I recently asked my mother how she chose the nursery school I went to. "It was near our apartment," she shrugged, as if putting a kid in school had been as trivial as dropping a letter in the corner mailbox. Of course, back then, the biggest distinction between preschools may have been whether the snack was Fig Newtons or Nutter Butters. Those were the days before peanut allergies and, more to the point, before there were so many educational credos to choose from. (Yes, we are indeed using the word credo in relation to the little person who needs two hands to hold a cup to her mouth.) Now parents often have to file multiple applications and work out the sometimes cryptic differences between philosophies. Here, then, is a primer to help you compare the most popular programs before you begin touring classrooms. While all aim to prepare kids for kindergarten, each school's individual emphases range from reading readiness to tidying-up skills (cue the Hallelujah Chorus). If a particular skill is important to you—ABCs, say, or day-to-day etiquette—you should ask specific questions about how it fits into the curriculum. Also ask how many years the teachers have been working at the school. Low turnover is usually a sign of happy instructors who will make your child feel at home—even if the school isn't all that near your apartment.

School yourself: As you use this guide, bear in mind that most schools are not as strictly doctrinaire as their brochures may suggest. "There are few purists left," says Victoria Goldman, an education journalist and author in New York City. "Most schools mix and match."