Vetting A Preschool For Your Children

Posted on: 12 September 2016

When you put your children in preschool, you need to know that a preschool is more than a daycare with an educational theme. A preschool can play an important role in helping your child start their school career. Moreover, a preschool can play an important role in socializing your child. Thus, you should carefully vet potential preschools to make sure that they are the right fit. 

Educational Philosophy

In a world with vastly different political perspectives and world views, it should come as no surprise that not even preschools are free from philosophical underpinnings. If you want your child to grow up with a strong environmental conscience and generally liberal political leanings, then you should look for a school that will include such teaching in its curriculum. On the other hand, if you want your child to grow up with religious landings and a generally conservative political view, you can find preschools that will help them start down that path. The best way to find out what sort of philosophies your child might be exposed to is by sitting down with a preschool's teaching staff and asking them probing questions about their political views. 

Educational Practice

After politics, the biggest thing you need to consider is what sort of teaching strategies your child's preschool instructor will use. You will find educational styles like Montessori, Reggio Emilia, HighScope, Parent Co-Ops, Bank Street, and others. Each school will have a slightly different approach to how it instructs children. For instance, if your child needs help with interacting with other children, then you should look for a Reggio Emilia school that focuses on self expression and the importance of community. If you want a system that will pair nicely with public schools, then a Bank Street program is a good way to go. The Bank Street preschool design is based on the ideas of John Dewey, who had a big influence on the shape of the American School system.

Besides what type of education your child will be exposed to, you should also look at how involved you will need to be as a parent, how safe the school will be, what sort of neighborhood the school is in, etc. In order to make sure that your child ends up in exactly the school you want them to, you need to make sure you have a checklist ready to go before you start looking for preschools, so you know exactly what you're getting in to. For additional information and advice on choosing the best preschool for your child, contact a school like the Pioneer Career & Technology Center.

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