How do I choose a preschool for my child?

 I have to tell you that finding a suitable preschool for Sophia was like a second job!  I looked for weeks upon weeks and then narrowed down the list of potentials, then called to ask if I could pop over for a tour, then spent weeks touring places, then discussed them with her dad, then made another pop up visit with him for the top two or three, then decided which place we would send her. 

Things I looked for when I went included:

Tours--Did they allow me to POP up or did they want to make an appointment.  I think if they want an appointment then they are hiding something.  A good preschool/daycare would tell you to stop by whenever you want.

Curriculum--What did they teach the kids?  Sophia went into preschool able to count to 100, speak spanish and sign language, knew her colors, shapes, letters and sounds of the letters; so a curriculum counting  to 10 and learning colors was not acceptable for us. 

Teachers--Were the teachers certified?  Most preschool and daycare center teachers do not have college degrees but some may have certification from the facility for attending workshops.   We decided on a private montessori school and the teachers go through extensive training.

Smell--Did it smell like baby vomit or urine or just dirty? 

Cleanliness in the bathrooms--I understand they are kids but did the adults upkeep the bathrooms?

Sleeping quarters--How did naptime fit into the schedule and where did they nap?  Did they have cots?  Are you required to bring your own bedding?  Can they have a pillow?  Can they bring a fav stuffed animal or doll to sleep with?

What is the playtime / learning ratio?  I wanted a balance, not an entire day of playtime.

Discipline-- How do they handle children who do not behave? 

Getting hurt--If ,God forbid, my child gets hurt, what is the policy for letting me know?

Will I get a daily report? 

These were important things to me (there may be more that I don't remember since it was 3 years ago I did this) but they could be things you may not have thought about or there may be other things that you may want to add to this list. Either way--go into searching prepared. 

Here is an article that also discusses finding a preschool. 

I hope to have listings of preschools and daycare added to the website shortly to make searching for a school easier for you.

http://preschoolers.about.com/od/learningeducation/a/choosepreschool.htm

Feedback ALWAYS welcome!!

Dawn

Does your child eat school lunches?

ok, I watched the finale of Jaime Oliver's Food revolution tonight.  Jaime's message this season was that he can't not make the change himself, we (PARENTS) have to get off our bums and make the change.

I have to tell you that as a teacher, I can not even count how many times I have heard the kids in my class say they wouldn't eat the lunch that day because it was "nasty".  This link is the menu for the last month of school in the Philadelphia School District.

http://www.meredith.phila.k12.pa.us/satellitelunchme.html

While you look at the menu it doesn't sound so bad.  However, the food is not made fresh.  The food comes in pre packed containers and are heated up in a warming oven.

This infuriates me so much more because we have a state of the art kitchen in my school that has appliances a chef would kill to cook with!


The following link is to the USDA website but I found that they give limited information.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/

As parents, we all cook within a budget and i don't know anyone who eats frozen dinners everynight for supper so why can't schools do the same and make our children fresh, healthy food?



I would love to hear your opinions and maybe suggestions on how we can start a revolution of our own in Philadelphia schools.

Thanks,

Dawn

When should I potty train?

My daughter is 5 yrs old and has been potty trained since she was 2.  I was talking to my sister last night and she asked me when to start potty training.  I told her everyone is different but children in other countries do not have diapers so they potty train from VERY early on.  ( I forget where I read that when I was investigating potty training) I also asked about the logistics of potty training a boy--i have a girl but have a god son--and I told her he is little so he will need a potty chair that is his size and that he should start sitting down.  I am glad to say I found an article to comfirm my beliefs  lol.  He is 14 months old and she said he has shown interest in the toilet.   I told her this is a perfect topic of the day and would research it and talk about it for today's blog.

I found this article and it seems to have good information but we all know that nothing counts more than experience. I would love if you could jump in and share your experience to help her out.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_successful-potty-training-for-boys_11652.bc

Thanks,

Until tomorrow,

Dawn

PS--Connecting blog 1 and 2!

http://www.signingtime.com/blog/2011/03/potty-training-fun-with-signing-time/

Sign Language for babies?

Do you remember seeing reports that many celebrities were teaching their children sign language years ago?  I not only remember it but I also remember thinking that is the most ridiculous thing I have heard! 

Well, How times have changed now that I have my own child. 

My daughter is now 5 yrs old and I bought a baby sign language dvd set ---like the one at the bottom of the page--- when she was 2 yrs old.  When I really thought about it, I realized though she could already talk, this will give her another option for communicating with me as well as with others.  

She picked up the sign language very quickly and she used it along with her oral speech.  She is five and still remembers and uses sign language to communicate.  She has also started teaching her baby cousin some signs when we see him. 

Have you had an experience with sign language for babies?  Please feel free to comment.