Finding a Preschool.

It's that time of year when you consider sending your child off to preschool. You have found a preschool that looks great, pleasing to your eye, offers interest centers, choice, natural elements and environments that would extend your child’s instinctive wonder. Perfect! But, who is facilitating this great space and what are their values and belief systems? Should this not be of great consideration? It is for me, for my children, I want to know!

Get to know the teachers that spend a great amount of time and crucial learning opportunities with your child. What do they value when it comes to early learning? Do they recognize the richness of individual  experiences and personalities? Will they take the time to build a relationship with your child, so that at some point it is possible to have the child’s trust in order to influence their learning?

The facilitators or teachers should be qualified and certified educators and committed to establishing a relationship with you, and most importantly, your child with the desire to know their interests, fears, concerns. Without knowing these very important details of a little person at a vulnerable age, it will be difficult to build trust and a relationship. Without trust and security with the people a child is surrounded by, that child will have a difficult time separating from parents and exploring to their fullest sense of curiosity. This effects their intellectual development, interferes with her peer relationships and they will have limited sense of belonging in this particular setting.

Try to find a teacher who wants to know how your child feels each day. As parents we should try to be open, the teacher’s interest comes from a place of nurturing and protecting your child. We should act as a  team, trying to create a safe and secure environment that will then allow the best opportunities for our very special young people!

For a more comprehensive guide for families in finding a preschool read NAEYC, standards for finding a quality program. 

Jada Fiissel

Jada has a Bachelor of Education, has completed her Yoga Teacher Training (300-hours) and a specialization in children’s yoga. She continues to deepen her own understanding through a dedicated practice and teaches adult and Kid’s Yoga throughout the city and incorporates yoga and the teachings in her daily family life.