The Tuesday 10, Top Ten Things to Know About Preschool

Today's Tuesday Ten Post is a guest post by my good friend Misty Bown. I know Misty from Relay for Life and am so thrilled she wrote this for me! She teaches Preschool, check her out at the links below! This is AWESOME information for Preschool but I think most of it can also be applied to any child at any age in school, but especially elementary age. Thanks again Misty!  

Top Ten Things to Know About Preschool

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My name is Misty & I am a preschool teacher.  I started my own preschool last year after becoming frustrated trying to work & raise my 4 kids.  I do have my elementary education degree from USU.  I've worked as a teacher’s aide in grades K-5, taught 2^nd 3^rd & 6^th grade, I’ve worked with kids in ESL in grades K-9, I've taught the gifted program for Cache County School District for three years working with kids in grades 2-5 & worked in the Logan detention center with kids in grades 4-12.  With all that experience why switch to preschool?  To be honest, it’s lots more fun!  Here is my list of the top 10 things to know about preschool.

1-There is no “right age” to begin your child in preschool.  With that being said, if your child is able to sit still for 10+ minutes, can follow basic directions and can get along with other children, you are good to go!  Kids don’t need to know all their letters & numbers & know how to write their name when they come into preschool.  That’s what school is for!  My oldest daughter began preschool at 18 months old because she knew her colors, numbers, was speaking full sentences & was already attending a daycare where it was provided to kids when they turned 3.  My oldest son is ADHD and I started him in preschool at 3 years old.  Looking back at it now, I feel bad for doing that to his teacher!  It wasn't that he wasn't ready to learn, he just had a really, really, really hard time with the sitting still & following basic directions.

2-It’s a good thing to ask the teacher questions!  You should feel comfortable enough with the preschool that you choose that you feel as though you can ask questions.  I don’t mean just one specific kind of question either – I’m talking all questions.  As a teacher, I’d rather have a parent contact me 1400 times to ask questions than have a parent who doesn't ask any questions and then gets upset with me when something happens.  Teachers aren't mind readers, we’re just regular people & we often times forget all the things we want to tell parents. 

Some examples of questions you should ask your potential preschool teacher before school begins– 1. Do you have a curriculum map (this is similar to a spreadsheet & details everything that will be taught during the school year)?  2. Are you registered with the city &/or state?  3. Do you have a teaching degree?  4. What do you do for discipline in your classroom?  5. Do you have Commercial Liability Insurance (this type of insurance covers the preschool in case a child is injured on school grounds)?  6. If your child is allergic to specific foods you will also want to ask what plan the teacher has in place to ensure that your child is not exposed to those specific foods.

Some examples of questions you might want to ask during the school year – 1. What can I work on with my child at home to help him/her practice the skills you are teaching?  2. How does my child interact with the other children during school time?  3. What do you see as my child’s strengths?  4. Where can I find the books you are sharing with the class (my students often want to borrow the same books we've read during class to take home & share with their parents)?

   

3-The purpose of preschool is (generally speaking) to teach social skills, follow directions, basic use of school supplies (like glue, holding pencils, & scissors) and to expose kids to a variety of experiences.  Often times learning in a preschool setting looks an awful lot like playing.  That’s because playing is how kids learn best!  As a mom, I’m not the greatest at letting my kids bust out all the messy art supplies.  As a teacher, I let my students paint (& play) with every possible sort of tool I can come up with.  Why?  Because that’s how kids learn about their surroundings – by experimenting with new things (plus I know that not all moms are completely willing to let their kids do those kinds of things at home – & yes, that’s ok).

 

4-It’s ok for your child to leave preschool and not know how to read.  My third child finished Kindergarten this spring.  When school started I asked her (teacher to teacher) what she looks for in kids that are entering Kindergarten.  She said, “If they can hold a pencil correctly & know how to use scissors & glue it makes my job so much easier.  If they can write their name & know their ABC’s, great.  Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake.” 

5-It’s ok if your child cries when you drop them off at preschool the first few times.  As a working mom I've had to drop my child off at daycare kicking, screaming & holding onto my neck like their life absolutely depends on it.  I have been assured (many, many times) that my child has quit such behavior before I even back my car out of the driveway.  I always sort of doubted that – until my first year teaching preschool.  I had one student in particular who had a very rough start to preschool.  She knew me (she’s my cousin’s daughter) but she still cried & cried each time she was dropped off.  I assured mom it was fine & she’d be fine in a few minutes.  I can personally attest that the longest she ever spent crying was 5-10 minutes & it was usually just whimpering after about 2 minutes. 

If your child is sobbing when they get dropped off at school it doesn't automatically mean they hate school.  Often times it’s just anxiety kicking in and it’s their natural response to the anxiety.  If you are concerned that it’s something other than anxiety, be sure to talk to the teacher about it before deciding to pull your child from preschool and wait another year.

6-Just like the elementary school, preschool teachers will happily take parent volunteers.  Personally, I’m not the greatest at asking others for help.  However, if someone volunteers to help, I find it really hard to turn that offer down!  Even though I don’t have a class of 30 students & I don’t work from 8-3:30 Monday thru Friday at a public school I still have a lot of prep work that has to be done.  Since I’m not at a school & I don’t have a prep hour that means that all my prep work is done after my own children are tucked into bed.  This often times translates into extremely late nights for me.  Even if it’s “just cutting stuff out” it still makes a difference to us & we sure do appreciate it.

7-Ask family, friends, etc. for preschool referrals – don’t just go with someone you pick out of the phone book & you've never met.  There is a FABULOUS resource right here in Cache Valley.  This resource is called Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) - http://usuchild.usu.edu/.  They are located up on the USU campus.  They work with all the state licensed day cares in the county and preschools.  They provide training & offer resources for the teachers/day care providers to use.  You can actually call CCR&R & they will send you a booklet of all the different preschools in the valley that are registered with them.  Each preschool is able to provide a blurb about their school so you can get your basic questions answered (days, times, prices, location, etc.) before you even call the director! 

Your best referrals are going to come from people you know.  If there’s a bad preschool out there, you’ll find out quickly who/where it is.  With that being said, I suggest that after you find a potential preschool you ask if you can visit the school with your child.  Even if people tell you it’s the most fabulous school around, it isn't worth sending your child if they aren't comfortable there.  As a teacher, I welcome parents in my classroom at any time.  I always want my parents to feel like they can drop in at any time to check out what’s going on & I know many other teachers feel the same way.

8-Not all preschools are created equal.  This sounds like an obvious one, I know.  What I mean by this is that not all preschools will offer the same curriculum for students.  Where public schools are required to teach particular concepts to students at a certain age, there are no such requirements for preschools. 

As I found out during college, you aren't even required to have a teaching degree to teach preschool!  As I learned when I started my own preschool, not all cities have the same requirements for preschools to register as a business either.  Some cities lump preschools & daycares together while other cities put them separately.  If a preschool has to go through the same license requirements as a daycare, there is much, much more involved as they must also be daycare licensed through the state.  Preschools that don’t register with their city may also not carry Commercial Liability Insurance.  Ask your potential preschool if they are registered with their city, if they carry Commercial Liability Insurance, & if they are registered with the state.  If they are registered with the state, they should have a DBA license (Doing Business As).

Some preschools are taught in/at daycare centers.  Please do not confuse preschool with daycare.  Daycare has its own set of state requirements (if the daycare is registered with the state) that are quite rigorous.  Preschool is different from daycare in that the purpose of preschool is education, not supervision.  While many preschools that are offered in conjunction with daycare are excellent preschools, parents need to keep in mind that the two things are different.

9-Talk to your child when they come home & ask them what they did in preschool that day.  It doesn't sound like much, but I know my students are super excited to tell their parents what they did in preschool that day when they leave.  I can remember when we were talking about pilgrims in November & I read the story “Two Bad Pilgrims”.  The story is loosely based on true events & is about two young pilgrim boys that were constantly in trouble on the voyage over to America.  Two of my students (siblings) went home and were telling their parents about how the Pilgrims were bad.  Mom sure got a kick out of it and had to ask me what they were talking about.  You won’t find cheaper entertainment than talking to your preschooler about what they did in school that day!

10-If you feel like your child isn't learning as many academic skills as you would like, ask the teacher what you can work on with your child at home.  Most teachers are more than willing to let you know what they see as your child’s strong points & which areas need improvement.  More often than not, teachers will have an activity or activities in mind that parents can do to help their child improve in their area of weakness.  Sometimes, you just have to ask because, as I said before, teachers are human too and we often times forget all the things we want to tell parents! 

The main thing my students struggled with this past year was how to hold a pencil correctly.  It’s easy to tell which students have used scissors before and which ones haven’t.  If you have been hesitant to let your preschooler use scissors and you don’t have any suggestions from your child’s teacher you can always start there!  If your child’s preschool teacher doesn't have any suggestions on how you can supplement at home, get on Pinterest (or Google or blogger.com and search preschool education).  There are millions of excellent ideas just waiting to be used!