My husband and I are starting to think about finding a preschool for our son who is 20 months old. He wouldn't go until he's about 3 years old, but I hear that some schools have long waiting lists, so we thought we would start researching now. This is our first child, and we haven't been around kids much, so we don't know a lot about preschools. I am hoping to get some suggestions for good preschools in the Santa Rosa or Windsor area (we live in Windsor, but we both work in Santa Rosa). Cost is a factor, but not the only factor. We want a good preschool that will help prepare our son for Kindergarten and up. We also need a preschool that has morning and afternoon care, as we both work full time. We would have him go about 3 days a week from about 7 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. I got one recommendation for College Oak Montessori on College Avenue, but am hoping to hear more suggestions so we can have choices.
I would love to show you my school and talk about what to look for. I could also tell you of some to avoid.
____@____.com
our website is:
cjchildcare.com
Feel free to call or e-mail me!
_Anya Piazza
I have a lot of experience working in preschools and looking for the best one for my kids. I live in the Santa Rosa/Windsor area and am familiar with several in the area.
College Oak is truly the best preschool there is! My twins went there for two years and I truly believe it set them on a great path for their educational future.
Most preschools, and I KNOW this from working in them, are full of a lot of fluff for the parents. They do all sorts of things that look good and the parents buy it hook, line and sinker. Behind the scenes, preschools are businesses. If you know what to look for, it shows.
College Oak has no fluff at all. The school's world truly revolves around kids and what benefits them. All the staff truly believe in the school's philosophy about children and their natural instincts to learn.I never heard one complaint about this school from anyone (kids, parents, teachers) unlike all other preschools I have had dealings with.
The price is not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. Admittedly it is on the higher side but we don't regret spending that kind of money as it has really paid off behaviorally and educationally. (We're not well off and we had twins going at the same time!)You do get what you pay for. The cost of this preschool includes a hot vegetarian lunch provided every day (eaten, by the way on cloth placemats with cloth napkins that the kids set out and are responsible for all on their own). Believe me that, in itself, saves a lot of time and money as so much food is wasted in making packed lunches the kids don't eat, not to mention the time to shop for it and make it every day. These lunches are much healthier than most packed lunches you can make and they learn to try all sorts of things they probably wouldn't at home.
I truly believe in this school (can you tell?!). I have so much good to say about this school, and I'm not easy to please in this regard, that I will leave all the details to a pm should you be interested.
I even convinced another Mamasource mom to put her daughter there and she has since thanked me dearly.
Good luck with your decision and feel free to contact me for more details if you like.
Santa Rosa Charter School.
Hi J.,
My daughter went to Mt. Taylor Preschool. They have three locations; one in Santa Rosa, one in Windsor and one in Rohnert Park. I've attached a link to their website. http://www.mtccschools.com/. She just started Kindegarten this year and was very prepared. They did a wonderful job. We plan to send our son to the Windsor location when he gets old enough.
T.
J.,
I don't know if you are religious or not, but Covenant Christian Preschool in Santa Rosa is the best in my opinion~ It is very well structured and they do have an after pre-school program.
Good luck!
Molly
