Even at nearly 40-years-old, I still remember the smell upon entering my preschool classroom: a singularly comforting mix of crayons, fingerpaints, books, and surface cleaner.

It’s remarkable to me how much of my own preschool experience has stuck around as core memories. I remember my first preschool teacher, Ms. Jan, and how much I adored her. I remember constantly being asked to declare my favorite color and struggling between red and blue (I finally chose blue for most things, but I still love both to this day). I remember “Bring Your Dad to School Day” and how proud I was to show my dad that I could hammer a nail into a wood block — an item which my dad subsequently kept far longer than necessary.

I’ve been thinking about my preschool days a lot lately, which makes sense since, as MPPL’s Early Childhood Outreach Librarian, I spend a lot of time visiting local preschools. Every time I enter a classroom for a storytime visit, that familiar smell fills me with nostalgia. And it reminds me why I do this work: I’m there not only to help my young friends learn and build their literacy skills but also to create positive experiences that may turn into core memories. It’s a responsibility I take quite seriously.

In Mount Prospect, we are fortunate to have an abundance of high-quality early childhood programs to choose from — but that can also be quite daunting. MPPL is here to help by offering our various resources.

A child’s early years are a time of rapid growth and development, which is why quality early childhood education is important to the future success of our youngest learners. If you are researching potential programs for your child(ren), keep an eye out for the elements that make up a high-quality program for each developmental stage as described by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The more you know, the better prepared you will be to ask valuable questions of the programs you are considering.

If you’re looking for more resources to inform your preschool and child care search or your child’s development, visit our Find Preschools and Child Care information page and check out the additional resources below.

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Stephen loves telling stories and singing songs in preschool and kindergarten classrooms all over Mount Prospect. In his spare time, he reads a lot of books, attends tons of musical theatre, travels all over the world, and cuddles with Roscoe and Binx, his chihuahua and black cat.