Post by 2dogs2kids on Apr 6, 2016 12:47:32 GMT -5
babyzebra glad your appointment went well! To be perfectly honest with you I like daycare/preschool for children over the age of 1. If it is a good program they can learn and benefit so much from it. After baby surprise is born I will be a SAHM and we will continue to send DS (17month) to daycare part time.
That being said, as a preschool teacher and parent I am super critical of daycares and preschool programs. It makes it so difficult.
First think about what is important to you in a preschool program. You want to make sure the program aligns with your expectations and parenting style.
Personally one of my first questions would be how long their teachers have been there. The field has a general high turn over rate as it can be a stressful job with low pay and sometimes no benefits. Happy teachers=happy children=lots of learning and fun. Plus you don't want your child to have several different teachers in a year. Part of the preschool experience is developing relationships it's hard to do with a new teacher every other month.
Ask what qualifications the teachers have (degrees, special trainings, etc). I know a few excellent teachers that never earned a degree because the cost of college vs the pay scale is just not worth it, but they also go to professional trainings and keep up with the newest research.
Take a look at their curriculum and goals. Make sure it is well rounded and age appropriate.
Ask about their expectations of children and what are their expectations of you as a parent.
What does a typical day looks like?
Ask about how they handle difficult behaviors and discipline. Even if your child is well behaved you want to make sure they are addressing other children appropriately and you know what your child is being exposed to.
Are there any extracurricular activities and are they included? Some preschools offer classes like music, dance or Spanish as an additional cost while others include it and others do not have any to offer at all.
If it is a full day program make sure to tour during the morning (9-11) is typically when curriculum activities will occur. You don't want to tour during rest time because then you can't see how the teachers interact with the children.
What type of assessment do they use? How often do they complete them? How do they handle areas of concern?
I could seriously go on and on but in going to stop now. Hopefully that helps a little.
That being said, as a preschool teacher and parent I am super critical of daycares and preschool programs. It makes it so difficult.
First think about what is important to you in a preschool program. You want to make sure the program aligns with your expectations and parenting style.
Personally one of my first questions would be how long their teachers have been there. The field has a general high turn over rate as it can be a stressful job with low pay and sometimes no benefits. Happy teachers=happy children=lots of learning and fun. Plus you don't want your child to have several different teachers in a year. Part of the preschool experience is developing relationships it's hard to do with a new teacher every other month.
Ask what qualifications the teachers have (degrees, special trainings, etc). I know a few excellent teachers that never earned a degree because the cost of college vs the pay scale is just not worth it, but they also go to professional trainings and keep up with the newest research.
Take a look at their curriculum and goals. Make sure it is well rounded and age appropriate.
Ask about their expectations of children and what are their expectations of you as a parent.
What does a typical day looks like?
Ask about how they handle difficult behaviors and discipline. Even if your child is well behaved you want to make sure they are addressing other children appropriately and you know what your child is being exposed to.
Are there any extracurricular activities and are they included? Some preschools offer classes like music, dance or Spanish as an additional cost while others include it and others do not have any to offer at all.
If it is a full day program make sure to tour during the morning (9-11) is typically when curriculum activities will occur. You don't want to tour during rest time because then you can't see how the teachers interact with the children.
What type of assessment do they use? How often do they complete them? How do they handle areas of concern?
I could seriously go on and on but in going to stop now. Hopefully that helps a little.