Your Top three full time preschools you considered in McLean, falls Church Arlington?

[Anonymous]

Need to start looking into preschools. Only current requirement is that they are full time, or offer extended care. Not concerned if religious or not as long as open to any faith. Montessori, play based, more academic all ok as I try to make a short list. I know somewhere I can find lists of every single school, but hoping opinions here will help me have a better starting point. Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

Almost all of the traditional preschools we looked at were part time only, with the exception of Village Green in Great Falls. If your child will be 3 by September, I recommend looking into private schools instead. Congressional in Falls Church for example or Langley in McLean.

[Anonymous]

We have the same issue! We are relocating to Virginia with our almost 22 month-old son (will be two right when we move); hopefully to the Falls Church/Arlington area. I will be working in D.C. and my husband will likely be working in Fairfax. Almost every preschool we've found in the area that we like is part-time. We prefer a Jewish-centered program, i.e. affiliated with a Synagogue or JCC (JCC actually is full-time but is only in Fairfax and Alexandria), but we would be ok with non-religious as well. We need 5 days a week, approx. 7:30am-6pm. I'm also nervous about how long the wait list will be at a good school. My in-laws will stay with us for a little while and watch my son but he really enjoys social interaction, structure and learning so I think he will adjust better to the move if he is in a good preschool, like he is used to now.

I REALLY hope people respond to this post! Quality of our son's preschool is our #1 priority right now and is stressing me out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have the same issue! We are relocating to Virginia with our almost 22 month-old son (will be two right when we move); hopefully to the Falls Church/Arlington area. I will be working in D.C. and my husband will likely be working in Fairfax. Almost every preschool we've found in the area that we like is part-time. We prefer a Jewish-centered program, i.e. affiliated with a Synagogue or JCC (JCC actually is full-time but is only in Fairfax and Alexandria), but we would be ok with non-religious as well. We need 5 days a week, approx. 7:30am-6pm. I'm also nervous about how long the wait list will be at a good school. My in-laws will stay with us for a little while and watch my son but he really enjoys social interaction, structure and learning so I think he will adjust better to the move if he is in a good preschool, like he is used to now.

I REALLY hope people respond to this post! Quality of our son's preschool is our #1 priority right now and is stressing me out!

If your husband is working in Fairfax, the JCC program should work for you since it is in Fairfax. There are also synogogues in both Falls Church and Arlington which I think have preschool programs.

[Anonymous]

Also look at Keshet, a Jewish preschool, in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Thank you I did look at Keshet before but it seems to close at 1:15 p.m. daily from what I saw on its website (http://www.keshetcdc.com/Our-Program/Schedule-of-Classes.aspx). I REALLY wish the Rodef Shalom nursery was full-time as we are thinking of joining their Synagogue. I've reached out to them to see if they have any suggestions as well.

The JCC in Fairfax would work except that it then leaves my husband doing drop off and pick up every day (if we live in Falls Church) unless we live in Fairfax. And if we live in Fairfax, from what I can tell, my commute will be such that I will have to leave the house too early to even help get my son ready for school unless we wake him up super early. I imagine these are the issues most families with both parents working full-time face in the D.C. metro area and that we're not alone. We are moving from Tampa, FL and our schedules now are such that we can alternate dropping off and picking up, which has been a blessing. Plus, we never have more than a 20 minute drive in any direction.

I looked into some of the private schools mentioned above but HOLY MOLY! They are charging the same $20k for two-year olds who play with puzzles and learn ABCs as they do for 8th graders who have full-on lessons and tests. I knew the type of school we wanted would not be cheap but I estimated about $1,200/month, not over $2,000/month

Please keep suggestions coming!

[Anonymous]

CommuniKids Preschool in Falls Church has full-time programs. It's Spanish or French immersion.

www.communikids.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CommuniKids Preschool in Falls Church has full-time programs. It's Spanish or French immersion.

www.communikids.com

We loved Communikids except it's closed 7wks out of the year, and the kids have to walk through a slightly isolated woods to get to a public park since they don't have a playground of their own. We were very impressed with the school and its curriculum.

We ended up at a Catholic preschool in Falls Church City, however there are Jewish and other non-Christian children there. St. Joseph's. Full time preschool with extended day available at no additional fee.

[Anonymous]

I got a glowing recommendation to check out Westgate Child Center in McClean. Has anyone had experience with this center? Hours are 7am-6:30pm Mon-Fri and not insanely expensive. Is it too good to be true? I hope not!
Thank you!
p.s. (this is -Nicole-the same poster from above who will be working in DC while husband works in Fairfax).

[Anonymous]

Montessori School of Northern Va (Falls Church) has extended day until 5:45.

[Anonymous]

Check out Little Ambassadors on Lee Highway.

[Anonymous]

Columbia Baptist in Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Almost all of the traditional preschools we looked at were part time only, with the exception of Village Green in Great Falls. If your child will be 3 by September, I recommend looking into private schools instead. Congressional in Falls Church for example or Langley in McLean.

Village Green is in Great Falls, so probably not worth the commute.

[Anonymous]

Northern Virginia Christian Childcare Center is on Dean Drive in McLean in the Methodist Church. While it is a Christian center there were families of all faiths there when our child attended. It has has the same directors for a number of years now. It is open throughout the school year and then has a full day summer program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you I did look at Keshet before but it seems to close at 1:15 p.m. daily from what I saw on its website (http://www.keshetcdc.com/Our-Program/Schedule-of-Classes.aspx). I REALLY wish the Rodef Shalom nursery was full-time as we are thinking of joining their Synagogue. I've reached out to them to see if they have any suggestions as well.

The JCC in Fairfax would work except that it then leaves my husband doing drop off and pick up every day (if we live in Falls Church) unless we live in Fairfax. And if we live in Fairfax, from what I can tell, my commute will be such that I will have to leave the house too early to even help get my son ready for school unless we wake him up super early. I imagine these are the issues most families with both parents working full-time face in the D.C. metro area and that we're not alone. We are moving from Tampa, FL and our schedules now are such that we can alternate dropping off and picking up, which has been a blessing. Plus, we never have more than a 20 minute drive in any direction.

I looked into some of the private schools mentioned above but HOLY MOLY! They are charging the same $20k for two-year olds who play with puzzles and learn ABCs as they do for 8th graders who have full-on lessons and tests. I knew the type of school we wanted would not be cheap but I estimated about $1,200/month, not over $2,000/month

Please keep suggestions coming!

Rodef Shalom mom here. There are a lot of working parents with kids at Rodef, and they find a nanny or sitter to pick up their child and spend the afternoons. We have a great nanny who does this and honestly it doesn't cost that much more than full time school or daycare, and I love that my 2-year-old can still come home to nap and relax at home. I also know a couple of families that do nanny shares with other Rodef families to cut costs. If you live in N Arlington, Falls Church, or McLean, you will live close to plenty of other people who go to Rodef so you could probably work something out. If you did a share I bet it would cost the same as full time school. We have been so happy with Rodef and I highly recommend it, especially if you are new to the area it is a great way to connect with other Jewish families.