What do you think of my preschool plan?

it sounds as if you have this planned out very well. I guess you are looking for a critique, so I'll offer you a bit of advice and also ask some questions.

Your plan sounds really nice, but you do not mention what age group you are going to care for. What you can do with a two year old is far different than what you can do with a 4 year old. For example teaching a three year old to write out there name is not developmentally appropriate, since they cannot hold a pencil/crayon properly yet, however teaching a 4 year old to write their name is a great idea.

You don't mention what method you plan on teaching these children with. Is this a Montessori type of preschool, high scope, or just your own views? If they are your own views, how will you convince parents that these methods are the best way to teach? I would want to be sure that my preschooler is being taught in a method that has proven success.

What is you and your mothers experience with children. Does you or your mom have a college degree in Early childhood education? Many parents want a person with a college degree schooling their children, or at least someone with many years experience working with children. I would say, it is not likely that your home based preschool would take off, if you have no college degree in education or at least 7-10 years working with children in a licensed daycare setting. If you do not have education or a lot of experience, how are you going to answer parents when they ask, "What makes you qualified to teach my child?" or "for the same price I can go ten minutes down the road to a preschool where the teachers hold degrees and have been in business for ten years, what makes this school exceptional?" Without a formal education in early ed or years experience, the chance that you are not fully aware of development, age appropriate curriculum, etc are high, and parents are not going to pay for that.

What is your mission statement for the school? All reputable preschools have mission statements, which is your views on teaching and what the school will provide for the children in their care. A great mission statement is important, as it allows parents to know what you are all about. Your above paragraph almost sounds like part of a mission statement, but it needs to be clearer and to the point.

Do you have a schedule that the children follow? Parents like to know what their child will be doing through the day, and it makes the school look organized. Children also need a routine to feel safe and secure. How will you break learning up throughout the day?

How are you going to teach children Spanish? What method will you be using. Preschoolers have very short attention spans and will not sit at a table and repeat phrases, verbs and nouns. Will objects be labeled in English and Spanish? It may be easier to just incorporate Spanish into the lessons. For example, if you are doing a group activity and all the children are counting the days on the calendar, you may want to go through in English and then have them go through in Spanish, same with colors, etc.

As far as sports go, I think parents of preschooler are looking more that the children have outdoor exercise and play. If you promise the parents that the children are going to play and learn sports, they will expect that. Incorporate playing sports under gross motor, you can still play basketball, soccer, etc, but then you can also incorporate relay races, general outdoor play, etc. and parents are not going to expect their children to be learning how to play sports.

Have you looked at other preschools in your area? Ask for a tour as an expectant mom, or a mother. See what other successful places are doing. You need to offer parents something they are not getting from an already established school.

You sound as if you have a good idea, but there is a lot more to running a business that an idea. Businesses that do not look at the competition, are run by people that know little about what they are doing, and have no business plan tend to fail within their first year.

Make sure you know about opening a business, it is more than buying a few toys and advertising.

Good luck

That sounds nice, it will be a lot of fun and really rewarding. I think it's a great idea to teach three year olds to write their names, my son was 3 when he started to do this. They used to have their names laminated with velcro or blue-tac backing. In the morning when they got to nursery they would take their name off their peg and stick it on the white board, they then used the white board pens to practice writing their name underneath. My son learnt this very fast and all the children in his reception class can write their names, they are all 4.

I taught my son to read his ABC's with flashcards and make the actual letter sounds rather than the names, they do this at the school as well. He is nearly 5 and he can read and sound out basic words in beginner books. He is only now learning his ABC's. This is a great tool and there are loads of cheap reading programs out there that use this process.

Make a behaviour plan as well, and let parents know the steps. What kind of snacks will you give? How will you cope with food allergies? How do you approach toilet training? What will be your settling in period and what comfort will you provide for settling in problems? These are the things that my children's school gave me in the handbook and at the home visit.

Good Luck, I love the second language idea, all preschools should do this!

WOW....

i am a graduate of early childhood education, and bringing your child defelopment skills into this adventure is an amazing idea, and like u said a good one.

honestly....i would have said all of the things u have listed.

make sure the activities are open ended to allow the children to come at it from any angle, and make it more about the process for the children then necessarily the outcome that you would like to see (ie. like how some people want to see a snow man made with 3 balls piled ontop of eachother...although those kinds of crafts are ok sometimes)...

other than that i think u have all the skills u need for this to be a great success....

oh do u have any plans for circle times? or any ideas for transition songs? if you need ANY ideas....i have loads so feel free to ask me fore them

best of luck!

Reading that just totally made me want to become a pre-school teacher. And I totally had my heart set on editing childrens books. You are such an inspiration. 25 years from now when I have a child ready for preschool, there's no doubt about it- I would definately send them to your preschool.

Sounds like you have it all figured out. I would definitely put my pre-schooler in your program. At 3 I put my son in an in-home preschool. I can't tell you how happy I was with all he learned. He is now 4 and in Pre-K in a public school. He already knows everything they teach, and I owe it all to Ms. Lisa :) Are you located in VA?