Preschool for Almost 3 Year Old

Hi A. - Try The Little Red Wagon Preschool (it's in Queen Anne). It's affiliated with the United Methodist Church, but you don't have to be a member of the church to attend the school. They take kids 2 yrs through Pre-K. Both My kids attended for the past 2 years (starting at 2 years old), and loved it. Judy Allardice is the director ###-###-####). Not sure if they are at full attendance or not for the fall, but give her a call to find out. Here's info on their site: http://www.qaumc.org/new/page14.cfm

Another one (also in Queen Anne) is Sweet Pea Cottage. However, there is probably a wait list for this one....but it is rolling admission, so enrollment can happen at any time during the year.

Also, there will be a Pre-School Fair in January 2009 time frame that is organized by the Moms Club International (http://www.momsclubseattlenw.org/). Click on the pre-school link to see a listing of schools that participated last year.

Hope that is helpful!
Pam

I can't give you exact names of schools, but by searching online, I have found a number of preschool programs that except 2 1/2 year olds and up (I will be in a similar position 1-year from now).
I would try a google search for Preschools West Seattle, you could probably also contact a realtor in your area, they are pretty knowledgeable about these things. Start calling ASAP, these places get booked up quick!

Check out the South Seattle Community College to see if they have a co-op preschool you can enroll in.

Hi A.,

I would ask why the rush to put in preschool? If you're home and able to spend time with your children, that is really the best. If you need time for yourself (which I truly understand!!) maybe look into other alternatives rather than a regular preschool. Maybe there is a community center that has weekly classes for tots where you could drop him off for an hour or so. I'm not sure what community center is around you but I recall when my kids were small there were many different types of classes that they could attend. It wasn't so regimented as a preschool and we could chose what type of class to put them in.

I am also coming from a previous homeschoolers perspective so take this with a grain of salt, but I do have a hard time with the typical preschool at 3 and going into the school system.

C.

I know of a program in Des Moines. It's called Grace Lutheran Church. They have a great program and it's a good price and the class is for 2 1/2-3 yr olds. My son is also a September birthday and was in the class last year. They do not need to be potty trained either! Most drop off programs require the child being potty trained. I'd suggest you check with local churches around where you live. Many churches have preschools and they have programs for the young kids.
I know of another school in Renton that will take a few kids with Sept and Oct birthdays into each of the classes so you should check around. Some of the schools might take your child even though they don't make the official cut off. Just make sure this is really going to work out for your child.
Good luck.

Try Rainier Valley Cooperative preschool in Colunbia City ###-###-####). It's a Coop, so you committ to working in the classroom once a week. If that works for you, we have classes for 2 year olds and a mixed age group ffor 2.5 - 5 year olds.

You can also check out our web site, just google rainier valley cooperative preschool!

S.

Try calling around or stopping by some schools. My son's birthday is October 21 and we were doing a play class at Rainy Dayz in Gig Harbor, WA the summer before he turned 2 and they let us put him in their 2-year old preschool class that fall because they saw that he acted just like the 2-year olds they were enrolling. Now he gets to stay with that cohort and be in the 3-year old class next year, even though he won't turn 3 until the end of October. I believe they had one other child that missed their cut-off that they let into their preschool class as well. I think if you can demonstrate that your son is more similar to a 3-year old, than a 2-year old in cognitive, motor, and social skills that a good school would accept him.

Many of the Montessori preschools enroll year round...unfortunately I know of some great ones in North Seattle, and one downtown, but not West. I'm assuming North Seattle is in no way doable, but the Downtown one is "The Learning Tree". http://www.learningtreemontessori.com

I don't know if they enroll year-round, but they DO start at age 2 and a half.

&

Here's a kickoff place if you're interested in finding schools closer to home: http://www.montessori.org/

They don't have a definitive school list, but they've got a good one going, along with a lot of general information about the theories & practices.

Best of Luck in your quest :)