Seeking Help to Select Preschool to Send DD To

K.,

I would highly recommend Lakewood Montessori in Lee's Summit. They have an excellent program and offer many options such as 1/2 days, full days and various days of the week. It would be somewhat of a drive for you from Greenwood but well worth it.

I have two daughters and I did LOTS of looking around before deciding on preschools for them. We live in Lee's Summit near 150 hwy. and I would HIGHLY recommend not choosing the closest place to home but really check them out. For my oldest we chose convenience and I was VERY sorry the whole year. For my youngest I decided that a little bit of a drive was worth it to put her some place that I was comfortable with. We love her preschool which is St. Matthews Preschool at the St. Matthew Lutheran church off of Chipman. Wonderful people, fantastic cirriculum (they really get them ready for preschool). I am particular and I have had ZERO complaints about this school. Most preschools in the area fill up quickly and enrollment begins in February for the fall school year. So I would suggest that you make your list and start calling to see if you can tour them and speak with the director. From my experience, if the school doesn't have a director or you can't speak to one but they claim they have one, I would be cautious about the preschool. Good luck in your search.

Hi K.,

I typically feel more comfortable sending my kids to preschool a year before they start kindergarten. We had a wonderful experience with "Stepping Stones" preschool in Lee's Summit. My daughter was 4 when she started, and it was a great way to prepare her for kindergarten which she now loves! I'm going to start my second daughter this fall when she turns 4 as well. It's really up to you if you want 2 years of preschool or not. When my daughters were 3, I did a lot of workbooks at home with them, as well as educational play type things. I loved having them home with me a bit longer. They were more than ready when they hit 4. That's just what we did. Hope that helps!

D.

Hi K.!
My son is going to a "home" preschool called ABC preschool. It's one lady that owns it and her name is Regina Ward. She is only known through "word of mouth" and she is AMAZING!!! She already started fall enrollment, but she also is doing summer enrollment that you could always try. It is very reasonably priced and she has 10 kids per class. It is great! Her website is...(put both these lines in the address box)

http://www.geocities.com/____@____.com/index.html

I know it's a long address, but she has a good website, so check it out. You could maybe at least get some ideas! Let me know if you have any questions. I'll do my best to help. My best friend is a home daycare provider so she knows a lot of different places!

My daughter did go to preschool for 2 years. We did this as we were following the early childhood program in Raytown. It turned out to be a great experience and fun for my daughter.

Check with the school district to see if there is an early childhood program. It was a wonderful preschool in Raytown. Also there is a new preschool/parents day out program starting soon at Lee's Summit Christian Church (Longview Chapel) The church number is ###-###-#### or ###-###-#### for the preschool program. The preschool director is Denise. See the website
www.longviewchapelcc.org for detail.
T. H

My daughter is 3 and goes to Kidz Kabana and it's EXCELLENT. It was recommended to me from some moms at church and I'm so glad I heard about it! They will let you enroll part-time as well for just a few days a week or full-time, whatever is a fit for you! They are extremely friendly and have a great curriculum that doesn't forget that kids still want to play as well. My daughter went to La Petite first which was all structured learning and she came home with more songs and things she learned in a month than she did all year at La Petite...and they are cheaper than La Petite! Also, they have a great food menu that is very healthy. You should tour and find out for yourself! Good luck! :)

My daughter went to Boone Preschool and we LOVED it. (4th & Douglas in LS) She went from age 2 until starting Kindergarten at age 5. The first three years, she was in the daycare program (my husband & I work full time), and then the 3rd year she went to the preschool program (and went to the daycare before & after the preschool hours).

I can't really speak to just the preschool program, because she was learning also in the daycare (they have a set curriculum too), but she was more than ready for Kindergarten. I would say the first half of Kindergarten was a review of what she'd already learned at Boone. And the thing I liked best about the daycare is how involved the teachers are with the kids-- we toured several places before we decided on Boone, and at most of them, the teachers sat apart from the kids either talking to eachother, or just watching the kids play. At Boone, the teachers were down on the floor interacting with the kids.

Another thing I like about Boone is that it is so individualized. The teachers really know the kids and their abilities, and they don't "move them up" until they're ready. Moving up is not automatically based on age, as it is in some programs. Again, I'm not sure if this would really apply to the preschool if you're only going for one year, but it kind of gives you an idea of how they treat the children as individuals.

Good luck in your search!

I have heard nothing but wonderful things about Aldersgate's preschool. It is located on 150 Hwy next to BC National Bank across the street from La Petit. All of my friends have sent their children there and have raved about it. I wasn't able to send my son there due to my working. Good luck!!

I can tell you an amazing preschool in Lee's Summit called We Care. it is at woods chapel united methodist church off of woods chapel (the one with the green roof) I am a preschool teacher there and it is amazing, the director Peggee Swartz is on the Christian early education bord for over 30 years. you could not find a more loving and caring christian woman if you tried. They have every thing you can think of for the kids and the teachers are required to have 18 hours every year of siminars ie.... Becky Bailey(Conscious Discipline), Brad Mears (child brain develop)I love my line of work and would not change it for the world and We Care Kids are why/!!!

I sent my son to preschool in the Pre-K program as it was free with the school district. Unless you are working and need childcare for your 3 year old I don't think she has to have preschool from age 3. If you are involved in church or other activities for her to learn social skills then she will be fine. There are Mother's Day out programs that could help for social skills or just get together with other mom's with preschool age kids. My son just went the one year to preschool and is doing very well in school. We even moved 5 times in his first 4 years of life as we were military and transistioned to the life after military life when my husband retired and the kids adjusted well. I could not afford to send him the years before. Most of the school districts in the KC area have Pre-K programs for the year before they start school that don't cost anything. I know from working part-time as a para sub for all the grades and also sub in the daycare program of the preschool. They aren't doing a lot of school work until the pre-k program anyway. They learn through play and mostly learning how to get along with others in the baby-3 year old groups.

When both my husband and I were working full time we sent our daughter to Leaps and Bounds in Greenwood. They were fantastic and I have known several people that have taken their children there over the years. We have not been there for almost 2 years so I don't know if it has changed any but you might check it out. Currently both our children attend a Kids Day Out Program called "Lil Sprouts at the Baptist Church in Greenwood and it is absolutely wonderful. This might be a good first step for your daughter if you can get a spot. It is only 2 days a week for 5 hours. It is a great transition to full time school and gives you a little break to get things done without kids.