What to look for when you visit a preschool
Finding a preschool for your child can feel like an overwhelming task. But with advice on what to look for and what to ask, parents can feel confident tackling this decision themselves. Families first need to consider location, hours and price to ensure the preschool options they are considering meet their needs. After they create a shortlist with the above criteria, they should then call to book visits at their top choices. Gail Bell, co-founder of Parenting Power (parentingpower.ca), a Calgary-based parent coaching and resource service, says “preschool is the first step in a long journey of their child’s education, so parents should remember to keep perspective.” The best information will come from a visit to the preschool itself. Go while the preschool is open, but don’t take your children for this first visit. It is important that you have distraction-free time to listen, observe and ask questions. It can also be disruptive to their routine to have other children coming and going, says Bell. So what should parents look for when they visit? Bell says parents should find a welcoming, child-friendly space with ample room to play and move. They should see children’s work displayed throughout the space and plenty of pencils, crayons and paper materials around the room, says Bell. “Ideally, parents will see a printrich environment, rather than tech rich. There is no evidence that tech is of value at this age,” she says. Parents should see lots of positive interactions with the children, high levels of engagement and signs that the staff love what they do. New teachers are fine, but longevity is also a good thing to find. During the visit parents should ask about a typical day, then inquire about student-to-staff ratios, training and certifications, safety guidelines and procedures, explains Bell. This will give a good idea of established routines and if the preschool is meeting provincial guidelines in important areas. Ideally, parents will be able to see a class schedule, with lots of play time, varied group sizes, some one-on-one time, and outside play. “Likely, they’ll have a curriculum or learning plan for the year, but be aware that playtime is learning time for preschool-age children. There should be plenty of creative materials, likely math everywhere, hands-on or discovery-based learning, language, sensory play and science. Teachers should be able to talk about learning through play,” says Bell. Another important area to discuss is communication. Helpful preschool communication to families might include a great handbook, a class calendar and possibly regular emails or newsletters to keep families updated, she says. However, a preschool should also have guidelines for individual communication and appropriate response time. It’s ideal, she says, if they have a policy to respond within a certain time frame rather than immediately, as it means they aren’t taking time from the kids to respond to every email or unexpected 20-minute chat at the doorway. Staff should be able to discuss their policies for behaviour management for both rules and consequences, offering examples. Parents can ask how staff handle peer-to-peer solution communication and how teachers offer support without fixing problems for the children. Choosing a preschool can be as simple as spending time immersed in what could be your child’s future surroundings, and asking the right questions while you’re there.