How do I pick a preschool for my son?

Question

He'll be 3 this June and I'd like him to start in the fall. I'm just not sure how I should go about picking one!

Answer 1

call the schools ask if you can set in on the class ,find one that you are comfortable with ,in singing the contract ,do a trail for a week to see how the child adjust ,doing that trail period ,drop in to see whats going on . Good luck ,be careful in picking a preschool, ask if you can have a copy of the contract and take it home ,really read it good .

Answer 2

look thru internet or ask any of your friends that have kids and they say good things about the day care. or check in 411 or the yellowpages.com

Answer 3

I am a preschool teacher with the pre-kindergarten class. However I have taught threes previously for four years. Each teacher has their own style but should have age appropriate activities and allow mainly for play and social development. They will introduce letters, numbers, colors and small/large motor skills through play. Your child will have fun learning and want to go to school. Pick a school who offers these and have a positive discipline policy. Meet the director and teachers. Ask to observe the class in session. Also be sure that you would be allowed to drop in at any time your child is in class without notice. NAEYC accreditation is a high standard program. Although I have worked for a school that does not have this accreditation and they follow the same guidelines. You should check with friends and others parents who already have children in a program. Do ask what the teacher turn over rate is and how much education in early childhood they are required. Many teachers have associate or certificates in this area and are some of the best for the age group. It is a wise choice to start your child in a program for two or three half days. By the time they are ready for full time kindergarten they will have an easier time transitioning between home and school. They know you will be there for them and enjoy learning. I hope this has been some help.

Answer 4

well i am always checking out high schools to goto and even though i am young, i have found a GREAT school website that give reveiws by parents, students, and staff, even the admin. i do not know if they have preschools on that site but it IS worth a shot. just check out the below link. i hope this helps. also you can google pre-schools in your area.

Answer 5

wow u want to get rid of ur child dont u? I wouldn't let my kid go until he was 5, and that would be to kindergarden/school

Answer 6

I don't know. When I was 3 years old, I didn't get accepted in any elementary school in where I live for Pre-K. So I started school in Kindergarten and I got accepted in a school very far away from my house. Then, when I was in 1st grade, I got accepted in a school that was 3 minutes away from where I live and its was the closest one I could find. I stayed there until I finished 5th grade. I was lucky because I did not like the school that I got accepted in when I was in Kindergarten.

Answer 7

You visit them and see which one you like. Any preschool should allow you to visit them at ant time they are in session. Call first and set up a meeting withe the director and/or the teacher that will be in charge of you child. I'd suggest taking you son along so you can see hoe he like the environment.

Answer 8

Just to add to what Michelle said:  quality schools should encourage visit days and have open door policies.  When you get it narrowed down to two or three- hang out, bring your son.  His comfort and your instincts will be your best guide.

I would talk to other parents, how long they've been at the center, how many children.  Does the school have ways for parents to be involved?  

Also, I know you didn't ask but I have found the most beneficial schedule for children is a minimum of three days a week.  Three days (even shorter ones) is more cohesive than a staggered two.

Answer 9

Well, I couldn't agree with you more!  Children participating in preschool often do better when entering Kindergarten, because they have a better understanding of leadership, citizenship and better self-esteem.  They also tend to have learned valuable skills in most preschool settings.

When looking for a preschool for your youngster, I would recommend you tour several prior to picking.  Also, talking to other mothers that you know can offer some great insight into good preschools.  They themselves may have tried several before finding the perfect fit for their child.  Before becoming a teacher in a school district, I worked at several preschools, I saw some amazing things and some not so great things.  Here are some things to look for when picking your childs preschool:

~Price (more expensive isn't always better)

~Ratio (children to adult)  Make sure the school has a plan in place should that ratio be out of compliance, like a sub list.

~Classroom size (number of children)

~Their curriculum

~Teacher qualifications (60 college hours or do all teacher have an Early Childhood Degree)

~Cleanliness

~Center that has interior windows in the classroom for observation, so you can observe your child without being seen.

~Is being potty trained an issue (some require 3 year olds to be potty trained)

~Look for a center that has an open door policy which allows parents to come and observe the center without prior notice or that allows parents to make unannounced visits to check on their child.

~Some centers now days offer a web based site that allows you to view what your child is doing from any computer.  This can be good and bad.

~What is their policy on discipline.  Do they use redirection/time out

~Policy on parent /teacher communication.  Will you get a not daily telling how your child's day was?

Some centers keep their front doors locked and I would recommend that you stay away from these places.  They say it is for security and safety, but often it will give them time to take care of any unsafe practices if a parent were to just show up.  The best places have the office located right at the main enterance and have parents sign in and out as they come and go.  They don't require you ring a door bell and have the door unlocked to enter the building.  You never know what is going on behind locked doors!

Best of luck and happy new year!

Answer 10

Look for a program that is developmentally appropriate, and allows children to be children. Look for a school where the teachers have a background in child development and preferably a degree, and ask how teacher turnover is. (Preschools often have high staff turnover due to low wages, and you do not want your child having a new teacher every 6 weeks.) see if they are accredited by NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children)

Find out what the discipline policy is, and make sure they do not use time outs or punitive punishment. Take a tour when school is in session, and make sure they let you go into a room in action.

I could go on and on. There are so many bad programs out there.

Answer 11

I am a preschool teacher in a private preschool.  Ask to come in and observe during preschool hours.  A parent should always be welcome to come in at anytime - the class should be orderly and above all, interesting and fun. The class should be completely involved at all times with no "downtimes" - what I mean is, the children are not made to wait for another activity - the class flows from activity to activity.  By this time of the year, the class should already know their expectations and the teacher should be able to stand back and watch her program work.  Look for qualified teachers, see if they belong to a volunteer rating system such as Step Up To Quality.  Ask to see the license and what their last evaluation brought up, if anything.  Mainly, use your gut feeling -is this the preschool that is right for YOUR son? there are a lot of different teaching styles out there and you need to see them to decide which one is the best for your child.  good luck!

Answer 12

I'm so glad that you are thinking about putting your child in pre-school. Just a couple of hours a week can be a great benefit for your son. Four large studies begun since 1962 have shown that children in high-quality early learning programs have higher rates of high school graduation and college attendance, lower dropout rates, earn higher incomes and bear children four to five years later than their peers.

As far as what to look for, I would say that Poor Pearl, Ann M, and I love my pug have all said it quite well.  

One thing that I would add though, is to think about what kind of pre-school experience you want for your child. Although all the posters I mentioned above stated quite well the important environmental factors to look for, (and honestly, they are very, very correct, these are the first and most important things to look for in any school setting), there is another aspect to looking for a pre-school that they just touched upon, curriculum and philosophy. There are many different types of pre-school curriculums and philosophies.  As you are looking into pre-schools, you will be sure to run into at least some of them, so it is important to know what you want for your child, understand the difference curriculums and philosophies,  and to think about which curriculum will work well with your child's individual personality. Additionally, just because a school states it follows a certain curriculum, doesn't mean that they actually do, (some just call themselves a certain type of school to appeal to certain parents more.), so it is important for you to have an idea of what you are looking for so that you don't get misled by someone who cares more about their pocketbook than your child.  

Here is an overview of some of the most prevalent pre-school philosophies:

Play based pre-schools where there isn’t any kind of official academic “pen and paper work”, but concepts are taught through games, music, ….

Non-academic pre-schools where children DO NOT do any kind of academics at all and learn to work and play with others as well as following directions.

Academic pre-schools where children are taught in ways similar to a traditional elementary school.

Reggio-Emila programs where children choose which things they want to learn about and then the teachers design many lessons to teach them the concepts that they want to learn. The lessons come in many different modalities (art, music, movement…).

Waldorf pre-schools which focus on fantasy, and work to confirm the spirit in each child, his natural senses of gratitude, wonder, and reverence, while using natural materials (wood, metal, bees wax crayons…).

Summerhill, sometime called “Free” pre-schools where children do whatever they want as long as they aren’t hurting themselves, each other, or the materials. It is believed by the proponents of this philosophy that the children know what is best for them, or what they need to learn, and will naturally choose activities that they will learn what they need.

Montessori pre-schools which have many studies: practical life, sensorial, mathematics, language, science, cultural studies, fine arts... Each area has many different ways to teach each concept and children have the freedom to choose which way they learn the concepts.

I know that it can be overwhelming, but just remember to think about what you want for your child while keeping in mind his  own personality, abilities, and interests, and then go and observe the different schools looking for a good one that will do its best to meet those needs.

Answer 13

You don't need to put your child in preschool for them to develop social skills. It's fine to put him in preschool and have a break for you, and that's probably healthy for you. But, you can get the social skills covered by taking him out into the world to be with people in the community, teaching him proper behavior and helping him negotiate the playground. It's a myth that school teaches social skills better than home does. If the home is healthy and the child is out in the community with family, the child is more likely to have good social skills than if they are in day care fulltime. Schools have all the same age kids clumped together. That's artificial and not natural. Studies also show that the more day care kids are in, the worse their social skills.

So, by all means put him in preschool very parttime for your sake, but don't rely on it for his development. You can do that better at home if you attend to it.

As for selecting one, it's best to have more than one adult for accountability, a clean, bright environment, a situation where parents can pop in unannounced and watch without being seen, and staff that understands and knows how to accommodate special needs. Staff who think they know it all are the least accountable.

I am a mother of a top honor student, former preschool teacher, former homeschooler, former middleschool teacher, former math and chemistry tutor, and former college instructor. I now work in high tech and my high school age son tutors middle school and college students. His social skills are excellent.