How to Pick the Right Preschool for Your Child

With registration looming, classes filling up, and open houses scheduled, some Libertyville parents are finding themselves choosing between a host of different preschools.

The village is home to several schools for pre-kindergartners ranging from play-based, faith-based, Montessori, and academic. Patch spoke to area educators and parents for help finding their way to the best choice.

A Co-Operative Experience

Courtney Hoffmann, a Libertyville mom of two, visited three preschools before choosing the  as her child’s preschool.

“I liked that it was play-based education. They don’t want to put the kids in a pressure cooker and force education on them,” Hoffmann said. “They assess where the kids are and where they can help them move forward in an atmosphere that’s play-based and fun, so that they are encouraged to learn more.”

Hoffmann also says she was attracted to the cooperative aspect of the school. Parents are encouraged to participate not only in the classroom, but also to serve on school committees. Hoffmann serves on the co-op board, and recently worked on one of their fundraising efforts, Passport to Libertyville.

“One of the biggest things for me was the sense of community,” Hoffmann said. “I think it teaches your kids, too. When I worked on the Passport to Libertyville project, (my daughter) asked me what I was working on. I told her, ‘I’m working on this for your school.’ And she said, ‘Well, why are you doing that?’ It’s nice to explain to her.”

Faith-Based Programs

The Libertyville area also is home to a handful of religious preschools, for parents looking to work faith into a young child’s education.

“We are unique in that we are a faith-based program,” said Mindy Doss, director of  at . “We have that monthly chapel experience for the children and a daily reverence for each other in a Christian environment.”

Doss says that there are other aspects, aside from the faith program, that draw parents to their school, including its emphasis on outdoor education.

“Our site here gives us the opportunity to experience a lot of different outdoor areas including our savanna, prairie, wetland, our vegetable garden, and perennial garden,” she said.

, as well as other faith-based preschools, welcomes anyone, regardless of religion, and still emphasizes the importance of play in a preschool learning environment.

The school also offers resources to parents. A collection of books outside the classrooms include parenting philosophy books and materials.

“We really endeavor to partner with our parents to help them in their parenting journey, and to look for their input to us as teachers, for us to be better teachers,” Doss said.

The Montessori Method

Many parents have explored the option of Montessori. Some parents say they’re drawn to the philosophy. Others have fond memories of attending Montessori schools as children.

Elise Schroeder, a mother of three who attended Seton Montessori in Clarendon Hills as a child, found  by chance but is thrilled with her decision to enroll her children.

“I stopped by one day and was instantly drawn to the school the moment I walked in the door,” Schroeder said. “It just felt right.”

Schroeder explains that Village Green offers a unique learning experience. Children ages 3 to 6 learn together in each classroom.

“It was amazing for me to see (my daughter's) progression throughout her time there,” Schroeder said. “In the beginning, the older students would help her with something if she needed help. By the end of her time there, she was the helper.”

At Village Green, Schroeder says each child is directed to an activity that meets his or her need, but each is able to work independently, and teachers do not pressure children.

“If he is ready to learn something, great. If not, it will happen in due time,” Schroeder said. “For example, (my son) was not interested in letters at one point. They said one day he will surprise us.”

Schroeder says his interest was sparked when he saw the older children in the class working with letters and the “switch went on.”

Accessible Preparation

Kinder Korner, a preschool offered by the Libertyville Park District, is another play-based program that focuses on preparing children for the kindergarten transition. Director Julie Herchenbach agrees that finding a place that feels right is paramount to a parent’s search.

“Preschool is great. It gets the children exposed to all of the things that they need. But they need to be comfortable there,” she said. “Our biggest goal is for the kids to have fun and want to go to school. If at 2, 3, and 4, they don’t want to go to school, they’re not going to want to go the next 16 years that they have to go to school.”

Herchenbach says the program is one of the most affordable in the area, making kindergarten preparation more accessible to everyone. Kinder Korner also offers two locations, one on each side of Libertyville.

A Kindergarten and Pre-K Collaboration

Recently, Libertyville Elementary School District 70 invited area preschools to a kindergarten articulation. Each school’s kindergarten teachers attended as well as directors from four area preschools, including Herchenbach.

“We really wanted to take a look at how well the continuum of curriculum was aligned for pre-kindergarten through kindergarten to make sure that our students weren’t encountering a difficult transition,” said Kathy Dinger, director of curriculum and instruction, Libertyville Elementary School District 70.

Dinger says that it’s important for parents to find a preschool that will teach children to be open to learning.

“I think sometimes we want to overemphasize or put a great deal of importance on the academic piece of preschool,” Dinger said. “While we really value those students that come in with some academic exposure, it’s really important for them to be nurtured to have a love of learning and are able and ready to learn and have some attention paid to their social emotional development.”

Herchenbach says the meeting was a great dialogue for the preschool and kindergarten educators.

“It was really kind of phenomenal to find out that I think all of us were on the same page,” Herchenbach said. “They said, ‘You know we really just want them to come in excited and ready to take a risk, and open to learning. They don’t have to know everything. They don’t have to know how to read.’”

According to Dinger, district teachers feel the majority of the students coming into their kindergarten classrooms are prepared. She also says that she hopes to make the articulation between the kindergarten and preschool teachers an annual event, one where she anticipates participation from area preschools will grow.

Things to Keep in Mind

Despite the differences in curriculum, or the reasons parents cited for their choices, most parents and educators agreed to some key points when looking for the right preschool.

• Visit a handful of schools with your child.
• Speak with the teachers and watch how they interact with the children in the classroom. Are they asking questions of the children?
• Keep an eye on the student-to-teacher ratio.
• Look at the projects that children have displayed on the walls. Do they look like each child was able to lend their own creativity to the project?
• Some programs offer after-school enrichment classes, or have on-site day care facilities, for parents who need full-day care.
• Working parents also might want to find out if there’s required parent participation in the classroom.
• Make sure your child feels comfortable.