*So you want to choose a preschool for your child…
One of the most important and most difficult decisions you will make in your child’s early years is choosing a suitable and appropriate primary educational setting, a.k.a your first school. Aside from even looking at placements, parents can easily become overwhelmed due to your own feelings of letting go and needing to separate from your child for the first time. Even more, there are so many options, especially in a more metropolitan area such as New York.
So how do you decide on the best first school for your little one?
Keep reading to go through the steps that will help you make an educated and informed decision, and alleviate as much stress as possible. You may even be introduced to some surprising items you didn’t think of either.
So take a deep breathe, and here we go!
1. Start Early! Review the Timeline.
The Key is to Start Early!
One of the most common things that I say to parents at the beginning of each tour season, is that it is never too early to begin searching. Let me jump back a few steps and explain what a tour season is. This is in actuality, a real thing, and please do not take it lightly as it is the first factor that can put you on the right path to your first school or a more difficult one.
What is a Preschool Tour Season?
Tour seasonrefers to the time of year that most tours are scheduled for preschools. The time range usually lies between October and February of the previous year, and hopeful sign ups look to the academic year ahead. For example, if you are touring November 2018, you may be looking to start September 2019. The parents who schedule their tours earlier in the season end up with many more options than those who schedule late. Common sense dictates that the more you plan ahead the more time you have to tour different settings, and that is exactly what you want to make an educated decision.
Now, the second reason scheduling early is critical has to do with the availability and waitlist timeline. Have you ever heard of the saying “ the early bird gets the worm?” Well, that’s exactly the case in this situation. Again, this may be more specific to cities like New York. But if you do live in one of these areas, there are a few key items you need to know to even get started and this is one of them.
Preschool Tour Timelines: When to Begin
Preschools in NYC will fill up 8 months to a year in advance. Some may only have a waitlist available and will be reserved up to two years in advance. Now it is important to look at this in connection to your child’s age. Some preschools may have an infant classroom, but most begin at 2 years old. If the schools in New York become reserved 8 months to a year in advance, the oldest your child would be is 1yr 4 months old at the time of scheduling the tour. Now think about those with a two year waitlist, you do the math. In addition, many schools have a multiple step process including such factors as child observations and parent interviews. All of this takes time. Begin the process early if you don’t want to be stuck.
2. How to Find Your Ideal school. Do the Research.
Now that we have the timeline down and understand that we need to start looking yesterday, let’s go over where to actually look. How do you even start your search? Honestly, where does anyone start any search?
Google!
Research the best preschools in your area online. There is no shame in that at all and the information will come in floods.
Word of Mouth
Also talk to your friends, other parents you are in communication with, word of mouth is a fantastic and super direct option. If there is a parent who cannot stop raving about a school, definitely put it on your tour list.
Read the Mommy Blogs!
You should also email mommy blogs. Mommy blogs are a fantastic way to get more information about the best preschools in your neighborhood and they will be able to provide the pros and cons from the parent point of view, which may be more relatable. In addition there are a bunch of mommy sites that are specific to locale, which is just what you need.
Check Early Childhood Fairs
Further, there may even be fairs and conventions hosted in your area that brings these schools together. One such example is the Lower Manhattan Early Education Fair, which is hosted by a mommy group called the HRP Mamas. This fair brings together many preschools located in specifically in the downtown Manhattan area every year and just for your choosing. It is a great opportunity to meet some of the school’s faculty and staff in person and pick up some informational material to review. Just do your research and see what’s out there.
*Summary
This concludes the first part of this topic focus. Now remember, you don’t have to get overwhelmed if you plan accordingly. Start early and schedule ahead of time. We will continue the discussion over in Part 2 so make sure to keep your eyes out for that. That will consist of steps 3-7. And if you have questions about steps 1 and 2, definitely leave a comment below and we will tackle it soon. Hope to see you there!
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