Finding the right preschool is a huge task for parents as the choices are overwhelming and the deadlines are impossibly early. After finding few schools, one of the obvious things is to apply to them. Make sure that you choose more than one school since if the first choice doesn’t work out you have backups to fall back on.
Identify your priorities
When choosing your preschools to ensure that you know what you want for your child from that preschool experience. Like the curriculum and what kind of activities does the school involve its students in like dancing, art, and storytelling. You should also take into consideration whether you want the preschool to be near your home or workplace etc.
Do your research
Ask family and friends what they recommend and this would also help if you want personal references. moreover you can also contact The Child Care hotline which could provide you with a list of accredited preschools near you. Even though accredited school does not necessarily ensure that it would be the best fit for your child it could defiantly guarantee stamp of approval from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) which is a reliable sign of quality childcare.
Lastly, the most obvious way to find a good preschool is to go online and check for good preschools near you. The most convenient way to do that perhaps is by visiting the NAEYC and the National Association of Family Child Care’s websites which contains the relevant information and guidelines for these accredited preschools.
Visiting the preschool
It is important that you go and visit the preschool to not only make sure that you love the idea of your child going there but also to ensure that the school that you pick follows the NAEYC rules in their classrooms and to ensure that you are satisfied with the way the way the teachers interact with the children and that their curriculum is challenging enough for your child.
This would also be a good opportunity to interact with the principle and the vice principal and ask them about the fee structure and vaccination schedule and the timetable for the day, you can also discuss with them any other concerns you have relating to child care discipline and nutrition.
Check references and kid test it
You should interact with the parents of the children who have either chosen the same preschool or have kids already going to that preschool, and ask them their reasons for choosing this specific preschool for their child. You could also ask them what they like about it and if their child no longer goes there you can ask why.
The most important step of this process no doubt is to see if your child likes the environment of the school. Take your child with you on these visits and see how he/she interacts with the teachers and the students there if he/she is comfortable then you should trust your gut and apply for that school.