This question comes up all the time and I have blogged about the many facilities available to families with young children.

Playhouse Preschool is in West Orange, and many of the families come from Maplewood, South Orange, Montclair, and Glen Ridge. Playhouse is a favorite for many area residents and is located at 88 Franklin Ave in West Orange.

Here is a testimonial you might want to read about Playhouse Nursery School:

“We love Playhouse Nursery School (973-736-9451) in West Orange. It’s near Montclair, Glen Ridge, and Maplewood/South Orange so families come from all of these towns, and many of us moved out from Brooklyn. Give them a call – I don’t think there would be any problem with signing your kids up for preschool before you’ve moved. Playhouse has a pre-k transitional kindergarten for kids who don’t make the Oct 1 cut off or September kids who are going in the following year. My son did this class a few years ago and the teachers are amazing – the whole school is focused on play, art, outdoor time, respect for differences, and, especially, helping kids learn how to work out conflicts on their own and gain social confidence. I found that these last two parts of the school were really valuable for my kids and helped a lot with the transition to, in our case, the West Orange public schools, where my son who did that class is now in the first grade. I feel like the social skills he learned from Playhouse have helped him a lot in a more traditional public school. I think the Open House for Playhouse is January 12 at 10 but you can call any time to come take a look. My twins are in the transitional kindergarten now and did Playhouse from the 2s class. There are lots of animals in the classes – bunnies, lizards – it’s a really cool place. Oh, and they have an all day option for working parents. It’s a coop preschool but there are also non-coop classes – you sign up for the one that best fits your family’s needs.
One other thing – the whole preschool thing is a lot more relaxed out here in terms of signing up and getting spots. I think many of you will be shocked how easy it is to find and sign up kids for preschool out here in comparison with Brooklyn.”

Playhouse is a preschool which values childhood as an exciting and important time when young children need to explore and experiment freely toward self-discovery.

It is a place where the most important knowledge is self-knowledge, which later informs academic learning.

Following the guiding principles of developmentally appropriate practice for young children, the Playhouse strives to provide each child with the tools needed to form a confident and positive self-concept as a learner.

Respect, communication, acceptance, support, and tolerance are important at Playhouse.

A cooperative school, Playhouse encourages and values the contributions of parents and families which produce a mosaic of patterns of participation.

The Playhouse staff is experienced in fostering an environment of guidance, support, love and understanding for students and families.

Playhouse is a reflection of the ideas, values, and people in the community it serves. With its sliding scale fee structure, Playhouse encourages an economically diverse student body.

Playhouse was founded in 1951 by a group of parents and Jeanne Ginsberg, a locally recognized leader in early childhood education. Jeanne led the school for over 50 years and she remains an active presence at Playhouse.

HERE IS A MORE COMPLETE LIST OF CHILD CARE CENTERS:

South Orange/Maplewood Preschools
YMCA-South Mountain (i used this for my son for after school care)

• South Orange
o South Orange Country Day School
o www.socds.com
o
o Preschool of Beth El
o http://www.bethelnj.org/education/preschool.shtml
o
o Mickey Fried Nursey School of Oheb Shalom
o http://www.ohebshalom.org/home/page.jsp?pg=2&pgName=mfns
o
o TSTI-Temple Sharei Tefilo Israel
http://www.tsti.org/page8/page133/page133.html
o
o Weekday Nursery School – 973-762-7879
•
• Maplewood
o Prospect Cooperative Nursery School corner of Tuscan http://www.prospectpreschool.org/
o
o Adassa Early Childhood Education Center (via Patch) http://maplewood.patch.com/listings/adassa-early-childhood-education-center
o
o Kinder Gan Preschool (via Patch)
o http://maplewood.patch.com/listings/kinder-gan-preschool
o
o Morrow Memorial Preschool
o http://www.morrowmem.org/home
o
o South Mountain YMCA Childcare (where jake goes now) http://www.smountainymca.org/child-care/infant-and-waddler-care.html
o
o Kelly’s Kids Daycare Center
o http://kellyskidsdc.com/
o
o St. Joseph’s Preschool and Elementary School
o http://www.stjosephmaplewood.org/

Mark Slade
Keller Williams
917.797.5059
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