Preschools Near You

Education-first programs for the years before kindergarten, often part-day and on the school calendar.

15,828 preschools

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What is a preschool?

Preschools are education-first programs for the years before kindergarten. Many run part-day and on the school calendar, which is the practical difference from a daycare center: a preschool day often ends at lunchtime and stops for the summer. Programs vary widely in philosophy, from play-based to academic to Montessori, and that variation matters more here than in any other kind of care.

What to ask before you enroll

  • Ask what a typical morning looks like hour by hour, rather than what the philosophy is called.
  • Ask how the program handles the move to kindergarten, and which schools its children go on to.
  • Ask whether the hours cover your working day, and what extended care costs if they do not.
  • Ask what the class size is and how many adults are in the room.
  • Check the calendar against yours before you enroll: term dates, breaks and closure days.

Other kinds of care