If you have a toddler in the age range of 2-5, you may be starting to think about preschool. With many different options to choose from and different factors to consider, it can feel like a daunting task. If you are having a hard time deciding on a preschool, this post will provide tips to guide you in your decision process.
Deciding on a preschool for our child comes with a lot of pressure for parents. Just like choosing the right college when we were seniors in high school, choosing the right preschool for our children can feel overwhelming because the stakes feel so high. According to brain research, a child’s brain is 80% developed by age 3 and 90% developed by age 5. There is no denial that having your child in a nurturing environment that promotes social and emotional development is essential at this stage. The preschool age is the most critical development stage. It’s no wonder why parents feel the growing pressure to find the best preschool for our kids!
7 Tips to Consider When Deciding on a Preschool
In this blog post, I will share a few tips that have helped me and my partner come to our decision on a preschool for our son. While there isn’t a perfect formula for determining the right preschool for your child, there are a few tips that may help you make your decision process a little easier.
1. Think hard about your must-haves vs. nice to haves. This exercise will help you narrow down your list of preschools significantly. A few must-haves for us included being within a 5-10 minute walking distance or 5-10 minute drive from home and flexibility with schedule as some preschools we explored only considered full-time or part-time. For nice to haves, we liked the idea of a smaller student to teacher ratio so our son would have more attention and also would prefer to have a school that gave regular daily updates with photos. Another nice to have may be that the school takes the kids out for regular field trips.
2. Consider your dealbreakers. It may be hard to know what your dealbreakers are without first experiencing a preschool with your child. It’s like dating. You may not know what you like or don’t like until you date a few people first. With each date, you find out more about what you don’t like so each person you date afterward should have more qualities and attributes of your ideal partner. In regards to preschools, a dealbreaker for you and your family may be the school’s religious practices or lack thereof. Depending on your upbringing and your personal beliefs, you and your partner may have a strong stance on what type of religious practices are integrated into the school’s curriculum. A dealbreaker can also be location. How far are you willing to commute with your child? For me, the thought of wrestling my child into his carseat after struggling to get him dressed and eat breakfast in the morning helped me deprioritize the schools that were further.
3. Talk to other parents. Connecting with parents in your neighborhood will provide insights that you may not otherwise get online. Talking to parents in-person will give you the unfiltered version that isn’t shared on the school’s website or in a Yelp review. I will typically ask how their kid enjoys their teachers and school, which will provide insight into whether the kids are enjoying the school environment. After talking to several parents whose kids attended our son’s current preschool, it became obvious how much their kids loved their preschool. They would comment and share that their kids didn’t want to leave and were so excited to go to school each morning, which was really reassuring that the teachers were doing a great job at building a bond and trust with their children.
4. Talk to teachers. Besides talking to parents, you can also talk to teachers at the schools you’re considering. This will provide you with information and insights into how the school operates and their teaching style. It will also give you a sense of how satisfied the teachers are and if they genuinely enjoy working with kids. You may want to ask what their student to teacher ratio is, how long they’ve been working at the school and what made them choose to teach at the school. They may share special programs, activities or events that the preschool offers as well. This is an opportunity to use your intuition to judge how comfortable you’re with the teachers and if they possess the qualities you are looking for. It’s likely that if you don’t feel comfortable with the teacher, your child may not either.
5. Prioritize what’s most important to you from highest to lowest. Let’s face it, there isn’t likely a perfect school out there that will tick all the boxes for you. If it did, you hit the jackpot! For most of us, being aligned on what’s most important and prioritizing those factors is key when selecting the right preschool. A few important factors may include the costs, location, language immersion, student to teacher ratio, schedule flexibility, special programs, and how regularly parents are updated. This is similar to the must-haves vs. nice to haves exercise in #1, but you’re being more intentional in what’s most important to you and your family. In our situation, location, flexibility with schedule and teacher quality were at the top of our list so we prioritized first looking into schools within walking distance that accepted both full-time and part-time schedules. Once we determined a preschool in our neighborhood, we then explored other schools within a 5-10 minute driving radius to evaluate whether their quality of teachers and programs was worth the longer commute. After doing our research, we did not end up finding a school that had better teachers that justified the longer commute so it helped us finalized our decision with our original school.
6. Tour your short list of preschools. If you haven’t already, it is strongly recommended to tour all the schools on your short list. This can just be 2-3 schools where you’re seriously considering applying. Touring the school will give you a sense of how the school runs and how they set up the learning environment. A few things to note when you’re touring:
- Is there an outdoor play area? If so, what types of activities do they have (ie. a play structure, gardening, sand box, water table, sports)?
- What is the school layout like? Is it more open or is it separated by classrooms?
- During the tour, you may be able to observe classes in session and see how the teachers and children interact. Are the teachers engaged and hands on? Or do they encourage more independent play? How do they handle situations when kids do not get along? How do they discipline children that are behaving badly?
7. Attend preschool information sessions. Some preschools may offer information sessions where you get a chance to bring your child and meet with the school staff and teachers. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and observe how your child responds to the school environment. This is a good chance to learn about the school’s philosophy and early childhood learning approach. You may want to ask them some basic questions like:
- Do they require the child to be potty-trained?
- What is their teaching approach and philosophy? (Montessori, Waldorf, Religious, etc.)
- What types of activities do they have their children engage in?
- What is the educational background of the teachers? What are they most passionate about?
Deciding on a preschool for your child may feel overwhelming. Being clear on what’s most important to you and your family will help guide your decision. As you tour more schools, this will also help you narrow down your choices and determine what you like and don’t like. Connecting with other parents in your local area and networking on Facebook groups will provide you with helpful resources. Ultimately, the decision on a preschool is not a purely calculated decision. There’s a lot of intuition involved so trust your instincts too!
At the end of the day, whatever decision you choose, trust that it’s the right choice for your child. Also, know that your decision is not permanent. If the preschool does not end up working out for you and your child for some reason, you can choose to switch schools. I know a mom who shared with me that she changed schools three times for her 4-year old son until she found the perfect school for him that he loved.
Good luck on your preschool search!
Please leave in the comments below and share what helped you in your decision and what factors were most important to you.
