Preschools in Thousand Oaks Area

I'm in WLV. I go to Horizon Hills (near T.O. High School.) I highly recommend it. Go to the bottom of this page and click on PARENT EDUCATION.
http://www.conejo.tec.ca.us/index.htm

The Parenting Program
Horizon Hills Campus
33 Greta Street
Thousand Oaks , CA 91360
(X st. Avenida De Las Flores)
TELEPHONE: ###-###-####

It's a 13 min drive from my house. Many of my neighbors go to WL Presbyterian and love it. A lot of neighbors also go to the Growing Place.

The grounds of Horizon Hills are so spacious. They have an amazingly, large yard area. I was shocked when I toured the Growing Place and saw how small it was. Horizon Hills recently completed their renovating their huge, beautiful playground.

This preschool is so unique and great. Because it's run like a parent co-op (it's a parent education place, so you are required to work in the class and you will learn about conflict resolution and child development) you will meet LOTS of other parents and make more friends. This isn't a typical drop off place. I'm so grateful to this place because I have learned so much!

It's also the most affordable preschool. Most preschools cost $400-600 per month. This place costs about $300 per quarter. There are 4 quarters in the year.

It's part time 9am - 12pm. Compared to other preschools, they also have much larger yard area (the largest I've seen).

My son was in TEAM class for 2 years and we loved it. (I did bring my newborn daughter in the baby sling to class when I worked his second year there. She slept in the stroller.) My daughter is now in Cheri LaGrotta's class and we love it. Cheri's was hard to get into because it's a smaller class and very popular.

I recommend that you sign up your son now for the 2 yr old class (if there are any spots) AND a mommy and me class for you and your baby in Sept... that way you'll be a student in their system and then you will be alerted when the sign ups for PRESCHOOL are. Parents in the system get first dibs. I did get on line very early so we could get in Cheri's class.

I was curious about other preschools. Is Horizon Hills really better than other places? I think so, so I have been asking.... A mom who was in Cheri's class couldn't get MWF, so she put her son in the Enriching Hour in WLV. She said "it's OK, but her son REALLY misses Horizon Hills." I peeked inside the classroom (it's basically a preschool in a strip mall) and it is so small! (But people do go there and love it. I think my children get waaaaaay more enriching, free choices and activities at Horizon Hills.)

Another friend couldn't get into MWF in CHeri's either and they go to Cheri's on T/TH and an expensive, private, academic Preschool MWF. She said her daughter hates it. The teachers bark orders at the kids. The art is very different (more emphasis is placed on "doing it right" than it being the child's idea.) Her daughter calmly met with the director with her mother and told her about it. This did get a little better, but it's just not the same. The mom did tour a lot of schools and chose that one because it was more academic. She knew it wouldn't be the same, but she is OK with the choice. But it's sad to me when a child refuses to go to a school, but has to.

I encourage you to visit and tour the preschools you are interested in, that way you can compare with your own eyes. Good luck!

Honey Tree is another preschool I have heard good things ago. Tour, tour, tour!

Horizon Hills' lower levels parenting classes (baby, young toddler, and older toddler, 2 year old) are amazing and give parents a chance to make friends, find playmates and discuss developmental issues and practice parenting techniques. However, the TEAM class is an abomination. We participated in the class this year and it was a very difficult year for my daughter and many of her friends. The TEAM class has about 50 kids running around, and in my opinion is way too chaotic and poorly unsupervised. This may be due to the program receiving a huge cut in their budget. Apparently, more are on the way as they are funded through Conejo Valley Unified School District and are a part on the Adult School program. During this impressionable age a child imitates others behaviors, which is a perfectly natural process of socializing, but the problem is that poor behavior goes unnoticed and soon turns into a hard habit to break. We noticed that her manners and personal sense of responsibility started to decline. Snack is a free for all, and kids are allowed to choose when and whatever they want to eat. If you give a child the option to eat crackers all day, chances are she will. The playground is beautiful with lots of different areas to foster creative play, but if your child is not supervised these areas become a place in which children are picked on or teased by other kids. Although the program was intended for 3-5 year olds, their budget cuts have created a volatile situation in which teachers are strongly urging parents to keep their kids there until 6 and are accepting children as young as 2 years. As a parent and educator, I know that 2-6 is such a large range and this situation has creates a dangerous situation. The other thing that is not often discussed, and in fact brushed under the rug, is the alumni's ability to adjust to a kindergarten classroom and sit down for circle time (it is an option in TEAM). The response is that most kids are resilient and will adjust by the end of the year, but isn't the point of PREschool to acquire the skills to receive a smooth transition?

I have heard that Westminster Preschool has an amazing program and that their playground has won several awards. Worth checking out for my future toddlers.

You are about 7-10 minutes away from Moorpark. My son goes to Pinecrest in Moorpark. It's a fantastic school. They have an amazing program from early preschool to 5th grade. I had my son in a different pre-school, but I felt that some of it seemed more like "crowd control" than actual pre-school. He is thriving in this school. There is also a Thousand Oaks campus on Wilbur Rd. I haven't been to that particular campus, but you really should check it out. Their website is http://pinecrestschools.com/. You will want to contact them asap because they are currently enrolling students for next year and the waiting lists for this school are monstrous. One piece of advice- I have learned that if you are put on a waiting list anywhere, keep calling to see if any spots have opened up or where your child is on the list. Many places don't keep up closely with their lists. they may not think to call you the moment a spot is open. The squeaky wheel definitely will get the oil. Good luck and I hope you find a school that fits your family! :)

Westminster Presbyterian Preschool in Westlake Village is great! The teachers are warm and caring, and the yard for the kids is amazing--nothing like it anywhere else.

I highly recommend Westminster Presbyterian, 32111 Watergate Road in Westlake Village. The director, Judy Hightower,is wonderful, and their program is terrific. The phone number is ###-###-####.
L.

Horizon Hills in Thousand Oaks is awesome but you will have to help once a week in the class but you can even bring your baby with you. This class is offered through the Conejo Valley Adult school.

My 6 yr. old went to Westminster & we thought it was excellent. I've been going to mommy & me at Horizon Hills with my 3 yr.old since he was an infant. We have had a great experience there so he'll be in their preschool program next year.

Hello :)

Not sure if you are looking for a church or temple, setting, a couple of independant pre schools, I think are Horizon Hills which is excellent, as well as Honey Tree, and Little Dreamers. They are all in Thousand Oaks. good Luck!