May 19, 2025 • 23 mins
Are you a first time parent with a little one who is quickly getting bigger? Wondering about all the big next steps such as preschool? Join in for this episode with Amanda Cavaliere of Tomorrow's Hope Preschool to hear her talk with our podcast producer (and preschool parent!) Ashley Black about when and how to choose a preschool program that is right for your kid! If you feel like you have no idea where to start, you are not alone! Be sure to subscribe and share this episode with a friend who has a toddler/soon to be preschooler!
NOTES:
- Check out Tomorrow's HOPE! - https://www.meethope.org/tomorrows-hope
Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.online.church! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Meet Hope Podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hi everyone, welcome to the Meet Hope podcast.
My name is Ashley Black andtoday I'm excited to be here
with Amanda Cavalieri.
Hey Amanda, hi Ashley, how areyou doing?
I'm great thanks.
So we always talk about whenyou're on the podcast, that you
have multiple roles here at Hope, but today we're going to talk
to you as the director ofTomorrow's Hope Preschool.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
That sounds good, but just in case this is someone's
first time listening, give us a10-second little intro of
yourself.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Sure, so I have been the director of Tomorrow's Hope
for the past 10 years and I havetwo kids of my own who both
went through Tomorrow's Hope,but now are both teenagers and
before they went throughpreschool I was a first grade
teacher for 10 years.
So I've seen kids on theteacher end, the parent end and
now as a director end at thisearly childhood stage, and I
(01:15):
just love this age.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Oh, we love that.
You love them so much,specifically as a parent.
So I'm talking to you as ourpodcast producer, but also as a
parent.
So I have two kids who are 18months and four years old, and
my four-year-old has been atpreschool now for three years.
He's going into kindergarten,which I can't believe.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I can't either.
He was just in toddler circle.
It feels like.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Right, and so preschool has just meant so much
to us.
And recently I was thinkingabout you and I were talking
about different parentingpodcasts to do, and one that I
had asked you if you'd bewilling to do was one about
preschool in general.
Why preschool?
What is preschool Like?
How do you decide, make allthose decisions as a parent?
Because one thing Chris and Ioften joke about is you know,
(02:02):
with Kale we're figuring it allout for the first time and there
isn't like.
I mean, there's tons of booksand podcasts and whatever, but
everybody does somethingdifferent and sometimes we don't
realize like we should be doingsomething until we talk to
somebody else and they'realready, they've been doing
something for a while, and thenwe go should we have done that?
Should we be doing that rightnow?
Should we have already signedhim up for something you know
(02:23):
like?
And so it's the first kid,right, and it's like, and it's
okay that everybody's makingdifferent decisions and doing
things different, but it'sreally easy to get caught up in
like am I doing the right thingfor my kid?
Sure, and that's not a greatlike place to like live in all
the time, but also you want todo like the best by your kid?
Absolutely, and so that's whywe're here today.
(02:47):
So, amanda, let's start with.
Why preschool?
So why would you suggestsomeone starts looking into
preschool for their very littleone?
Speaker 3 (02:55):
That's a great question and I'm going to say
it's got a two-prong answer.
First, is for the child, right,which is obviously the obvious
answer.
And when we talk aboutpreschool for the child, it's
not.
Preschool is not a staterequirement, right?
Right, it's an extra.
But really what preschool isfor in its best element is for
(03:15):
social, emotional developmentright, yeah.
I'll give parents tourssometimes and they'll say my
child is so smart, you know, hecan speak seven languages and he
knows the alphabet backwardsand forwards and can do four
digit long division.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
We all think our children, our child is the best
child.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
And then you meet the kid, and the kid can't pull up
his pants and eats boogers forlunch, you know.
So it's like we don't need tolook at the academics when
they're two and three and four.
What we want to focus on is thesocial, emotional piece, those
things that they can't learn athome, right?
So what can't we learn at home?
We can't learn how to separatefrom our grownup at home, right,
that's a big life skill.
(03:50):
Right To know that.
I can go someplace, have fun andbe safe and that my grownup
comes back.
That's a skill, right.
How to share toys with multiplepeople If there's an only child
at home, or an only in a baby,you know, most often these,
these kids come to preschool.
They really don't have to sharea whole lot, um, and that's a
life skill.
How to wait my turn.
(04:11):
How to um ask for help, right.
How do I ask somebody?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
else for help, right when mom and dad aren't there?
Like just meeting your needsbecause they're used to it all
the time?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yes, how do I advocate for myself in a group
of 10,?
Right, those are things thatcan't be learned at home.
So if you are looking forsocial emotional development,
preschool is a great first placeto start.
The other reason why preschoolis so important is because it
helps parents to develop acommunity, and you've spoken to
(04:46):
that so clearly.
Of like.
No, we don't want to always becomparing and looking around us,
but also, parenting is hard.
It's a thankless job and it isso helpful to meet other parents
going through that same stage.
So when your kids are in thesame class as nine or 10 other
kids, there's a whole set ofother parents that you get to
(05:06):
know just by waiting in linewhen you're picking them up or
coming to back to school night,and having conversations with
these parents helps you affirmand reaffirm what you're doing
at home.
Right, you're not the only one.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yes, I mean, that is what I tell people specifically
when they start looking attoddler circle, which is
something you do at preschool,that I always say.
That for me was like one of thefirst moments, specifically
because I had Kale in 2020.
So we were a pandemic family andso community has taken a little
bit longer, and I always saythat, being in that community
(05:41):
and since then, in every classhe's been in in preschool there
have been so many moments whereI have felt lost better as a mom
because I've, because I'veeither had to, I've had a
conversation with another parentof like, oh, you're going
through that too, or oh, how areyou guys handling that?
Or oh, your kid said that too,or your kid did this too, or
(06:01):
I've watched it play out in realtime.
So, you know, maybe mine ishaving a tough morning on the
way there and we get it together, but then, maybe during like
toddler circle, another kid hasa tough time and and I watch
that parent, you know, grace,graciously, navigate their child
having a difficult time, andthen I feel like, oh, I'm not
the only one whose kid is havinga tough morning, you know, like
(06:21):
those kind of moments where weget to kind of do be parents in
front of each other have beenreally meaningful to me Because
also, every, every single time,all the other parents have been
like hey, it's okay, us too.
Like.
Oh, let me tell you whathappened yesterday, you know
Like, and so that has meant somuch because, yeah, sometimes
parenting can feel like it'shappening.
(06:42):
It's happening next to people,but also in isolation, um and so
being able to just connect withother families has meant a lot.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, I mean, we parent best when we parent in
community.
So preschool provides thecommunity for your child, it
provides professionals who canhelp you and it provides just
other parents to go alongsideyou, and all of those things are
beneficial in our parentingjourney.
So when?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
when do we know it's time?
When do you start looking?
When do you know it's time foryour kid to do preschool?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, so there's not a hard and fast age or number
and every child is different,right?
So this is one of those thingsthat, as a parent, you get to
decide, right, because it's not,it's not a law that when they
turn three they have to go topreschool.
So what you want to be lookingat is what is best for your
(07:34):
family and, you know, somefamilies choose a preschool
where they they are two parentsworking full-time and they need,
you know, they need full-timecare, so they're looking more at
a daycare, like seven to sixkind of thing.
Some have grandparents, they'rewatching the child during the
day, and preschool offers just abreak, you know, or a break for
a stay at home parent, you know, just here's three hours where
(07:56):
you can go to the dentist or goto the grocery store or just
have a cup of coffee drink thewhole thing.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Like you said, it's good for them and it's good for
you to have the mental break.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yes, and so, like we do start.
You mentioned toddler circle,that is, a parent child class.
So that's 18 to 36 months.
So for those parents who arelike I don't know if I'm ready,
I don't know if they're ready,it's a great introduction to
school with you for a short hourand a half.
But then we start our program.
Our license program starts attwo and a half, and because we
(08:34):
find that two and a half is thatfirst stage where they are
starting to be ready to not justhave some parallel play but
have more interactive play withother children, and it's they're
all in this potty trainingseason, so they're learning
independence in different waysand getting to school is one of
those ways.
And there is this greatscripture.
I know that children are a giftfrom the Lord.
This comes out of Psalm 127,but it also talks about how
(08:59):
children are like arrows in awarrior's hand.
They are, and how joyful is theman or woman who has a quiver
full of them.
Right, like, our children arearrows and we, as a parent, our
job is to launch them into theworld, and we might want to hold
on to those arrows for as longas possible, right, but we have
to remember and it's reallyreally hard to remember when our
(09:22):
kids are babies and two andthree and four that we are
raising adults and so that atsome point, these babies, these
arrows, are going into the world.
They are not ours to hold on toall the time.
Right, we can love them forever, but we eventually have to
launch them into the world, andso the best way to do that is to
do that gradually, right?
(09:44):
Um, that we are going to kindof like I'd like to say let the
rope out slowly, and so, atevery age and stage, is looking
at what's the next thing that Ican help them develop, and, and
just a little at a time, alittle at a time, a little at a
time, versus like let the wholeroll out, and so, going to going
to preschool, even if it's justtwo mornings a week for three
(10:06):
hours, that's six hours in aweek, which really, when you
look at, a whole week is not awhole lot.
It can feel like a lot when youfirst start to do it, but then
it's not, and then you realize,as the parent, you're like that
three hours was the fastestthree hours of my life, right, I
mean yeah, yeah, but those,that is the first way to let
that rope out.
Okay, let's, let's put them ina loving, nurturing, play-based
(10:28):
setting with the trusted adultswhere they can.
They can just learn how to playwith other kids.
Right, there is a little bit ofa skill and a little bit more,
and a little bit more is a greatway to help our kids grow into
these adults, we'll be launchinginto the world.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
So if I'm thinking about sending my two and a half,
or maybe even three, whateverage we're thinking about when
should I start looking andmaking those decisions?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Sure.
So for us here we start in thewinter, before the upcoming
school year.
So we always open enrollment inthe fall or in the winter for
the fall.
So we started in January andreally it's so important to go
and tour schools, you know, goand visit multiple programs,
(11:17):
bring your child with you.
You know you'll get a feel assoon as you walk into a
classroom, into a hallway Um, ifit's right for you.
Uh, again, you're going to belooking at what kind of hours do
they offer that?
What does our life need?
Do we need half day?
Do we need full day?
Do we need early care?
Do we need extended care?
Do we want larger classes orsmaller classes?
(11:39):
Do we want faith to be a pieceof their preschool development?
Right, what does our budgetallow?
There's all sorts of pieces tothis.
And visit a bunch.
Talk to the teachers, talk toother parents, if you can.
I know social media always hasdifferent parent groups and
they'll put out questions,because often when I give tours,
(12:02):
I'll say to a new family howdid you find us?
And it's oh, we were on a groupon Facebook and threw out a
question.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Yes, which I know as I manage Hope Social Media, that
I'm always grateful for anybodythat shouts us out in their
local community Facebook groupsbecause and a credit to you guys
that often in what's up inVoorhees when someone says, hey,
I'm looking for preschool, likeI get, we get tagged so many
times saying check outtomorrow's Hope, check out
tomorrow's Hope.
(12:30):
So, yeah, that kind of word ofmouth is so helpful yes, um yeah
, yes, um, so you mentioned liketour with your child, one of
the things.
So for me, and maybe just me asa parent, um and I've I've been
grateful for other parents whoare better at this whenever
somebody says, do you have anyquestions, chris and I always
like we could, we've startedgoing what questions should we
have?
(12:50):
Yes, because we don't alwaysknow.
So do you have any suggestions?
Speaker 3 (12:56):
of good questions to ask One question.
I get a lot is tell us aboutyour security, and I mean we
hate to think that that's athing, but it is a.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Thing.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And so you want to pick a school that is paying
attention to that, becausesafety is first Discipline.
Paying attention to thatbecause safety is first right
Discipline, you know.
So asking the teacher or askingthe director what do you do
when my child doesn't behave?
Now, we all like to think thatour child behaves all the time,
but that is not the case.
And so how does a school handlediscipline?
(13:25):
I think that's a reallyimportant question to ask.
Potty training, you know that'sa question to ask.
Different ages, different,different schools have different
policies on that.
Or what do you do if a childhas an accident, that type of
thing?
If you have a child with anallergy or a medical need, you
want to ask that type ofquestion.
You know how, how do we handlethat here?
(13:46):
How can you help my child bestwith that?
Those are some that I think areimportant.
Yeah, to ask it's all reallyhelpful and I think that you
know all families are going tohave a little bit something
different too, but those are thebig ones that I get.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah, that's really helpful, especially cause, like
I was thinking about, you know,shifting into that preschool age
, especially with a first kid,you're coming out of kind of
like infant baby stage where,like all those are really valid
questions and I'm and you're notnecessarily my, I know, for me
my brain wasn't necessarily allthe way there yet in terms of
like, oh, these are things weneed to be thinking about.
(14:22):
So having that script ishelpful.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Absolutely.
You can ask about curriculumand if you do, I would say what
you want to be hearing at thisage is play-based.
You want to know that the kidsare moving around, that they're
hands-on, that they are gettinggross motor play, that they're
getting fine motor development,that they're getting fine motor
development, that we're talkingabout language development,
phonological development, andthat they are just playing,
(14:47):
playing, playing.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
They learn through play, yeah, which I love and we
love so much for our kid.
So if we're wanting to dopreschool and we're getting
ready maybe we've even made thedecision to end up for a kid for
preschool how can I, as aparent, be preparing for
preschool and preparing for thattransition, both for my kid and
(15:12):
also for me as a parent,because it's a big you mentioned
we've talked about a couple oftimes now.
It's a big change.
It's a big change.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Yeah.
So it's a choice you make.
So if you're making this choice, it's one we want to embrace
with joy and excitement.
Now, absolutely, there's goingto be like I can't believe.
You know, my child is andthere's.
There might be some sadnessmixed in, right, but.
But we want to be looking forthe joy and excitement and we
want to be sharing that with ourkids, right, especially if it's
(15:38):
their first time away from home.
It's their first time away fromtheir grownups.
That can be scary and that'stotally normal.
But if mommy is saying a dropoff, you know the child is
saying I'm going to miss you andthe mommy saying I'm going to
miss you so much too, right,that doesn't help.
But what you need and you canbe missing that child, but the
(16:00):
words might be I am so excitedfor what you're going to learn
today.
I can't wait to hear about itwhen I pick you up.
We want to make sure that weare showing our kids that we
have joy and excitement.
We might miss them inside, andthat's okay and but, but what we
want to give them first is thatyou are going to have a great
time and I can't wait to hearyour meeting and I can't wait to
hear what you're learning right?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
we want to be saving those tears for when, after they
get in the building yeah, yes,which I, I totally understand,
and I I have the privilege ofworking here, but I still, we
still drop kale off, just likeevery other kid gets dropped off
, and I remember that first dayof drop off and pulling away and
being more emotional than Iexpected to be and still, like
(16:43):
you know, yeah, wanting him toknow that, hey, we trust the
people that are here that you'regoing to be with and we're
excited that you're going to getto know them and they love you
so much.
And just to speak to Tomorrow'sHope, which I was going to ask
you to share a little bit moreabout Tomorrow's Hope in general
, but you know, one of thethings that you mentioned, that
joy and excitement, one of theyou guys do so many wonderful
(17:06):
things, in my opinion, but oneof my favorite things is that
every morning, without fail atpickup, whatever teacher gets my
kid out of the car, they'reexcited to see him and they
engage with him and like itnever feels like oh, we gotta
start another day with all thesekids.
You know, like the parents werelike okay bye.
(17:27):
You know, but like I'm justalways so um grateful and often
emotional at how they're, evenif he's had a tough day the day
before.
Like they're always like heybud how you, you doing, how was?
Soccer last night.
What did you do?
How was your birthday?
You know like they, they alwaysbring that joy and excitement
from the moment the day starts.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
So yeah, so the kids are going to follow your lead as
a parent, right.
So if you have that they'regoing to have, that helps them
to build that confidence too.
Mommy thinks I can go do this,I can do this too, right, I can
do hard things.
The other thing is is it's soimportant to be setting
boundaries at home, right?
If, if your child is is notused to hearing the word no or
(18:09):
not right now or in a fewminutes, and they come to school
and there's going to beboundaries at school, right, but
there has to be if we're goingto have any learning.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Learning and safety, and organization.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
And so you know, the first time a teacher is going to
say you know we're doing alesson on animals and the kid's
going to say well, I want tolearn about dinosaurs, or I want
to learn about, I want to goplay blocks.
Well, this is what we're doingtoday, and you know, there can
be meltdown, or there can besadness, or we're not going to
play with that toy right now.
The more that they know at homeoh, I have boundaries at home
too it helps them to come into aschool setting, knowing that,
(18:46):
oh yes, sometimes the answer isyes and sometimes the answer is
no yeah or not.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Yet yes, and as a, as a parent, I have found it
helpful that then they also comehome with new language, that
then we it helps us learn toolike, so, you're talking about
the toys.
What I was thinking about wasKale would sometimes come home
and say, oh, we couldn't playwith the trucks today.
They were sleeping because theywere like covered up and that.
But that became helpfullanguage because I'd be like oh
(19:10):
yeah, we can't do that right now.
The dolls are sleeping or wehave, you know, like little
things.
That he would come or like whenhe started learning like thumbs
up, thumbs down, choice, orthat he would come home and
teach us.
And it became this helpfullanguage for our family as well.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Yeah, yeah, so absolutely and the most.
And if you ever have a questionyou talk to teachers.
You know that communication isso important to go back both
ways.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
So, before we wrap up , tell us a little bit more
about Tomorrow's Hopespecifically.
So how do we enroll and all ofthat?
Yeah us a little bit more aboutTomorrow's Hope specifically.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
So how do we enroll and all of that?
Absolutely so.
Tomorrow's Hope is located inHope Church Some people don't
even know that, that we are kindof tucked in the back and our
playground is surrounded bybuildings.
So some people don't even knowwe're here because you don't see
us or hear us from the front ofthe building.
We have our own little wing, butyou will hear us if you come in
the back, I promise.
So that's where we're located.
(20:03):
We do run the toddler circleclass that we talked about.
That's one morning a week andthat's again.
Any adult can bring a child tothat, ages 18 to 36 months.
Our preschool runs ages two anda half and we go all the way up
through kindergarten and we arefully licensed.
We have different days of theweek and different class sizes,
options that fit anybody.
(20:23):
We are mostly a half-dayprogram.
We do have a four-year-oldclass that runs longer and our
kindergarten does as well.
We have our website, which canbe found through the Hope main
website.
It's alsotomorrowshopepreschoolorg and we
always love to meet newfamilies, give tours, chat on
the phone.
We have our Facebook page.
(20:45):
So lots going on in the back.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
That's awesome.
Is there anything else that youwould want parents to know
about preschool, or Tomorrow'sHope in general, or preparedness
, or just anything else that wehaven't touched on?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
We are a play-based preschool and we do integrate
faith into everything we do, sowe would encourage families that
are looking for a program withsmaller class sizes and a
nurturing, loving, play-based,faith-based environment to check
us out.
We'd love to meet them Great.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, thank you so much for doing this conversation
with us, Amanda.
I selfishly wish that I had donethis conversation with you
before we started preschool, butI'm hoping that it's helpful to
new parents with their firstkid or trying to figure it out.
And if you're, I encourage youthat then when you have your
second, it's like no big deal.
You're like I know how to dothis.
So, but you know, I mentionedI'm, you know I'm our podcast
(21:42):
producer.
But as a parent with a kid hereat Tomorrow's Hope, we are
incredibly grateful foreverything that you guys do.
We just feel like our child isso well loved and cared for.
So thank you for all that youand our amazing teachers do.
We're recording this.
We have just come off teacherappreciation week and we just
are happy to celebrate all ofyou.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
So thanks, Ashley.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Thank you and, yeah, if you're a listener with us,
we're so glad that you're here.
If you can think of someone whomight want to listen to this
episode, please, please, shareit with them.
You can find a link to it onour website, at meethopeorg
slash podcast, or in on oursocial media if you'd like to
share it that way, or you canjust text it to them.
(22:22):
But we have new episodes everyMonday, and so we hope that you
will check us out next week aswell.
Be sure to hit the littlesubscribe or follow button in
your podcast app, so that way,you get new episodes in your
feed every Monday, and untilthen, we will see you next time.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith feed every Monday.
And until then, we will see younext time.
Welcome to the Meet Hope Podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Hi everyone, welcome to the Meet Hope podcast.
My name is Ashley Black andtoday I'm excited to be here
with Amanda Cavalieri.
Hey Amanda, hi Ashley, how areyou doing?
I'm great thanks.
So we always talk about whenyou're on the podcast, that you
have multiple roles here at Hope, but today we're going to talk
to you as the director ofTomorrow's Hope Preschool.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
That sounds good, but just in case this is someone's
first time listening, give us a10-second little intro of
yourself.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Sure, so I have been the director of Tomorrow's Hope
for the past 10 years and I havetwo kids of my own who both
went through Tomorrow's Hope,but now are both teenagers and
before they went throughpreschool I was a first grade
teacher for 10 years.
So I've seen kids on theteacher end, the parent end and
now as a director end at thisearly childhood stage, and I
(01:15):
just love this age.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Oh, we love that.
You love them so much,specifically as a parent.
So I'm talking to you as ourpodcast producer, but also as a
parent.
So I have two kids who are 18months and four years old, and
my four-year-old has been atpreschool now for three years.
He's going into kindergarten,which I can't believe.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I can't either.
He was just in toddler circle.
It feels like.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Right, and so preschool has just meant so much
to us.
And recently I was thinkingabout you and I were talking
about different parentingpodcasts to do, and one that I
had asked you if you'd bewilling to do was one about
preschool in general.
Why preschool?
What is preschool Like?
How do you decide, make allthose decisions as a parent?
Because one thing Chris and Ioften joke about is you know,
(02:02):
with Kale we're figuring it allout for the first time and there
isn't like.
I mean, there's tons of booksand podcasts and whatever, but
everybody does somethingdifferent and sometimes we don't
realize like we should be doingsomething until we talk to
somebody else and they'realready, they've been doing
something for a while, and thenwe go should we have done that?
Should we be doing that rightnow?
Should we have already signedhim up for something you know
(02:23):
like?
And so it's the first kid,right, and it's like, and it's
okay that everybody's makingdifferent decisions and doing
things different, but it'sreally easy to get caught up in
like am I doing the right thingfor my kid?
Sure, and that's not a greatlike place to like live in all
the time, but also you want todo like the best by your kid?
Absolutely, and so that's whywe're here today.
(02:47):
So, amanda, let's start with.
Why preschool?
So why would you suggestsomeone starts looking into
preschool for their very littleone?
Speaker 3 (02:55):
That's a great question and I'm going to say
it's got a two-prong answer.
First, is for the child, right,which is obviously the obvious
answer.
And when we talk aboutpreschool for the child, it's
not.
Preschool is not a staterequirement, right?
Right, it's an extra.
But really what preschool isfor in its best element is for
(03:15):
social, emotional developmentright, yeah.
I'll give parents tourssometimes and they'll say my
child is so smart, you know, hecan speak seven languages and he
knows the alphabet backwardsand forwards and can do four
digit long division.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
We all think our children, our child is the best
child.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
And then you meet the kid, and the kid can't pull up
his pants and eats boogers forlunch, you know.
So it's like we don't need tolook at the academics when
they're two and three and four.
What we want to focus on is thesocial, emotional piece, those
things that they can't learn athome, right?
So what can't we learn at home?
We can't learn how to separatefrom our grownup at home, right,
that's a big life skill.
(03:50):
Right To know that.
I can go someplace, have fun andbe safe and that my grownup
comes back.
That's a skill, right.
How to share toys with multiplepeople If there's an only child
at home, or an only in a baby,you know, most often these,
these kids come to preschool.
They really don't have to sharea whole lot, um, and that's a
life skill.
How to wait my turn.
(04:11):
How to um ask for help, right.
How do I ask somebody?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
else for help, right when mom and dad aren't there?
Like just meeting your needsbecause they're used to it all
the time?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yes, how do I advocate for myself in a group
of 10,?
Right, those are things thatcan't be learned at home.
So if you are looking forsocial emotional development,
preschool is a great first placeto start.
The other reason why preschoolis so important is because it
helps parents to develop acommunity, and you've spoken to
(04:46):
that so clearly.
Of like.
No, we don't want to always becomparing and looking around us,
but also, parenting is hard.
It's a thankless job and it isso helpful to meet other parents
going through that same stage.
So when your kids are in thesame class as nine or 10 other
kids, there's a whole set ofother parents that you get to
(05:06):
know just by waiting in linewhen you're picking them up or
coming to back to school night,and having conversations with
these parents helps you affirmand reaffirm what you're doing
at home.
Right, you're not the only one.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yes, I mean, that is what I tell people specifically
when they start looking attoddler circle, which is
something you do at preschool,that I always say.
That for me was like one of thefirst moments, specifically
because I had Kale in 2020.
So we were a pandemic family andso community has taken a little
bit longer, and I always saythat, being in that community
(05:41):
and since then, in every classhe's been in in preschool there
have been so many moments whereI have felt lost better as a mom
because I've, because I'veeither had to, I've had a
conversation with another parentof like, oh, you're going
through that too, or oh, how areyou guys handling that?
Or oh, your kid said that too,or your kid did this too, or
(06:01):
I've watched it play out in realtime.
So, you know, maybe mine ishaving a tough morning on the
way there and we get it together, but then, maybe during like
toddler circle, another kid hasa tough time and and I watch
that parent, you know, grace,graciously, navigate their child
having a difficult time, andthen I feel like, oh, I'm not
the only one whose kid is havinga tough morning, you know, like
(06:21):
those kind of moments where weget to kind of do be parents in
front of each other have beenreally meaningful to me Because
also, every, every single time,all the other parents have been
like hey, it's okay, us too.
Like.
Oh, let me tell you whathappened yesterday, you know
Like, and so that has meant somuch because, yeah, sometimes
parenting can feel like it'shappening.
(06:42):
It's happening next to people,but also in isolation, um and so
being able to just connect withother families has meant a lot.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Yeah, I mean, we parent best when we parent in
community.
So preschool provides thecommunity for your child, it
provides professionals who canhelp you and it provides just
other parents to go alongsideyou, and all of those things are
beneficial in our parentingjourney.
So when?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
when do we know it's time?
When do you start looking?
When do you know it's time foryour kid to do preschool?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, so there's not a hard and fast age or number
and every child is different,right?
So this is one of those thingsthat, as a parent, you get to
decide, right, because it's not,it's not a law that when they
turn three they have to go topreschool.
So what you want to be lookingat is what is best for your
(07:34):
family and, you know, somefamilies choose a preschool
where they they are two parentsworking full-time and they need,
you know, they need full-timecare, so they're looking more at
a daycare, like seven to sixkind of thing.
Some have grandparents, they'rewatching the child during the
day, and preschool offers just abreak, you know, or a break for
a stay at home parent, you know, just here's three hours where
(07:56):
you can go to the dentist or goto the grocery store or just
have a cup of coffee drink thewhole thing.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Like you said, it's good for them and it's good for
you to have the mental break.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yes, and so, like we do start.
You mentioned toddler circle,that is, a parent child class.
So that's 18 to 36 months.
So for those parents who arelike I don't know if I'm ready,
I don't know if they're ready,it's a great introduction to
school with you for a short hourand a half.
But then we start our program.
Our license program starts attwo and a half, and because we
(08:34):
find that two and a half is thatfirst stage where they are
starting to be ready to not justhave some parallel play but
have more interactive play withother children, and it's they're
all in this potty trainingseason, so they're learning
independence in different waysand getting to school is one of
those ways.
And there is this greatscripture.
I know that children are a giftfrom the Lord.
This comes out of Psalm 127,but it also talks about how
(08:59):
children are like arrows in awarrior's hand.
They are, and how joyful is theman or woman who has a quiver
full of them.
Right, like, our children arearrows and we, as a parent, our
job is to launch them into theworld, and we might want to hold
on to those arrows for as longas possible, right, but we have
to remember and it's reallyreally hard to remember when our
(09:22):
kids are babies and two andthree and four that we are
raising adults and so that atsome point, these babies, these
arrows, are going into the world.
They are not ours to hold on toall the time.
Right, we can love them forever, but we eventually have to
launch them into the world, andso the best way to do that is to
do that gradually, right?
(09:44):
Um, that we are going to kindof like I'd like to say let the
rope out slowly, and so, atevery age and stage, is looking
at what's the next thing that Ican help them develop, and, and
just a little at a time, alittle at a time, a little at a
time, versus like let the wholeroll out, and so, going to going
to preschool, even if it's justtwo mornings a week for three
(10:06):
hours, that's six hours in aweek, which really, when you
look at, a whole week is not awhole lot.
It can feel like a lot when youfirst start to do it, but then
it's not, and then you realize,as the parent, you're like that
three hours was the fastestthree hours of my life, right, I
mean yeah, yeah, but those,that is the first way to let
that rope out.
Okay, let's, let's put them ina loving, nurturing, play-based
(10:28):
setting with the trusted adultswhere they can.
They can just learn how to playwith other kids.
Right, there is a little bit ofa skill and a little bit more,
and a little bit more is a greatway to help our kids grow into
these adults, we'll be launchinginto the world.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
So if I'm thinking about sending my two and a half,
or maybe even three, whateverage we're thinking about when
should I start looking andmaking those decisions?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Sure.
So for us here we start in thewinter, before the upcoming
school year.
So we always open enrollment inthe fall or in the winter for
the fall.
So we started in January andreally it's so important to go
and tour schools, you know, goand visit multiple programs,
(11:17):
bring your child with you.
You know you'll get a feel assoon as you walk into a
classroom, into a hallway Um, ifit's right for you.
Uh, again, you're going to belooking at what kind of hours do
they offer that?
What does our life need?
Do we need half day?
Do we need full day?
Do we need early care?
Do we need extended care?
Do we want larger classes orsmaller classes?
(11:39):
Do we want faith to be a pieceof their preschool development?
Right, what does our budgetallow?
There's all sorts of pieces tothis.
And visit a bunch.
Talk to the teachers, talk toother parents, if you can.
I know social media always hasdifferent parent groups and
they'll put out questions,because often when I give tours,
(12:02):
I'll say to a new family howdid you find us?
And it's oh, we were on a groupon Facebook and threw out a
question.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
Yes, which I know as I manage Hope Social Media, that
I'm always grateful for anybodythat shouts us out in their
local community Facebook groupsbecause and a credit to you guys
that often in what's up inVoorhees when someone says, hey,
I'm looking for preschool, likeI get, we get tagged so many
times saying check outtomorrow's Hope, check out
tomorrow's Hope.
(12:30):
So, yeah, that kind of word ofmouth is so helpful yes, um yeah
, yes, um, so you mentioned liketour with your child, one of
the things.
So for me, and maybe just me asa parent, um and I've I've been
grateful for other parents whoare better at this whenever
somebody says, do you have anyquestions, chris and I always
like we could, we've startedgoing what questions should we
have?
(12:50):
Yes, because we don't alwaysknow.
So do you have any suggestions?
Speaker 3 (12:56):
of good questions to ask One question.
I get a lot is tell us aboutyour security, and I mean we
hate to think that that's athing, but it is a.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Thing.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
And so you want to pick a school that is paying
attention to that, becausesafety is first Discipline.
Paying attention to thatbecause safety is first right
Discipline, you know.
So asking the teacher or askingthe director what do you do
when my child doesn't behave?
Now, we all like to think thatour child behaves all the time,
but that is not the case.
And so how does a school handlediscipline?
(13:25):
I think that's a reallyimportant question to ask.
Potty training, you know that'sa question to ask.
Different ages, different,different schools have different
policies on that.
Or what do you do if a childhas an accident, that type of
thing?
If you have a child with anallergy or a medical need, you
want to ask that type ofquestion.
You know how, how do we handlethat here?
(13:46):
How can you help my child bestwith that?
Those are some that I think areimportant.
Yeah, to ask it's all reallyhelpful and I think that you
know all families are going tohave a little bit something
different too, but those are thebig ones that I get.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah, that's really helpful, especially cause, like
I was thinking about, you know,shifting into that preschool age
, especially with a first kid,you're coming out of kind of
like infant baby stage where,like all those are really valid
questions and I'm and you're notnecessarily my, I know, for me
my brain wasn't necessarily allthe way there yet in terms of
like, oh, these are things weneed to be thinking about.
(14:22):
So having that script ishelpful.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Absolutely.
You can ask about curriculumand if you do, I would say what
you want to be hearing at thisage is play-based.
You want to know that the kidsare moving around, that they're
hands-on, that they are gettinggross motor play, that they're
getting fine motor development,that they're getting fine motor
development, that we're talkingabout language development,
phonological development, andthat they are just playing,
(14:47):
playing, playing.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
They learn through play, yeah, which I love and we
love so much for our kid.
So if we're wanting to dopreschool and we're getting
ready maybe we've even made thedecision to end up for a kid for
preschool how can I, as aparent, be preparing for
preschool and preparing for thattransition, both for my kid and
(15:12):
also for me as a parent,because it's a big you mentioned
we've talked about a couple oftimes now.
It's a big change.
It's a big change.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Yeah.
So it's a choice you make.
So if you're making this choice, it's one we want to embrace
with joy and excitement.
Now, absolutely, there's goingto be like I can't believe.
You know, my child is andthere's.
There might be some sadnessmixed in, right, but.
But we want to be looking forthe joy and excitement and we
want to be sharing that with ourkids, right, especially if it's
(15:38):
their first time away from home.
It's their first time away fromtheir grownups.
That can be scary and that'stotally normal.
But if mommy is saying a dropoff, you know the child is
saying I'm going to miss you andthe mommy saying I'm going to
miss you so much too, right,that doesn't help.
But what you need and you canbe missing that child, but the
(16:00):
words might be I am so excitedfor what you're going to learn
today.
I can't wait to hear about itwhen I pick you up.
We want to make sure that weare showing our kids that we
have joy and excitement.
We might miss them inside, andthat's okay and but, but what we
want to give them first is thatyou are going to have a great
time and I can't wait to hearyour meeting and I can't wait to
hear what you're learning right?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
we want to be saving those tears for when, after they
get in the building yeah, yes,which I, I totally understand,
and I I have the privilege ofworking here, but I still, we
still drop kale off, just likeevery other kid gets dropped off
, and I remember that first dayof drop off and pulling away and
being more emotional than Iexpected to be and still, like
(16:43):
you know, yeah, wanting him toknow that, hey, we trust the
people that are here that you'regoing to be with and we're
excited that you're going to getto know them and they love you
so much.
And just to speak to Tomorrow'sHope, which I was going to ask
you to share a little bit moreabout Tomorrow's Hope in general
, but you know, one of thethings that you mentioned, that
joy and excitement, one of theyou guys do so many wonderful
(17:06):
things, in my opinion, but oneof my favorite things is that
every morning, without fail atpickup, whatever teacher gets my
kid out of the car, they'reexcited to see him and they
engage with him and like itnever feels like oh, we gotta
start another day with all thesekids.
You know, like the parents werelike okay bye.
(17:27):
You know, but like I'm justalways so um grateful and often
emotional at how they're, evenif he's had a tough day the day
before.
Like they're always like heybud how you, you doing, how was?
Soccer last night.
What did you do?
How was your birthday?
You know like they, they alwaysbring that joy and excitement
from the moment the day starts.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
So yeah, so the kids are going to follow your lead as
a parent, right.
So if you have that they'regoing to have, that helps them
to build that confidence too.
Mommy thinks I can go do this,I can do this too, right, I can
do hard things.
The other thing is is it's soimportant to be setting
boundaries at home, right?
If, if your child is is notused to hearing the word no or
(18:09):
not right now or in a fewminutes, and they come to school
and there's going to beboundaries at school, right, but
there has to be if we're goingto have any learning.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Learning and safety, and organization.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
And so you know, the first time a teacher is going to
say you know we're doing alesson on animals and the kid's
going to say well, I want tolearn about dinosaurs, or I want
to learn about, I want to goplay blocks.
Well, this is what we're doingtoday, and you know, there can
be meltdown, or there can besadness, or we're not going to
play with that toy right now.
The more that they know at homeoh, I have boundaries at home
too it helps them to come into aschool setting, knowing that,
(18:46):
oh yes, sometimes the answer isyes and sometimes the answer is
no yeah or not.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Yet yes, and as a, as a parent, I have found it
helpful that then they also comehome with new language, that
then we it helps us learn toolike, so, you're talking about
the toys.
What I was thinking about wasKale would sometimes come home
and say, oh, we couldn't playwith the trucks today.
They were sleeping because theywere like covered up and that.
But that became helpfullanguage because I'd be like oh
(19:10):
yeah, we can't do that right now.
The dolls are sleeping or wehave, you know, like little
things.
That he would come or like whenhe started learning like thumbs
up, thumbs down, choice, orthat he would come home and
teach us.
And it became this helpfullanguage for our family as well.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Yeah, yeah, so absolutely and the most.
And if you ever have a questionyou talk to teachers.
You know that communication isso important to go back both
ways.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
So, before we wrap up , tell us a little bit more
about Tomorrow's Hopespecifically.
So how do we enroll and all ofthat?
Yeah us a little bit more aboutTomorrow's Hope specifically.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
So how do we enroll and all of that?
Absolutely so.
Tomorrow's Hope is located inHope Church Some people don't
even know that, that we are kindof tucked in the back and our
playground is surrounded bybuildings.
So some people don't even knowwe're here because you don't see
us or hear us from the front ofthe building.
We have our own little wing, butyou will hear us if you come in
the back, I promise.
So that's where we're located.
(20:03):
We do run the toddler circleclass that we talked about.
That's one morning a week andthat's again.
Any adult can bring a child tothat, ages 18 to 36 months.
Our preschool runs ages two anda half and we go all the way up
through kindergarten and we arefully licensed.
We have different days of theweek and different class sizes,
options that fit anybody.
(20:23):
We are mostly a half-dayprogram.
We do have a four-year-oldclass that runs longer and our
kindergarten does as well.
We have our website, which canbe found through the Hope main
website.
It's alsotomorrowshopepreschoolorg and we
always love to meet newfamilies, give tours, chat on
the phone.
We have our Facebook page.
(20:45):
So lots going on in the back.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
That's awesome.
Is there anything else that youwould want parents to know
about preschool, or Tomorrow'sHope in general, or preparedness
, or just anything else that wehaven't touched on?
Speaker 3 (21:00):
We are a play-based preschool and we do integrate
faith into everything we do, sowe would encourage families that
are looking for a program withsmaller class sizes and a
nurturing, loving, play-based,faith-based environment to check
us out.
We'd love to meet them Great.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, thank you so much for doing this conversation
with us, Amanda.
I selfishly wish that I had donethis conversation with you
before we started preschool, butI'm hoping that it's helpful to
new parents with their firstkid or trying to figure it out.
And if you're, I encourage youthat then when you have your
second, it's like no big deal.
You're like I know how to dothis.
So, but you know, I mentionedI'm, you know I'm our podcast
(21:42):
producer.
But as a parent with a kid hereat Tomorrow's Hope, we are
incredibly grateful foreverything that you guys do.
We just feel like our child isso well loved and cared for.
So thank you for all that youand our amazing teachers do.
We're recording this.
We have just come off teacherappreciation week and we just
are happy to celebrate all ofyou.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
So thanks, Ashley.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Thank you and, yeah, if you're a listener with us,
we're so glad that you're here.
If you can think of someone whomight want to listen to this
episode, please, please, shareit with them.
You can find a link to it onour website, at meethopeorg
slash podcast, or in on oursocial media if you'd like to
share it that way, or you canjust text it to them.
(22:22):
But we have new episodes everyMonday, and so we hope that you
will check us out next week aswell.
Be sure to hit the littlesubscribe or follow button in
your podcast app, so that way,you get new episodes in your
feed every Monday, and untilthen, we will see you next time.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith feed every Monday.
And until then, we will see younext time.
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