Seeking Information on a Good Preschool in the Bloomington Area

Hello A.,
I had the same problem when trying to find a preschool for my daughter (potty training). We finally found Fraser, which is in Richfield off of 62 & Penn. It's awesome, my husband & I truly feel blessed to have found it! The teachers are sooo nice and our daughters love going! They don't require the potty training thing-although they really help your child along combined with the fact that a lot of the other children in your child's age group are potty trained, he'll want to wear big kid underwear too-at least that's what happened with my oldest child-she just refused to wear pull-ups because the other kids were wearing underwear-I suppose not all peer pressure is bad! Anyway, I would suggest taking a tour of the places your considering before you make a final decision-bring your son with and see how he reacts to the various schools/settings/teachers/kids.

You can schedule a tour with Colleen Polson, intake coordinator. Frasers number is ###-###-####

Good luck!
A.

I've been sending my children to Especially For Children in W Bloomington for over 6 months now and love it. They were never pushy about the pottytraining issues and very open to help me out to pottytrain my daughter (just turned 3 a week ago). In fact they don't even factor that in...kids move up to next levels when they're ready intelligently and emotionally. I also like their programs and the staff are wonderful. It's located in the corner of 98th and Normandale. The director's Ms. Maria Biggs. You can mention my name if you want...

The Cradle Club in Edina (off of Hwy 100 and 78th St) has been a godsend for my son who is 4. It is technically a daycare center but it is so much more, and my son has flourished under their care and direction. They have 3 preschool classes there, depending on age, with very structured curriculum (in the morning, just like 1/2 day kindergarten). It took me a long time to find someplace I thought was really good, and heard about this through two of my co-workers who had their children there as well. I waited 4 months to get him in, and I drive 10 minutes out of my way in my commute to take him there (I live in W Bloomington but work in Eden Prairie). They have a website you can check out at www. thecradleclub.com HIGHLY recommended! Also very reasonably priced for a center.

Hi A.:

I used to teach preschool. I am starting a small daycare in Lakeville and will be doing the Mother Goose Preschool Program with the kids and then a Kindergarden readiness program. If you are interested in finding out more you can email me at ____@____.com or call me at ###-###-####.

Thanks.
B.

Get him excited about preschool, and tell him he needs to be potty trained or can't go that worked for my daughter. I would think he would need to be fully potty trained a few months before sending him. They may have bathroom breaks at preschool but they won't remind him personally. Most preschool have these cute little songs and learn a specifice theme for the week like farm animals or outer space but the kids don't pick up a whole lot on that. It's not really a huge educational thing as much as social. Preschool is all socializing. My daughter picked up things here and there but not like she has in kindergarten. Preschool was great for learning classroom rules, and correct behavior with peers but that's about it. I will say without preschool two years in a row my daughter would not have been socially or emotionally ready for kindergarten. As far as being academically ready that's soley because of ME, I taught her how to write her name and her letters, and numbers not preschool. I've seen alot of preschools being a traveling photographer for daycares and preschools they're mostly the same.Montessori schools are like the only excpeption they are really good and most kids that go to a montessori read before kindergarten. If you are looking for a preschool be cautious there are alot of daycare centers that have preschool rooms but it's not just preschool it's daycare. There's a difference. Especially for Children is a daycare center that has a preschool teaching program but it's not a preschool.

I live in the west bloomington area and my 5 year old daughter has gone to Southwood since she was 3. Its a great school and the teachers are great. When she first started, she had just turned three and was still having potty issues. This was pretty hard at first because they do want the kids potty trained (and also, they will not help with wiping due to possible legal issues) They do allow pull ups. Abby goes two days a week from 9:30 til 12:00 and there is a 3 day a week option. We pay $90.00 a month for the two day option.
Let me know if you have any other quetions.