Moms Talk: Choosing a Pre-School

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This week's question comes from , a reader and Potomac Moms Council member.

Deadlines for pre-school entrance are coming up. How do you choose a school for your child? 

Choosing a pre-school for our first child felt like a huge task. I had thought that we'd interview tons of schools and since I am not from the area I felt very overwhelmed by all the choices. I started by making a list of the schools that I knew about, some I had driven by and others had been mentioned to me by friends and family. I had ideas about what we wanted in a school but I also found that there was a lot I had not thought about.

I am a member of the Potomac Mom's Club and attended their Pre-School Fair. They had schools from all over the area. Some I had heard of, others I had not. At the fair I was able to speak with some school representatives and collect materials. This helped me bulk up my list of schools but I still felt overwhelmed.

Then I started making phone calls. I called all of the schools on my list and either spoke with an admissions officer or left a message. The schools that did not return my phone call were automatically removed from my list. After speaking with some schools it was clear that they were not for us. Some offered hours that did not work, others did not offer classes for two year olds (and I very much thought my son was ready). Some were more geared toward working parents and others, it turned out, had beliefs that did not jibe with my own. After speaking with different schools I narrowed it down to two and went to visit them with my child. Both were great and ultimately we chose the larger school which happened to be close to our house (bonus!). We've been very happy with and plan on sending our second child there next fall.

It felt like a process but I am so glad that I took the time to do some research and visit the schools.  

: When it came to choosing a preschool, many things mattered to me. I had to prioritize what mattered most and ask the preschool director and moms questions to give me greater clarity around: school learning philosophy and approach; class size; variety of activities/programs on a typical day — including opportunities for non-academic learning such as movement, music and art and how working-mom friendly it was.

For instance, were there frequent parent involvement/visiting events scheduled mid-morning rather than the start of the day? Related, how would the school communicate with working parents who might not have opportunities to see notes on the door, chat with teachers at pick-up, etc?