Starting Preschool - O Fallon,IL

I agree with the previous poster. If it is connected with the school district it is probably Parent's as Teacher's and yes they do have to 'qualify', but to qualify the child must need help in some area. My son didn't see the need to play catch with some lady he didn't know, so they said he needed help with muscle skills (really he just needed socialization), it also depends on whether there is an opening they can put a child at any level if there is an opening.
If it's a regular preschool not connected with the district they are probably just trying to see which class she needs to be in, so she will be at the level where she can learn well.

very first thought: never heard of a home visit unless you are trying to enroll in a state-funded program. Then I read the other responses, & it seems that we're all of the same mindframe.

If you are planning on using a state facility (which are excellent), then this is the norm. If this is a private facility (whether home-based or public-assisted), then this is a little unusual ...particularly if you're looking at private care.

Now for the actual testing parameters, it's not much different from a basic screening for organizations such as Parents as 1st Teachers. It's not a test (if they're good! with kids)...it's simply providing a few activities & seeing how your child responds. Take a look at the website for your school district, & there should be some info on expectations for your child's age group. You can also call & get this info.

As for private care, in my daycare, I always interview prospective parents ....in my home, with their child, during my working hours. That way I can see how the child may interact with the other kids here. I have a Welcome Letter outlining all of my policies, & I also follow a list of ??s for me to ask.....to keep me directed during the interview.

I actually had one Mom come into the interview clearly stating she would not bring her child here until I passed her "list of questions"....& then she was absolutely shocked when I pulled out my Welcome packet....complete with her info & my ?? list. She actually sat back in the chair STUNNED that I would have the temerity to question her! Needless to say, she chose someone else....with my blessings! Good Luck on your home visit.....all should go well.

I enrolled K in the 3 yr.old program at our local Head Start program. There wasn't a home visit until school had already started but we did have to take her to the school for an evaluation to make sure she was able to meet minimal standards. I think they might just want to get to know your son a bit better. Maybe the evaluation is to make sure he is able to do the normal things a 3 year old should be able to do. If you aren't sure what those are you can go to a website I'll add at the end and research the question. I think doing the evaluation in the home is a wonderful idea. Three year olds are very interested in the world around them and being someplaqce to new to evaluate their skills could be harder and take much longer if they keep wanting to go play int he reading area, or the block area, or the homemaking are, etc...classrooms can be very distracting.

http://www.babycenter.com/preschoolers

Are you participating in a state funded preschool?? Once I lost my job, I looked in to free or low cost preschool (since we wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise) and found one offered by our city and funded by the state of MI. Therefore, I think they have guidelines that they are required to follow. We had a home visit which lasted about 5 min or so. Not a really big deal. They weren't really evaluating my son so much as just following some sort of rule set up by the state when they are paying for it. They might just be seeing where he is socially/educationally to place him in the correct peer group.

Parents as Teachers would do home visits. If placement were for next year, the public schools in metro-Illinois would generally have an additional preschool screening. Ours was at the school and was fairly comprehensive. At the school, they would be looking to see if your child is on track academically. Additionally, they would assess him for developmental delays in fine motor, speech, etc. that would qualify him for special services. If you are talking about getting him in this year, midway through the school year, perhaps this is instead of the screening. Unless your child does not qualify for preschool age-wise, the public schools are more than likely not going to tell you to wait because he isn't ready. If he is sociallly or academically not ready it might actually better qualify him for acceptance. The larger districts like Belleville have fairly large programs and would rarely turn any child down. Depending upon the district, some of the smaller districts have fewer slots. Children who are academically,sociallly, economically, or developmentally at greater risk are more likely to be accepted into these public school progrsms. Others will be put onto a waiting list. The other side of the coin is that if you feel that your child might need to wait another year for kindergarten, know that some districts will not keep him back in preschool. I don't know if this is a funding policy or a district policy. However, you do have the choice to keep them in kindergarten another year. I have several friends with boys whose birthdays were in July/August who chose to send their children to private preschools for this reason. Others just repeated kindergarten. Academically these kids were on par. Socially, they needed another year.