It has helped us with the other child's house is prepared. One of DC's classmates parents took a long email of mine on what might help and completely re-arranged their playroom. They had probably planned to reorganize at some point but it was nice to have the extra open space and fewer things out. They also put all the really noisy toys away, I think it really helped make her first playdate there more successful.

Not all parents would be so accommodating (this family had an older special needs child so understood the need) but it can't hurt to ask.

Our daughter (4 years old in Rockville) *loves* Coach Emily at Soccer Shots.
http://montgomery.soccershots.org/

We didn't look much at Montessori because we were told it would not be a good fit for her language processing challenges.

She goes to Children of the Cross in Rockville and it is a great fit. Last year she was in the 3's class and it was 6 kids for the first half of the year and then up to 12 kids in the spring. I think it is currently under-enrolled with 5 kids (2 teachers) in the 3's class. The classrooms are sunny and spacious.