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Step 1
Listen. You should be hearing the sounds of happy children. Classes that are busy and content will sound that way. If there is a lot of crying going on, that can be informative as well. Of course, children are going to cry sometimes, but use that opportunity to see how the day care workers handle the child. Are they soothing and comforting or otherwise? Listening to how the teachers speak to the children when they don't know parents are around can reveal a lot about a day care center.
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Step 2
Look. Observe the interaction between everyone--teachers and children, teachers and teachers, and even children to children. Observe how the day care workers are interacting with the children, or if they are not. Good day care centers should have teachers that are involved in guided play and other activities. Of course there is plenty of time for free play, but it should never be out of control. Also, look for signs of obvious bullying between older and younger children, and check to see how the teacher handles the number of children assigned to them.
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Step 3
Smell. Take the opportunity to evaluate the day care center by smelling it. See if you can detect the faint whiff of cleaning products that indicates the place is clean and concerned about the spread of germs. Quality day care centers make efforts to wipe down toys, tables and other common surfaces at the end of each day. If the odor of dirty diapers is overwhelming, it may indicate that the day care workers are overwhelmed and cannot attend to children's needs quickly enough.
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Step 4
Touch. Make the excuse to use the restroom and on the way, lightly touch the walls, doors and doorknobs of the facility. Is everything sticky and dirty or can you tell that dedicated efforts are being made to keep up with the kids? Is the bathroom soap dispenser full and are there plenty of paper towels for hand washing?
