Good Preschool Around Mountain View

My kids have gone to Mountain View Parent Nursery School - MVPNS. It's located on the high school campus. It is a parent participation, or coop nursery school, or preschool. It is developmentally based, and play-based, which means that the kids are introduced to concepts through developmentally appropriate means. They is no academic pressure, but the kids are learning toward 'kindergarten readiness'.

One of the big benefits of choosing a school like this is that you are plugged into a community immediately. We moved from the east coast to CA and didn't have any family around, so it was so so helpful. You can email me for more info if you want, or look up www.mvpns.org for more info. ____@____.com My daughter is 3 and goes to MVPNS right now. Good luck!!! And, whatever you choose - make sure you really see what is happening at the school and in the classrooms - don't just sign up based on someone's recommendation!!

Kindergarten is for 5 y old and is inside normal public elementary schools.
PreK is for 4 y old
Preschool is for 3 y old
Day care is for 6 weeks old to 3 year old.
Most of them are daycare + preschool + preK all combined so a child can be in the same place up to when he goes to elementary school.
In Mountain View: kindercare, action day primary plus, little acorn, ymca, cclc and many other just search online and ask around.
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I'm sorry that I have no suggestions for preschools in Mountain View, but I wanted to let you know that the preschools are registering for September 2010 now. Registration usually begins mid-January. Good luck :)

Preschool programs are generally for children ages 2- 5, whereas kindergarten is for children who are usually age 5 when they begin (for public schools, the youngest they can be is 5 by Dec. 2 of the year they begin kindergarten). Daycare programs are generally available during normal parent working hours, for example, 7 am to 5 pm or 6 pm Monday - Friday. Daycare often includes a preschool program for children in the preschool years of 2 or 3 to 5, but there may be more free play time and nap time that would not be part of a strictly preschool program.

Because of your son's age and the hours of school time you are seeking, yes, preschool would be the best setting for you. What a child learns in preschool depends on the school's approach. There are many good preschools in Mountain View, including Montecito, St. Timothy's, Little Acorn School. Though the fall sessions begin in August or September, most people register several months ahead, so now would be a good time to ask to visit several of them to find out specifically what each offers and how your child would fit in and benefit.

Two of my sons attended Little Acorn, which has a preschool program as part of its daycare program. At the time they went, there was an option to take part in a Spanish program (at a small extra cost); I don't know if it is still offered. This is a Christian program with a grace before snacks and occasional pastor visits. We also visited Montecito and loved the setting with farm animals, as well as the many varied activities we saw the day of our visit (crafts, movement with parachute, etc) (we did not enroll because of the schedule). St. Timothy's also had an excellent program, with a well-regarded science program for 4-year-olds.

For the costs, you'll need to inquire with the schools, as I don't have anyone there currently. At the time I was inquiring, all of these three schools I mentioned were reasonably or competitively priced.

One of the main non-academic benefits of preschool is that your son sees same-age peers regularly. This can lead to friendships and the ability to give and take with others.