Daycares in Naples HELP! (Laurel: day cares, homes, YMCA)

[mar_mdq]

We are a young family with two little kids.
We are in WI but may be moving to Naples.
Some things worry me. Specially daycare. Here I have a daycare I am sure I won't find it anywhere else. So this is why I want to find a nice place to send my kids to. Here my daughter should be starting pre-k on September. We do have the option here of doing just the three hours the state pays for. But after talking to a school in Naples they don't do that. Same for my 2 year old. I send him here only two mornings a week and he loves to come back home for naptime after a busy morning. After calling a school the most part time thwy do is two full days. And some other school not even.
I have yet to find a school that provides meals. They attend Bright Horizons here. But there is nothing close to Naples.
Could someone give me some daycare recommendations? The one I called is the Preschool Academy. I also tried the one at the YMCA but they told me they were full and didn't want to spend much time talking to me.
I'll appreciate your input. Thanks

[The14Homes]

Check out: First Presbyterian Church - Naples: Preschool
All the information is on the website. It's a great preschool with fantastic staff.
They offer the VPK and also do a wrap-a-round which means for an additional $145 a month your child can stay till 1 pm, five days a week. Lunch is eaten at school, but you are required to provide a healthy lunch daily. As for your two year old you have the options of 2,3 or 5 days a week from 8.30am till 1 pm. You can also put them in the aftercare program if you need some additional time which is until 3pm, it's an extra $12 a day or they offer some kind of deal if you sign your child up everyday.

Good Luck.

[Sweetbottoms]

My daughter will be going to Children's Montessori for VPK 5 days a week for 3 hours a day and the state pays for it. You simply get he voucher and VPK is free. After that we will homeschool because I'm less than thrilled with a SWFL schools but or VPK it's fine because Montessori does not teach common core.

As far as the two year old that'll be tough. Most places charge an arm and a leg for PT daycare and they have scheduled days. You don't get to choose. Also and not to sound racist a lot of the teacher speak very little English in daycare in most places. My daughter went PT for 8 months and they couldn't speak enough English to tell me how her arm was dislocated and why no one called me for 8 hours. She never went to another daycare after that day I quit my job to stay home. After research ive decided she won't attend public school period. We tried several daycares and all the teachers spoke very little english or were very hard to understand.

No place in Naples prepares food. They won't even warm bottles for babies. If u have it that good where you live I suggest u consider staying. Things are drastically different here.

[The14Homes]

At First Presbyterian 34102 all teachers and staff speak English as their first language. They do introduce basic Spanish along with science and yoga to the VPK students. It also has a enrichment program for all students focusing on art. Then again it is a preschool and not a daycare center.

[mar_mdq]

Thank you both for your input.
Sweetbottoms could you please give me the names of the daycares I don't have to even look at?
If it was just for the daycare I wouldn't go anywhere. But there are other issues and choosing a new daycare is just a consequence.

[Sweetbottoms]

stay away from any and all Grace Community day cares. I guess it also depends on your religious background. I was not a fan of my daughter learning anything religious and a lot of them are religion based. One, and I cant remember the name now, only taught the alphabet according to the bible (A for Adam E for Eve) which to me is not a sensible way to be teaching children as it doesn't apply to public schools. Just do your homework, look online for reviews and make sure to do your homework for schools for your older one. I didn't go past my daughters 8 months in daycare. I grew up in the schools systems here, I know what they are about and that's why my daughter will be homeschooled. When my husband moved down from Maine his sophomore year he was being taught things he'd already learned in 8th grade. He barely even showed up for school and passed with flying colors and went on to college just fine.

Are you a fan of common core or not? 22 states are trying to revoke it out of schools because of high failure rates and Fla just implemented it this year. If you're not a fan then try Montessori or Private. If you're indifferent then Pelican Marsh, Osceola, Laurel Oak would be my top 3 picks for Kindergarten when your daughter starts in that order