How to Choose the Best Preschool

The Twelve Most Important Questions to Ask About Preschools

We tell the parents we work with to ask the following twelve questions if they are seeking the ideal standard in a preschool when they are visiting potential preschools for their child.

1. How much time is devoted to play?

In our opinion, the youngest children need at least two or three hours a day to play, preferably in a preschool environment or a well-developed home program. Play can be unstructured time or time that is guided by the teacher who creates themes and helps children tell stories as they play. The time allotted during the course of a preschool day will change depending on the length of the program. Typically an all-day program should be able to meet this requirement.

2. Do you allow parents to occasionally observe how their child is doing?

Preschool classrooms should have nothing to hide. Parents can quickly identify whether their child is successfully interacting with peers or participating in class. Allowing parents in the classroom leads to open and honest communication between the parents and the teachers, which is critical for a successful preschool experience.

The best preschools also offer opportunities for parents and teachers to get together without children present in order to discuss development and any other issues that may be arising in the classroom. This meeting should occur about every two months.

Teachers should also give parents clear instructions on the best ways to communicate with teachers and the school. When they enter a classroom, parents need to respect the teacher’s priority, which is teaching and helping children. Meetings with parents and teachers need to be outside class time. The worst time for parents to talk with a teacher is during the transition in the morning when they come in, in the car pool line, or during the transition out of the classroom. Most preschools have conference days when the children are at home and the parents come in by appointment. Teachers should be ready to visit a child’s home if the parent is unable to come to school to communicate about their child’s ongoing progress.

3. What is a typical schedule for the day?

We believe that even in preschool or a home program, teachers need an organized curriculum with focused themes that change throughout the year. What’s more, children need to be presented every day with an overriding plan for that day. A typical preschool day has the following components:

Circle time, which allows for children to develop a sense of community with their classmates. They typically sit in a group and learn about the weather for the day and what some children did that week. They share ideas with each other. They talk about particular subjects that help develop moral character and kindness in others. They talk about world events when needed through daily storybook reading and discussion about ideas. They learn about the class schedule for the day and who may be visiting. Circle time offers an opportunity for the children to come together to discuss whatever is on their mind or a specific lesson the teacher has prepared.

Center time, structured around different spaces in the class- room and activities that occur in those areas. Preschoolers love to move around centers that focus on creative materials. Some centers may include a “science” area with, for example, various bottles of different colored water, a selection of rocks and crystals, or a collection of shells and sea animals. Blocks are another popular center with children. They also love to have cars and trucks, front loaders, and train tracks. Other centers that are appropriate for preschoolers include a house corner or a dress-up corner with lots of hats and clothes that fit their size. They love to dress up and play different roles or create birthday parties or set a table for lunch. This area encourages dramatic play.

Free time or choice time, to allow children an opportunity to explore the classroom, finish a project, or be with their friends. Children should be able to choose if they want to return to centers, sit quietly near the book corner, or go outside (if there is enough staffing to monitor children both indoors and outdoors at the same time).

4. Does the program incorporate distinct time for music and art?

We feel that a preschool day or week should encompass music and creative arts. Music allows a child to practice rhythm, sounds, and phonology. They learn to communicate with music, dance, and song. Creative arts are essential because preschoolers learn to write or draw their ideas, which improves literacy skills as well as narrative skills. Some schools hire music and art therapists who visit the classroom each week. These consultants can support the teacher and help many children through these creative experiences.

5. Do the children have outside time every day on safe structures?

The outdoors offers extraordinary opportunities for imaginative play, a chance to communicate with peers, and an increased sense of aware- ness when they become a part of the natural environment. Children also need to run around and release some of the energy they have built up in the classroom. When they are allowed to do this, they’ll be ready for inside classroom time.

Playground structures should be made of materials that are non- toxic and do well in all kinds of weather. They should include long tube slides, sandboxes (and lots of sand materials like shovels, buckets, and sifters), small swings, bars to hang on that are not too high, and simple climbing structures. Recently Ann was visiting a preschool that had fifteen pretend plastic lawn mowers with small pebbles inside them that made a sound like a lawn mower. The children loved to play with these as they all raced around the playground, talking to each other and laughing.

The playground needs to have surfaces that are installed according to safety standards of a play surface set up by the New York Department of Conservation (DEC) and the Department of Health who do scientific studies on playground equipment and safety. At this age, children fall when they play on structures. The new playground surfaces are made out of pressed rubber and other nontoxic materials with low-dust content that meet certain critical standards. The play- ground flooring is also a place to race cars or use objects outside in play. Playgrounds need lots of balls, sponge bats, and things to throw back and forth like a Frisbee. Not all schools will have the funding to provide these special surfaces for the playground.

Parents should be informed as to what types of clothing children need for outdoor play. If the class is planning to go sledding on a snowy day, the children need snow pants, boots, hats, and mittens. In hot weather, children need water shoes, bathing suits, and a towel. Some preschools may need to provide clothing for children who don’t have several changes of clothes, boots, or shoes.

6. How much time is allotted for dramatic play?

A good program has to include time for children to engage in make- believe, at least during choice time each day. Dramatic play should not be limited to girls’ dress-up or make-believe. Children want to explore all sorts of adult roles. They can create a storefront, and the teachers can focus on math, with lessons on how much they should charge for things, decision making (which purchases to make, which to pass by), and more.

In one preschool class, the teachers were talking about different professions, including doctors, and one child suggested that they create a doctor’s office. The teachers brought in a stethoscope and carried up some old white tables from the school basement. A parent brought in some old x-rays and a pretend doctor set. Another mother, who was a doctor, came in and talked to the children about her job. She answered lots of questions and let the children see what it looked like when a doctor peeked into ears. After that, the kids decided to turn the lower loft into the waiting room, complete with receptionist, and the upper loft into the operating room. It was a busy place, full of conversation and rich vocabulary. The children were happy to learn the names of all the instruments.

7. What type of sensory experiences does the classroom provide?

Preschoolers should have plenty of sensory-type activities, such as a water table or access to sand or clay. Many preschoolers have the need for “deep pressure,” that is, the need to dive under a beanbag or a cushion and cover up with blankets. Other children need to bounce on a small trampoline or swing to relieve stress. Some may want small objects to fidget with during times when they feel the need. Occupational therapists can design preschool activities in any school that incorporates these sensory experiences, so ask if the preschool you are investigating has a relationship with this kind of therapist.

8. Do you have a parent group or meetings for parents to attend for information about raising a preschooler?

Group meetings can help parents learn from each other and develop a sense of school community. Parents need access to ideas and options when they are raising a typical preschooler, and they need support from other parents who are facing the same challenges.

9. What is the ratio between children and teachers in each classroom?

The lower the teacher-child ratio, the more time an adult will have to give children individual attention when they need help negotiating or chatting with classmates. They will also have more time to solve classroom problems and develop curriculum materials. With a low ratio, the classroom should have a sense of order, and teachers will have more time to talk to parents. According to the Department of Early Education and Care for Infants and Preschool in Massachusetts, under the Standards for Licensure or Approval for Family Child Care, small group and school-aged child care programs have a required ratio for infants and toddlers (fifteen to thirty-three months) of one teacher for every four children. For preschoolers, the requirement is one teacher for every fifteen children (thirty-three months to kindergarten, or age five years). Our opinion is that preschoolers need two teachers in the classroom with fifteen children. All states have similar standards through departments of early education.

10. What type of accreditation does the preschool have? Are the teachers certified?

Preschools need to be accredited by the Department of Early Education and Care (DEEC), which is the state agency for Massachusetts. The DEEC requires one qualified preschool teacher certified by DEEC for every classroom. They may be accredited by the national agency, which is the National Association for Education of Young Children. Be sure that the teacher is certified and interacts well with children. It’s important to find teachers who love their work with young children and show their enthusiasm as they talk to preschoolers. In Massachusetts there are regional offices under the DEEC that administer child care standards. There are many associations in many states that provide advocacy and help to parents who home-school their child. For example, in Massachusetts, there is the Massachusetts Homeschool Organization of Parent Educators (MassHOPE) and the Massachusetts Home Learning Association. Some parents may not be near a preschool and need to form their own at home. There are guidelines and associations to help with home school curriculum.

These questions identify the ideal preschool. There are also other questions to ask a preschool or a group of parents who may form a play group that may not have the specific resources to meet these ideal standards or may be a small parent cooperative at home.

11. How do your teachers accommodate different learning styles?

Some children may need a more structured classroom, while others may need a school that promotes more free play and less structure. If your child is shy and sensitive, she may need one-on-one encouragement to engage with peers. You will want to know if the preschool can accommodate this need.

12. What is the overall school philosophy?

It’s important for you to feel that your child is in a school that promotes the same philosophy that you encourage in your family and your com- munity. For example, the Friends School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, integrates a philosophy in school that encourages competence and confidence in analytical, critical, verbal, creative, mathematical, aesthetic, physical, and spiritual areas. The school’s behavior guidelines are: Self-respect means—I am worthwhile; Respect for others means— You are worthwhile; Respect for property means—My school is worth- while; Respect for safety means—We are all worthwhile.

Questions for Small Parent Cooperative Play Groups or Other Care Arrangements

Should I consider a cooperative preschool program?

Many parents decide to keep their child at home and extend their social and play time to include other children who are also at home. Sometimes these less formal preschool situations offer exceptional experiences. Parents arrange outings to playgrounds, farms, ponds, beaches, or museums that contribute to children’s preschool education. They develop a core curriculum that includes many of the same topics that are covered in more formal preschools. They use the local library or the Internet to develop ideas for preschool activities. If this type of setting appeals to you, find a local cooperative play group that will allow your child to play at least for an hour each day.

What is the minimum adult-to-child standard in a preschool environment?

It is critical that there are enough adults to assist children who need any type of help. The minimum ratio for any preschool setting is the same as the ideal standards. The important point is for the parents to have some experience and not to put children together who are not a good fit or don’t have similar needs and chemistry and can get along together during free play without major intervention.