Hello my daughter will be turning 3 years in a couple of weeks and she has started requesting that she wants to go to school. I did not have plans to put her in schools until she was 4 years old but she is getting bored at home with my mom.
I have been searching but did not realize it was going to be so hard finding a great school for her. I have a headache already from searching.
So I remembered this website, can you ladies help me in guiding me to the right schools that I can take a look at and decide. I am not sure I want her to go every day maybe 2 or 3 times and half day. I would like a Montessori school but I know they are expensive so need to look into it. But if it is something I like we might do it.
Please guide me
thanks
I had a wonderful in-home preschool for my son. Located near Southern/Gilbert Rd. Message me privately if you would like to contact the teacher.
Both my children went to Line Upon Line Montessori out of a lady's home in Gilbert (Agritopia on Ray and Higley). We LOVED it. Sheri is excellent with the children. My children thrived in the Montessori environment and I can't say enough good about Montessori or about the preschool my kids went to. Sheri is AMI certified (make sure you check for AMI or AMS certification) and she ran her own school for a long time, and now she does it out of her home so it's significantly cheaper than most private Montessori schools. It is 3 days a week for 3 hours each day (you can choose either morning or afternoon) and it's $180 a month. I will message you her phone number and if any of you other mamas want her number, send me a message and I'll give it to you. I saw your other requests, and just FYI there are several Montessori Charter schools around that are free once your child is elementary school age. Most of them are in Mesa. But do your research on greatschools.net and make sure they are good first. And I observed Benjamin Franklin, and it seemed to take the opposite approach from Montessori -- very structured, rigid and not a lot of hands-on learning in my opinion.
I also highly recommend reading the book "How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way" to incorporate the Montessori into your own home. It's great for the kids. I actually heard about the book here on Mamasource, and I love it and have done many of the activities out of it with my own kids.
Bella Montessori in Gilbert! We love it there! www.bellamontessori.com
Hi, S. -
It's hard, isn't it?? I can only speak from my personal experience, and I've loved The Growing Place at Ray & Cooper. It's small and family owned, and we've really enjoyed it. My daughter (now in 1st grade) went there for two years, and my 3-1/2 year old twins are currently attending. Loving it!
Good luck with your search.
Oh, I've also heard good things from friends about Ladybug Learning Center and Christ Greenfield Lutheran.
I completely understand! The search is endless and in the end all you want is a safe, loving environment for your daughter to learn social skills as well as getting ready for Kinder. One of my close friends had the same issue and every school was coming up short. She wanted a PRESCHOOL, not a daycare. Believe it or not, it's hard to find. So, she started her own and MorningStar Academy was born. We are in our second school year and it's going great. We have doubled in size since our first year!
Right now we have room in our afternoon class that is T/Th 12:30-2:30. This would be a great start as it's a shorter class with less kids. Perfect for a first preschool experience. Our morning class is full right now but it is currently TWR from 8:30-11:55.
Check out our website at www.morningstaracademy.com. We are located on the southwest corner of Greenfield & Pecos. It's worth a call to Ms. Jamie to chat about the school and take a tour!
I would love for you to take a look at King of Glory Preschool in Tempe. Although it is a bit beyond your "boundaries," it is a wonderful, loving part-time Christian preschool, and the tuition fees are very reasonable! The teachers have been there for 10+ years, which says a lot about the stability of the program. There are families from Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Queen Creek, and Scottsdale attending, as well as Mesa, Chandler and Tempe. Give them a call!
Our daughter goes to the preschool at our church. It's amazing and she absolutely loves it! Their website is http://www.redmtumcpreschool.org/ They have several options of which days you can go. We currently have her going on Tues/Thurs from 9-12. They do teach Christian values and some lessons but it's the basics. They keep it very neutral to accommodate all Christian faiths. If you have questions or want to know more, feel free to send me a message on via Mamapedia.
Wilkins Learning Center on Gilbert just north of Warner is fabulous!!! It's not Montessori but once you go visit you won't want anything else for your child. I'm a Mom and a Kindergarten Teacher and it gets both of my stamps of approval. By the way, I do not work for Wilkins Learning Center, just LOVE it!
I heard Lady Bug preschool in Gilbert was good.
Montessori schooling is AWESOME. I just love it! I sent both my kids to Greenhouse Montessori on Gilbert, between Elliot and Warner. My younger child is finishing his last year there. Both my kids love Greenhouse, and so do my husband and I. It is an EXCELLENT school. My son is 4 (turning 5 soon) and just started learning multiplication and is having fun with it! He is also reading well, and really enjoys learning. He loves his teachers, who are really the best! I highly recommend that you at least look into Greenhouse. Meet with Jennifer and observe the classroom. It is just amazing. Here's the website:
http://www.greenhousemontessorischool.com
Good luck finding the perfect preschool for your daughter!
My suggestion is to google preschools by your home. If you only want her in school a few hours a day, driving for 30 minutes to drop her off then picking her up 2 hours later makes for a long day. All preschools should offer a free tour so you can see the school and decide if they are a good fit.
For Montessori school, they are more expensive, but worth the cost if you can afford it. Again, google what is close to you...Sweetwater Bay Montessori is on Val Vista and Baseline, Dobson Montessori is on Dobson and Southern, and Spondeo is on Val Vista and Williams Field. I am sure that there are more, but those are the ones I know of off the top of my head.
