will be used to new children and will help her settle in and at that age children are more keen to include new people than exclude and bully them.

It is natural for you to be nervous but try not to let your child see this as it will make her anxious. Be positive and talk to your child about all the fun things she will do at pre-school. I'm sure that after she starts she will settle in and be happy and confident however if she doesn't seem to be settling well you can always remove her and look for another pre-school.