Preschool at Balanced Family Academy: Your Questions Answered
Choosing a preschool is a big decision — and naturally, it comes with lots of questions. At Balanced Family Academy, we want every family to feel confident, informed, and certain they’ve found the right place for their child to grow, learn, and thrive. Below, you’ll find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about our preschool program and what makes it so special.
Is Preschool One Level, or Are There Different Stages?
Great question! Preschool at BFA isn’t just one classroom — it’s a progression.
Before children even enter preschool, they begin preparing in our Older Toddler classroom through our Preschool Progressions curriculum. This program introduces a daily circle time along with more advanced fine motor, language, and early literacy experiences to gently build the skills and routines needed for preschool success.
Children typically enter the preschool program around age 3, where they follow our Preschool/PreK Curriculum. As they grow and move into the oldest classroom at their school, they transition into our Kindergarten Pathways curriculum.
This final year at BFA is intentionally designed to focus on kindergarten readiness across all areas of development — academic, social-emotional, life skills, and overall well-being.
What Curriculum Do You Follow?
We follow BFA’s in-house Full Circle Curriculum, thoughtfully created to spark curiosity, imagination, and a love of learning while building the skills children need for kindergarten.
Each age group’s activities are carefully designed to:
Match their stage of development
Align with the Ohio Learning and Development Standards
Encourage playful, hands-on learning
You’ll also notice fun weekly taglines like Motor Monday and Texture Tuesday, which help teachers introduce age-appropriate and development-minded activities in engaging ways.
What Are Your Educational Goals Throughout the Year?
We set clear developmental goals for each age group and track every child’s progress through:
Monthly Progress Summaries
Full Circle Assessments completed twice a year
These assessments give us a snapshot of your child’s growth and help us understand how to best support them at their unique age and stage. We use this information to share personalized goals and support plans with families during parent-teacher conferences in the fall and spring.
What Skills Should Children Learn at This Age?
We take a well-rounded approach to development.
This means we focus just as much on “soft skills” like:
Emotional regulation
Communication
Independence
As we do on foundational academic skills such as:
Letter recognition
Fine motor development
Writing readiness
Early math concepts
Each month, you’ll see the specific skills we are working toward highlighted on your child’s Monthly Progress Summary. To support your child at home, be sure to check the bottom half of the summary for simple ideas and suggestions you can use outside of school.
What Is a Typical Daily Schedule in Preschool?
Daily schedules vary slightly by school and age group due to things like recess, meals, and extracurricular activities, but each day follows a consistent and predictable rhythm.
Children participate in:
Morning and afternoon circle times
Hands-on learning centers (including the two featured curriculum activities for the day)
Recess and outdoor playtime
Special extracurricular activities
This balance of structure, play, and learning helps children feel comfortable while staying engaged throughout the day.
What Qualifications Do Preschool Teachers Have?
All of our teachers are required to have at least a high school diploma and complete a thorough training process before entering the classroom.
We also provide ongoing training throughout the year to ensure teachers feel confident, supported, and prepared. In addition, our curriculum is designed to be clear and easy to follow for new teachers while still giving experienced teachers the flexibility to adapt lessons to best meet the needs of their class.
Are the Preschool Program’s Hours the Same as the Daycare’s Hours of Operation?
Yes! Once your child enters the Preschool program at BFA, the hours remain the same as the daycare center’s regular operating hours. There is no change to your drop-off or pick-up schedule. You may continue to bring and pick up your child anytime within the center’s normal hours — there are no shortened preschool hours at BFA.
Still Looking for More Information? Listen to the Preschool Information Session Recording
If you’d like to listen to our recent Preschool Information Session, you can access the full recording and presentation here:
We are honored to partner with you during this important stage of your child’s development. If you have additional questions, we are always happy to connect and support your family.