Lindbergh Offers Tips To Parents When Choosing Pre-School Options

This year, during the Week of the Young Child, April 22-28, Lindbergh's Early Childhood Education Director Charlene Ziegler is offering tips for parents who are exploring preschool education options for their young children, ages 2-5.

“Above all, parents and their children should feel comfortable with the staff, culture and educational quality of whichever option they choose, and it is important to ask the right questions to help your family make an informed decision about your child’s school,” Ziegler said in a news release from the Lindbergh district.

Here are some questions to ask when you visit: 

• Does the teaching staff have formal educational training, such as a bachelor’s degree? 
• Is there a lot of staff turnover? 
• Does staff receive ongoing professional development based on early childhood education research?
• Does the curriculum encourage children to think critically? 
• Do parents have open communication with teachers about their student’s progress?
• Is there individualized support for different styles of learning and varying levels of comprehension, within the same classroom?
• Are classrooms inclusive, exposing children to students of differing abilities and ethnicities, and teaching them how to work together?
• Is the environment clean? Does each classroom have a handwashing sink?
  Is there natural light in each classroom?
• Do children have a sense of ownership in the classroom? Are their drawings displayed, and do they have ready access to toys and materials?
• Does the center provide support for the entire family, not just the child?

Children learn more through critical thinking than by simply coloring worksheets or tracing letters, according to Ziegler. For example, a child coloring a picture of an apple will not learn as much as a child who hears a story about apples, tastes different varieties and learns how they grow. In addition, Character Education is an important component of Early Childhood Education because the early years are when children are most impressionable and can build strong foundations for good values and behavior.

The Week of the Young Child is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families. NAEYC is the largest nonprofit organization in the United States advocating for quality early childhood education. Lindbergh ECE is an NAEYC accredited institution.