Your grandchild deserves the very best, and you are likely honored to be asked to tour potential preschools. Yet, it has been a few years since you last checked out what is happening in the early childhood field. Today, preschool programs focus on providing a wealth of experiences that nurture a young child's development, yet the services offered can vary significantly from one school to the next. You can use these tips to quickly assess the environment at a prospective preschool to make sure that it is the right one to help your grandchild get a great start on their education.
Check Out the Classroom
At a children's preschool program, your grandchild will spend the majority of their day in the classroom. During your tour, you should be able to take a look at the classroom or one that is similar to where your grandchild will spend their time. Look for signs of an organized classroom such as labels of the children's names on the cubbies. You should also see signs that independence is honored. For example, child-size furniture helps preschool-aged children learn how to put away their things or explore a new activity with minimal assistance.
Inquire About the Lesson Plan
Ideally, a preschool lesson plan should include a variety of activities that are all planned to target specific skills. You should see that children are provided with structured as well as unstructured time that allows them to work on developing critical skills such as counting and letter recognition. The lesson plan also gives you clues as to what the children learn each day. A quality program should hit all of the important components of learning for preschool-aged children such as mathematics, science, literacy, and art.
Ask About Family Involvement
Highly-qualified early childhood teachers understand that nurturing a child's development is a community effort. Your grandchild's teacher should encourage families to be involved in strategies such as a message board or newsletters. Preschool programs may ask parents to volunteer if they can or plan special days for the family to visit. These types of opportunities help preschool children feel surrounded by a team of support that includes their parents, teachers, and extended family so that they can focus on learning.
Preschool classrooms today are filled with a quiet hum of activity as children learn the skills that they need to be successful as they enter the educational environment. By knowing how to look for a preschool program that offers a healthy balance of activities, you can put your two cents in with full confidence that your grandchild will be happy in their new learning environment.
Contact a company like Advantage Learning Center for more information and assistance.