Help with Preschools

I am new to the area but my daughter and I participated in the 2 year old BCC program and loved it. She'll go to BCC's coop again next year. If you're not familiar with them, here's the website: http://bellevuecollege.edu/parented/default.asp. There are several locations and eastgate has one as well.

I looked at two Spanish preschools, a Waldorf inspired program, our church's preschool and a Montessori program but feel most comfortable with the coop.

Newport Covenant Church Preschool has a very nice program. It's right on the corner of Factoria and Coal Creek. They have a separate PE teacher and music teacher. lots of special things. VERY safety conscious, nice facilities and equipment.

A lot of my friends are happy with the YMCA program in Newport Hills. I didn't think it was nearly as nice as the above when I visited, but it was okay.

do you mind/prefer one that has religious affiliation?

The bad news first:

Most preschools ended their 2009/10 enrollment this past February/March.

The good news:

We're not in SoCal or NewYork that have waiting lists of 2-5 years AND Not all preschools here fill up a year in advance. :) In fact, some of the best ones don't offer before or after school care...and those ones will frequently have openings year round (since a lot of families have both parents working, and they need preschool & dacare at the same place).

More bad news:

I visited over 50 preschools, to find a short list of 4 that were acceptable and two that were perfect. (My requirements: Safe, Fun, & Interesting... doesn't seem like a hard bill to fill...yet sheesh! 50? Really???) I feel your pain, especially since our field was narrowed by the fact that we were *only* interested in Montessori preschools, and it needed to be within 20 minutes of where we lived.

The Next Step:

What kind of preschool are you looking for?
- Daycare
- Academic
- Play based
- Combo of academic & play based
- Co-op
- Montessori
- Kindergarten Prep (different from academic)
- Bilingual
- Religious
- Part of a private elementary school
- Part of a public elementary school

Unless you're willing to drive, you probably won't be interested in our two, but here they are anyway, just in case:

1. Chelsea House Montessori (Lake City)
2. The Learning Tree (Seattle)

Good Luck!!!

Have you looked at Bright Horizons off of Eastgate ###-###-####)? My 3 year old son goes there and it's been a good experience. His teachers are great and he enjoys going there. A little pricey though.
Good luck!

Hi S.,

I'm opening my new preschool this September 2009 and places are still available. We have an open tour day this Sat, June 13, 2009 from 3.30-5pm if you would like to visit and see the school.

our website is www.seattlelearningcenter.com

Thanks!

Best regards to your search,
L.