NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2026 Hawaii Parent 43 areas such as curriculum, staff qualifications, program quality, and ongoing professional development. There are several accreditation programs participated in by schools throughout the islands. Ask the schools you tour about their involvement in accreditation or about their future plans to be involved. CURRICULUM There are a variety of curricula that schools decide to follow in educating their students. These philosophies on education allow for different methods of teaching, discipline, and interaction with students. If you are concerned with which specific style your school is choosing, your director will easily be able to answer this for you. Ask what curriculum they follow and do your research from there. Some of the most common are Montessori, the Creative Curriculum, and Waldorf. All of these styles of teaching are designed to benefit the student through various methods and activities. Feel free to ask how lessons are chosen and how often they change. Above all, make sure play is at the center of every lesson. A preschool child, no matter what age, learns through play. Play is their work. What may look like playful silliness to the untrained eye should and will be a purposefully planned lesson for students. Learning your school’s teaching philosophy can help you as a parent to see past the silliness and understand the lesson being taught. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT Each classroom you visit will be different in how it’s set up, how it’s decorated, and how it’s run. Visit the classrooms and ask yourself how it feels to be there. Are you happy? Are you stressed? Are you excited? Check for cleanliness of the floor, tables, play areas, and bathrooms. Preschool classrooms can get messy – twenty-four fouryear-olds should be making a mess – but is it organized chaos? Or just chaos? Is it messy or dirty? Ask about sanitation practices and cleaning routines. Ask about bathroom visits and how those are dealt with (and depending on the age of your child, about potty training routines). Another telltale sign of a well-run classroom is to look at the art. Student art should cover the walls of their classroom, making them feel as though they are a part of their school. It should be hung at eye level for children so they can take pride in their work. As an adult, look at the displayed projects and consider: Is it made by the
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