What to Look for When Picking a PreSchool for Your Child

Here are some suggestions for picking out the best PreSchool for your Child from "The First Five Years Fund" whose mission is to create a smarter, stronger, healthier, and more productive America through early childhood education for disadvantaged children.

1) Tour any early childhood center you are considering
2) Look at the interaction between teacher and students...students should feel secure,respected, and connected
3) Does school take interests of students into account
4) Are things at child's eye level in the classroom
5) Number of students in classroom should not exceed 20 and there should be two adults (I think even smaller than 20)
6) Does school provide professional development for their teachers

PreSchool is no longer viewed as play time. Students are busy learning letters and letter sounds, pre writing skills, pre reading skills and school etiquette. It is imparative that your child has this experience so that they don't find themselves behind on that very important first day of Kindergarten. Many states are offering these programs at no cost to parents for four year olds.

In addition, most school districts provide preschool classes to three year olds who are developmentally delayed in one or more areas. Check with the school district in your area if you find that your child appears to be behind other children of similar age with regard to communication, gross motor skills, fine motor skills or behavior. Obtaining this assistance for your child may give them the added boost that they need to be successful in school.

Services are also available through the school district for children younger than three who have serious delays in one or more areas of development. In a perfect world, your pediatrician would be letting you know about these services but in my experience this does not always happen. You are your child's best advocate. If you think they have a need for these services, find out what you need to do to see if they are eligible. It may just be the difference between academic struggles and academic success.