It seems strange to be talking about back to school time in February, but most private preschools and public and private kindergartens, will begin registering for Fall 2011 next month!
Now, this isn’t New York City, so don’t panic if you didn’t save your little one a spot when she was a fetus. In fact, there are plenty of fine schools you could walk right into today. Why think about it now? Well, some schools do fill up, and I’m a big believer in checking out the place and meeting the teacher. If you get a short list of two or three you’re considering, you’ll have a manageable number of “go sees,” before vacation time in June. If you don’t have a clue where to start, I’ll be doing a little series explaining the various philosophies on early childhood learning, and I’ll discuss whether you even need to do preschool in the first place!
Shortly after that, I’ll be having my, “Plug Your Preschool,” event, which is a free opportunity for your school to provide interested readers with a link to your website and information about your school hours, philosophy, and openings. All I ask is that someone who is an official representative of your school contacts me. You can do this right here, by sending an email to meg@soundsfunmom.com or at the Facebook page! Just make sure I have a way to get a hold of you. Again, I’d love to track down the head of every school in the South Sound, but I just don’t have the time, so if your school would like this opportunity for some free publicity, pass this along!
The “Plug Your Preschool” is a great idea! Here in the Chicago suburbs, I just turned in the registration form for my daughter to attend 3-year-old preschool next fall. It’s a great program offered by the park district, and there is a lottery, so I hope we get in .. but if we don’t, I know that there are lots of other wonderful options in our area, too.
Thank you thank you thank you! I am still on the look out for a program for my 3 year old that will fit our needs but it’s hard to get all the research done. It will be great to have lots of info in one place! And maybe some parent reviews too =)
Excellent point! I actually looked at about a dozen preschools & toured about 5 of them (yes, I’m a bit OCD…I’ll admit that!). They DO book up faster than people think. I suppose the economy might slow that down a bit, but the good ones do book up in Feb. or March.
It’s funny that I just saw this posting, because I had a converstation with a mom friend of mine yesterday about preschool. Her daughter is 2 1/2 & I told her she needed to get on preschool registration now. She looked at me like I had 3 heads but once I told her what I learned a few years ago when my daughter was that age…she realized I was right
I probably sound snobby when I say this, & I don’t mean to be….but there’s a reaon the good schools book up early. Esp. if it’s a good & affordable school…those are few & far between! 🙂
You know, I think how fast schools fill up really varies by area and even from year to year, but I think it’s definitely a good idea to start early. It just gives you time to make a good decision, and you don’t have to worry that your favorite will be full. Thanks for stopping by, Heather!
I think it also shows that there is a lack of quality, affordable options for our kids. Which is another rant, entirely. 🙂