Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Wisconsin > Madison
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 05-29-2013, 05:29 PM
 
4 posts, read 6,177 times
Reputation: 13

Advertisements

Hi, we are moving to madison this July. We have 2 kids and one is preschool age already. I am in desperate search for a great preschool, my ears cant take another "mom, i'm bored" from my preschooler. We have lined up a couple of tours this coming week for the following preschools:

1. Middleton Preschool
2. La Petite Academy S Gammon
3. Kids Junction Preschools

These three schools are within 10mins drive from our house.

We are on the wait list for preschool of the arts

I used 4-c and Youngstar websites to check the backgrounds of these preschools.

What I am looking for are reviews and personal insights of parents on the best preschools in west madison, which I am having a hard time finding online.

Hope you all can help us find a great preschool.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-29-2013, 09:42 PM
 
Location: Madison, WI
1,741 posts, read 5,375,287 times
Reputation: 821
I've seen the inside of two LaPetite Academies and I wouldn't send my kids there if I had any. It is basically a child warehouse and the people who work at these places aren't top knotch. They are like the McDonald's of childcare.

Try Red Caboose on the east side. It is a non-profit, so they aren't in it to rake in the dough. It is really pedagogically sound and known throughout the area for the quality of the program. About Us | Red Caboose

Alternatively Woods Hollow in Fitchburg is also supposed to be really good.
Woods Hollow Children's Center

You may have to drive a bit if you want to send your children to a quality preschool.

Last edited by Megan1967; 05-29-2013 at 10:08 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-30-2013, 04:15 PM
 
Location: Verona, WI
1,201 posts, read 2,403,388 times
Reputation: 830
High Point Christian School has a pre-school that you may wish to check out, and it sounds like it's not far from your house. There are a lot of folks from may different backgrounds who send their children to the school and I hear the teachers are of pretty high quality.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-30-2013, 05:24 PM
 
4 posts, read 6,177 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Megan1967 View Post
I've seen the inside of two LaPetite Academies and I wouldn't send my kids there if I had any. It is basically a child warehouse and the people who work at these places aren't top knotch. They are like the McDonald's of childcare.

Try Red Caboose on the east side. It is a non-profit, so they aren't in it to rake in the dough. It is really pedagogically sound and known throughout the area for the quality of the program. About Us | Red Caboose

Alternatively Woods Hollow in Fitchburg is also supposed to be really good.
Woods Hollow Children's Center

You may have to drive a bit if you want to send your children to a quality preschool.
Thanks Meghan1967.

I will avoid all la petite's and chain-type preschools. I should probably look for non-profit types.

Are there really no good preschools in the west side? Or maybe you're just more familiar with the east side? Hope somebody from the west can also share their thoughts.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-30-2013, 05:26 PM
 
4 posts, read 6,177 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ragnar View Post
High Point Christian School has a pre-school that you may wish to check out, and it sounds like it's not far from your house. There are a lot of folks from may different backgrounds who send their children to the school and I hear the teachers are of pretty high quality.
Thanks Ragnar. Will definitely check high point christian school.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-30-2013, 07:46 PM
 
Location: Madison, WI
1,741 posts, read 5,375,287 times
Reputation: 821
I'm sure there are good preschools on the westside, but the west side tends to be more commercial. I'm sorry that I sounded snarky in that post. Thank you for not taking offense.

Fitchburg is actually on the cusp of the westside and probably not a long drive.

I work with kids and their care takers every day and actually, one suggestion would be to find a licensed day care provider who works out his/her home. The challenge is there are just as many people who are not good as there are people who are excellent. You would have to interview them.

I would suggest calling the closest library branch and asking to speak to the children's librarian. They know the good day care providers because these people often take their charges to library storytimes and to check out books.

Here are some links to sites that give advice on evaluation daycare providers:
Evaluating Your Child Care Provider | Child Care Aware
How to Find a Good Day Care - Choose Child Care Center
Evaluating Child Care « Child Care Council – Rochester, NY – Child Day Care Services

Wisconsin specific criteria:
Child Care Certification
http://dcf.wi.gov/youngstar/pdf/eval...ria_family.pdf

A state search engine for child care providers:
Child Day Care in Wisconsin
http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/youngstar/
This is an article cited on a great parenting blog about childcare in Madison. It is two years old, so might be somewhat out of date.
child care | Raising Madison

There are various philosophies of preschool education. Here is a summary. I'd try to find a preschool that suites your family.

Preschool Philosophies: What Are They? - Defining your ideal school | GreatSchools
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-12-2013, 11:36 AM
 
4 posts, read 6,177 times
Reputation: 13
thanks guys

thanks madisonmom4. we visited middleton preschool 2 weeks ago. the teachers were really nice and my daughter liked it there (had trouble leaving the place) a lot.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Wisconsin > Madison
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top