2014 ClarendonMoms.com Guide To Local Preschools

2014 GUIDE TO PRESCHOOLS & CHILDCARE CENTERS IN NORTHERN ARLINGTON 

(Clarendon Moms Official List)

Since moving to Arlington, I’ve heard all the playground gossip whispered amongst all the stay at home moms and nannies: “You better get on the wait list now for your 6 month old!” What?! From the talk around town, I thought getting my kids into the “best preschool” was as tough as applying to an ivy league college. I’ve got great news for you. It wasn’t. The hardest part for me wasn’t the actual application process or the bad luck of having to apply for the dreaded wait list. It was finding the right school, the “perfect fit”. The perfect fit meant: the number of days my child would attend, the hours they would attend (what’s the point of dropping them off only to have only an hour or so free time to myself), the structure of the program (the curriculum), the demeanor of the instructors/teachers (are they passionate about their career or burned out), the commute to and from the school, the way my child would respond to the method of education (and how they would relate to their classmates), the cleanliness and amenities of the facility and finally the price of tuition.

    It took me a while to find all the schools available to my children for enrollment. I couldn’t find a complete list anywhere on the internet by googling. I managed to find lists that were partial, but simply not good enough. Finally, I started interviewing moms, grandmothers and nannies on the playground. The most helpful parents were people whom were lifelong Arlingtonians, living right in the neighborhoods of Lyon Village, Lyon Park and Clarendon-Courthouse.

     After creating the list, I then decided to go and tour a number of the preschools. This was a pretty pleasant journey. However, there were two preschools in particular where I encountered a director who flippantly urged me to get on the wait list while my child was only 9 months old so he would be able to be considered for the 3 year old program. Needless to say, I didn’t even think twice about never returning to that school. 

   I had a few questions about the importance of preschool.

Is Preschool really that important? The answer was unanimous across the board. Yes! Absolutely! It prepares your child for the vigorous education Arlington County Schools offer at the Kindergarten level. 

What is the difference between Preschool, Daycare and Cooperative Playgroups? The short answer: Preschool offers a curriculum that is similar to Kindergarten and actually prepares your child for Kindergarten. Daycares offer child care and babysitting. Cooperative Playgroups are shared parent child care geared towards socializing your child for playing within a small group of children with other parents present. 

Note: After touring preschools, daycares and co-ops, I found most of them to be very similar and not a drastic difference. The cost is approximately the same in the Courthouse, Clarendon, Ballston area. The licenses and regulations are by the same agencies. Most of them have a structured day of activities. The primary difference I noticed was the age range. Some daycares accept children between 6 and 8 weeks old while co-ops accept children at age 1. Most preschools accept children at age 2 or 3 years old. All of the programs accept children until they’re ready for Kindergarten. The secondary difference that stood out was the approach to the type attention given to children. For example, some programs seemed to offer more of a specific educational theory (like Montessori, Waldor, High Scope or Reggio Emilia) and other programs seemed to offer more of an emphasis on play as opposed to activities geared at teaching specific skills. 

   Click HERE for the complete Clarendon Moms Guide to Preschools, Daycare Centers and Cooperatative. You may click on each link for direct access to their website. I hope you find this helpful. Please feel free to share this list with your friends!

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