When Did You Start Looking at Preschools? Any Recommendations in Reston Area?

If you go to http://www.JustSettling.com you will find a lot of advice on preschools, daycares, and schools, including application processes, etc. Definitely worth a look.

Good luck!

I've heard it said that parenting in Northern Virginia is a competitive sport. My advice is not to get caught up in that. It will drive you nuts.

As far as a preschool... are you looking for an actual preschool (a year of preparation before Kindergarten) or are you looking for daycare? That makes a big difference... For a true preschool, you should be able to get into a good one the January before the year you want her to start. We did. Clearly, you need to pay attention to the atmosphere and adult supervision provided (turn over, ratio, etc.) and the "gut feeling" you get when you walk into the place. Trust your instincts, and watch your little girl. If she doesn't feel comfortable, beyond the initial shyness many kids have, don't send her. Our children's instincts are often as good or better than ours when it comes to trusting new places/people.

Also think about what kind of education you want your daughter to have. Montessori is very different from traditional schools... check it out... it might be right for you. If you are religiously affiliated, you might check out your church... even those without full schools have a preschool program. If you want all the new, fancy stuff, check out Bean Tree or Goddard or somewhere like that. I guarantee it will be more expensive, though.

So, there are loads of things to think about, but most of the decisions are yours (not the school's). If you have a one year old, its not too early to start thinking about it, but I wouldn't worry about visitiing anywhere unless you want her to be in daycare next year.

Good luck... the worst thing you could do in my opinion is stress out about it. She will feel that and get nervous about it, too.

Hi, J..

I'm in Ashburn with a 2.5-yo DD. We're starting to check pre-schools now and finding that some have waiting lists, sometimes as long as a year.

I suggest you at least see what's available in your driving area that you'd actually consider for her. See if your faves have waiting lists; ask how long. Then you know when you need to start committing yourself. If they don't have waiting lists, you can keep their numbers handy and call them each year or so to see if they have a waiting list yet.

I don't think you need to take a serious look at p-s yet, but just check it out and see how they're doing out there.

Good luck.

I was shocked that in this area, you had to be REGISTERED by January/ February to get into a school by SEPTEMBER! And in some cases, it was even just a lottery, you were not guaranteed even by signing up early!
We are putting our 1 year old in a program this September, she will be 14 months old. We put our first in when she was 24 months. I was lucky to have read an article in January about signing up by February to get her in by Sept!

Hi -- I don't think it's too early to look; a lot of preschools in the area have waiting lists. My daughter goes to Andrew Chapel in Vienna (right off Route 7 on Trap Rd.), and we love it. At Andrew Chapel you have a better chance of getting into the preschool if your child attends the Mothers' Day Out program first. It's for ages 6 months through three years (different rooms for different ages), 9:15 - 1:15 one to five days a week and is not expensive. For us, it was a good way to introduce our daughter to the school environment and help her learn to be away from us for a few hours at a time. The teachers are great, and they have lots of outside time and special activities. If you're interested, the number is ###-###-####.

I have had both kids at the same daycare/preschool since they were 3 months old (they are now 4 and 6) - Common Ground Child Care. It is a hidden gem -not many know about it - it is smaller and nonprofit.
We moved to Ashburn when my youngest was 3 months old - and I couldn't take them out - so I am still driving to Reston every day (and will continue to do this until my son is in Kindergarten) - yes, crazy, I know - and I work in the Ashburn/dulles area too. They have done very well there - I have been there so long it feels like family - it is non-profit so you don't have the best/brand new toys and latest of everything - but you do get very good care and a staff that has been there soooooooo long. Turnover is so extremely low. web site is
www.commongroundchildcare.org
I was once told by someone - if the place looks too good, then something is wrong and they are spending money in the wrong places. Wherever you go, just make sure the staff is not constantly turning over. Good luck!

1. You can't start to early -- try to get on lists now. The popular places have long waiting lists.
2. Look for a place with NAEYC accredidation (stands for National Assoc for the Education of Young Children, I think).
3. We LOVE Reston Children's Center. It is a top notch facility. We need full-time care, but there are plenty of part-time preschool families there, too. They have a long waiting list, so act quickly.
Good luck!

I think you should first decide at what age you plan to send her. If you are not sending her til she is 3 you can probably wait a year. Deadlines for applications and lotteries generally happen in January and February.

My son attended Sunset Hills Montessori. Great school.

Other schools popular with Reston moms:

Hunter Mill Country Day School
United Christian Parish
Lake Anne Nursery Kindergarten
Hunter Mill Co-op

K. W.

We did not start looking till after 2, but we were just in no hurry. Try PARENTSCONNECT.COM to find reccomendation for a preschool in your area.

Hi. We just spent three months in Reston, so I could give birth to our second child. While there I wanted to put my 3 year old son in some kind of preschool program. Unfortunately, since we were there for such a short time, I could not go where we wanted, which was a place called "Winwood" (right by Reston Towncenter). It had a ONE YEAR waiting list for 3 year olds! I ended up sending him to Kindercare, which was OK, but he caught all kinds of viruses and was in a room with 19-21 three year olds, and only 2 teachers. I would not really recommend it, it is really more just for daycare for working parents. I would say that based on my experience you should start looking into things sooner than later. There are some Montessori schools in Reston too, again they were full for the period we were there, but I have heard good things about them. Great Falls has a couple of terrific private preschools (there is one on route 7, I cant think of the name, that I really liked) that I would check out too, if I was going to be living in the area again soon.
Good luck!