<p>Didn’t read all the posts but the first thing that came to my mind was montessori</p>
<p>One other thing you might want to consider. Some folks like to have their kiddos go to preschool IN the town in which they reside. That way, they begin to make friends with children who they actually might attend school with later on. AND if you are looking at daycare options for later when your child attends school, remember that most districts will transport your child by bus to licensed daycares within YOUR town but they will not transport OUT of town. This may not matter to you, and as others pointed out, you can switch daycare/nursery schools when you need to. It’s just another thing you might want to consider.</p>
<p>I would also include a “convenience factor”. Yes, you want to find a preschool that is terrific but you probably also want to look for something that is a bit convenient for you…either somewhat closer to your home or somewhat closer to your place of employment. We felt this was important for those (rare but they do happen) times when your child becomes ill or hurt at school and you want to get there quickly.</p>
<p>I just want to say something about Montessori. I trained as a Montessori teacher and always assumed that I would send my kids to a Montessori preschool. When it came time to send my oldest I visited two different Montessori schools. While they both were good schools and faithful to the Montessori method, I quickly realized that neither one was right for MY kid. He ended up a church preschool (not our religiion), one of the first NAEYC accredited preschools in our state. What was the difference? – It was the warmth factor. Like the above poster, I just knew that my son would be happy, warm and safe there. </p>
<p>By the way, at one of the Montessori schools the director very proudly told me “We let the children here do MANY things you wouldn’t let them do at home.” I thought to myself, “I pretty much let him do everything but put forks in electrical sockets and sharpen knives”, so that kinda of scared me off.</p>
<p>I’ve known a number of kids who didn’t like Montessori because they weren’t allowed to use the various exercises for imaginative play. I’ve known others (more orderly sorts) who loved it. </p>
<p>For my kids I looked for:
Good blocks
Lots of play
Music every day
Lots of gross motor play as well as fine motor play
No or very few ditto sheets or cookie cutter art projects</p>
<p>I wanted something as much like an old fashioned kindergarten as I could find.</p>
<p>What mimk6 (who I think is my alter ego) and lololu said. Trust your gut. What’s a great preschool for one kid, or the “it” school, may not be the right place for your kiddo. Motor skills, flexibility, learning, schedules… all very important factors, but at the end of the day, you’ll know it when you see it. Happy (and loving) teachers, happy & smiling children, and happy parents who remind you of yourself.</p>
<p>And don’t be afraid to make a move mid-session if you aren’t loving it or end up with a different teacher than you thought.</p>
<p>I think you are already in a good place, OP, by not expecting preschool to be pre-Harvard!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the tips so far! I’m writing this stuff down so I can remember what to ask and what to watch for when I go on tours of the preschools.</p>
<p>I agree with NAEYC accreditation. There were only three in our large city 20+ years ago when I was looking for pre-school with extended care. I looked at others, including montessori (which my pediatrician recommended), but finally chose one of the NAEYC schools. It was wonderful for both boys. That’s not to say that other schools aren’t great and would be perfect for your child - your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>Play, singing, lots of books and puzzles, outdoor play space, and loving caregivers with little turnover.</p>
<p>My kids went to a fabulous pre school, it focused on the process not the product. socialization, and conflict resolution. /they were really helpful in teaching paretns, and I wish everyone could go to this preschool.</p>
<p>PhysicsMom, your daughter is almost 3? Awww… Time flies so fast! </p>
<p>I agree with all of the above comments. I just have one thing to add: make sure the daycare has adequate liability coverage, CPR certification, and a reasonable emergency plan (what happens when a snowstorm hits and you cannot get there in time to pick up your kid?).</p>
<p>She’ll be three in August, so it’s not quite “almost”, but we sure do need to get these preschool applications in early. Time does fly though. I remember when she wouldn’t eat, I thought those days would last forever.</p>
<p>I echo all the suggestions. Go visit several schools and check out the “vibe.” For me, it was important to have low staff turnover and certified (preferably degreed) teachers. I wanted to see the children happy, smiling, active, but not chaotic. Learning through play is important to me, not learning through rote, or memorization, or drills. My kids did Montessori through 6th grade and have excelled. They actually love learning.</p>
<p>Not sure if this exists in your area, but here we have an excellent vocational-technical school that has an in-house preschool where high school students learn to work in the field. The great advantage here is that you have 20-25 student ‘teachers’ who attend to a max of 10 preschoolers, and the 2 actual teachers of the program who oversee the entire experience.</p>
<p>Ours was excellent and offered a huge, secure room featuring different stations…ie: painting, blocks, large play kitchen complete with plastic fruits, veggies, etc. (my kids loved that area), clay/sculpting area, and more. 2-3 student teachers are assigned your child for the day and work/play with them wherever there little hearts desired for the free play time. Then they all come together for group reading, singing/music, nap/rest time, or whatever special guest they might have. My favorite thing was their ‘parents observation room’ that you could enter from the outside hallway at ANYtime to watch thru the two-way mirror. That was priceless and a great place for parents to meet and chat.</p>
<p>This was such a nurturing environment and best of all, ridiculously inexpensive due to the nature of the program (although we would have happily paid top dollar for the program). Might be worth looking into one in your area. If it’s not available, agree with others to look at several to see what ‘feels’ right for YOU and your precious toddler. These are sweet years…enjoy!</p>
<p>^We had a situation like that one year for summer camp. It was basically student teaching for a bunch of college students. The kids loved it!</p>
<p>Without getting too personally disclosing, this is something I am very close to.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion above to look at NAEYC accreditation. It’s not a must-have, strictly speaking, but it’s a set of very thoughtful, minimum standards that take into account basic safety and quality issues. It’s also an indication that the center is part of the early-childhood community, so to speak, and thus plugged in to best practices and continuous improvement.</p>
<p>Individual states may have more nuanced accreditation systems. Here in Pennsylvania we have the Keystone STARS rating system, which will rate programs at 1-4 stars. It also rates very small, in-home programs that would not qualify for NAEYC accreditation. Its standards include not just safety, staff training, and ratio-type criteria, but also things like the mixture of play and more-directed “instruction” and school-readiness areas.</p>
<p>I don’t think Massachusetts has something like that, but it does have a network of agencies that work to improve ECE quality, and supposedly help people find quality programs. [Massachusetts</a> CCR&R Network | Local CCR&R’s](<a href=“http://www.masschildcare.org/local_ccrr.html]Massachusetts”>http://www.masschildcare.org/local_ccrr.html)</p>
<p>I am a preschool director in CT (25yrs), check if the programs are NAEYC accreditated. This is “extra” assurance that the school is committed to higher standards. Most importantly - visit and feel the culture of the school. Any program stressing academics vs. social and emotional competence should be bypassed.</p>
<p>Both of my kids went to pre-school around 18 months, not daycare. They started with 2 hours a day 2 times a week. Most of the time our nanny sat outside waiting for them. By the time they were 4, they were there 5 days a week from 9-3. </p>
<p>In our experience, we liked pre-schools with a structure. The reason was to make sure kids were not left there doing nothing and fending for themselves. Our purpose in sending our kids to pre-school was not for babysitting, but for socialization, arts and crafts, and as they got older, some academic learning.</p>
<p>I have to say, cheap is not always good. It takes money to fund various activities and get good teachers. Rule of thumb for us was non-profit pre-schools were generally better.</p>
<p>Both my kids attended co-op preschools that were administered by the city community college system.</p>
<p>I was not interested in academics at all- but in socialization, & the ability to play in ways that she couldn’t at home ( because of space issues)</p>
<p>Looked at Montessori, but didn’t really appeal- also looked at Waldorf which was more our speed & beautiful materials- but both seemed restrictive in content.</p>
<p>We didn’t choose the one that was closest ( they were usually housed in churches or community centers), but the one that had the best snacks on the day we visited ( which is also kinda how we decided on college) 
& the playground that seemed the most appropriate.</p>
<p>The disadvantage with co-ops however, is that for kids who really need a lot of continuity, they can be challenging as the mix of parents is really a toss up.
So while as a parent I learned some things from the other parents & the childhood educator, I also think it was harder for my D to bond with the other parents, although they also freed up the teacher from doing the grunt work.</p>
<p>( I also agree with the NAEYC accreditation, the co-op my oldest was in from 2 & 1/2, wasn’t affilated with the college, but it had the accreditation and she was able to stay there until we found another co-op program for K.)</p>
<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>
<p>Sounds like your visit went well. You are wise to continue to shop and compare.
I am a preschool teacher. Our preschool and full-time childcare center are run by a church.
The expense is not even close to the one you saw today. Maybe you should check to see if any churches in your area have preschool programs.
The bonus of the preschool program being housed with the full-time daycare program is that there are standard requirements/inspections done by the state and by the county health dept. The guidelines for health/safety are important. Some preschools are accredited and some are not.</p>
<p>The preschool my kids went to was housed in a church, but I don’t think it had a church connection. It was inexpensive because parents were expected to volunteer to help once a month as teacher’s aids. You were asked to volunteer in a class other than your own child’s which meant I was able to really check out the teachers in the older classes.</p>