Looking for a Great Preschool Near Where You Live? Here are a Few Tips

There are tons of parents, guardians, grandparents, and other concerned adults that ask the question, “where is a great preschool near me.” Nobody wants to send their kids or their friend’s kids to a place where there is nothing but problems and drama. As modern-day adults, we have the responsibility to steer our kids in the direction that is going to benefit them both emotionally and intellectually. Preschool is the place that is going to get them ready for public school and introduce them to the real world. We can’t afford to skimp on that.

Ask Around

The first thing to do is to ask the people that you know around you if they know of any preschools that they would recommend. There is not much of a better recommendation than genuine positive feedback from a person that you know and trust.

As far as finding a preschool that is close to where you live, it all depends on what you might consider “near.” Would it have to be within walking distance? 10 minutes away? Closer?

Of course, you wouldn’t want to go out of town to haul your kids to preschool every day, but you may have to venture further than walking distance to find the right one for you. Not all preschools are created the same.

Searching the Internet

The default action for most people these days, when they are trying to find something, is to hop on the phone or laptop and do an internet search. This is a great place to start, but it will not answer all of your questions.

It used to be, back in the day, that you could open up the Yellow Pages and see the businesses that were willing to place ads there. A phone number and address would be right there for all to see and you could simply start dialing the numbers as you saw them until you found the right place. Things do not work like that anymore.

One thing to keep in mind is that things are not always as they seem on the internet. There are agencies that pay people to post both good and bad reviews on popular social media business sites. Yes, good and bad reviews can tell you a lot about businesses, but look closely at them before you totally buy into them.

With that being said, once you search the internet and find a few great prospects, do yourself a favor and contact all of them for the next level of interviewing.

What do they Offer Your Child?

Only the best of the best preschools will offer organized early childhood educational programs. The best thing you can do for your child is get them into a preschool that is going to teach them how to learn, and how to use their motor skills. Hands-on learning activities that encourage them to reach beyond their capacities help to motivate them to learn more, experience more and want more.

Meet with the staff at the school and ask questions about how they teach children, and what kinds of activities that the children will be engaged in throughout the day. Typically, a preschool should be a place that helps children to socialize, play well, learn to share with others, and other attributes that will be further beneficial to them as they continue to venture out into the real world.

If the establishment merely allows the children to do what they want or watch TV all day long, the program might be more harmful than good for the child. Children need to be challenged and prodded in order to help them to achieve their full potential. A place that refrains from challenging the students, might not be an ideal environment for a developing mind.

Visit the Establishment

Although there may be a little bit of resistance when it comes to showing up at a place of business in person during the whole COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary that you get to evaluate the premises on your own and get to see where your child will be spending most of the day. Some of the circumstances that you should be on the lookout for are signs of uncleanliness, signs of poor organization, signs of overcrowding, and signs of poor leadership.

If the place seems dirty and unkempt, it might not be the best choice you could make.

Although when an establishment is full of children all day long it can tend to get a little messy and have its own form of chaos, the presence of actual filth is unacceptable. With filth comes disease and parasites. You probably would not appreciate an infestation of lice, bedbugs, or cockroaches in your home that originated from the preschool facility.

If the establishment is overly filled with other children there may be some significant problems as well. When there are too many children and not enough staff there tends to be a lack of attention for children that may need it.  Each child should have adequate attention from a caring staff, yet not be overly policed.

Depending on the level of skill that the staff has, the children may or may not be deprived of their needs. However, if the establishment is overcrowded with other children it may turn out to be a bad experience for your child.

Disorganization leads to chaos. If the establishment that you visit seems overly disorganized, you may want to look for the next one. Of course, nobody is going to be perfectly organized in an environment that involves multiple children. However, a preschool without a laid-out curriculum of what the children will be doing during the day could turn out to be a  madhouse. Preschools work best when there is a schedule with activities and timelines that have been preestablished by people who know what they are doing.

Introduce Your Child

Once you have visited and approved an establishment it will be time to bring your child there and see what they think about it. It is always a good idea to bring the kid to the preschool and allow them a chance to look around before you simply drop them off there. This way, when they come for the first time as a student there will be an established familiarity. Sometimes it can be a traumatic experience to leave a child in a school for the first time.

Of course, children need to learn how to cope on their own. Leaving them for the day at preschool or daycare is only the beginning of them exercising their independence. With any luck at all, those kids will be dropping their own kids off at preschool someday.

The staff at a respectable preschool will be very familiar with the way children behave when they are separated from their parents. If your child is excessively distraught, the staff will know how to handle it. If the people that run the show do not know how to handle distraught children, you may want to keep looking for a suitable preschool. Kids will be kids, and the people that are in the position to take care of them should know how to help them cope.

Conclusion

Preschools and daycares are an integral part of childhood for most children. These places are when kids learn to forge their first friendships, focus their attention on things that will help them learn, and show them how to get through the day without mommy or daddy. When you choose a preschool for your child, choose one that they will not only love, but get the most out of. They might just thank you for it someday.