Top 15 Questions To Ask On Your Preschool Tour

Choosing the right preschool for not only your child but your family can be very overwhelming. Especially for first time parents, it can be hard uncovering exactly what it is that you are looking for in a preschool. As experts of childcare in a curriculum-based setting we have put together a nice, simple, and amazingly imperative list of questions that should be answered while you are touring with us here at Bright Beginnings (or any school or daycare for that matter). We have also provided reasons why these questions are so important to ask!

1. What is your student/teacher ratio? This provides you with what to expect in regards to class size and also provides clarification as there are different ratios for each age group (infant, toddler, two’s, 3-5).
2. Are you licensed? This question is HUGE. Licensed centers undergo much more stringent standards and regulations to ensure the health and safety of our children than those that are not (for example church centers, in-home care, and the like). For example, there are strict guidelines for the most sanitary diapering procedures required for licensed centers while others…go their own way.
3. How do you handle discipline? This is important as discipline standards and strategies vary from center to center. Make sure that the practices of the school you are touring aligns with your personal, familial strategies for discipline so you will know what to expect.
4. Does my child need to be potty-trained? Be on the look out because there are schools that exclude children who are not potty-trained. Best practices would be for the school to equip their rooms with bathrooms and to allow the child to move at their own pace with potty-training. Once they are ready little birdies will let you know and the school’s teachers should be willing and able to help with the process!
5. How many teachers are CPR/First Aid Trained?In working with young children, you never know what to expect. The schools that you tour should have at least a majority of their staff CPR and First Aid certified. This arms your teachers’ and school to be ready to jump in rescue if/when needed!
6. How much time do you spend outside? Outdoor play is imperative to our children’s learning and play. Make sure your school offers plenty of time and opportunities for their students to play and learn outside.
7. What style curriculum do you work from? There are so many different curriculums floating around the educational universe (Reggio Emelia, Montesorri, Emergent, the list goes on) make sure you know and understand the curriculum.
8. Are Meals Provided?This helps you to understand what to expect as far as whether or not you need to bring a packed lunch every day, whether or not to pack AM and PM snack, is AM and PM snack provided, and more.
9. What existing allergies are in the school? Knowing the allergies of the school and how your prospective daycare or preschool handles these allergies is very important. Especially for our younger friends as they may have emerging allergies, knowing the plans of actions for allergic reactions is important as well!
10. What enrichment programs/activities are offered? How amazing is it to find a school that offers more than just the base curriculum? Also you want to make sure you get the most bang for your buck right?! For example, Bright Beginnings offers free mini courses from Spanish to yoga and even music! We plan to offer full scale botany lessons as part of our outdoor classroom initiative. There are schools out there, like ours, that offer enrichment programs either for free or just a bit extra charge
11. Tell me about your security system. Ensuring the safety of the entire school population is essential to any quality program. Make sure that your prospective daycare or preschool has some sort of feature that only allows who are approved to enter the facility.
12. What is the average teacher tenure Finding a school with low teacher turn-over is great for giving you a sense of predicting whether your teacher will stay for a full school year which is essential for providing your family with stability.
13. What is your school’s philosophy? Every quality school should have some sort of philosophy and mission statement that they should be held to. You can find Bright Beginning’s own philosophy and mission here.
14. What are your hours of operations and rates? This is very important and do not be afraid to ask! This is need to know information in planning the schedule and budget for your family!
15. Will my child be ready for kindergarten once graduated (are you more of a daycare or a preschool? There is a huge difference between preschools and daycares!) This is probably the most important question as there is a huge difference between a daycare and preschool. Daycares offer the bare essentials -they make sure your child is cared for and basically just looked after for the day, lacking the structure, curriculum and education of a preschool!