Starting school is a big milestone in a child’s life as well as a parent. Your child’s first school is going to build the foundation of not only education but his/her character and behavior as well. It’s the first stepping stone in the outside world. So, choosing the right school for your child is a necessity.
Is your child ready for School?
Before you get into the process of choosing a school for your child, it’s very important to determine whether he/she is ready to go to school or not. In India, you can start sending your kid to playschool as young as 2 years. But that doesn’t mean your child is ready to go to school if he is 2 years or older.
You need to determine your child’s readiness, and you can do that by asking yourself the questions below:
- Can your child handle a few hours of separation without any problem?
- Can your child communicate things like hunger, needing to go to the toilet, etc.?
- Can they identify their belongings?
- Can your child listen and follow instructions?
- Can your child sit still in one place for more than a few minutes?
If your answers for most of these questions are yes, then your child might be ready to go to school.
Choosing the Right School
Here are a few things to consider when choosing a school for your child:
- Proximity from your Home
You don’t want your child to have a long commute time. It’s better to have the school close enough that can be reached within 10 minutes. Small kids don’t do well in a bus or van stuck in traffic for an hour or so. And if you are taking him to and fro, it saves you time too.
- Infrastructure
Check out the overall infrastructure of the school, the building, classes, playgrounds, etc. It doesn’t have to super fancy or something, but satisfactory enough.
- Extra-Curricular Activities
Children need overall development, just having them recite rhymes after rhymes are not enough. Check out the course outline and syllabus. What other activities are provided by the school? It should be a balance between physical as well as mental development.
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- Faculty
Learn about the teachers in the school. You are placing your kids’ well-being in the hands of the teachers, so you have the right to know as much you can about them to make your decision.
- Budget/Affordability
It’s one of the most important factors to consider. Don’t get caught up in the big brand names. Make sure the fee structure falls under your budget.
- Student-Teacher Ratio
Every child is different; some kids can adjust well in a class of 30 or 40 students and may not need more attention from the teacher, while some kids need more from their teacher. In my child’s case, I just knew he wouldn’t do well in the class strength of 40 children giving he was a little shy. Only you understand your child, so make the decision as per his/her requirements.
- Ask Fellow Parents
Ask your fellow parents whose kids are already in school. They might help you decide and give you the necessary advice which you might miss among all other things. But ultimately the decision should be yours because what is right for your neighbor’s children will not always be right for your children too. But you can definitely get feedbacks and reviews from them to help you decide.
So if you have been wondering about which school is right for your child, go through the above list and evaluate the school you are considering according to it. It will definitely help you choose the right school.
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