Before I was a parent myself, I spent six years working as a researcher and program evaluator, identifying quality early education programs and helping early education programs to improve.
Once I became a parent and needed childcare, it was a frustrating and overwhelming experience looking for a high quality program that had space for my daughter.
Then I began to reflect on how fortunate I was to have knowledge about what quality programs should look like. If this is hard for me, it must be even more difficult for parents who don't have any information about what to look for!
In addition to opening my own program, I decided to do what I can to help educate parents on how to identify the best programs out there.
Below are some quick and useful tips when starting to search for a great school or child care program.
When you tour and observe a program, keep these questions in mind:
Are the children busily/happily engaged in play or activities?
Are the teachers happy and engaged with the children?
Are a variety of activities available for children to choose from?
Do you feel welcome to observe and were your questions well received?
Do children go easily to teachers to converse or ask for help?
Are the teachers warm/kind when children need something?
When there is a conflict or upset, how is it handled? Do teachers help children problem-solve and are they empathetic?
Additionally, here are some useful questions to ask when you visit a program:
Can you tell me about your program's philosophy and curriculum?
How do the teachers communicate with parents about their child?
How do you choose your teaching staff?
How long have the teachers been with the program?
How can parents get involved or volunteer?
What are the program hours, available schedules (part or full-time), and tuition rates?
Can they connect you with a couple enrolled parents so you can learn about their experience in the program?
Is toilet learning required prior to enrollment? I would ask this even if my child was using the toilet successfully. Programs really shouldn't press this as required prior to enrollment because every child has a different pace with learning to use the toilet.
My recommendation is to go visit several programs before you decide and pay closest attention to the relationships and connection with teachers and children. If you can observe teachers with children, this is a great opportunity to see how the teachers talk to the children, the tone they use and the way they engage children. Children thrive when they are with adults who appreciate them and are interested in what they have to say.
Overall, choosing a preschool should have an element of fun! Children learn through play, so you are really finding a great place for your child to play and open their minds. And nothing is more fun than encouraging and watching your child play constructively.
Originally posted 1/1/2018.