Education is important at every age! That’s you should be prepared with an arsenal of good questions when scouting out a preschool for your youngster. Print this page to take with you when interviewing the director at a child care center.

1. How long has the school been in business?
2. How would you rate your staff retention?
3. What kind of education/first aid/emergency training do staff members have?
4. Does the school have any accolades/accreditations? What are they?
5. What is your licensed capacity?
6. Are there openings? If not, is there a waiting list?
7. What are your hours of operation? What holidays are you closed?
8. Does my child need to be potty-trained to attend?
9. Do children need to be immunized to attend?
10. 10. Do you have a copy of your illness policy I could review?
11. What kind of hygiene practices are in place?
12. What are your rates? Is there a discount for enrolling more than one child?
13. Do you have an open door policy? Can I visit unannounced?
14. What security measures are in place?
15. What is your school’s education philosophy?
16. How are children disciplined?
17. What kind of extracurricular activities can the children participate in? Are there field trips? How are children transported?
18. Do you have an emergency plan? Is a copy available?
19. Do you provide meals? Snacks?
20. Do children have nap time?

Make sure to look at the surroundings when visiting a potential preschool or child care center. Is it clean? Do the children and staff members seem happy and engaged? You may also want to ask the center’s director for references you can call and check with prior to enrolling your son or daughter at a facility.

Children and adults often view things very differently. Take the Kutztown Folk Festival, for example. On my visit this past Wednesday, July 6, with my 6-year-old son Riley, we came away with very different views. Check out our Top 5 lists:

Nikki (Mom)

1. The craftsmen and women displaying their wares
2. The food
3. The background music
4. Glass-blowing demonstrations
5. The animals (be it in the petting zoo, or the dogs who made the trip with their owners)

Riley (Son)

1. The bunnies! (Seriously, I think we spent an hour with them between the two stops.)
2. The horse-drawn carousel (Can you tell he loves animals? He took an up-close seat and was enamored with Molly.)
3. Ice cream! Check out the guy who makes it by pedaling that bike-like thing.
4. Running through the hay maze (even when it’s sunny and 93 degrees outside)
5. Cooling off on the misty bridges (guess it must have been the running through the hay maze over and over.)

Seriously folks, regardless of your age, the Kuztown Folk Festival is a fantastically fun and enormously educational affair. Make sure you check out the 2012 installment! To keep up-to-date, bookmark the event’s website at www.kutztownfestival.com.