5 Steps to looking the Right Daycare Or Pre-School

Step 1 - What Kind of Daycare Would Work For your Child?

Who is Being Served?

Train Table For Kids

The bottom line here is who is the customer? While many daycare or childcare facilities seek primarily to please the parents, those who ignore the children will all the time loose out in the long run. Why, because where a child is not satisfied, the parent is the first to know.

On the other hand, this should make you as the parent aware that the childcare installation or daycare will pull all the stops to ensure that you are impressed. Your role, however, becomes the pay concentration to the customers that they already have. Are the children's hands and faces clean? Do you smell stale diapers? Are the teachers paying concentration to the children - do they look them in the eye? What tone of voice do the teachers speak with?

How does your Child Learn?

My four year old, for example, has an outgoing personality - so outgoing that I have to pull her away from giving hugs to perfect strangers at the mall. To her, every female senior population is yet other 'grandma'.

Well, we decided to enroll her at an perfect Montessori pre-school and it was a disaster! The relaxation that is encouraged in the Montessori setting was seen as a license to socialize. When asked to pick an activity, she would try to help all the younger children in the class first. The result: all the work that she managed to bring home seemed to be incomplete. As an educator, I knew that something was not right, especially when I knew that she would perfect the same types of activities at home for me with no problem.

After having been there seven months, we decided to move her to a more traditional school setting. Presto! After the settling down period, she placed in close to the top of her class.

The Montessori setting did not heighten her particular learning style. How does your child learn? What type of personality does your child have? Will the childcare installation or daycare of your choice be the perfect match for your child? I had to think this straight through considered because the pre-school setting plays a large part in construction the educational foundation for the child. Click on this link to read my record called 'How is Your Child Smart'?

Step 2 - Know What You Need
There is a fine equilibrium to attack between the needs of your child and what is practical, but this is where I do my best to attack that balance.
As a parent you have practical needs that must be met; for example the daycare installation must be placed somewhere that is either close to home or work. Does it have a drive up installation that will cover your car if it is raining? Do the staff get the children out of our car (often known as the kiss and ride service)?

Create a photograph in Your Mind

The first thing I'd encourage you to do is think of what the ideal daycare setting would be for your child. If money was no object and distance and time of no concern; what kind of daycare or childcare installation would you want your child to advantage from? Yes, it's ok to dream!

Take these thoughts and write them down. Add them to the checklist that I have created and take this to every installation that you go visit. When you have completed the tout of the building, make notes on how the installation meets your requirements. At this point, do not allow your funds to limit you. With economic times like these, you will be surprised at how flexible directors can be. Remember, you are the customer and they want your business.

Opening Hours

Does the daycare or childcare installation have opening and end hours that suite your job? Is it close sufficient to your home or work? Does it give you sufficient time to get to the next point on your journey?

Food

When you look at the menu (it should be displayed by the entrance), does the food sound like food that your child will eat? Can you bring your own food? When is the last meal served? Will your child be advent home on a full or empty stomach? Are you (physically and financially) capable of cooking or purchasing fast food every night to feed your child?

Price/Budget

How much are the fees? What about the registration, operation and book fees? Are you imaginable to buy supplies too? Is lunch provided or is there a fee for the lunch that is provided? Find out about late fees. How much does it cost if you are fifteen minutes late picking up your child? If you know that there is a possibility that you might be late, can you afford to pay this amount?

Ask the director if there are any "special offers" or initial rates. If you have a skill that might advantage the facility, offer to transfer your skill for a regular discount. Small enterprise owners are all the time seeing for somewhere to save money. Believe me, I've been there!

Peace of Mind

This is probably the most leading indicator that this is the right place for your child. Take your child with you when you are doing the tours. Watch his or her reaction to the teachers, the installation and the children. If they can speak, ask them what they think of it, if they want to come back tomorrow.

Ask yourself these questions. Would you feel at ease leaving your child there every morning? Do you think that if you left your child there, there would be a nagging feeling deep down that something could be wrong? Do you think that your child would be happy with your choice?

The installation might look perfect on the outside, but take the time to listen to and trust you gut feelings.

Step 3 - Know What to Look For

Using Your Five Senses
Smell: The most leading thing to do as you enter the daycare installation is to smell the air. The smell of diapers, damp or unappetizing food is a tell tale sign that there might be some neglect going on. Sniff as you go past trash cans (they should be covered) and most importantly, look out for smells advent from the children.

Sight: Keep your eyes peeled, as the saying goes! Look nearby the floor and in the corners for dead bugs (or their wings). Take the time to look up. Marks on the ceiling tiles, or water marks inside the light panels could be tell-tale signs of other hygiene issues. Take a peek into the director's office if you can - but remember that pre-school directors are very busy people.

Sound: Are the teachers yelling at the children? What kind of tone were they talking with before you walked into the room? Were the children under control, restrained or was there a equilibrium between the two? The sounds of a classroom often depict the atmosphere. An uncontrolled classroom is often a reflection of a instructor who does not know classroom supervision or a instructor who does not have an provocative episode plan. There are all the time exceptions (such as a hyper-active child), but good classroom supervision should be a priority because buildings is said to be useful to the child.

Taste: If it is nearby snack or lunch time, feel free to ask if you can taste the food being served to the children. You may come across as being a small weird, but if they are not willing to give you some of the food, you might want to know the infer why.

Touch: As you walk straight through the daycare or childcare facility, run your finger on window ledges and on tables for dust and dirt. Touch the toys is you can - they should be sanitized and left to air dry every evening. Remember, children love to put toys in their mouth.

Step 4 - Know About the Facility

The Director

Most directors have been in the enterprise for many years, and know the daycare enterprise straight through and through. Occasionally, however, you may come across a director who just bought the enterprise but has no feel in the industry. This can sometimes be a provocative combination, so find out as much as you can about your director before you part with that non-refundable registration fee.

The Facility

The childcare or daycare construction usually speaks for itself. population are usually drawn towards the newer daycare buildings, but we need to look beyond the installation and focus on the level of care that is being provided within the walls of the building. While a neglected construction should by all means; of course ring alarm bells, don't allow a newer construction to replace your instincts.

The Teachers

Observe as much as you can of the teachers. Do they come across as caring? What tone of voice do they have when things do not work the way they should? Do they pay concentration to the children? What kind of qualifications do they have? What does your state define as 'qualified'?

Unfortunately, teaching can be a stressful job and it often results in some staff turnover. If your child's instructor leaves and is supplanted by other instructor this can be upsetting for your child. Try to put in order them by explaining the turn to your child in advance.

Training & Teaching Skills

A enterprise that invests in their staff will all the time reap the returns. Ask about what type of training is offered to the staff. Most states require that all employees have a inevitable estimate of hours in training. If this is up to date, you will see it in the on-line inspection report.

Curriculum

Always ask what curriculum is being used. Some of the well known curriculum types consist of Abeka, Creative, High Scope, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Theme based, etc. The curriculum must be stimulating sufficient to keep your child interested. Keep in mind what your child already knows and what you would like them to know at inevitable milestones. Then assess either the curriculum in demand will meet those needs. Remember dissimilar children learn in dissimilar ways, so think about what makes your child smart.

On-Line Inspection Reports

Most states have these now. It gives you a snapshot of how the installation of your choice stands with the regulatory body. usually a Childcare consultant visits the town once or twice a year to assess how well the town is in compliance with the state regulations. These reports are the records of these visits. They frame what the consultant observed while they were at the center. Now, remember that this is usually written in "bureaucratese" but if you take the time to comb straight through it, it could save you a lot of wasted time.

Step 5 - Know About the industry Regulations

Who is Responsible Childcare Regulations in your State?
Everybody has a boss and the daycare or childcare industry is no exception! In fact it is heavily regulated, for inevitable reasons - they take care of our most prized possessions - our children! Each state has a regulatory body that oversees this role and they are often linked with the branch of Human Resources. Click on the link below to see who regulates the childcare industry in your state.

What Are the Governing Body's Expectations for Your Child?

Many states have industrialized 'Standards of Care' (or the equivalent) that daycare facilities are imaginable to meet. These documents frame the levels of care that can be provided. I have found in my explore that you can usually bank on this - the higher the level of care, the higher the price. In other words, much of the time, you get what you pay for.

Ratios

The student to instructor ratio tends to vary from state to state, but the internet makes sure that this facts is only a few clicks away. Georgia, for example has the following early childhood ratios:

6 weeks to 12 months 1 : 6

1 year to under 2 years 1 : 8

2 years to under 3 years 1 : 10

3 years to under 4 years 1 : 15

4 years to under 5 years 1 : 20

Ratios vary from one state to another, so check out my website to find out the staff to student ratios in your state.

Your child's class should all the time be within the state ratios - that's the estimate one rule in childcare. If you find a Nayce (National connection for the schooling of Young Children) accredited center, know that they are all the time below the ratio, as their standards are higher than that of the state. Understandably so, Nayce accredited daycares or pre-schools usually have slightly higher prices to pay for the extra staffing costs.

I hope this gives a starting point in the quest of seeing a daycare for one of the most leading population in your life! All the best in your search....

5 Steps to looking the Right Daycare Or Pre-School