<p>Well, I did the first preschool tour today. I had a list of questions taken from this thread ready. The answers were all good. Teacher turnover – most of their teachers have been there over ten years, two new hires in the past two years were because one teacher retired and one quit when she had a baby herself. The preschool is very focused on play as the main method of learning. The classrooms looked very fun, had clearly organized sections. The children’s interests inspired much of the play – for instance, in one class they were interested in camping and so they got a tent and made fake marshmallows to put on sticks. There were two teachers and one helper in each class of about twelve kids. They were on the floor at kid-level playing. Wall decorations, charts, so on were all at preschoolers’ eye level.</p>
<p>I felt very good about it, but a) there are still a few more to visit b) we need financial aid and aren’t sure what we will be given. (This preschool costs more than the year’s tuition at my public college! And even many cheaper ones around here still seem to be almost as costly as my college’s tuition, though not all). I’m not getting my heart set on any one preschool.</p>