In the early 1900s, Maria Montessori, a physician and educator, developed her community-based educational philosophy and opened the first Montessori school in Rome, Italy. Montessori classrooms offer a unique experience for preschoolers to play and work in a classroom with mixed ages; in a Montessori classroom the age range of students can be from 2 1/2 - 6 years. The spectrum of ages in a typical Montessori classroom allows for children to take on new leadership skills with their younger classmates. Montessori classrooms use a play-based approach with purposeful materials that promote independence and hands-on learning. In a Montessori classroom, materials are categorized into five areas: Sensorial, Practical Life, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Cultural Studies. The teacher serves as a facilitator and a guide for each child, which allows for ample one-on-one attention.

In the late 1940s near the village of Reggio Emilia, Italy, psychologist Loris Malaguzzi developed the Reggio Emilia approach. Reggio Emilia classrooms create a collaborative style of learning with the idea that in every classroom there are three teachers: the adults, the children and the environment. The child teacher acts as the director and the adult teacher facilitates the child’s interests in an purposeful way. The curriculum in a Reggio Emilia classroom is emergent from the children’s interests and is project-based. Children learn through creating hands-on independent and group projects. The Reggio Emilia philosophy also views parents as partners, and promotes parental involvement in the classroom. Reggio Emilia classrooms value self-expression and are well suited for preschoolers who excel in a less structured environment.

In the early 1900s, Rudolf Steiner developed Waldorf education, which emphasizes imagination and individualism; the first Waldorf school opened in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany. Waldorf education takes a play-based approach which includes a daily rhythmic schedule. Waldorf classroom environments are inspired by the home, and contain natural materials and many practical life objects that encourage hands-on, creative play. Waldorf schools do not permit the use of technology and other media in the classroom. In Waldorf education, children stay with the same Waldorf-trained teacher for multiple years in classrooms with mixed-age students. Waldorf education seeks to teach children how to think and not what to think. This is a great philosophy for any preschooler who does well with a structured routine and who enjoys imaginative play.

In 1970, psychologist David Weikart, along with a team of elementary education leaders, helped to develop an early education philosophy that meets the needs of at-risk children. The High Scope philosophy incorporates the work of many grand theorists, including cognitive theorist Jean Piaget, constructivist theorist John Dewey and social theorist Lev Vygotsky. After decades of longitudinal studies and research, the High Scope philosophy has shown to have positive and significant effects for all children, including at-risk children. In a High Scope classroom, children follow a daily routine and have frequent opportunities for hands-on active participatory learning. Students in a High Scope program get frequent one-on-one attention, and each student is observed and assessed using the six domains of development. The High Scope philosophy is great for children who feel most comfortable with a daily routine, enjoy learning through hands on experiences and would like one-on-one attention to become more prepared for kindergarten.

The STEM acronym stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM preschools value intellectual learning, which involves advanced cognitive skills such as hypothesizing and reasoning. Students in a STEM preschool explore the components of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through hands on science and tech experiments, planning and building with various materials, sorting and counting and reflecting on the process and outcomes. STEM programs are wonderful for preschoolers who are naturally curious and who enjoying learning through hands-on experiments.

Many nature-based preschools are referred to as Forest Schools — a nature based philosophy popular in Germany dating back to the 1950s. Nature-based programs aim to build a strong relationship between their students and the natural environment by spending the majority of the day outside of the classroom exploring, discovering and playing outdoors in a natural environment. Nature-based programs use the environment as the primary resource for teaching new concepts. For example, children strengthen social, emotional and cognitive skills like team building and problem solving through guided activities such as building a fort out of the natural materials found in the environment. Nature-based preschools are great for preschoolers who love physical activity, the outdoors and unstructured play.

Language immersion programs offer bilingual learning through either dual language instruction or through full immersion instruction in a single foreign language. Language immersion programs are great for preschoolers who are bilingual, as well as preschoolers who aspire to be bilingual. Although language immersion programs focus on offering high quality linguistic learning, all children acquire language at varying rates and some bilingual learners experience silent periods or language mixing; this typically only lasts a few months. Retaining bilingual skills requires life-long maintenance, but the outcome opens the door to greater communication and the ability for preschoolers to express themselves in unique ways.

In 1965, Jule Sugarman created and directed the first Head Start program which aimed to prepare preschoolers experiencing low socioeconomic status with school readiness skills and knowledge for elementary school. Head Start programs are federally funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services; eligibility for Head Start programs require that one’s total household income must be below the federal poverty line. Head Start programs aim for high quality education and require all teachers to have at least a bachelor's degree as well as their Child Development Associate certificate. Head Start programs are a wonderful resource for eligible families to enroll their preschoolers into a developmentally comprehensive program.

Both the services provided and the eligibility requirements for enrolling a preschooler into a child development center vary from state to state. Typically, a child development center includes a staff of teachers as well as researchers, doctors or college students earning their degrees in Child Development. Many child development programs aim to collect and document the progress of the students for the purpose of child development-centered research while also providing early childhood education services for preschoolers. Some child development centers provide specialized services, such as therapeutic treatment, and are located in or near hospitals. Other child development centers provide more traditional services, but may have classrooms with two-way mirrors so researchers and college students may observe the children in their natural states. It should be noted that “child development center” is a loose term and it does not necessarily imply that the program conducts research. However, many child development centers that do conduct research offer subsidized tuition for eligible applicants.

A licensed co-op preschool is a non-profit program in which all families with a student enrolled hold personal shares in the business. The philosophy of the program depends on the shared philosophies of the parents. The administration and staffing is also run in a co-op style; for example, parents collectively determine and hire a professional teacher but rotate the daily classroom and teacher aid roles between the parents. Licensed co-ops provide a great hands-on opportunity for parents to learn more about the preschool years in addition to giving a strong sense of community for preschoolers. Licensed co-ops require a great deal of time and commitment, but in return parents gain a unique experience that provides new skills and knowledge which helps them better understand their preschooler.

Many religious preschool programs offer a traditional early childhood education setting and curriculum with the additional service of incorporating religious teachings. The amount of daily religious activities varies from site to site, and active participation in the institution or faith in the religion is not a requirement for enrollment. The majority of religious preschools are private and the possibility of a higher tuition fee should be expected. Religious preschools are an appropriate option if you believe it is important to align religious world views and character morals with educational curriculum.

Many traditional developmentally appropriate preschools are play-based, thematic and teacher led. For example, a typical day follows a routine schedule led by the teacher and would include ample time for unstructured indoor and outdoor play. Moreover, the daily curriculum would be developmentally appropriate and most likely follow a chosen theme preplanned by the teacher. Traditional developmentally appropriate preschools can be both private or non-profit, and the standard policies and teacher training requirements vary from state to state. Most classrooms in a traditional developmentally appropriate program are arranged by specific age, and enrollment applications require that your preschooler is the same age as the other students in the class — typically 3 - 4 years old.

Home-based preschool programs are not the same as home-based daycare programs. Home-based preschool programs provide instructional early childhood education in a house (or in a sectioned area of a personal home). Home-based preschools may follow any philosophy and are subjected to the same state and federal policies as preschools operating in more traditional venues. Many home-based preschools believe that children may have an easier home-to-school transition through a familiar, home-like setting. Furthermore, home-based preschools are typically located in residential areas and allow neighbors the convenience of walking their children to school.