Given that spring is upon us, this is a good time to consider the idea of cleanliness not just in your home, but in the sphere of your preschool provider as well. You are in control of how clean your home is, but you want to know that wherever your child is spending the rest of his or her time meets the same standard. There are external forces that govern and guide the cleanliness of preschool facilities, and as a parent you are at liberty to ensure that these standards are being met. You know how easy it is for germs to spread and knowing that your preschool provider is going the extra mile to ensure that this is prevented as far as possible puts your mind at ease. Let’s face it, a clean environment goes a long way in improving the learning environment for your child. Here are some ways that you can check up on the cleanliness level of your child’s academic facility.
Sanitizing
There is a reason why such strict regulations around cleanliness exist when it comes to child care. The Florida Administrative Code outlines these standards in detail, making it accessible for you, the parent, to check up on how clean your child’s school is. The issue of keeping a facility sanitized affects:
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Eating Utensils
This goes hand in hand with the topic of food. Disposable utensils must be properly discarded after use. You can’t have dirty utensils anywhere that a child could have access to. Food areas should be separate from play areas and learning areas, but utensils need to be handled properly as well. If utensils are not disposable, they need to be cleaned in a certain way. The right chemicals and products must be used, and the right temperature for cleaning water must be used. Sanitizing of eating and other kitchen equipment needs to take place after each use.
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Bathroom Facilities
Too many kids and too few facilities is a warning sign. Make sure of this before enrolling. Numbers in a classroom are not just about focused attention for learning. Once again, these facilities need to be properly cleaned with the right kinds of chemicals and materials on a daily basis, or more often if necessary. This is not where you want your child’s facility to be taking short cuts.
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Toys and Apparatus
Take a look around your child’s school regularly, taking in the condition of the things they play with, and on. Aside from rust, look for signs of grime. Don’t hesitate to ask what kinds of products are used to clean these facilities, and how often this is done. These facilities are shared and come into contact with every child in that space, and so it becomes an easy way for germs to spread.
Food and its Preparation
Food can be a massive area of concern when it comes to cleanliness. How long food has been stored, how it is stored, how it is served, what can be served – these are all things that you should be informed of, especially if children are being sent to school with food from home. It is easy to tell whether your child’s school follows these requirements simply by how much information you as a parent are given on this topic.
Materials in the Environment
Parkland’s has used materials that make it harder for germs to spread. Certain kinds of flooring can be harder to keep clean. This is an easy tell for you when you are scoping out a preschool provider. Children spend a great deal of time on the floor – playing and interacting. So do the toys and other equipment. The choice of material speaks to a clean and safe school environment.
Good Habits
If your child is coming home with more hygienic habits – like insisting on washing hands a certain way or before certain tasks, and being mindful of how they cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough – your preschool provider is doing something right in the area of cleanliness. Any extra effort on the part of the staff to ensure that your child is doing his or her bit to prevent the spread of germs is a good sign of a desire to keep the environment clean.
Over and above wanting your child to be given the best in academic development, the environment they are in needs to meet other requirements. Cleanliness is one of these aspects. For the safety of your child, and for the development of clean habits and awareness of the importance of cleanliness, ensuring that certain standards are being met is as important as knowing they are learning tools for success. “Neatness and cleanliness is not a function of how rich or poor you are but that of mentality and principle.”
― Ikechukwu Izuakor, Great Reflections on Success