Hi Moms and Dads,
My daughter is 2.5 years old. She currently goes to a home daycare full-time. We would like to move her to a place that includes preschool activities. My husband and I both work full-time outside of the house, so we would need a place with extended care. We live in the 75054 zip code of Grand Prairie (close to Mansfield and Cedar Hill). My husband works in Arlington, and I work in South Dallas, which gives us a big area to choose from. The closest options to our house are the Children's Courtyard on Broad and the Primrose School on Grand Peninsula. The Children's University is close to my husband's workplace. Does anyone use any of these and would recommend them? If not, do you have a preschool with extended hours that you love? I am willing to go out of my way, if it is a great place, as long as it is open late enough for me to arrive on time. Thank you so much for any information that you can give me. All of you are always so helpful, and I really appreciate it.
Thank you everyone for your recommendations. I am starting to call and make appointments to visit. I originally wasn't going to put into preschool until next year, since she will start kindergarten late. However, we have some issues with our current daycare, so it seemed a good time to start looking for a preschool. I hadn't even thought of waiting lists, so I am glad that I am starting the search now. Again, thank you for your help.
We probably near live you it sounds like and my daughter goes to St. John Lutheran Preschool in Mansfield on Debbie Ln (http://stjohnmansfield.org/index.php/preschool). We've been very happy there the last 2 years. Their regular hours are 9-2:30, but they have extended care in the morning and afternoon... my daughter does the afternoon one. She absolutely loves it.
We have used Primsrose Grand Peninsula for several years and they are fantastic. Our daughter went into kindergarten more than prepared. I will say that they are very hard to get into at the younger ages. If you are interested in them, I would call and check to see if there is already a waiting list for the fall (I'm betting there is). I have heard bad things about the Children's Courtyard from multiple people. But there is also Kidd Academy on Lakerige (just north of Primrose). We used them for a year with our son when he was on the waiting list at Primrose. The academics are not as advanced, and it didn't feel as "sterile and clean" as Primrose is, but it certainly wasn't a bad place at all. Our son loved it there and his teachers (as did our neighbors that sent their daughter there too). Let me know if you have any specific questions about either place.
Saturday Everyday Play Center, LLC (Licensed Child Care Center 2mo.-130 W Beltline Rd. Suite 3A
Cedar Hill, TX 75104 weekly rates: 2yrs $95
###-###-#### Located next to U Need Nails
L. Wooten: Owner/Director (retired teacher)
No fees/ or contract
6:30am-8:30pm Sat. 6:30am-6:00pm
hourly daily weekly
after school rates available (summer & breaks for school age)
My 4-year-old daughter attends Children's University. We've been extremely happy there - it's an amazing school with a great curriculum. She loves it, too! It's definitely a school, not just a daycare.
Good luck!
I actually do preschool from my home and I am open from 7am-5:30pm. I order from thelearningboxpreschool.com. I live in S. Arlington. If you are interested, please send me a private message and I'll give you more info.
Consider Lighthouse Christian Academy on Mountain Creek Parkway (Spur 408 & Loop 12). My son started in their Pre-K program at 2 and we have been very pleased. Their Pre-school tuition includes after school care which is until 6pm. We did look at Children's University and was very impressed! I've heard nothing but positive feedback about CU. However, because we also needed after school care and it is not included in the tuition it was not affordable for us. Good luck!
