Picking a Preschool for your child may feel overwhelming and there are a lot of people with a lot of opinions out there about preschool. First of all, does every kid go to preschool? No. But there are also free or discounted preschool options in our community; see them in our Free Tri-Cities Preschool Resources blog post. I am NOT a preschool expert and do not claim to me. I have set the boundary not to share my own personal opinions about preschools and preschools in the Tri-Cities and what ones I recommend, because it is just that SO individual to each family, person and individual kid! Each person has a different perspective on preschool and what your hopes are for a preschool for your child. I have toured several Tri-Cities Preschools and there are SO many amazing ones in our community!
The 1st question I would recommend starting with is one to be posed to yourself: What is YOUR hope for Preschool for your child? What do you hope for your child at the end of their Preschool experience?
Then answer the question: What are you primarily looking for in a Preschool? What are deal breakers for you if any ? Finding a preschool can be hard if looking for a 100% perfect preschool (nothing can be 100% perfect) so figuring out what your primary elements you are looking for and going from there is super helpful!
If these questions aren’t part of your primary things included in what you are looking for- these questions are worth asking yourself:
-How much time do I want my child in Preschool a week/day?
-How far away am I willing to drive to a Preschool?
-What is our budget for a Preschool for my child?
Okay now that you have answered some questions for yourself on what you are looking for. Use those questions to inform what you ask Preschools as you correspond with them or tour them. I didn’t know that Preschools often do tours and open houses at first until Richland Early Learning Co-op told all of us parents that! So that is good to know and be able to reach out to Preschools you are interested in! Many will allow you to go when Preschool is in session so you can get a feel for what a day in the class looks like. Some preschools allow your kids to join you on the tour and some do not. It is really good to clarify before you go if your kids can join you and if so what that looks like. Some allowed them to jump in whatever activity was going on but most had us walk around and observe. This was good to know in advance so I could prep my kids and let them know you will see kids playing but we are just here to watch and observe. One thing that was helpful for my kids for where they were at at the time was for me to each bring them a clipboard with paper and a crayon to “Take notes” on preschools as we toured. It was adorable and hilarious to have them walk around and stop to take “notes.” It also acted as something for them to do while I asked questions!
Some Questions to ask Preschools:
(This is not the end all be all of questions, just some of the questions we asked preschools while touring! If you have any others questions you have asked that were helpful or would ask add them in the comments)
-What happens if a student does not want to participate in a specific activity? (One of my kiddos has some sensory sensitivities and before preschool those cute paint handprint painting/keepsakes were a NO for her)
-If a kid is “acting out” what do your preschool teachers do? Is there a procedure or strategy and what are the next steps if things escalate?
-Do kids need to be potty trained and completely independent in the bathroom to attend? Where is the bathroom located? If a kid has an accident what does that look like?
-What does a day in the life of a preschooler at your school look like?
-What curriculum or specific things do you focus on academically?
-Do you have academic evaluations throughout the year to see where kids are out and what they need to work on? If so, what do those look like and when do those occur?
-Is social emotional learning part of your curriculum?
-What is the teacher to student ratio at your preschool? About how many students are normally in each class?
-What Safety Procedures or precautions does the preschool take?
-Do the kids get outside time each day? If so, how long each day and are there specific temperatures or weather events that they will not go outside in?
-How do Parents communicate with Preschool Teachers if they have concerns, questions etc? Is there an app needed to communicate with school?
-Is there any specific gear/supplies the kids need for Preschool? Any specific contributions to preschool we need to make: snacks, supplies etc?
Again this is not the end all be all of questions to ask preschools but just a list to jump off of if you are not sure what to ask! The questions you ask yourself at the beginning will help inform you on the questions you want to ask and questions will come up as you tour as well! Happy Preschool Picking!