Lessons learned:

1) Moving into a new suburb with only your child for company and moral support is not easy

2) Finding a house is comparatively easier than deciding on a good day care or preschool for you kid in your new city.

I am talking about the time when I moved to Brooklyn. After everything else was in place, I started to look for a day care center for my kid. Speaking to my neighbor about it was of no help. So I turned to Google and looked for day care centers in Brooklyn. A lot of viable options popped up. I made a list of the best ones whose agenda and amenities appealed to me. Out of all my options, I finally zeroed in on a Brooklyn day care center, located at a convenient distance from where I was living.

I visited their campus the next day and was really impressed by the enthusiasm of the teachers. I got to witness an art class in progress- kids were scribbling away on their sheets with great interest and attention.

I got my son admitted in their day care and preschool program on that very day.

It has been six months since that day when I went hunting for a day care center in Brooklyn and I am really happy and satisfied with the place I decided to send my son to. He loves his teachers and I never have to remind him to complete his homework. The nurturing and stimulating environment at the center has promoted positive personality developments in him and fostered his curiosity, creativity and general awareness.

Unlike most of the other Brooklyn day care centers I checked out, the one we picked follow the Reggio Emilia model for early education of preschoolers. This model is an educational philosophy based on a post-World War II Italian town’s preschool concept. The Reggio Emilia approach promotes learning through experiences of movement, touching, listening and observation. Children are encouraged to express their views and are perceived as ‘knowledge bearers’ while the teachers’ role is not limited to an instructor, but extended as a co-learner and collaborator. Children are encouraged to explore and actively communicate to learn more and imbibe knowledge from the environment.

I am assured that my son is in good hands and am very happy with the daycare center he goes to.