DC Preschools and December birthday

[Anonymous]

My son has a December birthday, so he will turn 3 in December 2019. I know we obviously miss the cutoff for DCPS prek3, so won't be able to enroll until fall of 2020. For other folks in that situation, what have you done for care during the year your child turned 3? He is in a home daycare now and we like it a lot, but it is pretty relaxed and they don't have a bunch of structured lessons or crafts and things. I wonder if he will be interested in something a little more like school by that time? I know we still have a little while, but if we are going to move him to somewhere new next fall, when he is turning 3, I figured I better get on that research now. Curious to hear your experiences, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Preschools like NCRC, Little Folks, etc. take kids at 2 or 2.5. Also Montessori schools. Not cheap, though.

[Anonymous]

Mary McLeod Bethune PCS allows Dec 31 birthdays

[Anonymous]

Lots of preschools have a two year-old program. At our preschool, a Montessori in DC, you could start in the Twos in September and move to the Primary class in January.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info! Is there a website that lists the schools that accept 2yo children? I can check things out place by place but I figured someone else may have already done this. We are in Shaw/Logan area if that helps narrow down any suggestions. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I live near Shaw and we did preschool, starting at 2.5. Kid turned 3 in February. School for Friends if that matters, a little out of the way, but doable.

[Anonymous]

What you are looking for is a daycare. There are a bajillion of them.

[Anonymous]

What you are looking for is a daycare. There are a bajillion of them.

[Anonymous]

I have a similar issue. My son's birthday is in March so we have a similar issue. I did some research and I've found that the Jewish preschools start at 2. Adas Israel, Washington Hebrew and DC JCC all have all-day 5 day a week preschool options. The options aren't cheap but they are there. Adas is the one I looked at most closely because it is the most convenient to my house. I don't know how much you are currently paying for child care but I'm in a daycare that costs 2250 a month and the preschool is about the same give or take.

I'm Jewish and raising my son Jewish, so sending him to a Jewish preschool sounds just great. As I understand, plenty of non-Jews send their kids there. I know many non-Jewish families in my neighborhood that send their kids there. The only issue is the couple of days that the school closes for Jewish holidays. NCRC is also very popular in my neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

^^PP here. Amazing Life Games starts at 2.5 and the child must be 2.5 by Sept 1, no exceptions. My son's birthday makes him miss that cutoff by a few weeks. You may want to look into that one too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What you are looking for is a daycare. There are a bajillion of them.

He is currently in a day care! I was hoping for something a bit more structured with activities and "lessons" and whatnot starting next year, which I think he might enjoy at 2.5, but if that isn't something that exists for that age group, I will keep it simple and keep him where he is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live near Shaw and we did preschool, starting at 2.5. Kid turned 3 in February. School for Friends if that matters, a little out of the way, but doable.

Thanks so much! Did you consider any others?

[Anonymous]

If you're planning on moving him to dcps in 2019, I would not move him now for just one year. That's a lot of transition. Two and three year olds don't need structured lessons and academics. They need caregivers who talk to them and help them work out disagreements among peers, peers to play with, and open ended toys that encourage exploration and imagination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a similar issue. My son's birthday is in March so we have a similar issue. I did some research and I've found that the Jewish preschools start at 2. Adas Israel, Washington Hebrew and DC JCC all have all-day 5 day a week preschool options. The options aren't cheap but they are there. Adas is the one I looked at most closely because it is the most convenient to my house. I don't know how much you are currently paying for child care but I'm in a daycare that costs 2250 a month and the preschool is about the same give or take.

I'm Jewish and raising my son Jewish, so sending him to a Jewish preschool sounds just great. As I understand, plenty of non-Jews send their kids there. I know many non-Jewish families in my neighborhood that send their kids there. The only issue is the couple of days that the school closes for Jewish holidays. NCRC is also very popular in my neighborhood.

Most preschools have a 2s program these days. And you don't have a "December" or "March" Birthday issue. You both have 2 year olds.

[Anonymous]

My end of October birthday DD is at NCRC