Preschools (Columbia, St. Andrews, Clemson: obgyn, day cares, house)

[00kip]

WE will be moving to Columbia this summer and I have a 2 year old. Does anyone have preschool suggestions? I would prefer a church preschool, but I am open to others as well. Thanks!

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by 00kip

WE will be moving to Columbia this summer and I have a 2 year old. Does anyone have preschool suggestions? I would prefer a church preschool, but I am open to others as well. Thanks!

I would strongly suggest letting us know what part of the Columbia area you intend on settling. In the city? Forest Acres? Northeast? Irmo? Lexington? There are far too many preschools to make a good suggestion without knowing where your home or work will be.

[00kip]

Sorry, I really do not know what area we will be living in....but my husband will be working downtown. I do not need someone to name all of the schools in the area, I can find that on my own. What I want are some suggestions of good schools that your kids go to or if you have friends kids that go to a great school. Thanks!

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by 00kip

Sorry, I really do not know what area we will be living in....but my husband will be working downtown. I do not need someone to name all of the schools in the area, I can find that on my own. What I want are some suggestions of good schools that your kids go to or if you have friends kids that go to a great school. Thanks!

Gosh, there are so many; Columbia is a metro of over 700,000, there must be hundreds of preschools. Do you have a denomination preference since you wanted a church preschool?

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by 00kip

Sorry, I really do not know what area we will be living in....but my husband will be working downtown. I do not need someone to name all of the schools in the area, I can find that on my own. What I want are some suggestions of good schools that your kids go to or if you have friends kids that go to a great school. Thanks!

If you're looking in the Northeast part of town, we know folks who send their kids to Living Springs Lutheran and Spring Valley Baptist. I know Living Springs often has a long wait list but those lists are pretty dynamic and you never know when an opening pops up.

Chesterbrook is a private independent Preschool-Grade 2 school also in the Northeast at I-20 and Clemson Road. I'm not sure how early of an age they start at, but I think they accept 2-year-olds. Chesterbrook is relatively prestigious and (I could be wrong, but this is my impression) I think many are in that school as an "in" to larger K-12 private schools like Heathwood Hall in the south end of the city.

The Lake Carolina neighborhood further up into Northeast Richland has a new Early Learning Center that has been a big hit with local parents. This where my wife and I send our two-year-old. They are competitive rate-wise with other area day care/pre-schools but offer some unique things like a full-time five-star chef who uses only fresh, natural ingredients. They also try to have child-teacher ratios lower than state mandates. The Learning Center was established by a young couple who recently relocated here from the DC/Baltimore area and have brought their professional expertise with them to open their dream business (the wife is a South Carolina native). We have been very happy so far in the month or so our son has been there.

On the other side of town, in Irmo, a former co-worker of mine sends his 18-month-old to the Sunshine House on Kennerly Road. Sunshine House is a for-profit chain of day cares throughout South Carolina and in my experience their quality is very hit-or-miss (largely miss, I unfortunately have to say, from the ones we've seen and heard of). However, my former co-worker swears by the one on Kennerly Road, so it might be worth checking out.

Of course, there are many more in other parts of town, including in the city Lexington, Southeast Richland/Garners Ferry Rd area, etc.

[00kip]

Thanks for all of your help Chi2Midlands. I will check into all of these. Like I said I am still not sure what area we will be living in, but these are great starting points.
Also, for Waccamatt, Baptist would be preferred....but we are open to most other Christian denominations. Thanks!

[Nausikaa]

USC Learning Center, downtown on Wheat Street is very good, affiliated with the university, and very progressive.

McGregor pre-school/pre-K, with McGregor Presbyterian Church on St. Andrews Rd in Irmo is very popular.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by 00kip

Thanks for all of your help Chi2Midlands. I will check into all of these. Like I said I am still not sure what area we will be living in, but these are great starting points.
Also, for Waccamatt, Baptist would be preferred....but we are open to most other Christian denominations. Thanks!

You would have several options in the downtown area if you want them to be close to work, otherwise once you've decided on a place to live it will be easier to make suggestions. I would second the suggestion about the USC Childhood Development Center, too.

[00kip]

Ok, as far as narrowing down the area we will be living in.....it will most likely be inside the loop that I-20, 26, & 77 make around the city. I know this is still a large area, but suggestions as far as safe areas to live, good preschools, good pediatricians, and OBGYN doctors would be appreciated!!

[elizabethcameron]

1. It depends whether you just want half day or full day. Most of the church preschool is only from 9:00-12:00 AM. If you want them stay longer, you can sign up to until 2:00 PM.
2. Sunshine is full time like a daycare.

My baby boy is 4 years old. We went to different preschools. He used to go to St Andrews Baptist preschool. It is a good one. I live in Irmo, Coldstream area. The two top church preschools in this area are Union Methodist Church and McGregor Presbyterian Church. You need to be on waiting list to get in. Both of these teachers are very educated and nice. My son goes to Union. His teacher has Master degree and SC teacher certificate. She teachs there only because her younger son is small and she took it as a part-time job while she is a full time mom.