Yes, I know it’s only March, and we’re all still trying to recover from last March *cringe*, but if you’re like me, you’re already thinking and planning ahead…
A topic that has been coming up again and again in my circle of mom friends is school! From those with Littles entering Kinder in the Fall to those with Littles under two, not in full time daycare just yet, the topic of school keeps coming up. I have had my own list of worries, questions, and pros/cons lists over school for my three year old this past year. With a birthday after the state cut-off and covid uncertainties, my decision for her to stay home with me this year and do preschool with mama became easy (after going back and forth a few times in my decision making that is, ha!). At the end of the day, it has been the best decision I could have made for our family for this school year.
But what about the Fall?
It has seemed my mom friends have been having the same thoughts for their own children, so it has been reassuring to know I have not been alone!
So what do you do? You talk to all the moms you know with older kiddos: those who homeschool, those who do virtual school, those who have been in school full time their whole lives…and you tour preschools! Lucky for me, I have a great person within my own family to ask, and was able to pick my sister’s brain about the whole preschool topic. As a preschool director for almost a decade and a career in education for almost two decades, she became my best resource on this topic. I didn’t have to twist her arm too much to lead an information session with my village of mamas, Fit4mom Piedmont, two weeks ago (thanks Sis!! I owe you!!).
I set up an event via Zoom, and she lead us through developmental concerns and goals for preschoolers as well as specific questions we should be asking when touring schools-all based on her experience as a director AND as a mom herself.
The information my sister shared with us was like a little secret tool we were given access to in order to feel more empowered in the decisions we were facing as mamas!
So why now? It’s barely Springtime? Well, many preschools have already started pre-registering for next school year, and you need to act fast to make sure your child has a spot at a place that feels like the right place for you and your family…not somewhere you have had to settle on.
So, as much as I would love to go into a full blog post about everything she shared with our group during the presentation, I’ve decided to simply upload the list of 20 questions you should be asking while visiting schools as a tool for you. You can easily print out these questions from the document uploaded in my Resource Library or by clicking the image preview below! (Subscribers get free access to all the goodies in there! Not a subscriber? Sign up here.)
I HIGHLY recommend printing out the questions (both pages!) and taking them along with you on your next tour to make sure you hit every area!
