Pick the right preschool for your child

Preschool is the beginning of school for your child. It provides the first learning experience for your child in a formal environment. It is ideally a place which should be like a home away from home. But, not many preschools are like a child’s home. Preschool is a world where your child learns social skills like how to share, how to take turns, interact with peers and the teacher. Before this the child only interacts with family members and close friends. This is a world where your child begins to interact with the outside world. Your child also learns to be independent in a preschool. Some kids are by nature independent, but others take time to learn the skill of independence. Your child is also exposed to pre-math and pre-reading skills in a pre-school.

To find the right pre-school for your child, plan ahead of time and do some research. Ask friends, search the internet and the best idea is to visit the school and observe the school environment in an unobtrusive way. Begin preparing your kid after he is two-and-a-half years of age for preschool. Most preschools take children from two-and-a-half years to three years of age. This is the right age to prepare your kid for preschool. Start researching at least 6 to 12 months in advance.

Applications are accepted some six months to the school beginning its schedule. If you are looking for local franchisees in your area and you live in the city of Hyderabad, start your search early.

The tuition fees of nursery school varies drastically, consider schools that you can afford. The schedule of schools also varies some schools offer full time tuitions while others take on alternate days. Some schools offer a summer camp whereas others run the year round.

As far as location is concerned, some parents believe in admitting their kids to the local nursery school, while others may be ready to take their child to the other end of town to make their child attend their dream primary school. The advantage of finding a primary school is that it gives you an opportunity to know the family backgrounds of other kids and you can closely monitor what your child is learning at school. Your child may also find neighbourhood playmates at the preschool. This will ensure that your child is familiar with his school playmates and is happy. It is also likely that your child’s preschool classmates would be at the same elementary school too. Thus there are advantages and disadvantages of selecting a neighbourhood primary school. The final decision rests with you.

A very important aspect of selecting a particular preschool is the staff. The teachers should be warm, nurturing and patient with the child. They should teach discipline in a fun and playful way, rather than in strict disciplinarian ways. Find out if the staff members are trained to teach in nursery schools. It is very important that the staff should be trained to teach in pre-primary schools. Specially trained teachers can provide a proper environment to teach your kids.