How to Choose a Preschool?

Many people who have children turning 4 this year will be thinking about preschool in the fall. Some of you may have already been through this and you know where to go. However, there are the first time moms out there like you once were that; sorry to say; are clueless! Don't worry, I'm one of the clueless ones! I feel your pain.

I have a son that will be going into Kindergarten this fall. I was one that searched and searched for a preschool. Yeah, right. My Mom; bless her heart; did all the searching. In the paper there were a few ads that she found. I called and set up appointments.

Here are my tips for finding the right preschool for your child.

1. How do you feel when you walk into the building that the preschool is located? It could be a house, garage-converted into a classroom, or a building built for daycare/preschool. Whatever it is; how do you feel when you walk in? The feeling you get when you walk in can tell you tons about the environment. For example, the two places I chose to look into the first, my son felt right at home and it just felt very welcoming. The second, not so much. Can you tell which one I picked?

2. What sort of things will they be doing throughout the year? Are they just there to play or are they actually going to learn something? Both places had a schedule of what they were going to do; which is great because it showed me that they were going to learn something and play(just like school!)

3. How many kids will be in the class with yours? This is important to know because if you have concerns about development then you'll want a more hands-on classroom for your child so he/she doesn't get pushed aside and forgotten(not saying that they will). Some classes will be smaller and have one teacher while others will be larger and more than one teacher. What do you feel most comfortable with? Will your child feel comfortable with the arraignment?

4. Will there be any field-trips, where, when, and can I come? These are important to know. The second place I looked was going to have a field-trip to a pumpkin-patch; which sounds really cool, but I failed to ask if parents were invited. The pumpkin-patch was out of the city limits and I didn't know anything about this person. My initial reaction to myself was, "You are not taking my baby to the pumpkin-patch twenty minutes outside of town. No way!"

5. Is there anyone your child already knows going to the same place? We lucked out on this one. We didn't ask beforehand, but there ended up being two children from church attended the same preschool. We as moms, laugh about it cause we didn't know. We all saw each other and it was pretty cool.

6. Other things to look for are: where do they play when outside? If your child is not fond of animals, are there any? How much per month? Times available? Is the neighborhood alright?

I hope you got lots of good information on here that you'll be able to go out there and find the preschool that fits you and your child. Good luck and Happy New Year!