Reply to How soon to look for daycare/preschool for 2.5 year old?

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[quote=Anonymous]PPs are right that you need to start about a year in advance for most NW DC preschools.  I'm less familiar with the suburbs, but I think they tend to fill less quickly, so you're not as beholden to the application timeline.

As for location, not having a long commute is really nice.  If you're uncertain about moving, I'd enroll close to home and just switch if you do move.

Most preschools for 2.5 year olds are half days, 2 or 3 days per week.  Montessoris are often 5 days, maybe half or full days. Some have after care, but sometimes it's not open to the little kids (esp if they only go 2 or 3 days a week).

If you want full time for a 2.5 year old, you're looking more at traditional day cares, which tend to fill on first-come, first-serve, so get on the list now.  The day cares offer a preschool curriculum, but tend to have hours more suited to working parents.  "Preschools" have hours that are like regular schools, as well as winter break, spring break, etc. Day cares don't really have application seasons.

I'm not sure about VA, but in DC, kids generally need to be 2.5 by September 1 to enroll in the 2s programs.  It has to do with regulations and staffing ratios, so IME they're strict about it.

Lastly, if you want to start in the summer, many preschools have summer camps.  Kids need to be 2.5 by the time camp starts (I think usually the cut-off is June 1).  Camp sign up is way less intense, and it's basically just signing up and is first-come, first served.  You need to be on top of it and in most cases can't wait until the last minute, but slots don't go nearly as quickly (I think most sign-ups start in Feb or March).  However, most of the summer camps (especially the ones that are open to 2.5 year olds) don't go through August.  [/quote]

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