When you are looking for a preschool for your child, you might have a number of things in mind. You might want a school that is located close to your home so you can pick your child up and drop her off with ease. You might want a preschool that features certain hours each day. Or you might want a preschool that focuses on academics over play. Whatever it is that you are looking to find, you can likely find somewhere in your general area. However, there are a few things that you will want to make sure any preschool you consider has available.
First, check out the teacher to child ratio of the preschool. If your child is the general preschool age of 3 or 4, you will want there to be one teacher for every ten children. That means if there are 15 children, there should be two teachers in the classroom at all times.
Second, ask how many children there will be in each room. Preschools need to give children individual attention and there should not be many more than 20 children in each classroom, even if there are two teachers available to help with the day.
Third, look at the square footage of the classroom and the outdoor play area. There are urban areas that will have less, but in general, you will want there to be about 35 square feet per child inside and 75 square feet outside. That will give your child ample room to move and play without getting too crowded by other children.
Fourth, look into the training of the teachers involved in the program. If you want someone who really knows what they are doing, make sure they have an associate’s degree in early childhood education or an even higher degree.
And last, look into the teacher turnover for the preschool program in that school. There are no requirements, but a teacher who has been in the school and running the program for a number of years likely has a decent program in place. She also likely understand the preschool age and will be able to handle the situations that might arise with kids of that age.
Choosing a preschool is very subjective and you will want to make sure you find one that fits as many of your needs as possible. Once you get through these basic questions, you can move on to your other priorities such as the cost of the program the time of day and days of the week and other items you might have on your list. Taking time to find the right preschool will only benefit you and your child in the end as she prepares for her real school career.
Preschool South Riding – If you live in South Riding and want a preschool or daycare for your child that feels like a home away from home, look at the website sparkleschildcare.com.
