University Park-What do parents do for preschool?

[Anonymous]

Looking for houses in UP. Will still own our house in DC, but wondering should we move to UP what are the popular preschools?

[Anonymous]

Center for Young Children @UMD http://www.education.umd.edu/CYC/

College Park Nursery School http://cpnsk.com/

St. Matthew's http://www.stmatthewsdayschool.com/

Greenwood School http://www.greenwoodschoolmd.org/

St Jerome's http://www.stjeromechildcenter.org/

University Church Nursery School http://uumcp.org/621875

[Anonymous]

Thank you!!! Do I need to get ourselves on the waiting list now?? We aren't pregnant yet. Just wondering how crazy the pre school scene is.

[Anonymous]

There is a Montessori primary program at St. Jerome's for ages 2.5-6. The website seems out of date but you can always call the school. St. Jerome Academy and the child care center are seperate entities. http://sjamontessori.org/about-st-jerome-academy-childrens-house/

Lots of people love University Church Nursery school.

[Anonymous]

We've been very happy at College Park Nursery School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do I need to get ourselves on the waiting list now??

For the CYC, you might want to get on the waitlist as soon as possible after your baby is born. It also helps to be affiliated with the university (faculty, staff, alum). We (parents and kid) loved the CYC.

From what I understand from other parents, Greenwood tends to have a waitlist. I don't believe you can get on a waitlist this early for UCNS. I don't know about the others.

[Anonymous]

You can't get on a waitlist without a due date. My kid is at the St Jerome's Montessori preschool. We also applied to St Ann's and Heritage - both offered us spots a year after applying, so if you get on the list as soon as you find out you're pregnant, plus take a few months of maternity leave, you should get an infant spot when you're ready to go back to work.

Preschools are good in the area and there are several options. Infant care is more limited, but the houses are large, so you could get an au pair, or hire a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a Montessori primary program at St. Jerome's for ages 2.5-6. The website seems out of date but you can always call the school. St. Jerome Academy and the child care center are separate entities. http://sjamontessori.org/about-st-jerome-academy-childrens-house/

Lots of people love University Church Nursery school.

Yes, SJCC is overseen by nuns. SJA, which includes the Montessori preschool, is overseen by a professional principle, the archdiocese, and a curriculum committee made up of parents (including university professors) and teachers, and has several formal and inform ways for parents to provide their input and contribute to the school. The parents at SJCC are trying to organize themselves to have more collaborative input with the staff and leadership, but it's still a working in progress.

[Anonymous]

Greenbelt Nursery School is also an excellent option. Their program only starts at 2 though.

[Anonymous]

Heritage Learning Center off LaSalle Road

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't get on a waitlist without a due date. My kid is at the St Jerome's Montessori preschool. We also applied to St Ann's and Heritage - both offered us spots a year after applying, so if you get on the list as soon as you find out you're pregnant, plus take a few months of maternity leave, you should get an infant spot when you're ready to go back to work.

Preschools are good in the area and there are several options. Infant care is more limited, but the houses are large, so you could get an au pair, or hire a nanny.

How is it? We visited the SJA Montessori classroom, and were kind of disappointed. It seemed like a regular preschool classroom with Montessori materials, but no real integration of the philosophy. For example, the kids were having snack at a preset time, prepared and served by the preschool staff. Similarly, the staff were putting kids' coats and hats on rather than teaching them to do it themselves. The self-sufficiency that I'm used to seeing in Montessori classrooms (including where my oldest spent three years) was missing.

I'll admit the program was new and it was relatively early in the year, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Are you looking for part-time preschool or full-time daycare? We are happy at Sunny Days Early Learning Center (daycare) on River Rd. Less than a 10 minute drive from UP, but there aren't very many UP families there.

[Anonymous]

Greenwood is awesome. Tough for infant slots though. You will love UP.

[Anonymous]

This could also be in play:

http://www.gazette.net/article/20150515/NEWS/150519502/university-of-maryland-proposes-child-care-facility-of-aging-building&template=gazette

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't get on a waitlist without a due date. My kid is at the St Jerome's Montessori preschool. We also applied to St Ann's and Heritage - both offered us spots a year after applying, so if you get on the list as soon as you find out you're pregnant, plus take a few months of maternity leave, you should get an infant spot when you're ready to go back to work.

Preschools are good in the area and there are several options. Infant care is more limited, but the houses are large, so you could get an au pair, or hire a nanny.

How is it? We visited the SJA Montessori classroom, and were kind of disappointed. It seemed like a regular preschool classroom with Montessori materials, but no real integration of the philosophy. For example, the kids were having snack at a preset time, prepared and served by the preschool staff. Similarly, the staff were putting kids' coats and hats on rather than teaching them to do it themselves. The self-sufficiency that I'm used to seeing in Montessori classrooms (including where my oldest spent three years) was missing.

I'll admit the program was new and it was relatively early in the year, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

There are two primary classrooms, my child is in the class that you saw and loves it. The other class is strict AMI Montessori and would be what you were looking for, but that teacher does not allow tours to look in and observe her room. In her class snack is a work that students can choose, like all of the other activities (called works in Montessori speak) in the room. My friend who is a "strict Montessorian" is pleased to have her child in that class.

With regard to my child's class, the slight hybrid style is something that we love. The group snack is a special time and the kids enjoy the social aspect of sitting together and they try new things. It is a very social class! There are some class "jobs" too, which the children look forward to like doing the calander, passing out napkins, feeding the fish, or leading the line. There are sometimes themes (like Antartica or bugs)in the books stocked in the in-class library area or in some of the crafts or activities available. This is all more "traditional preschool" stuff. On the other hand, it is predominately Montessori and the children are allotted a great deal of freedom to move about, choose works, engage with work on their own terms and for the length of time that they desire. My child is very independent and excited to learn about math, geography, and phonics. I was amazed to see chairs pushed in and things neatly placed back where they belonged without any prompting. The children have lessons on and engage in authentic Montessori works. The teacher has many years of experience and I respect her a lot. In general, I have observed that the students in her class are more joyful and the parents prefer her communication style over that of the other teacher. DC was enrolled in PK at another private school, and hands down we prefer the freedom that our child is allowed to explore and engage in learning independently in the Montessori class.