Recommend to Me Your FAVORITE Preschool

If you are looking for a church setting, Bethel Preschool on Winchester Ave. is fabulous. I have a first grader who went to Bethel for 2 years and was very prepared for kindergarten, academically and socially. My 3-year old is currently in a class there now, and she loves it. They have a well rounded program, although I have found the Junior Kindergarten program for 4-year olds to be more academic. Bethel is such a loving and safe environment, and they offer different programs: 2 or 3 days a week, every day, all day, half-day, etc. It is also cheaper then the other private preschools around. I pay 290 for 2 half days a week. I know they are enrolling now for next year. Good luck!!

We loved Challenger Preschool in Saratoga, but it is not a Montessori type school. Our son seemed very happy there.

Caution - we did not like the school once he started Kindergarten there - too rigorous, not enough fun stuff, and too much homework! We changed in first grade.

Good luck!

I only just moved to the area, so I do not know about specific schools. What I do know is that too much in the way of academics at a young age is not good for children.

You'll want to find a school that is NAEYC accredited (National Association for the Education of Young Children is what that acronym stands for). If you can't find one, then look up what it takes to be accredited and see how close the school comes to it (not all schools are ready to be accredited, but if they are working towards it, that's a positive thing).

Watch and listen to how the teacher's interact with the children, how happy the children are, and what their activities are like. If you have too many transitions you'll have problems.

Also, when looking for a school the most important thing is to TAKE YOUR DAUGHTER WITH YOU. She will be the biggest signal as to whether or not SHE will be happy there too. In Yuba City I took my daughter with me, and all of the schools I went to she wanted to stay near me (or have me stay near her) and one time she even said, "Hold me!" Until we went to one school where she was totally fine with the environment. She went out and played outside with the kids while I talked to the director and she liked looking at the fish. IT was the only school she talked about later. It was also the school I felt the best about too. So, we went with it and what a blessing that was.

K., I HIGHLY recommend Sunnyvale Christian School, they do start at the age of 2 and the child does NOT have to be potty trained. I am the Mom of 5 children and all have of my children have or are currently attended the school. I have twins that will be 14 this month and they started at SCS when they were 3 and graduated from 5th grade (the school has a preschool and elementary program) and still to this day they love coming back on a regular basis to visit and hang out and the school welcomes them to come and help out during the summer as junior helpers. It is a family enviroment.

I am glad to see this question come up because I am going through this process right now with my daughter. I am looking into Little Oak Preschool. My friends daughter currently goes there and is very happy with it.
Others have mentioned Mulberry preschool or Greenhills preschool in Los Gatos, and also Woodhaven in San Jose(willow glen). My mother in law ran a daycare and had several children go to Regard in willow glen as well.
Good luck with the search!

Hi Kirsten,

My 5-year old daughter has been attending St. Elizabeth's Day Home in San Jose (Just a few minutes from what I consider the northern border of Campbell - Bascom & Hamilton Avenues), since she was 3 years old (The age range there runs from, I believe, one year old to pre-K (4's and 5's). There is also after school elementary care, too). It's a very loving, nurturing environment so from a developmental perspective it's very good. From an academic perspective, it's also very good. The pre-K do have homework, which is non-pressure. Basically, activity sheets which focus that week on the letter and number of the week. They have structured groups and unstructured play inside and outside the classroom. There is a nap time. Their hours are great - you can drop your child off anytime after 7am and pick her up by 6pm. There is breakfast from 8-9am available, too. The children are well-taken care of there and there is an active Family Committee which meets monthly.

My daughter loves going there and has improved socially because of the environment. Her teacher started working with her on reading last year and now she can read many basic reader books by herself.

You can take a tour there and see for yourself. Here's the contact info. for the Day Home:

http://www.stelizabethsdayhome.org/
###-###-####

Good luck with your search!

-B.

Hi K.,

My son is also very bright. At age 4.5, he's reading at a 2nd grade level. Nonetheless, we chose to enroll him in a preschool that doesn't over-stress the academic. He's been attending Campbell Christian Preschool since age 3, and his social skills have improved tremendously as a result. He is now in their pre-K program, and doing quite well. The teachers are very caring, and they combine academic learning with arts/crafts, as well as open play time to encourage creativity.

My daughter goes to Saratoga Community Preschool, and she and I both are very happy with it. It's a little more structured than a pure play-based preschool, and parents are required to come in 2x per month to help out. It's not a co-op, though; you're only requirement is the helping out 2x per month to add to the adult/child ratio. I love the awareness the teacher has of each individual kids strengths/needs and how she gears the class towards them. The focus is on developmentally appropriate behaviors and skills, rather than academics, although academics will play more of a part next year in pre-K.

Hi K.,
My daughter goes to Monticello. It is a very good preschool. However it is located at Santa Clara. Anyway, if you are interested.
3401 Monroe St. Building A
Santa Clara, CA 95051
###-###-####

H.

I have a great preschool for you! Cupertino Co-op is located in Sunnyvale. Being a co-op, you do have to put in volunteer hours and work in the classroom one day a week, but it is well worth it because you become a part of a truly supportive community. You attend parent workshops once a month, and in doing so, the preschool is considered a parent education resource so they get state funding (which cuts down the monthly tuition). If interested you can check out their website or give them a call and they will set up a day for you to come in. I sincerely recommend this school; it has been such an amazing experience for my entire family! Oh, and they have chickens and bunnies the children get to help take care of. Best of luck, M.

i highly recommend Campbell Child Development Center (across from the Pruneyard on Fewtrell). tour their facility and you'll see how caring they are! they are sort of like a montesori but even better, in my opinion. my son attended from age 2 until 6 and loved it. it's not an academic program per se, but the kids learn a lot in his/her own learning style. give them a call ###-###-####.

We love Green Hills pre school in Los Gatos. My daughter has been there for two years and my son will be starting there next year. The teachers are so caring and I really feel that it is a well rounded program. They are play based. My daughter was just shy of 3 when she started and really struggled with being away from me. They were so great with helping both of us to adjust. She loves going there now and is disappointed when it is not a school day.

Check out Saint Stephens, San Jose.

Great preschool program (with a daycare if needed). You sound like you know what you're looking for here is link:

http://www.saintstephensschool.org/

Check out the website all the info is there. (My two daughters attended there - preschool to 8th grade!)

My son who is now 15 started his school career at Play and Learn Pre School on Narvez and Capital Expressway. He was just 2 when he started. The requirement for this pre school is they have to be potty trained. At the time, I looked at a lot of pre schools and found this one to be what I was looking for. The director is very good, and there is a loving environment. The older kids are separated from the younger ones and the teachers were great. My son was quite interested in the computer also, and at that time, they were bringing in a person who helped the kids with computers once a week. They work on getting the kids ready for kindergarten and they know their numbers and alphabet and some little reading words by the time they get there. Play and Learn does have a kindergarten, but I choose to have my son go to Valley Christian. He was prepared for the level of accademics they require even at such an early age. He has been at Valley Christian since kindergarten and is now a Freshman at the high school and doing very well. If this school is not to far away from you in Campbell, you should check it out.
D. T.

I highly recommend Magic Years in Saratoga. They are located on Saratoga Avenue just north (?) of Westgate Shopping Center.

1472 Saratoga Avenue
###-###-####

I believe that Rosemary is the Director on the Preschool Side and Alba is the Director in the Infant/Toddler side.

They are wonderful people who love children!

My favorite pre-school in Campbell is Bright Days Preschool. It has a developmentally based program and both my children thrived there (2 years for each of them). They are located behind the Methodist church on Winchester between Hamilton and Campbell Avenues. This was 7 - 10 years ago (sigh, time does fly!), but back then they were quite reasonably priced. There were always lots of hands-on activities, the staff were loving and understanding of phases of development and if I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing!

Hope this helps!

hi Kristin,
my name is J. and i myself am a preschool teacher and i am currently working for a preschool in campbell off of winchester called handprints preschool. this preschool is a affordable to most schools i have worked at and the director/owner is willing to work with you as well. the hours is from 7-6 and we have four qualifed teachers working there. the age range is from 2-7 and they learn how to count, shapes, how to you self help skills, and how to socialize with other children. we do have open enrollment with no waiting list so whenever you decided there is a spot for her. if you are interested in a tour call Ms. Betty at ###-###-####. hope to hear from you and thanks.
J.

Hi,

My husband and I both love the Tomorrow Montessori school in Willow Glen. My son has been there since he was 6 months old and he is now 5 and in their Kindergarten program. My daughter is also there in the toddler program.
It is a great Pre-School and all the teachers interact well with all the students and parents and give gentle feedback when necessary. Joyce Brown is the Director and she is very open to prospective parents visiting.
One thing I saw here that I did not see at other places when I visited first, was the fact that all of the staff looked happy to be there. Also, all the staff that I met, engaged with my son and not just me. Most other places, they just talked to me.
It is located on 2466 Almaden Road in San Jose, 95125
###-###-####
www.tomorrowmontessori.com

S.