Part-time preschool or MDO in or near Cedar Park? (Austin: daycare, house)

[mommymaci]

Hello,
My family is relocating to the Austin area and I *think* we will focus on Cedar Park when we house hunt. My husband is already working down there, but the kids and I stayed behind and don't plan to move there until right before school starts in August.

I am trying to find a preschool for my daughter who will be 4 in August, but my idea of preschool seems to be quite different in TX. Preschool where we live is generally 2.5-3 hours max. The next option besides that is full-time daycare. It seems like anything part-time in TX is more like 4-5 hours, is that right?

I am trying to find something now since I think it will be hard to find a spot right before school starts. I am trying to call around to all the schools and narrow it down so i can send my husband to visit 1 or 2.

This is what I am looking for, please let me know if you can recommend anything.
1. Part-time only. I don't want a place that has full time kids and part time kids. One of my kids went to a preschool like this, and I always felt like he was a visitor and never really bonded with the other kids since the majority were full-time.
2. Classes grouped by age. A lot of schools where we live lump 3-5 year olds together. I want her to be with kids her age.
3. Have a curriculum, so she will be somewhat ready for kindergarten (letters, numbers, etc). I am under the impression that some (but not all) MDO's are strictly for the moms to get out, so kind of like babysitting (but maybe I am wrong). However, it doesn't have to be crazy academic. No, I'm not expecting her to read... just write her name.
4. Follows Leander ISD calendar. We will likely focus on this ISD when house hunting, so it would just be easier to follow the same calendar as her brothers in elementary.
5. Religious based okay, but not necessary.
6. I am flexible on the number of days... Ideally, I want her in a 3 day program this year and there is a good chance we will hold her back a year so some kind of pre-k (for older 4's, young 5's) would be great. But like I said, I am flexible and would totally take 2 days if that's all I could get.

If you know of anything that I might be interested in, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by mommymaci

Hello,
My family is relocating to the Austin area and I *think* we will focus on Cedar Park when we house hunt. My husband is already working down there, but the kids and I stayed behind and don't plan to move there until right before school starts in August.

I am trying to find a preschool for my daughter who will be 4 in August, but my idea of preschool seems to be quite different in TX. Preschool where we live is generally 2.5-3 hours max. The next option besides that is full-time daycare. It seems like anything part-time in TX is more like 4-5 hours, is that right?

I am trying to find something now since I think it will be hard to find a spot right before school starts. I am trying to call around to all the schools and narrow it down so i can send my husband to visit 1 or 2.

This is what I am looking for, please let me know if you can recommend anything.
1. Part-time only. I don't want a place that has full time kids and part time kids. One of my kids went to a preschool like this, and I always felt like he was a visitor and never really bonded with the other kids since the majority were full-time.
2. Classes grouped by age. A lot of schools where we live lump 3-5 year olds together. I want her to be with kids her age.
3. Have a curriculum, so she will be somewhat ready for kindergarten (letters, numbers, etc). I am under the impression that some (but not all) MDO's are strictly for the moms to get out, so kind of like babysitting (but maybe I am wrong). However, it doesn't have to be crazy academic. No, I'm not expecting her to read... just write her name.
4. Follows Leander ISD calendar. We will likely focus on this ISD when house hunting, so it would just be easier to follow the same calendar as her brothers in elementary.
5. Religious based okay, but not necessary.
6. I am flexible on the number of days... Ideally, I want her in a 3 day program this year and there is a good chance we will hold her back a year so some kind of pre-k (for older 4's, young 5's) would be great. But like I said, I am flexible and would totally take 2 days if that's all I could get.

If you know of anything that I might be interested in, please let me know! Thanks in advance!

Both of these meet all of your requirements and are well-thought of. The first is secular, the second Christian-based.
home
First Foundations Preschool

Good luck!