Daycare/Pre School at 2 or 2.5 -- What Size Group?

At a licensed child care center in Oklahoma a teacher may have 4 babies, 6 toddlers from age 12 months to 23 months, at 2 years of age the class size increases to 8 per teacher, then to 12 in the 3 year old class, and 15 in the 4 year old classroom, then up to 20 school agers for each teacher.

If you have the money then be selective when picking a center out. If you are looking for education then don't even send them until later. At 2 years of age they are working on potty training, sharing, not throwing food at the table, using flatware, experiencing different things like textures, finger painting, playing in whip cream on a flat surface, learning to color, etc and getting lots of play time. When a child is a full 3 years old they are more ready for a classroom situation like a serious pre-school setting. They are able to focus more on tasks such as doing a craft without help, or minimal help, practicing writing their name, learning about weather, seasons, pre-counting skills, pre-reading skills, etc...so it depends on what your expectations are. Do you want just some interaction with other kids? or a full pre-school setting?

the ratio is one teacher with 12 kids

In michigan the ratio is 1 teacher to 4 kids until 2.5 years then 1 teacher to 6 kids until 3 years.

that is a pretty workable ratio . also in michigan the group size should not be over 12 kids total. this is a new requirement.. older centers sometimes have 16 kids in the room.

at 2 I might find a parent tot class - most 2 year olds will not enjoy the drop off.

One teacher to every 20 to 25 kids seems to be the norm. When working at Rainbow Center here in Florida we picked children up at a lot of pre-schools and day cares. I was surprised at how many kids one caregiver/teacher has in their group. Even the little babies there are 7 to one caregiver (that's the law) but in most cases we found more then 7 babies with a caregiver. Personally a child at 2 to 4 years of age I would get a private sitter that is willing to work with the child. The child would be much better off then getting put in a big group.

I am not sure what is optimal, but at my daughter's preschool, it is 2 teachers to 10 kids. It is a church run preschool, so that may be why it is smaller.

in fl it's 11:1 for 2-3yo. i used to work for daycare here

Mom,
I teach young children and normally to start preschool a child has to be fully potty-trained . If your daughter is and is closer to 2.5 yrs, I would not hesitate to start her a few 1/2 days per wk primarily for socialization at this age. The state you live in this will dictate the class size and teacher to child ratio. In our state of CA the licensing regulation is 12:1 child to teacher, but a good preschool will have a ratio closer to 6-8:1 to provide better 1 on 1 teaching time and supervision. You can find out this ratio # out by Googling Florida Childcare Licensing, teacher ratios, but ask at each preschool what there ratio is. If you do decide to send your child to preschool I recommend chkg at least 3-4 preschools out in your area. Call and ask for a tour of the preschools you are considering and take your child with you to see all of them. Ask questions and really observe. You should try to go at a their morning "learning time" and not at a time like snack or recess, although I would be sure the playground is large,clean and safe in appearance. Touring at this time allow you to see how the teachers and assistants if there are any are interacting with the children. If you do tour when other ages are outside are the teachers and aids talking to and interacting with the children even outdoors, not just sitting around talking to one another. In the classroom ask to what a normal daily schedule involves or ask to see a lesson plan of a normal 1/2 day . A good preschool will have one available to all parents and visitors so you can see what types of things you child will be doing. I wouldn't hestitate to tell the person when you set the appt that you would like to sit in on the 2 yr old class w/ your daugther for about 1/2 to observe how they run their pgm. Watch how the teachers are interacting with the young children, are they kind, patient and helping them, do they have a nice selection of toys and learning materials, is it clean and safe, do you get a good vibe when you are there, does it look like a fun place to be? A good preschool will have no problem with you observing. Be sure when you call to set up the tour appt that you specify you are wanting a preschool and not a daycare center, there is a big difference. Good luck