Full Day, Play-Based Preschools in and around Montgomery County?
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donewithchicago
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Hello everyone,
My husband and I are relocating to Montgomery County from Chicago and our main concern is finding a preschool/daycare for our children. Our 3 and a half year old son is currently at a full-time, play-based preschool with an engaging curriculum (lots of art and STEM) and a record of prepping its students for top elementary schools, both public and private. The student/teacher ratio for his classroom is between 1:6 and 1:7. We are paying about $1,760 a month for 5 days a week. Our daughter is at the same school full time, but in their toddler/daycare program. She is 15 months old. The ratio in her classroom is 1:4 and we are paying about $2,100 for 5 days a week. Basically I am looking for something comparable. We are non-religious, but will tolerate a religious school if the belief system is way in the background and not incorporated into the curriculum. We are self-employed and work from home, so commute isn't as big a concern, although we do want something in or close to Montgomery County, where we'll be moving. I know the DMV area is more expensive than Chicago, and we can expand our education budget by up to 50% if necessary. Can you please point me in a good direction here. I've been doing searches on my own and I'm thoroughly overwhelmed. It seems the DC area has way more preschools per square mile than Chicago (I don't know this for sure but it certainly seems that way.) Additionally there is far more diversity in the approaches and philosophies, and it's making things hard to wade through. Oh, another concern is waiting lists. It seems a lot of good schools have super long waiting lists. Any recommendations or general advice is appreciated! |
Anonymous
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You might check Primary Day to see if they still have openings.
http://theprimarydayschool.org/ |
Anonymous
| Check out the Goddard schools. There's one in Bethesda, Rockville/Gaithersburg and Clarksburg. My child goes to the one in Clarksburg, so I don't have too much info about the other ones but I think they're run pretty much the same way and I've been happy with my child's experience. The ratio goes to 12:1 after 3 years old though. |
Anonymous
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Montgomery County is really big. Can you narrow down where in the County you'll be living? I mean, if you're living in Germantown you DO NOT want to trek to Bethesda for preschool.
I second that the Goddard schools might be good for you. I know a couple people at Potomac Glen Day School who are very happy. You'll definitely run into weight list problems at some schools. Generally, the further you get from DC proper the less of a problem you'll have with waitlists. |
Anonymous
| PP again . Wait list, not weight list. Sorry. |
Anonymous
Primary day is NOT play based... pre- k and k students barely have any time built in for play. |
Anonymous
| RSCC |
Anonymous
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Temple Emanuel in Kensington is a full-day Reggio pre-school and they offer extended day hours. There is nothing academic happening, other than signing in to class in the year before K and maybe a little writing based on their interests. They also have great physical space and a new natural playground. They garden, have an art studio to work with clay, sew, bead etc and generally have very committed teachers.
If you do a search you'll find some negatives about the director but unless you are high maintenance, she is really no trouble. Our 3rd child is finishing up now and we are sad to go. I'm not sure of you religious affiliation but I'd say about 20-25% of the school is not Jewish and there are many mixed marriages throughout the parent community. It's not the most diverse place in the worl, although that seems to be changing. There are a fair number of same sex couples. |
Anonymous
Here goes the Goddard owner again... avoid the Rockville and Bethesda one. We looked at Rockville and wouldn't let us observe a classroom saying the kids were napping but it was clear the kids were older and not napping. I don't know anything about the clarksburg one. For many, with kids under 3, you need to get on the waitlist and it could be years, you could get lucky or never get a call. Price wise, its about the same as what you are quoting. Average is $1200 a month after age 2 or 3, to $2000+ a month. |
Anonymous
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Our DD goes to Green Acres School in North Bethesda. There's a big play component, but it's not play-based. It's progressive. The kids have two dedicated teachers for 13 students as well as specialists for science, art, music, Spanish, creative movement and more. The playground is huge and was one of the things we heard about from friends when we searched for preschool programs. And we searched A LOT.
Good luck! |
Anonymous
Goddard Schools are the antithesis of play-based. They are great if you want preparation for a very traditional school, but no kid should be sitting at a desk all day at age 3. |
Anonymous
| I think you need to narrow down where you will be living first |
Anonymous
Huh? I'm the PP you quoted. I don't own any Goddard schools. My kid plays all day. Yes, they do have morning circle time where they do the calendar/weather etc., but for the most part they play. There are also no desks in his classroom, so I don't know where you got that from. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| Our son has gone to a Montgomery County Childcare Association preschool / daycare that we've been very happy with, though my understanding is that all the centers are different. It isn't fancy, but was one of the few places we visited with a truly play-based curriculum, and my son has thrived there. |