Full day preschool near UW (Seattle: 2013, to rent, day care)

[coregis]

Our family is relocating to Seattle in the beginning if October. We have a 4 year old who will just miss the birthday cutoff for kindergarten. She is very bright and can already read and do basic math so ideally we'd like something that will keep up with her, but unfortunately at this point we will have to take what openings we can. We are planning to rent in the north Seattle area near UW in neighborhoods like Wallingford, Ravenna, Bryant etc. We are willing to drive for the right school, but can't add hours of commute. We also need 5-day a week full time care as we both work. If anyone has any advice or names of schools that likely don't have extensive waiting lists I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[MmeZeeZee]

Are you working for the UW? Sometimes they can help professors get kids in at the University day care which are highly recommended:

https://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/...n-centers.html

Probably worth getting on the waitlist or asking your supervisor/boss if you can get your child in as it's such a great deal.

In my experience and from what I've heard, it is extremely hard to find pre-schools or even pre-ks that cater towards well-prepared children academically. So I'd go for high quality with lots of opportunities if I were you.

Little Explorers is in Green Lake is good. Very experiential for the active, sensory child, like if your child loves art and/or being outdoors they will love this school. They have academics (music, French) as well but their real strength is their ability to get children experiencing life.

I also know that there are some good immersion schools around--I believe one Spanish and one German. That might be an enjoyable challenge for your daughter.

I also always refer people to Seattle ParentMap:

Business Directory - ParentMap

I have no idea which ones have waiting lists--my own just got into K this year, woooohoooooo! But I do know that ParentMap is a reliable source.

FYI you are moving to an area that has a Japanese / Spanish immersion school, McDonald, which will become lottery based soon, so there will be a lot more bussing for the children in some of those neighborhoods. Also if your daughter is highly advanced, like top 1.5% IQ/ top 2.5% achievement, the school in Fremont hosts the gifted program. This blog and comments provide an emotionally charged summary (I do not agree with the author's bias but it gives you an idea of the debate surrounding school zoning in the area where you're going):

John Stanford and McDonald to Become

I only point this out since your child may be in public school next year.

[fnh]

There is a Bright Horizons at University Village. When I first went back to work at the UW after having DC1, I used the previous childcare center at U Village as it was convenient enough to visit/nurse during the day. I also enjoyed evening pickup as it was pleasant enough to stroller around and visit stores/QFC for shopping. This was ten years ago and I only needed baby care, however.