PRESCHOOLS AND YOUR CHILD
What you should know going in
When Jess Huie’s daughter Jessvin was a baby, Huie wasn’t even sure she wanted to enrol her in preschool.
Since preschool and junior kindergarten are not part of the public school system in Alberta, and Jessvin’s grandparents were willing to look after her while her parents were at work, it didn’t seem necessary.
But some Internet research convinced Huie that her daughter would thrive in a Montessori preschool, so she decided to enrol her in a toddler preschool program just before she turned two. Jessvin is now four years old — and still in the same preschool — and Huie could not be happier.
“I read that kids’ brains are more easily stimulated when they’re younger,” Huie says. “I felt like putting her in a preschool environment and having her learn things from her classmates and teachers would be best. I wanted to get her in a classroom environment that worked for her.”
Figuring out what style of preschool program to look for is the first step in choosing the right school.
Huie had the advantage of knowing she wanted a Montessori school — a quick online search can help parents learn about that philosophy as well as other types of schools such as Waldorf and Reggio Emilia. Once parents have the definitions figured out, they need to consider what will best reflect their family’s values.
“You want your school to be an extension of your family,” says Servejit Massey, who oversees the preschool program at the Maria Montessori Education Centre, the school Huie’s daughter attends.
“Otherwise you have one philosophy at home and another philosophy at school. I always encourage parents, no matter where they’re looking for, to truly embrace the philosophy and follow it through at home so they don’t create a confusing scenario for their child.”
That said, there are a number of Montessori preschools in Calgary, just as there are several faith-based facilities, preschool academies and schools representing other major early education philosophies.
Massey suggests once parents know the kind of program they’d like to enrol in, to start looking for schools that fit their budget, accept students in their child’s age range, and are within a reasonable distance from their home or workplace.
Word of mouth can play an important role, especially if it means the child will see some familiar faces in class. From there, parents should ask questions about the school’s accreditation, the teachers’ educational backgrounds, class sizes (in Alberta, preschools must adhere to a 1:8 adult/child ratio), if they follow the guidelines outlined in the 2014 Alberta early childhood curriculum framework, and what the admission process is like (some popular schools have limited spaces for non-alumni).
Once parents have a list of schools that satisfy those questions, it’s time to start visiting them — preferably both at an information night and while the school is in session.
“The parent’s gut reaction is the best one,” says Cynthia Prasow, an instructor and early childhood education expert at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
“You’ll know as soon as you walk into the classroom. You’ll know if you feel welcome and if your child feels welcome. Look at not only how the teacher communicates, but also if they’re warm and if the children are keenly interested.”
The look and design of the classroom is another key thing to consider. An effective preschool classroom should include age-appropriate furniture and be full of hands-on materials for children to interact with. Katy Morrison, a junior kindergarten instructor at Clear Water Academy, says it’s important to ask what the children will be doing with their day, and to also get a visual for where they’ll be doing it.
“The environment is the most visual evidence of what the school truly believes in,” Morrison says. “Environment is not so much about a shiny facility — you’re looking for a place that has developed a calm esthetic environment. It’s not necessarily primary colours and Disney-style figures. Our children today are subjected to so much visual overload, so we’re looking to create a calmer backdrop where we can really focus on provocations for learning.”
It’s a lot to consider, especially when you’re a parent sending your three-year-old child off to an educational facility for the first time. But if parents are willing to put in the time to research programs and get to know what the schools in their area offer, they’re bound to find the right fit.
“There is so much choice out there and I find that parents are very educated on what the needs of their child are and they know there are a lot of options,” Massey says. “That is the key difference in this generation of parents — they understand that there is choice.”
You want your school to be an extension of your family. Otherwise you have one philosophy at home and another philosophy at school. SERVE JIT MASSEY, Maria Montessori Education Centre