Anonymous wrote:I looked for:
play-based, no pushing academics
outside time
teachers -- experienced, loving, seem to enjoy the kids
student teacher ratio - the smaller, the better
close to my house
how they handle conflicts between kids (developmentally appropriate, meshes with my philosophy)
potty training policies

+1. Play-based and lots of outside time are key. I wish the full time daycare centers focused on this.

Play-based program... absolutely no tv.
Healthy organic food.

OP here. Thanks for all the suggestions. My mom suggested Montessori but, as a PP said, I think that is the best curriculum for some kids, but mine is not one of them!

The preschool I went to today gave me a "good feeling." Academics are not pushed; they stress play-based learning. Lots of art projects hanging on the walls, many different "centers" that the kids can explore. A beautiful outdoor play area, where the kids play for 30 minutes a day in nice weather. Kids bring their own pre-packaged snack, say grace, and eat snack together each day they're at school. My little one is pretty afraid of loud public restrooms right now, so I was really pleased to see that the bathrooms had tiny toilets and sinks which wouldn't intimidate her. When we got there, she ran right up to a teacher and was taken off to play while I toured with the director. They were so lovely with her. Thanks to the PP who suggested asking about the turnover rate; I actually forgot all about this until the director told me that most of their teachers had been there 10 years and more. The "newest" teacher had been there 7 years- so clearly they love their jobs and stick around for awhile.

I still have a couple more schools to tour, but am definitely putting in an application at this one. Thanks for all the advice, it definitely helped me pay better attention to certain things and ask the right questions.

PPs have some great comments. My kids are at a Montessori with a lot of outdoor time. We looked at play-based and Montessori and liked the Montessori better, but outdoor time was a definite must.

I wanted to add that I sat for an hour in a classroom before I made a final decision and watched how the teachers interacted with students and the students interacted with each other. I was able to talk to a teacher as opposed to an administrator about the philosophy, why she did whatever she was doing and what it was supposed to teach. It made me much more comfortable with my decision. I thought it was hard to judge a school based on the tour alone. I also spoke with at least three parent references.

I narrowed my search down to 2 preschools (Montessori, FWIW), and we were invited for rounds of interviews at both. I had no idea how to choose. One was well established and I found good reviews, and one was just a year old, also with good reviews, but without much history to go by. I was leaning towards the more established one until the classroom observations. There was a huge difference in the energy and enthusiasm between the teachers at the two schools. I went with the newer school with wonderful, highly educated, enthusiastic teachers and couldn't be happier with the decision. You may not not know exactly how to narrow your decision down, but get into the inspection process and hopefully something will jump out at you.

Anonymous wrote:Inquiry-based has been researched and proven to the best for all children. Montessori I have found is the best education possible for a small group of children. Most kids will not do well in that setting.

I've only found a few schools in the area that use this model as it requires HIGHLY educated teachers in a very small setting with typically more than one teacher in a room. 3 is optimal 15 students three teachers.

It's a very flexible model, so when kids just need time to be kids, they let it happen. Lots of intentional play so kids learn how to play with one another. I cannot say enough about the long-term effects of this model on academic success, personal growth, motivation, and more.

Here are two examples in MoCo

http://www.senecaacademy.org/
http://www.cesrockville.org/

By you? You've got to be kidding.

PP, that is your opinion, not fact by any means.

Inquiry-based has been researched and proven to the best for all children. Montessori I have found is the best education possible for a small group of children. Most kids will not do well in that setting.

I've only found a few schools in the area that use this model as it requires HIGHLY educated teachers in a very small setting with typically more than one teacher in a room. 3 is optimal 15 students three teachers.

It's a very flexible model, so when kids just need time to be kids, they let it happen. Lots of intentional play so kids learn how to play with one another. I cannot say enough about the long-term effects of this model on academic success, personal growth, motivation, and more.

Here are two examples in MoCo

http://www.senecaacademy.org/
http://www.cesrockville.org/

We looked at the opposite of play based. We chose a well-thought out academic curriculum, that would be introduced when my child was "ready". In the end, knowing the teacher and having confidence in their abilities was key. We chose Montessori for this exact reason - there is certainly time for play, but for my tuition, I wanted to make sure there were specific items covered that I couldn't do at home. That I don't have the training for. Definitely go on a visit. Look around the room. In a Montessori environment a teacher gives tons and tons of lessons at the beginning of the year, to allow children to work independently. Then more lessons given as they progress. If you are in a traditional preschool setting, the children can usually only get out what they are told to get out, or they work in circle time a lot.

We were also looking for a quieter space, not chaotic. We found it in Montessori.