4 Tips For Choosing A Playgroup For Your Child
As a parent, you’ll come to a point where you have to make the decision whether to take your child to a playground, also known as preschool. This is a heated debate among many parents especially when their children get older. If you have a kid aged between 2 to 4 years and decided that enrolling them in a preschool is good for them, the next question in your mind is knowing what’s the best playgroup for them.
But finding the best playgroup for your child is usually a daunting process. Because you want the best for your children, it’s not a decision you want to rush into. After all, you want your child to be in a pleasant and safe environment to learn and enjoy themselves. Here’s a guide on the useful tips to consider when deciding which playgroup is suitable for your child.
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The Location
Children attending preschool are still very young and can’t look after themselves. Because of this, you should choose a playgroup that’s close to your home or work so that you can conveniently drop them off and pick them later during the day. You also need to do this as you want your child to join a playgroup that you can easily get into especially if you need to pick up your kid due to unforeseen circumstances such as sickness.
A preschool located close to your home or on your way to home also saves you money as you spend less gas dropping off or picking up your small child. It also takes less of your time, meaning this routine doesn’t end up feeling overwhelming and tedious.
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Assess The Environment
You want your child to be in a preschool with a clean, orderly, and child-friendly environment. Therefore, you need to tour the classrooms, washrooms, and playground to ensure that this is indeed the case. While you shouldn’t expect the playgroup to be exceptionally clean such as the playground as kids will constantly be playing there, it needs to be reasonably tidy. After all, poor hygiene only increases your child’s exposure to illness, and this is the last thing you want as a parent.
The overall atmosphere in the playgroup should also feel as though small kids play there. You can examine this by checking whether there are uniquely created items designed by children displayed in the classrooms. Also, put yourself in your kid’s shoes to get a clearer perspective of how they see the environment. This means assessing if the room’s decorations as oriented to a kid’s view and confirming items in the storage shelves that are easily reachable.
Don’t forget to check out the bathrooms to confirm they are best suited for kids. This is crucial since children attending preschool are either newbies or newly potty-trained on using public toilets. Ideally, it would be best to choose a playgroup where the bathroom facilities have sinks and toilets that a small kid can use independently.
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Get Referrals
Today, the number of playgroups within any given area has soared considerably. Because of this, the process of choosing the right preschool ends up being quite challenging and overwhelming. To make things easier, one of the best things to do is to ask for recommendations from your friends and family who have their kids in a preschool you’re considering.
There are specific questions you should ask about a particular preschool to determine its suitability, including;
- The curriculum
- The teaching staffs
- The playgroup’s reputation
- The program’s philosophy
Once you understand all this, you’ll get a better picture of the playground and be better placed to know whether the preschool is an ideal choice for your child.
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The Teacher Turnover Rate
Being a preschool teacher is hard, as dealing with kids isn’t easy. For the teacher to perform to the best of their abilities and treat the children well, they need to be paid well to be motivated to work in such a tough environment.
To know if there’s a hidden issue with a particular preschool, you should request the administration about the teacher turnover rate. You shouldn’t enroll your child in a playgroup with a high teacher turnover rate, as this is a clear sign that they’re underpaid and unhappy working there. It can also be due to other not-so-apparent reasons such as the teachers being understaffed or the preschool being poorly managed due to financial constraints meaning there aren’t enough toys or art supplies.
Takeaway
Playgroups are your child’s first step to their academic journey and lay the essential foundation for future learning. Therefore, the choice of preschool to enroll your child is undoubtedly something that’ll impact your child’s academic life forever. Knowing this, you don’t want to make the wrong choice. This won’t be the case after reading this guide highlighting the crucial tips you need to consider, which can guide you choose the best playgroup for your child.