Tag Archives: preschools san diego

Child Development

Ready Spaghetti

Oct 12,2015 / By / No Comment

5 Key Signs of Kindergarten Preparedness

How do you know whether or not your preschooler is ready for kindergarten?

There’s never one telltale answer.

Even your preschooler’s age is not always a clear deciding reason in whether to send them to the big leagues.

No mater the age, most parents panic at the idea of sending their preschooler to kindergarten too early.

kindergarten readiness

Image from the Chic Stay At Home Mom

“It’s too soon”, “they aren’t ready”, “it’ll be too much for them”, are all common phrases often uttered by the preschool parent.

No matter when your preschooler makes it to kindergarten, it will always feel like it’s too soon and they aren’t ready.

However, checking for these five signs will help you feel more comfortable moving your toddler out of pre-k and into kindergarten.

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Child Development

Back To The Future

Oct 12,2015 / By / No Comment

3 Key Factors For Your Preschooler’s Successful Future

A quick quiz for you: when does a child’s future begin?

  1. When they enter the preschool classroom
  2. When they first enter the world
  3. Before they’re even born

If you guessed a or b then you are wrong.

Yes, your child’s education begins when they enter the preschool classroom. They begin to learn the ABC’s the 123’s and how to interact with other children their age. Preschool is where your toddler embarks on their first experiences without mom or dad always around. It’s where their first friends and memories are made.

Likewise, your child’s life really begins when they enter the world. Sure, you as a parent planned, stressed, and counted the days down before they’d make their appearance, but their life—as a real, thriving human—doesn’t begin until they are born. Sensory experiences are molded from the moment they enter the world, memories become formed, and even their first learning occurs. After birth your child grows, learning how to walk, talk, and become the tiny people their future selves were meant to be.

preschool

Image from She Knows

However, it’s not at birth when your child’s future begins. Contrary to what you might believe, your child’s future begins before they’re even born. Your own family life and history plays a huge role on how well your preschooler will perform in the future.

I’ve already discussed the importance of finding a quality preschool and how to go about searching for the San Diego preschool that is right for your toddler, but what about the time before they’re even born can you do to help?

The most important factors that dictate your child’s future are:

  • Income
  • Household Background
  • Educational Encouragement

Let’s take a look at how these three points can impact your child’s life.

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Uncategorized

What’s In A Preschool?

Sep 30,2015 / By / No Comment

5 Key Elements In Great San Diego Preschools

Finding a preschool is easy.

In some neighborhoods there’s one on every corner.

Finding a quality preschool on the other hand, is not so easy.

preschool enrollment infographic

Image from Childrens-LearningAdventure.com

Even when you’ve done your research, looked into classroom sizes, picked a location, and chosen the program that’s best for your child there’s still lingering doubts that you’ve made the right decision.

With nearly 500 San Diego preschools available to choose from, it’s no wonder that parents find themselves scratching their heads as they try to decide what to do.

Sure, high quality preschools are not hard to come by, but finding a high quality preschool that suits yours and your child’s needs is not always so simple. Understanding the components that make up a stellar preschool program is key to choosing the one that’s right for you. Take a look at these five areas, each just as important as the next for an optimal early education for your child

  1. The Staff
  2. The Administration
  3. The Curriculum
  4. The Community Involvement
  5. The Environment

For the best results, a preschool will utilize all of these factors to create a schooling system that operates smoothly. Yes, things like deciding between a public and private preschool, or a full or part-time school are important, too. But if you do your analysis correctly, those decisions should already be included within the five categories above. Keep this list handy as you move through your preschool appointments and you’ll find that picking a preschool is not just uncomplicated, but also downright easy to do.

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Uncategorized

When The School Bell Rings

Sep 30,2015 / By / No Comment

3 After School Activities
That Will Leave Your Child Begging For More

We’re deep into September.

In fact, we’re so deep into it that we’re almost out of it.

As the days grow shorter, it’s hard not to notice that back-to-school weight we all seem to carry.

With extra activities, groceries to be bought, dinner to be eaten, and school lunches to be packed, the weight of stress falls heavier on our shoulders.

It’s about this time that most parents begin to realize the benefits in after-school activities.

children extracurricular info graphic

Image from Census.gov

Whether you have one, two, or five children, after-school activities give the parent back some time to get done the stuff that needs getting done.

But what about the preschooler in your life?

Many—if not most—after school programs are designed for school-aged children. Unfortunately, this leaves many parents scrambling to keep their preschoolers busy at all times, making those few hours after work increasingly difficult. It is not impossible, however.

With a little research, it’s easy to find an activity for your toddler that will keep them busy and active throughout those last few daylight hours. Whether you and your spouse are in work until 6pm or you need the extra time to get life together for the week, an after school activity will leave your child happy and fulfilled. Before deciding on an activity, however, be sure that a program is what your child and family truly need.

Ask Yourself:

  • Will your child be able to handle the extended time away from you and the family?
  • Will this extra time be beneficial for both you and your preschooler?
  • Will your wallet be able to take the financial hit?

If all of these questions seem perfectly amenable to you, then it’s time you consider these three solutions for after school toddler care.

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Child Development

Cross Your T’s And Dot Your I’s

Sep 5,2015 / By / No Comment

Feeling Comfortable With Your Choice In Preschool

Considering we’re about a week out from the start of the school year (and even then some of you already are makpreschool classrooming the early morning drop offs) there’s every chance that you’ve already secured a preschool for your toddler. I’ve spoken on it before and I’ll say it again, but preschool truly is one of the biggest days in a parent’s life. Waking your groggy little child up, helping them into their school clothes, and sending them off for a day (or half-day) of learning and socialization, is a huge milestone for many
parents. Though there are definitely feelings of elation, there are always some mixed thoughts that worm their way into the mix: Is it too early for them to be in school? Are they ready for this? Am I ready for this? Did I make the right decision about their preschool? If you’ve had any one—or more—of these thoughts, then don’t fret because you’re not alone! Choosing a place for our children to spend the bulk of their day, three-to-five days a week is often scary. How do we know it’s the right place for them? Though there’s never just an easy a + b = c answer, there are some signs worth looking into, guaranteeing that you’ve found the best place possible for your toddler.

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Child Development

Eenie Meenie Miney Mo

Sep 5,2015 / By / No Comment

Finding A Preschool That’s Right For Your Family

As Labor Day approaches, so do the number of back-to-school sections in department, grocery, and multi-purpose stores increase. No matter whom you are or where you happen to live, there’s no escaping the coming of the school year. Even for those without kids, or kids that are too young to attend school, the prospect of the end of summer looms ever nearer. Perhaps you’re
trying to decide on a preschool that’s right for your child in the future. Maybe it’sback to school
that the back-to-school signs have you looking at your two-year-old son, a flutter in your stomach, as you consider a year into the future when they’ll begin their first year at school. Whatever the case, the different kinds of preschools available to you and your child are numerous. This makes choosing a preschool not only confusing, but difficult as well.

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Activities Child Development

First Thing’s First

Aug 13,2015 / By / No Comment

What Essentials Your Preschooler Needs for School

Listen, I get it. As a parent of a toddler it can be heart wrenching to realize that their days as you baby are quickly approaching an end. Of course, they’ll always be your baby, but with back-to-school inching ever nearer, it’s likely you’re starting to wonder about how they could’ve grown up so fast. I know what you’re thinking: How are you talking about school when it’s still August? Well, San Diego preschools, regardless of the rising temperatures, head back to school come September—yes, even if it still feels like summer here in southern California. Come the start of August, much like anywhere else, the stores start shoving back-to-school essentials on the parent’s agenda, bringing pre-k parents to near tears.

classroomUnless you happen to be of the other side, wherein as sad as it is to have your child grow up and head into their first days of preschool, it’s exciting to finally have them starting school. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, or somewhere in between, it’s a fact that every parent must face. Kids head off to school, and it starts with preschool. Whether your child is heading into their first day of pre-k, or they’re heading in for year two, there’s every possibility that you’ll feel it much more than your child ever will. Make your first day easier by being prepared and stuffing your toddler with every back-to-school essential they might need.

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Activities Child Development

Play Ball

Aug 11,2015 / By / No Comment

Five Reasons Why You Should Involve Your Preschooler In Sports

As summer comes to a close and fall inches nearer on the horizon, parents are left wondering what to do with their kids in the baseballcoming afternoons. For many, the near change in season brings about a change in routine. Older brothers and sisters may be off to grade school, while the younger kids may be starting or continuing preschool and kindergarten. No matter the situation, when the season changes so do a family’s daily ins and outs, leaving a new schedule to be planned out and enforced.

Perhaps one of the best means for after school and afternoon care that a parent can find comes in the form of sports. Some will argue that putting preschoolers into sports too soon is fruitless and that they’re too young to understand the rules involved. This is true. Preschool-aged children do not have the technical understanding for sports until a little later on. However, getting children involved in sports early on has more benefits than detriments, among which involves having your children cared for during the hours after school.

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Activities

Making A Splash

Jul 29,2015 / By / No Comment

Cost Effective Water Play In San Diego

I’ve mentioned before about the drought that California is currently in. It’s a doozy to be sure and one that’s unlikely to go away any time soon. Even with an El Nino currently in the forecast for this winter (meaning California is likely—fingers crossed—to get water playmore rain than we have had in years), scientists have made the statement that it takes just about as long to come out of a drought as it does to get into one. While this isn’t a bad thing necessarily, it does mean that the people of southern California will need to be water conscious for awhile longer. This isn’t a bad thing; on the contrary, because we’re anticipating the holy grail of drought-landscapes, it means that our state is on the right path to finding our mountains lush with green landscape once again.

But what does that mean for right now?

As parents, it’s likely that you spent last weekend with a raised eyebrow as southern California was plastered in torrential and unseasonal downpours. Of course, these rains are something that those in the Midwest are used to this time of year, but for those of us used to sending our kids outside on a hot summer day, it left much to be desired. While some basked in the freak summer storm, taking refuge in the water, others thought ahead, finding ways to conserve the water before it even hit the ground. Even if you didn’t happen to load up on buckets full of water (a practice the news urged many Californians to do), that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the comfort of some nice H2O as we head into the hottest months of the year.

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Activities Child Development Summer

School’s Out for Summer–Kind Of

Jul 8,2015 / By / No Comment

Encouraging Your Preschooler’s Education
Over the Summer

Though many preschools remain in session over the summer months, a good handful of them close down. While this provides many parents with the opportunity to spend more time with their kids, it often is cause for worry over what it will do to their toddler’s continued education. Particularly for those who have just entered the school-world, taking a month or two off from their education can have an adverse effect on what they’ve learned. You know the old saying, “use it or lose it”, the same holds true for preschoolers fresh off of their first year, who are now thrust back into their pre-school (ha!) life.preschool play

So What Do We Do?

However, the time off is not cause for alarm or worry over your child’s continued education. Instead, it provides you, the parent, with time to help supplement your child’s preschool education and keep their interest in learning alive and well. Instead of spending all summer letting them run rampant in the hopes that some energy will be burned off, try finding time to spend on books, science projects, and arts and crafts. Begin by fostering a healthy learning environment for your child in the home and finding educational scenarios in everyday life.

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