Preschool That Starts in the Spring?

All preschools start in fall. There are no schools that would start in the winter or spring. That being said, you may find a spot at a preschool in the winter or spring but your child would be way behind in the fact that they would know no one and everyone else would have had all year to be friends. Also, you may find a preschool that has a summer program, but those are more like day camp then preschool.

My son is a may baby and you just start them up in preschool in fall. Starting them earlier just isn't really done, they really aren't ready for preschool much earlier than that. There are a few preschools who have programs for 2.5 yr olds. Also, I wouldn't suggest starting a may baby early in school, they just are behind emotionally since there are a ton of fall babies that will be in school with your may baby. I have that problem with my son in kindergarten. He is only 5 and there are a lot of the students that are 6 already and he is behind emotionally than a lot of them, especially way behind the girls.

All that being said... There is a preschool in Woodinville and one in Kenmore that has a 2.5 year old class you may want to see if they have any space. It is Morning Star Preschool http://morningstarschool.com/

But for a general rule... for preschool for a 2.5 yr old, they need to be 2.5 by Sept 1st or for three year old preschool, they need to be 3 by Sept 1st etc etc. Hope that helps! And by the way, I highly suggest Morning Star, it is a fabulous preschool! :)

Try looking for actual preschools (which tend to have spots open year round, because they're not preschool+daycare). Also, most montessori schools accept kids as young as 2.5 as long as they're potty trained ... and the classrooms are multiage, which is fantastic as far as learning/modeling behavior.

Same token, if you find a school you love, they PROBABLY have a summer program that starts in June-Aug. Summer programs are usually a good way to ease a child into school, because they're shorter and more play based and have a smaller number of kids.

The montessori school we sent our son to (LOVE it... Chelsea House Montessori) is in Lake City... but there are several in Bothell and north as well. Actually, we visited over 50 montessori preschools that were in a 20 minute radius from our apt in bothell ... so I know there are tons. Chelsea House was just our favorite for many reasons, which is why we went to the "edge" of our 20 minute limit to get there.

Our family of co-op preschools would put your child in the 2s class now if there was an opening, then you can move with that same group to the 3s class next year. Potty training is not a requirement. If you're not familiar with co-op, each week you would work one day in the classroom, and there's a parent meeting once and month, a board of parent members, and you would hold either a classroom job or be on the board. It's great to be so involved in what your child is learning, for developing friendships with other mothers, and for educating yourself on child development. Our school is at Edmonds community college www.cffcoop.org and we have a mill creek co-op preschool too. Good luck with your decision!

We started my daughter at a preschool mid-way through the year because there was an opening... I think most preschools do this. However, if your daughter is turning 3 in the spring, she will be far behind the others. My daughter had turned three a few weeks after the "cutoff" date of Sept 1, and when she started the following February, she had a good experience, but it was obvious that her classmates were much older and knew many skills that she didn't have yet. I would suggest that you wait until fall, but if you do sign her up, don't do more than 2 days/week at first, to see how it goes.