Preschool recommendations- Great Lakes area?

[Amy]

Well we got our hard copies in and will be moving to Great Lakes at the beginning of November. I'm trying to get as much taken care of as I can right now, including looking into preschools. When we thought we were going to Alaska I went up there on vacation for a couple of months and found the perfect school for her- although it had a really long waiting list. I'm not sure that I'll be able to travel to Illinois before we PCS, although I may drive up there and spend a few days getting a feel for the area and getting anything sorted that I can, including looking around at preschools and getting on a waiting list, if possible.

ANYWAY I was wondering if anyone had any good preschool recommendations or any that I should avoid? Autumn will be four in November. How are the preschools on base and is there a long wait list? Can I get on that waiting list now or would I have to wait until we're physically in Great Lakes? Obviously I will be visiting the preschool with my daughter and husband before we make the final decision, but it doesn't hurt to get on the list, just in case there's a long wait.

[kimly]

yay your coming here!

I dont have any kids in preschool, but what I know (from all the twins moms I talk to and majority of them have tons of $$$ aka. non-military ) is that majority of the schools have this raffle thing, where you put your name in and "hope" you get in, and majority of them are pretty hard to get into. But that is mostly for the ones that are in Grays Lake, Round Lake Beach ect. (about 15 mins away). But there has to be ones that you can get into right away, they just might not be the best ones. Again I dont know for sure. I can ask my great lakes friends if you want and see what they say.

[Amy]

A lottery to get into a preschool? Wow...

I really, truly, only want the best for my daughter. I won't send her to a mediocre school because I KNOW how important early childhood education is. I'll start a home daycare if I have to.

[allbluezoo]

We just moved here and I have been looking for a PS for my 4yo DS. We were really leaning toward Westlake Christian Academy but eventually decided it would be too far to travel when the weather starts getting bad. I went to the Youth Referral place today to see about putting him in there and they have 5 openings for the PK-4 room. I believe (but don't quote me!) that you can get on the waiting list once you have your hard copy orders. You'll also need a copy of your DH page 2.

There are several Montessori schools in the area as well, but you are talking upwards of $6k. Both my kids went to private school in Hawaii so that is what I was hoping for here too, but without that nice COLA it just isn't happening.

[*EmAzing*]

When we lived there a couple of my co-workers sent their kids to The Country Preschool in Gurnee. I have no idea what you have to do to enroll a child there but they always had great things to say about the place. If we still lived there I would try and get my DD into that school.

[Amy]

Originally Posted by allbluezoo We just moved here and I have been looking for a PS for my 4yo DS. We were really leaning toward Westlake Christian Academy but eventually decided it would be too far to travel when the weather starts getting bad. I went to the Youth Referral place today to see about putting him in there and they have 5 openings for the PK-4 room. I believe (but don't quote me!) that you can get on the waiting list once you have your hard copy orders. You'll also need a copy of your DH page 2. There are several Montessori schools in the area as well, but you are talking upwards of $6k. Both my kids went to private school in Hawaii so that is what I was hoping for here too, but without that nice COLA it just isn't happening.

Yeah, we're taking a huge pay cut by moving to Chicago- no sea pay, I think the COLA is like $500 less, BAH is $900 lower...but we're actually going to have more expenses. My daughter went to preschool through UH, which was subsidized by the state so we only had to pay about half of what it would normally cost (still $500 or so a month- I paid per semester). $6,000 a year for a Montessori school? That's not bad- when we were looking into school in Alaska (before our orders were snatched away from us, of course) it was between $9000-12000 a year, basically.

[Amy]

Originally Posted by allbluezoo We just moved here and I have been looking for a PS for my 4yo DS. We were really leaning toward Westlake Christian Academy but eventually decided it would be too far to travel when the weather starts getting bad. I went to the Youth Referral place today to see about putting him in there and they have 5 openings for the PK-4 room. I believe (but don't quote me!) that you can get on the waiting list once you have your hard copy orders. You'll also need a copy of your DH page 2. There are several Montessori schools in the area as well, but you are talking upwards of $6k. Both my kids went to private school in Hawaii so that is what I was hoping for here too, but without that nice COLA it just isn't happening.

Even though I've never met you, I feel kind of comforted that you're moving to Great Lakes after Hawaii as well.

[Brandi]

We were stationed there for three years and I think the preschool there was one of the absolute BEST things about being stationed there.

Howard A Yeager is a preschool and Kinder PUBLIC school (but it's only PreK and Kinder). They offer public lunch, bussing (With only prek kids + monitors). They are Monday -Thursday half days (they have morning or afternoon programs). The preK program is called PEP - Preschool Enrichment Program.

You have to take your child in to be "tested" to see if they show a need for it, but they consider everything from needing socializing, fine motor, large motor, speech, etc. So, they'll likely find a "need" for your child.

Here is some more info for you:
http://www.nchi.lfc.edu/schools/yeag...200609news.pdf
http://www.greatschools.net/illinois...ry-School/220/

Did I mention it's free?

ETA: I was VERY happy with his experience there. I am overbearing but felt comfortable letting him go every day. he made so many friends (A lot were military kids, I think like 50% of his class) and he always talked highly of his teacher and time at school.

[allbluezoo]

Originally Posted by LatteLove We were stationed there for three years and I think the preschool there was one of the absolute BEST things about being stationed there. Howard A Yeager is a preschool and Kinder PUBLIC school (but it's only PreK and Kinder). They offer public lunch, bussing (With only prek kids + monitors). They are Monday -Thursday half days (they have morning or afternoon programs). The preK program is called PEP - Preschool Enrichment Program. You have to take your child in to be "tested" to see if they show a need for it, but they consider everything from needing socializing, fine motor, large motor, speech, etc. So, they'll likely find a "need" for your child. Here is some more info for you: http://www.nchi.lfc.edu/schools/yeag...200609news.pdf http://www.greatschools.net/illinois...ry-School/220/ Did I mention it's free? ETA: I was VERY happy with his experience there. I am overbearing but felt comfortable letting him go every day. he made so many friends (A lot were military kids, I think like 50% of his class) and he always talked highly of his teacher and time at school.

Just FYI, they have really buckled down on who gets into Yeager. When I went to registration there was already a waiting list from the previous year and this year they haven't even gotten around to the testing yet. My son is on the list but I am not holding my breath. Some of the things she told me they test: can your child pick a picture of a shirt out of 4 choices, can your child put together a 4 piece puzzle...and now I am drawing a blank but you get the idea.

Where in Hawaii were you?! We will totally have to get together when you get here...I'll crank up the heat and put in my pineapple/mango Wallflowers and we can eat kalua pork from the crockpot

Back to the school thing, the Prek-4 program at the CDC isn't THAT bad. They use a creative based curriculum. Not AS academic as I would like, but for my younger one the creative approach is better..it's the older one who HAS TO BE challenged academically. Feel free to PM me!

[Brandi]

Originally Posted by allbluezoo Just FYI, they have really buckled down on who gets into Yeager. When I went to registration there was already a waiting list from the previous year and this year they haven't even gotten around to the testing yet. My son is on the list but I am not holding my breath. Some of the things she told me they test: can your child pick a picture of a shirt out of 4 choices, can your child put together a 4 piece puzzle...and now I am drawing a blank but you get the idea. Where in Hawaii were you?! We will totally have to get together when you get here...I'll crank up the heat and put in my pineapple/mango Wallflowers and we can eat kalua pork from the crockpot Back to the school thing, the Prek-4 program at the CDC isn't THAT bad. They use a creative based curriculum. Not AS academic as I would like, but for my younger one the creative approach is better..it's the older one who HAS TO BE challenged academically. Feel free to PM me!

We did have to wait about a year for him to start. He tested about 6 months after I put him on the list, then started during christmas break when he was 3, almost 4.

They take into account a lot of things, or at least they did. They tested everything from being able to hop on one foot so many times to being able to draw a straight line between two narrow lines, colors, numbers, alphabet, etc. So, I think it's worth a shot. It can't hurt to at least get put on the list, even if you end up waiting a while. It was well worth the wait for us.