Earlier today Marcello and I toured a Montessori preschool for Lionetta. We asked a lot of questions during our tour, and we were glad we did because now we feel educated on the program and prepared to make a major family decision for our little one! I'm sharing the topics we covered during our tour and questions we asked. If you scroll to the bottom of this page I also made a JPEG so you can print the questions to take with you on your own preschool tour. Also, if you're not already familiar with the Montessori Method, I linked a couple resources at the bottom of this page.
Questions We Asked and Topics We Covered:
Side Note: I listed some answers, marked "A:" in parentheses. These are the specific answers for the school that we toured, obviously each school is different!
Pricing:
- Is tuition monthly, bi-weekly, weekly?
- How payments are made.
- If we are out of town for a week/month can we pause tuition, or would we still have to pay?
- What is your cancellation policy? (A: 60 days)
Enrollment:
- What is the application process?
- Do you have open enrollment?
Curriculum:
- Do you have a written curriculum we could take home with us?
Classroom:
- Take a good look at several of the classrooms, including the actual classrooms your child will be using. Make sure they don't have a "showroom" that they use for tours.
- What is your child/teacher ratio? Take notice of what this actually looks like during your tour.
- What is your teacher turnover?
Discipline:
- How do you discipline the children? (A: They "redirect" them and try to figure out their need. Which is in line with what we aim to do at home, so we loved this answer!)
Safety:
- Take notice of building security when you arrive to the location. Do you have to get buzzed in through a locked door? Is there security staff?
- Do they practice drills (fire, intruder, tornado, etc.)? Have you ever had an intruder situation?
- Are the classrooms/play areas safe? Take close notice as you tour the facility.
- Is the staff CPR certified?
- Is there a nurse on site?
- What is your cleaning schedule?
Social:
- Take note of the current children's behaviors. Are they anxious? Engaged? Autonomous? Safe? Interacting with each other?
- What age range will my child be grouped in? (A: The toddler group, which is 18-36 months. Part of the Montessori Method is kids are grouped together in age ranges.)
Parents Working With the Staff:
- What are the communication methods?
- Do we have a point of contact?
- Do you allow visitors?
- What is your policy on who can pick-up and drop-off my child?
Food:
- What time is lunch?
- Do you offer lunch food?
- What are your policies on food allergies?
Nap Time:
- What time is nap time? Is it before or after lunchtime? (This is good to know, because you may want to work your child into the same schedule at home.)
- Ask to be shown the actual sleeping setup. What will my child sleep on?
- Do the kids nap together? In what room? What is the atmosphere? (A: They play white noise, soft music, turn down the lights, etc.)
- What do you do if my child isn't wanting to take a nap?
Bathrooms & Potty Training:
- Where are the bathrooms located?
- What is your policy on potty training?
Before Leaving:
- What makes this place unique?
- Take a moment to check in with yourselves on your gut feelings.
- If you brought your child with you to the tour, ask yourself, did he/she seem to be interested in the classrooms, other children, staff, etc.?
Printable Sample Question List For You!:
If you're interested in learning more on the Montessori Method, here are a couple helpful resources:
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xx Lauren
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