Preschool

Preschool tours offer wonderful opportunities to learn about prospective preschools. Often you can meet the director of the school, see classes in progress, and meet members of the parent community. But, as is the case with so many things in life, what you see may not be what you get. So, think of the tour as an opportunity to scratch below the surface -- to get a true feel of the school. You can best do that by coming prepared with questions that will help you determine whether the school is the type of environment that will be a good fit for you and your child. While not every parent has the same set of concerns, there are a few key issues that can help you distinguish among schools and, hopefully, identify the school that is right for your family. Here are some factors to consider: Read More »

There's nothing like a construction site -- the mounds of dirt; the bright, yellow bulldozers; the cranes -- to capture a certain kind of toddler's attention. And if you live with this certain kind of toddler, the kind of toddler who, say, spends more time building miniature roads and modeling hard-hats than eating, you've probably wondered what it is about the nature of construction that gets your little one so fired-up. Though really, when you think about it, there is something pretty amazing about making something from nothing, about taking a heap of bricks and steel and lumber and turning it into a grocery store or a house. When we, in our jaded adulthood, look at a highway or a shopping center, maybe all we see is the way to work or the place where we buy our toilet paper and orange juice. But the construction-loving toddler, so curious about everything's origins, looks for the girders, for the graders, for the why and how and where of every structure he sees. Read More »

Let’s start by acknowledging that in many places, the very idea of a “preschool application” is a foreign concept. You find out about a couple of good preschools nearby, give a call or drop by, get your child signed up, and there you have it. Doesn’t that sound great? Sadly, such a simple process could not be farther from the reality in many urban areas. In cities across the country, vast numbers of small children apply for too few spots at popular preschool programs. We all wish it were not so, but we must cope with the fact that the wonderful nursery school down the street may be flooded with more applications than its staff has time to read. What is a Savvy parent to do? Read More »

There is nothing children, big and small, love more than seeing their artistic masterpieces proudly displayed at home, or adorning their bedroom walls. The grin that accompanies "I made this!!" is priceless. As the weather moves into fall, you and your kids may be spending more time indoors, and simple paper crafts are a entertaining and thrifty way to spend an afternoon! If you're not comfortable with artwork decorating your living room, carve out a special area to be an art wall or hang clips along a hallway so your child can see their work proudly displayed. Read More »