Affording Pre-School

Since I talked about college yesterday, I thought I'd mention pre-school today.

As my degree is in Early Childhood Education, I do believe that early education is imperative to your child's success.

Unfortunately, so do many people looking to profit off of your desire to get your child the best start possible.

I do understand that many people work full time, and put their children in care that matches their needs.

However, how about parents who work their schedule so that one person is always at home with their children, but they still want a few hours a week of group instruction and play to help their child get accustomed to school, and to be prepared for kindergarten.

I was looking at preschools and tuition the other day and almost had a heart attack when I found a half day program for 3 year olds at an exclusive private school that "only" cost $9,000 for the year.  For 9 months of school, that's $1,000 a month.  I was thinking that with tuition that high, the student/teacher ratio must be really low, like 1/4.  Wow, was I wrong.  The ratio is 1:9.  That's one adult for every 9 kids.  That's the same ratio that every preschool has... something about state guidelines.

When my kids were little, I was a stay at home mom.  I did what I could at home to get them ready for school, and then I looked into preschool programs for them. 

With our oldest child, I found a co-op preschool.  Have you ever heard of these?  They are run by a parent board of directors.  The board hires the teacher and co-teacher.  For every single class, 2 parents are required to serve as an assistant teacher.  This means that there are always 4 adults in the classroom.  When my kids were in preschool, the co-op schools were a little less expensive than the other schools, and it gave me an opportunity to spend time with my son and his friends.

With the second and third child, I traded my experience as a teacher for a tuition break.  I taught the "Mother's Morning Out" class one day a week with the little guys while the middle child was in class.  Once a week, I'd take my daughter and 5 other little friends, and we played, read stories, and ran around for 2 1/2 hours.  I continued on as the Mother's Morning Out teacher while daughter was in pre-school. 

There are some fantastic, wonderful preschools out there run by churches and synagogues.  Non-Profit programs, their fees tend to be lower than the chains that dominate the preschool scene these days.  Many of these programs are staffed by people who were classroom teachers before they had their own children, and have come back to the profession that they love at the preschool level, where teaching is still "pure".

High Schools, Community Colleges, and Colleges offer lab schools.  These amazing pre-schools are offered in the school environment as part of their Early Childhood Education Program.  The classes are run by certified teachers.  The students serve as aids, each one taking a turn at planning lessons and acting as the head teacher.  I think the final ratio in these classes runs about 1:5.  That's one teacher for every 5 kids.  Sometimes, the ratios are even lower.  Because the classes are a learning program for the students, the cost of the program is significantly lower than the other programs out there.  I began my teaching at a lab school.  We had 6 adults in the room at any given time, and 18 kids.  When you work out the numbers, that's 1 adult for every 3 kids.  I can attest to the high quality of those programs.  The students are enthusiastic, they are learning theory in the class, and applying it in the classroom.  And every single lesson plan is submitted and critiqued by the head teacher and the manager of the school before it is allowed to be carried out in the classroom. 

If you can't find a preschool program, or don't want to pay for a preschool program, there are other alternatives available.  The library runs fantastic story times for young children of all ages.  There's been a shift in library story times recently, and programs now offer early and emergent literacy training to the children and parents during the course of the play time.

Keep all of this in mind as you remember that YOU are your child's first teacher. 

YOU are the one who will make the biggest difference in your child's success in school.

YOU can help your child get ready for kindergarten without a school.

While you may find yourself sucked into the quest for the perfect preschool that will get your child into the perfect college, remember this:  your child is only young once.  Allow your child to be a child, to explore, to discover, and to play on their own.  This gift is worth so much more than the "right" preschool.  Free time to discover how the world around them works leads to an insatiable curiosity to learn more that will drive them towards success.

Don't just turn your 3 year old out into the world!  Take a walk in the woods with two magnifying glasses.  Stop every so often, look at the ground, the rocks, and tree trunks and talk about what you see.  Take a notebook along with you, and let your child draw pictures of what they find, and have them "write" something about it.  Go to the zoo, look at animals, talk about what you see, how the animals are the same, how they are different, and draw pictures about what you found.  When you come home, go to the library and check out books about some of your favorite animals that you found at the zoo and read them together.  Go outside, find some tree leaves on the ground, and take a crayon and make leaf rubbings on a sheet of paper.  Talk about the differences in the leaf shapes, the veins in the backs of the leaves, and what do those veins do?  Why are the leaves green?  Go to the library, and find out why!  You will teach your child invaluable lessons about learning, finding new information, and how to learn.

There is no "right" preschool program.  Every program has it's strengths and weaknesses.  However, I'm pretty sure you don't want to break the bank with a child who is 4 years old... this is the time when you should be investing money in a pre-paid college trust or a 504 to help your child pay for college 14 years from now.

I do believe a program of some kind is beneficial.  Take an honest look at your finances and how much you are willing to spend, and then find the best match for your child at that price. 

Pre-School should NEVER break the bank!