Lisa Jaboro wasn’t sure if her kids needed to attend preschool since she stayed with them during the day. But as her oldest daughter, Bristal, got older and closer to starting school, Jaboro was worried about the transition from having no formal schedule at home to having a full-day schedule at school.
She started looking into a preschool for her two young daughters Bristal and Jordyn.
She found Little Knights Preschool, which is located on the campus of Lake Havasu City High School, in Lake Havasu City. The preschool offered half-day sessions to help ease that transition and a low staff-to-student ratio. In addition, Little Knights is a participant of First Things First’s signature program, Quality First, which helps centers make quality improvements that research proves help children thrive, such as creating learning environments that nurture the emotional, social and academic development of every child.
“Brain development is critical during these early years and meaningful quality play helps promote optimum development,” said Little Knights Director Marie Hendry.
Preschoolers at Little Knights begin each day by signing themselves in rather than their parents doing it. When Jordyn started her first year of preschool last year, her signature was barely more than a scribbled line. Now starting her second year, 3-year-old Jordyn can write her full name and is well on her way to building the early literacy skills needed to learn how to read.
“She notices the letter ‘J’ all over the place now, like when we’re driving, she’ll point to a sign and say, ‘Mom, there’s a ‘J’!” Jaboro said.
Now that she knows the difference quality care can make, Jaboro said that she knows what to look for when it comes time for the baby of the family, Avery, to start preschool.
“Before I didn’t know what guidelines to look for. I was looking more at the hours and location, to be honest,” Jaboro said. “Now I know to look at staffing ratios, what they’re teaching, and how they’re teaching it. It’s about creating a learning environment so the kids are prepared when they start kindergarten.”
