Pre-schools

If you’re a stay at home mom, you may be considering pre-school for your child. Preschool is a great way to socialize your child with other children and prepare them for kindergarten. In addition, sending your child to pre-school a few hours each week gives you a much needed break and allows you to run errands and attend appointments without a toddler in tow.

Preschools are different from daycares in that they do not operate for long hours to provide childcare for full time working parents. Most preschools take your child for 3-4 hours a few days a week. Preschools specialize in providing a fun atmosphere for children while preparing them for school later.

When choosing a pre-school for your child, it’s important to understand what your expectations are from the school and ensure that you find one that fulfills these expectations. Some pre-schools are geared more toward fun activities and socialization, while others have a more academic focus.

Many preschools are run by churches. These schools will typically offer religious education along with some academic curriculum and a chance for children to socialize and begin to understand the basic rules of going to school. They’ll also likely offer art and music classes.

You’ll also find preschools with a different focus. For example, some parks and recreation departments may offer a preschool that is heavily centered on recreational activities. Your child may not get much in the way of academics at these pre-schools, but they’ll get plenty of opportunity to move their bodies, learn basic sports skills and socialize with others.

When choosing a preschool, you’ll need to consider the schedule you’d like for your child. Some programs are flexible; allowing you to choose how many days each week you’d like to send your child to school. Others have a set schedule with no flexibility.

Start looking into preschools well before your child is ready to go. In many suburban areas, the best preschools get filled up fast. And, in most areas, preschools have registration sometime between January and March for the coming fall. If you wait until the last minute you may not be able to get into the preschool of your choice. In fact, you may not be able to get into a preschool at all if you wait too long.

Most parents send their children to preschool at around the age of three, though some schools take two year olds as well. If your area does not offer pre-kindergarten programs, your child may also attend pre-school at the age of four, as well.

Preschool is a great way to ease your child into school life while giving you a break at the same time. Your child may resist pre-school at first, but soon he’ll be having the time of his life.