Touring a preschool

[jenna]

We'd like to get E into a preschool so he's around kids more often, and in an academic setting.

What should I look for in a preschool?  Any questions I should be asking? 

He'd most likely go two 1/2 days a week, and it would be a secular school.  Any thoughts about Montessori schools?

[sonrisa]

Around here the Montessoris don't do 2 1/2 days so that would be my only concern given your plan. I liked the idea of Montessori but the 20k/year was beyond our budget. We visited 4 schools and one just clicked for us.

[jenna]

At least one school offers 2, 3, or 5 half or full days for toddlers.

I'm looking for a school that has the potential to be long term. I'm not super happy with the public grade or middle school that E would attend.

[cereal K]

i won't lie - we started with the school closest to home (literally at the entrance to our subdivision) and loved it. C is starting in august - 2 days a week, full days.

i didn't have a list of questions ready, but when i saw the curriculum, i was beyond comfortable. h was paying close attention to personnel and security details and couldn't find anything wrong, either.

half days were an option, but it didn't work for our schedules, so we didn't pursue.

for this particular school, the waiting list for august started in april-ish and filled by may. the next "enrollment" or wait-list sign up would be august for spring start.

i know you're near-ish me, so i'd be happy to PM you details if you want.

[cereal K]

oh - just ready the last line of your last post - this school only goes up to 6 years, so that wouldn't be helpful to you.

[hopecounts]

If you're looking for long term I think Montessori could be a good option if you like their philosophy.
Personally I do. It's very child led which is great for most kids as long as its a well run program.

I'd want to know child/teacher ratios, how they communicate with parents about progress/behavior/etc, how discipline problems are handled. and a general overview of how the run each age group (Montessori generally puts kids together that span a certain age range)

[Dumbledork]

I asked...

-How long is circle/group time? IIRC, most recent research says students shouldn't be forced to sit still for this kind of learning for more than 10-15 minutes. I think most schools still hover around the 20 minute guideline, which is fine, but you should still ask. One school I toured said their circle time for 3-4 year olds was 40 minutes long.

-What are the parent involvement opportunities? How often? HOw are parents kept in the loop about classroom activities? Newsletter?

-What kind of meals are provided? How is it prepared?

-Who prepares the curriculum? Something like KinderCare, at least the one I toured, HQ sends the weekly curriculum and teachers follow it. I wanted a classroom where teachers could create their own, or at least supplement with their own curriculum, especially wanted one that based lessons off student interest.

-What does the outdoor playground look like? Does it have decent padding around structures? Are toys broken?

-Are computers part of the curriculum? How much time do they get? What kind of programs do the students use?

-What's the hygiene routine? One school I visited had everyone wash their hands upon entering the room, as well as after the bathroom, wiping/blowing noses, before meals, etc.

-What kind of play is offered in/outdoors?

-What's the disciplinary protocol? The "sick child" protocol? Payment (early, late, missed) protocol?

-The visitor protocol? Basic security features, etc. One preschool I visited, doors can only open with key cards. Teachers get one and each parent gets one. If you lose one, you have to pay a fine to get a new one. Fire drills were practiced, with students, once a month. Things like that.

-Is any religion taught in class? Are diverse families shown? Are the traditional gender roles shown along with the non-traditional- women in strong roles of leadership, men in positions like SAHD, teacher, etc?

Good luck! I hated searching for a preschool.

[jenna]

I've also come up with -

- snacks and lunches provided
- how they handle potty training
- what happens if E doesn't thrive (recourse to pull out of the school if it's not a good fit)
- how they handle hitting and biting (E's bit me once, out of excitement & he likes to swat at us in frustration, sometimes)

[jenna]

Jul 7, 2013 20:57:52 GMT -5 Dumbledork said:

I asked...

Great list. Thank you!

[speckledfrog]

Also ask about supply fees and fundraisers. Also ask about what certifications their teachers have and how they get training through the year.

Check and see if you can look up the school through your state's CPS/DFS website to see what kind of violations they have. There are a million regulations that schools have to follow so it's not uncommon for a good school to have a few dings but sometimes those searches are eye opening.

[Dumbledork]

Another thread reminded me of another one- do they incorporate other languages? More and more preschools are integrating basic ASL into their daily communications with students and most schools at least display both the English and Spanish name of things in labels (like sink, bathroom, library) even if they don't actually say the words often.

And no problem! I was an early childhood education major so I had a lot of those standards pushed into my head so often that it just became second nature to ask them when touring for a preschool for DD.

[bornbaker]

A Montessori school won't do two 1/2 days. Usually there is a 'requirement'. Montessori would be great for long term - make sure you do your research and you find a good program! There are some schools who say they're Montessori but...aren't...so you would want to know your facts before observing in a Montessori classroom! And it helps to know what too look for

[Deleted]

I asked about the curriculum and then researched the curriculum online. I also asked the school if I could look at a couple of lesson plans. I asked about the structure of the day and what regular activities are included (ex. ever Friday is music class, every Tuesday is chapel, etc).