One of the many questions parents asked during an initial tour or phone call is, “Does my child have to be potty trained to go to preschool?” Because Home For Your Heart School has four different grade levels, this question depends on the program your child will enter in the fall. If your child is a one or two-year-old and will be going into our Toddler Time or Jumpstart programs, the answer is no, your child does not have to be potty trained before the start of school. However, if your child is three or four and will be entering the Preschool or Pre-k program in the fall, the answer is yes, your child must be fully potty trained by the first day of school. Your thoughts right now may either be, “Whew, we’re good” or “Oh no. What are we going to do?” No worries! There are options if you think your child will not be potty trained by the start of school.
Option 1 – Pay to hold your spot until your child is potty trained.
If you foresee your child is definitely not going to potty trained by the start of school, our first option is for you to pay your monthly tuition to hold your child’s spot in preschool until he/she is fully potty trained. By fully potty trained, we expect he or she can go through the daytime hours without having several accidents and without wearing a Pull-Up. We completely understand an accident may happen every now and again. Going potty is still a new skill to our preschool students and feeling the urge may come on quickly or they may feel unsure in their new environment. Our preschool teachers are very understanding during the first couple of weeks of school and know that accidents do happen.
Options 2 – Be put on the waitlist until your child is potty trained.
This option is one for risk-takers. Each year our waitlist fluctuates between having many interested students to having a few. This year in particular we have a long waitlist. This means if you choose this option there may not be an available opening once your child is potty trained.
Option 3 – Move to Jumpstart and start Preschool next year.
Moving to Jumpstart may be an option for your child, but several factors go into this option. First, there must be openings available in Jumpstart. This year we do have a few extra spots in Jumpstart, but many years we do not. The second factor is if you choose this option, your child will not be eligible to move to preschool once he/she is potty trained. Once you agree to move them to Jumpstart they must stay in Jumpstart for the remainder of the school year and move to preschool the following year. This would be a great option for a young 3-year-old who may not be potty trained yet; however, this may not be a great option if your child is an older 3-year-old or if you would like them to go to Pre-K the following school year.
Having options is good. If you decide one of these options would be best for your child, please reach out to us and let us know. Also, remember there is still a month before school starts. There is still plenty of time for your child to work on or perfect the skill of using the bathroom by themself.
