Looking for preschool recommendations

[Anonymous]

I am looking for a small, structured preschool for my 4 year old in Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church or Mclean. My child has been in a montessori program for almost 2 years but it's not working out, he isn't learning as we had hoped and feel he will excel in a smaller class with more structure. We are open to christian based preschools as well. I realize it may be tough to get into a preschool at this point (he won't start kindergarten until Sept 2013), but we're hoping to get lucky. Thank you !

[Anonymous]

You might want to try the following schools in Arlington - St. Ann, Mt. Olivet and Trinity. Our neighbors sent their kids to Trinity and rave about it. I've also heard good things about the other two. All of them seem like pretty structured traditional preschools. It might be tough to get a spot for the fall, but it's worth a try.

[Anonymous]

I would try McLean Children's Academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try McLean Children's Academy.

PP here....just to add, they are small and the program is structured. My child has been attending for two years and we have been happy with them.

[Anonymous]

Children's International School has two locations in Arlington and one in Alexandria. They do admissions on a rolling basis. Not sure what small class size would be for you, but the 4s class at our location has 16-18 kids - one teacher and one assistant. We have been very pleased with our experience.

[Anonymous]

I'm interested to know what you like the best and what you don't like from the recommended schools.

[Anonymous]

You might get lucky. The 4 yo age is when most schools have the most spots. People leave for county pre-k programs which are often free/significantly cheaper. Not sure if this fits your bill, but we are at Kinhaven School (in ballston) and love it! The parents are involved and caring and the teachers/director are excellent. It is a learning through play school, so you will not see memorization of sight words and the like. I will say, my older son went through their 4 yo program and while he knew just one sight word when he started kindergarten this year, he has excelled in kindergarten and is an excellent reader at year end. It may be your child is learning more than you realize in the Montessori program? Just a thought to ponder... I'm sure you have your reasons for switching school.

[Anonymous]

Full day or half day programs? What else are you looking for other than smaller classes? By structure, do you mean teacher directed learning, more individual attention, or better discipline?

[Anonymous]

Check out Merritt Academy. I heard a lot of good things about it. Also, Griffin Academy is pretty structured.

My situation was complete opposite from yours. My DS did not thrive in a highly structured environment so we transferred him to Montessori. It's been a blessing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might get lucky. The 4 yo age is when most schools have the most spots. People leave for county pre-k programs which are often free/significantly cheaper. Not sure if this fits your bill, but we are at Kinhaven School (in ballston) and love it! The parents are involved and caring and the teachers/director are excellent. It is a learning through play school, so you will not see memorization of sight words and the like. I will say, my older son went through their 4 yo program and while he knew just one sight word when he started kindergarten this year, he has excelled in kindergarten and is an excellent reader at year end. It may be your child is learning more than you realize in the Montessori program? Just a thought to ponder... I'm sure you have your reasons for switching school.

Our family has also had a great experience with Kinhaven so far. There seems to be a well-considered curriculum. My son's teacher posts her weekly lesson plans online, so I can see what he will be learning that week and can reinforce it at home. (She also posts photos once in a while, which totally make my day!) I have no experience with Montessori, so I could not say how Kinhaven would compare in terms of relative level of structure.