The monster has been at a daycare center of a little over a year now. Overall, I've been very happy with them, but they are going through some changes. The director quit (a new one started this week), and they are very short staffed right now. Due to the short staff, Hunter keeps getting shuttled back to the Younger Toddler room even though he's "graduated" to the Older Toddler room.
For the most part, I'm not upset. Hunter (and I) really love the teacher in the Younger Toddler room, and he's not yet two, so it's not like he's too old to be in the YT room yet. I'm willing to stick these growing pains out and hope they hire more teachers, however, my husband wants to start looking around at other places.
Besides the obvious price, time and proximity of commute, what do you look for in choosing daycares? I've got a three Goddards, a Kindercare and a Play & Learn within a doable distance. Should I concentrate on Keystone Stars? The Kindercare is a Star 2, the Play & Learn is Star 1, but it looks as if only two of the Goddard participates one being a Star 1 and the other a Star 2. However, they are all about some F.L.E.X program. FWIW, the school we are currently at is rated a Star 2 and really pushing for 3.
How do I know what is the best place?
Re: Choosing Daycares
If you plan on keeping him in daycare up until school age, Id really focus on what their preschool program entails, if they have after care options once he's in kindergarten, and what credentials the teachers in those older rooms have since they are doing far more teaching than babysitting. Also turnover of the core teachers,especially in those older kid rooms.
As a fellow mother of fall babies, both my girls will miss our public school's kindergarten cut off so they will be in daycare until they are nearly 6 years old. Because of this, its very important to me that the pre-k program separates out the older kids from the younger kids. I dont think it will be beneficial for my 5.5 year old to learn the same things a kid that just turned 3 or 4 is being taught, nor will she be developmentally and socially at the same level. We're thinking of switching our girls soon due to just that. Our current daycare has one pre-Kl class thats for kids 4 and older so M will be in the same class for 2 years, redoing the same lessons the second year that she already did the first year. Personally, I dont like it.