Barrel of Monkeys Academy: Decide With Confidence

                           Decide with Confidence

Parent Checklist
To make a confident decision you need to understand the right questions to ask. Our Parent
Checklist is here to help. It is specifically designed to address the educational strengths of a
service versus basic safety & security procedures. We believe this list will help you distinguish
the very best child care providers. To view our safety & security procedures please see the
'Our Facility' Tab.

General Questions to ask:
Is there an abundance of age-appropriate children's literature?

Do teachers receive program training, support and ongoing training? What type?

Do teachers use educational resources (i.e., curriculum guides, lesson planning tools,
child-development resources)? Ask for examples.

Is there a mix of teacher-initiated group activities and child-chosen individual activities?

Ideally, you should notice approximately 3-5 large group times (15-30 minutes in length) and
two 30-60 minute sessions of choice time with activities for children to choose from, allowing
the teachers opportunities to provide individual attention.

Is the program based on age-appropriate learning objectives? (Including Language &
Communication, Cognitive Development, Creativity & Arts, Physical Development and
Personal & Social Development).

Do the children have daily outdoor play with access to age appropriate playground
equipment?

Does each child have her own record of growth and progress? Ask for examples.

Are critical writing and reading skills practiced every day?

Is there a Communications Center for each age group that lists daily schedule, menu, and
important announcements?

Things to look for:
Are teachers interacting with the children in a way that maximizes learning?

Teachers should be asking open-ended questions and helping the children get excited about
what they are learning.

Are there suggested involvement activities for parents? How do you learn about these
activities?

Does the after school program have a balance of activities including quiet time for homework,
group meeting time, outdoor time and project time?

Is the program based on age-appropriate development objectives? (Including Basic Motor
Skills, Senses Development, Self-help Skills, Listening-responding and Game Play).

Is an activity and lesson plan posted and is the teacher following it?

Are there daily and/or weekly progress reports sent to parents? Ask for examples.

Is team building encouraged through group projects?

Infants & Toddlers

Is the program based on age-appropriate learning objectives? (Including Language &
Communication, Cognitive Development, Creativity & Arts, Physical Development and
Personal & Social Development).

Are the teachers open to questions?

Do the children work creatively on open-ended art projects and Learning Center activities to
nurture their social skills and creativity?

Two's
Is there a schedule to ensure your child is with the same teacher for the majority of the day,
every day?

Is reading encouraged through a literature circle and shared reading time?

Is there a parent group to provide input and share information?

Preschool & Pre-K
Is there an orientation plan for a child's first 30 days in the program?

Are children happily engaged in activities?

Is there a focus on early learning and getting your child ready for elementary school?

School Age
Do the children and teachers engage in shared reading activities, which allow them to explore
theme and age appropriate children's literature? Ask to see the literature.

Does the program emphasize school readiness skills, such as phonemic awareness,
vocabulary building, writing and math?

Is there a robust lesson plan and/or curriculum materials for learning?

Health & Safety
A vitally important part of any visit is determining that the facility makes your child's health and
safety their top priority. Learn more about our comprehensive health and safety practices.