At the request of some of the prenatal students, I have drafted this post. It is SO hard to find the right daycare, preschool and even to choose the right school for your kids to go to, so we thought this could be a space where we share tours we've taken or places we've driven by/contacted so that we can help each other find great places to take our kiddos.
My daughter is 3.5 so I can only speak of preschools, at this point, but you can leave a comment below with any recommendations you have about anything else, I'm sure we would all appreciate it!
Here are the preschools I've toured so far, and my thoughts about them:
Arcadian Day School
This is a small, brand new preschool that is more like an in home daycare then a school. The yard is beautiful, the facilities are super nice and the teacher and Director are amazing. The Director actually lives on site, in the back of the house, and the front of it is zoned for a business. They have chickens and cook homemade meals, this is a top contender of ours. The kids learn by playing and there is no real set curriculum, and they can only take 12 kids at a time to meet the state ratio.
SUMC Cooperative Preschool
My mom and daughter went and toured this school and my mom really liked it. Lots of room to play outside, a couple of classrooms and part of a Methodist Church (so the kids do attend church services on Wednesdays). I am attending their open house night soon so I will add to this post once I do.
ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teacher College Preschool
We toured this school last week and it was pretty amazing. It is off campus, it's own building, and there are three, full time teachers in every classroom (and the class size max is 16). They follow the state's Early Learning standards and there were educational aspects all around. They had parents at the Open House who all loved the school and Lemon seemed to like every classroom. The only thing about it is that they do not offer half time or just certain days, and it is expensive compared to others we've seen. Also, it is housed in a Children's Hospital, from the 1960's, and this normally wouldn't be a problem for people but for us, it was a bit strange. We are all about energy and could feel a very strange energy here. I'm sure it's a great school, and it's so amazing that they have 3 certified teachers in every classroom, but we won't be returning. :)
The Hills School
This place was my first choice for Lemon and I still like it I'm just not sure I've made my decision yet. This is a school attached to a Lutheran church, but the students do not attend church or religious classes. The school is also a play and learn environment, and it looks a bit shabby, but all of the teachers are very nice and seem very experienced. They have a couple of classrooms with only one teacher but parents are required to volunteer so they are always coming in and out. They have chickens as well! Great price and options for half days/some days of the week too.
I have a couple more tours lined up and will update this post as soon as I attend them! Hope this helps! Would love any recommendations on preschools/day cares that you've seen/visited below, just leave them in the comments for all to see!
Moms helping moms, it's what it's all about! :)
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