How old was your DC when you started looking for preschools?

[elektra]

So I know I should not get my parenting info from reality television but I was watching the Tori and Dean show and they were freaking out because they found out they were way behind the curve with choosing a preschool for their son who happens to be the same age as my DD. I couldn't help but wonder if that was really the norm is places other than NYC and I guess LA too?
I suppose DD would be attending preschool at around age 3, and she is now 16 months, BTW.
Preschool has not been on my radar at all.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We started looking the December/ January before ds was going to start preschool. So, he was 2.5yo. I missed the boat on about 2 preschools because I waited taht late. But, it appeared to be the norm in my area. Most preschools were holding tours and orientations in that time frame for the following year.

I already have ds2 on the waiting list at a school though and he is 8m old. He's been on the list since 6w. It's where ds1 went to kindergarten and it was awesome. It was one of the schools that I was too late for before. Actually, that school did have spots but they were in the less desireable afternoon time slot.

A mom I know in the LA area said that preschool there was nuts because rich, powerful people and/or celebrities would buy their way into schools.

Beth

Beth

[o_mom]

I started getting info about 9 months ahead. I did visits in the late fall the year before he started and then registration around here is end of Jan to beginning of March, depending on the school.

[maestramommy]

From what I've heard you generally start looking one year before you want to enroll, that way, if the preschool you like has a waiting list, you have a chance to get on it. So it depends on how old your kid will be when you want to enroll, 2, 3, or 4. Which could depend on what the cutoff date is in your state.

For example, I was going to enroll Dora in preschool when she was three. The cutoff date in my area is September 30. Dora's birthday is Oct. 1st, and from what I hear, there are no exceptions. So unless the district tells me differently (I'm going to ask them about this) I would enroll her in preschool next year and she would still have 2 years before kindy. Now, I am most likely going to enroll her in the public preschool provided in our district, so chances are they don't have a long waiting list. If I wanted to enroll her this fall in a private preschool that is very sought after, I would've wanted to get her name on a waiting list early this year.

These are just general guidelines, of course.

[new_mommy25]

Around my area, sign ups are fall/winter the previous year. DD is two and I will be signing up up for a few preschools this fall and she will start August 09. The school I really want her to go to has a long wait list and I signed her up for that when she was an infant. Last time I called she was number 38 on the wait list so I'm hoping she gets in! I'm applying for the other schools as back up.

With DS 1, I wasn't as versed in the preschool ways and we kind of scrambled around, but got VERY lucky and he went to an awesome preschool that is lottery only when he was four (we are applying DD to that one as well). Since we didn't apply for preschools earlier he didn't go to one when he was 3, but he did do a twice a week program at the YMCA which is sort of like MDO.

[proudsahmof3]

We live in the midwest, and I started looking for DS1 last fall (when he was almost 3) for him to begin this fall. We got him a spot at our first choice as soon as they started accepting applications for the school year this January. He will have 2 years of preschool before starting kindergarten. I agree with PP, that it kind of depends on where you live and what the demand is.

[niccig]

I was looking 18 months before DS was due to go. Some schools have waiting list, others have a lottery. Because we were so early, we were told that he would have a place at the school we wanted. I wanted to be done with the whole thing, so we applied very early to the one school. We had several to choose from, our school is very good, but it's not the elite preschool - I didn't want to get into any of that. For the elite and very pricey pre-schools, we would have had more difficulty, go in for interviews etc.

[shilo]

just to ditto what most other's experiences here have been...

around here you get on the wait list the fall (sept.) one year before the fall you want to start. the private (montessori, waldorf, mixed-philosophy, etc) and parent-participation/co-op schools usually have the most 'competition' if you will. whereas the few church-based programs in the area seem to have open spots longer - i'm _sure_ that is dictated by the area of the country i live in, and probably doesn't hold true in a lot of areas. the spots in the AM's at the private and co-op schools will almost always fill up way sooner than the PM's, so if you know you need an AM slot, you should plan on being on their 'wait' or 'interest' list early.

most of the schools around here then open up registration on a returning student, then sibling already enrolled, then new family basis. so if you are a 'new' family to the school, again, even more reason to make sure you are on their list early, that you have your paperwork and check ready to go and drop it off on whatever the first day you're allowed is. ETA: this process starts in dec. at the 2 schools we were most interested in for returning students, early jan. for sibling family registration and late jan for new family registration.

at the most sought after schools around here, many families choose to enroll for the 2's class (just 2 hours/2days a week) just so that they can guarantee a spot in the 3's AM's the following year as a returning student, rather than trying to get a 'new' family spot for the 3's.

ETA: also, all of the schools we were looking at were the 'traditional' preschools (not day/extended care programs that transition into preschool as the kiddos get older). none of my comments reflect the 'elite' preschools with parent and student interviews, etc. around here since that wasn't what i was looking for. i've heard you put your baby's name on those lists by the time they're 3 mos. old. not my cup o' tea.

hth, lori

[sunriseiz]

Hmmm. Must depend on where you live or how competitive the schools are. We are in TN and schools seem to start taking apps sometime around the beginning of Feb with decisions by May unless you are waitlisted which would then take longer. We talked to folks last fall about school, but they wouldn't take an app or put us on a list.

[s7714]

In my area you have to put your DCs name on waiting lists at least a year in advance for the well established, popular schools. At my older DD's pre-school I put my younger DDs name on the waiting list over a year in advance, and she just barely made the cut for this coming year's class. (And that was barely making it into the 3 day a week class; the 2 day a week class was filled loooong before her name came up!)

When I was looking at schools for my older DD it seemed like the honest to goodness preschools had waiting lists that often carried over for future years whereas the day-care/preschool combo places had much higher turn around and therefore shorter or zero wait lists. I also encountered places that keep two waiting lists--one being a traditional "we'll call you if there's an opening" list and the other being a "pay us tuition in advance and you'll get called first" list.

If I were you I'd at least start contacting some of the schools in your area to inquire how long their wait lists are (if any) just to get a feel for things.

[jk3]

We started looking when DS #1 was a little over one since we had to apply for the 2's program at that point.

[lizajane]

i signed schuyler up at 10 months so he could go to MDO at 17 months. i signed dylan up before he was born so he could go to MDO at 7 months. at our preschool, you just have to sign up in january. they fill spots based on: attending the year before, siblings of those attending the year before, church members, general public. so the general public sometimes has a wait list. but not very long.

[hez]

Preschools here generally have signups in Jan/Feb. That said, we signed DS up in July-ish before he went that fall. We'll send DD to the same preschool when she's old enough to go, but we'll sign her up a bit earlier so she can get into a morning class. DS was pooped out on preschool days because he missed his afternoon nap.

[KrisM]

I started with the preschool open houses, which are in January and February. So, about 7-8 months before he went. Not a problem getting into the one we wanted and I don't think any had a wait list at that point. The one he goes to did fill up by mid-February, so had we waited, it could have caused problems.

Fortunately, current students and their siblings get first dibs on the following year, so we're set for the next 5 years! Nothing like preschool from 2007 through 2012.

[HIU8]

Our application materials had to be in January prior to the following september. I thought it would be harder to get DS into a preschool, but since it's a religious school it seemed to be easier.

[momtoonegirl]

I put DD on the waitlist for the preschool that we wanted her to attend (Montessori) at 1 year of age. At that time they said that the waitlist was anywhere from 12-18 months. We wanted her to begin preschool at 3 years.

The nice thing about the facility, is that they also have infant (from 3 months old) and toddler care, so that if DD were to also have a sibling, we could have them both at the same place. They said that the infant spots are highly coveted, so they will put a place on the waitlist for you when you have an official due date from the OB.

So keeping our fingers crossed that we get into that school :)

[KBecks]

I started reading and getting school names, etc. at the beginning of the school year BEFORE the year that my son would enroll. Since Alek has a late October birthday, I checked out and found out that he wouldn't be able to enroll until he's actually almost 4. So check how the enrollment dates generally work. John will actually enroll a few months after he turns 3.

So anyway, I started reading about schools in Sept/Oct, and then contacted the schools about their application processes in December/January/February. We were settled and had a contract signed by mid-March and he starts in September.

Our area is not particularly competitive for preschools, although the popular ones have people waiting in line to sign-up. Two playgroup friends waited starting at 5 in the morning in FEBRUARY (in Wisconsin) to sign up at their school. (do we have the freezing smiley face?) Brrr! They got the last 2 spots.

HTH!

[hillview]

A year to a year and a half before in the Boston area.
/hillary