At least once a year it is a good idea to evaluate your child’s daycare program in a focused and deliberate way. The end of one calendar year and the beginning of another is an easy time to make this evaluation.
Price: Is your daycare center more or less expensive than the average of centers in your area? If so, what are you receiving for this added cost? Nicer facilities? Better teachers? Greater security? State of the art technology?
Quality of Education: Where was your child developmentally at this time last year? Has he or she learned more about letters, numbers, colors, etc.? Some centers are now conducting developmental and learning assessments in a similar way to elementary school students but on a simpler level, which can give you a good idea of how your child has grown. This may be as simple as listing colors, or as complex as non-sequential number recognition. One other easy way to evaluate your child’s development in the holiday season is to look at the holiday decorations that they have created in school. This can function as a festive timeline of your child’s growth.
Quality of Staff: How would you rate the staff at your child’s daycare center? Do you know all of the names of the childcare providers at your school, and perhaps some personal information about each of them? What has the rate of turnover been among the teachers? What do your children say about their teachers?
Facility: Is your daycare clean? If a piece of playground equipment breaks, is it replaced or removed from the center in a reasonable amount of time? Is the playground safe? Is the room organized in a stimulating and comfortable manner? Have special centers been changed regularly—dress up clothes, thematic elements, etc.?
Also, check out some of this year's articles that might help you evaluate your daycare center.
Small Daycare Safety
Copyright © 2006, Carrie Henderson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright.
Carrie Henderson Weston - Carrie Henderson Weston is a writer from Kalamazoo, Michigan who has found herself living in the big city of Minneapolis, MN. Formerly she ...
