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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Preschool Primer | |
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| What Is Preschool? | |
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| Do I Have to Send My Child to Preschool? | |
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| What Are the Benefits of Preschool? | |
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| Is Private Preschool My Only Option? Is There Public Preschool? | |
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| Getting Organized | |
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| It's Never Too Early | |
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| Preschool Search Time Line | |
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| Tips for Keeping Organized | |
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| Choosing a Preschool: The Basics | |
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| Know Your Child and Your Family | |
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| At What Age Do I Want My Child to Start Preschool? | |
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| What's the Best Location? | |
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| What Schedule Works Best For Our Family? | |
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| How Much Can We Afford to Pay for Preschool? | |
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| What to Look for in a Preschool | |
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| What Is the Classroom Like? | |
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| What Are the Teachers Like? | |
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| How Is the School Run? | |
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| What Is the Community Like? | |
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| Dedicated Preschool or Ongoing School? | |
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| What Does the Admissions Process Tell You? | |
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| What Are the School Policies? | |
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| What Matters Most? | |
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| Types of Preschool Programs | |
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| Child Centered versus Teacher Directed | |
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| Play Based | |
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| Montessori | |
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| Reggio Emilia | |
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| Waldorf | |
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| Academic | |
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| Preschool Settings | |
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| How Much Does It Matter? | |
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| Researching Preschools | |
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| How to Find Preschools | |
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| Narrowing Down Your List of Preschools | |
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| How Many Preschools Should You Apply To? | |
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| Visiting Preschools | |
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| Deciding Which Preschools to Visit | |
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| Opportunities to Visit | |
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| Arranging the Visit | |
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| Preparing for Your Visit | |
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| During Your Visit | |
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| After Your Visit | |
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| The Preschool Admissions Process | |
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| Open Enrollment | |
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| The Waiting List | |
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| Regular Admissions | |
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| Lottery System | |
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| How Do Preschools Decide Who Gets In? | |
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| Dos and Don'ts of Applying | |
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| Submitting a Strong Application | |
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| General Information Section | |
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| Application Questions | |
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| Tips for Writing | |
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| Common Application Questions | |
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| Sample Essays | |
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| Recommendation Letters | |
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| Child and Parent Interviews | |
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| Child Interviews | |
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| Parent Interviews | |
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| Making the Final Decision | |
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| But We Still Haven't Heard | |
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| We've Been Wait-Listed-What Now? | |
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| Our Favorite Preschool Turned Us Down-What Now? | |
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| Our Child Didn't Get a Spot at Any Preschool-What are Our Options? | |
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| Accepting an Offer | |
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| Paying for Preschool | |
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| Determine Your Budget | |
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| Keeping Preschool Costs Down | |
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| Financial Aid | |
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| Dependent-Care Flexible Spending Account | |
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| Child Care Tax Credit | |
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| Child Care Subsidies | |
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| Preschool Readiness Skills | |
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| Social and Emotional Skills | |
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| Cognitive Skills | |
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| Physical Skills | |
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| Separating from Parents | |
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| Potty Training | |
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| Countdown to the First Day of Preschool | |
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| During the Summer | |
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| Three to Four Weeks before Preschool Starts | |
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| One to Two Weeks before Preschool Starts | |
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| The Day before Preschool Starts | |
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| The First Day of Preschool | |
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| Supporting Your Child Throughout Preschool | |
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| Be Patient-There's an Adjustment Period | |
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| Communicate with Your Child and the Teacher | |
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| Be an Involved Parent | |
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| About the Author | |