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