by Marie M. Daniels

Created on: September 03, 2009

Picking the best preschool possible can be stressful for some parents. As this may be the first real time their preschool aged child has been away from them. Below you will find some tips to help you choose a preschool for your child.

The first step to finding the best preschool for that perfect fit is deciding what is important to you in a preschool program. You can decide important preschool characteristics by answering the following questions.

What do you want in a Preschool:
1. Does cost matter?
2. Religious or not?
3. Distance or location?
4. Educational value versus Socialization?
5. Know teacher or another child?

If the price of preschool matters to you then you will need to make this at the top of your list, because the prices can vary greatly. Many of the preschools are run by churches, you may want to ask what religious things they will be teaching your child. Location, location, location - is the preschool located near your home or work? Do you want them to learn or to make friends - both are important to growing up. Do you have to know someone who works at the preschool or another child going to the preschool? Sometimes you just need to know someone to help calm your or your child's fears.

Now that you have the questions you need some answers. First, answer the questions for yourself and then ask the preschools those questions. You may want to look in the phone book and ask friends and family for reputable preschools or nursery schools. Call up prospective preschools and ask them your general questions.

Next, after narrowing down your list of the Best Preschools for your child to attend, you need an interview. You should set up a time with the preschool teachers at each place and ask them your questions. Let the teachers give you a run through of what the kids will actually be doing at preschool. Then you can bombard them with your list of specific questions about their specific preschool program.

I always forget about the questions I really want to ask when I go into talk to someone. So you may want to write your questions out before hand so you don't forget them. Here is a list of questions that I would want to know about a preschool program.

List of questions to ask the Preschool Teacher in an interview:
1. Do you teach what they need to know to pass the Kindergarten screening?
2. Will they learn to write their name, and how to form the alphabet letters?
3. How much time do they get to play?
4. What do you do for discipline?
5. How long have you been teaching? This is kind of nosy, but more experienced teachers are usually better.

Good luck finding the best preschool for you and your child. If you happen to put them at a preschool that you think is good and turns out not to be, you can always switch. I had one child in a preschool that was basically socialization. While socialization is important educational value was more important to us. But you live and learn and try to do better the next time. As long as your child is in a safe learning environment they should thrive and learn.

Learn more about this author, Marie M. Daniels.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.