Pine Lake Co-Op Preschool has been amazing for my daughter. Play-based learning, exposure to…read moredifferent skills/activities and time spent outdoors playing makes my child beg to go to preschool! The teachers are wonderful and knowledgeable. Co-op model means great student-teacher/adult ratio and very affordable tuition. Getting to volunteer in the classroom has helped me learn more about child development and felt more confident as a parent. It is a great use of my time. There's a reason Pine Lake Co-Op Preschool has been a central part of the community for over 50 years! My daughter is a second generation PLCP student!

We moved to Sammamish in the middle of the pandemic, and I am so happy to have found Pine Lake…read moreCo-op Preschool (PLCP)! It is exactly what my son needed after being home for so long without regular interaction with other kids his age. At PLCP, we have found the perfect balance between flexible structure and the freedom to just play and be kids. Our family has had nothing but wonderful experiences the last two years with Teacher Kim! It's very evident that she is thoroughly experienced with these age groups and provides a variety of developmentally appropriate activities and lessons for the kids. There's no better feeling as a parent than seeing your child thrive in their first experience of school! I am grateful to have found a preschool where my son is safe, positively engaged with his peers and teacher, and excited to go to school each day. As a former K/1st teacher, I have no doubt that Pine Lake Co-op is a wonderful place for both you and your child to grow and learn together. The co-op model is unique and we have loved building connections with other families. Our younger one will be starting at PLCP in a few months, and we're so excited to see his education journey begin!!

As a fellow early childhood educator who has run a childcare program before, when I was looking for…read morea preschool for my son, I knew I wanted a play-based program where my child would have plenty of opportunities to explore and simply have a great time. We came across The Farmhouse School, and I was so excited. The philosophy is exactly what I hoped to find- Play-based, a focus on social emotional wellbeing, open-ended exploration, and great family support. My son had only been with me for his first three years of life, and I wasn't sure how he would take to being away from me, but he's done amazingly well so far. He is excited to go, and even asks to go on the weekend. He always has a big smile on his face while we head to school, and he tells me about how he plays with his friends at pickup. The teachers are all lovely and warm, and are very compassionate. They understand how to work with children and families to ensure the transition from home to school goes well. I can't say enough about the school. It's great, and I wish there were more schools like this in the area so more children could experience what best practices are for this age group!

The Farmhouse School is a charming and wonderful school. The teachers are very patient, kind, and…read morecontinuously ask the students great questions. Some favorite components of the school for my daughter was the rotation of exploratory areas and touch areas. For example, some weeks they have a big bin of leaves and other weeks they have interesting beads, or water play. Some weeks there are tables with writing with interesting things or ways to write your name or guess the smell in the cup. There is even a quaint writing center and student mailboxes for sharing letters. An important component is outside play everday no matter the weather. They have a wonderful outdoor play space complete with garden and live chickens. One of the most important aspects of the school is the teacher interation with the students. For ex: When students are telling a story, the teacher is writing down what they are saying or writes down titles or explanations of the artwork created by the students. The preschoolers feel respected and love that their ideas are seen as important. Last year the students were interested in collectively creating a bug hotel, they worked on this project all year. The teachers helped the students generate lists of what the hotel needed and they were continually creating collaboratively. For a few weeks the students were interested in doing a play so the teachers started writing down their script ideas and in a few days at pick up all the parents got to watch a very charming preschool production on the back porch. When you are thinking about a place to start your child's education, Farm house is a wonderful, creative, and kind place to start.

Our youngest son has been attending this school since he was 3.5 years-old and potty-trained. He…read morewas very ready to ditch his large daycare in downtown Issaquah Highlands. I found Aster when it was recommended by the director of Sno-Springs School, near our home. I was admittedly skeptical as I was not particularly impressed by other Montessori schools on the Plateau and in the Highlands. Ms Aparna and her assistant director worked with me and my wife to devise a plan to acclimate our son to their environment and routine. We started with part-time enrollment in their summer camp program. My son immediately loved their large grassy and wooded play area, which was 3x bigger than his old daycare's concrete one. We then continued with Aster into the school year. Although it was very difficult for him at first, Aster Montessori was very patient with our headstrong son's adjustment to Montessori. He quickly improved his social skills ("grace and courtesy") and made good friends at the school. He looked forward to going to preschool each day. As parents we are pleased that our son is achieving his language & math milestones with ease -- he is ahead of his older sibs when they were in preschool -- we are most excited that he's maturing as person. That is, he is starting to understand and regulate his rather challenging temperament. I just wish Aster had been around when our daughters were in preschool! Pros: Happy and eager classmates Low turnover among the teaching staff; they are experienced, too Great communication with parents at pickup, by e-mail and during conference. Clean and bright classrooms Big playground for a small preschool Nurturing environment Many attendance options available Amazing music teacher Cons: Montessori not a natural fit for every personality (like my son's?) Can be difficult to get to know other parents Once-a-month snack duty (ok, not really a problem) Only offers preschool-to-kindergarten (i.e., 3-year 3-to-6 y.o. cycle through Kindergarten)

My son has enjoyed Aster Montessori since the summer camp of July, 2021. He got a lot of love and…read morefriendship from his teachers and his classmates. We have a very happy experience here, and we can see great improvement in his social, emotional and academic development, especially after he started kindergarten. Aster Montessori provides a family-style environment which is very caring, safe and cozy. My son and I fell in love with it when we toured the school, and this turns out to be a really wise choice for us! All of his teachers are nice and helpful to all kids. They love and respect my son and they teach him a lot with great patience, especially his lead teacher, also director of Aster Montessori. My son learned a lot about plants, animals, continents, countries, food, weather, every aspect about nature and science. Besides, he learned how to write numbers, letters, words and sentences, and how to do addition, subtraction and even multiplication. Aster Montessori is an amazing school which really helps lay a solid foundation for kids. Also, the music program is superb, every school concert was very impressive! Highly recommend!

We've had a wonderful experience with Best Beginnings, and I'm truly grateful for the amazing…read moreteachers and staff. The school has excellent teachers who genuinely care about the children. Teacher Tomoko was one of the best teachers my daughter could have started her school journey with. She helped her feel safe, comfortable, and confident, and played a big role in making her love school from the very beginning. She was also very attentive and communicative, always keeping us informed about any concerns and offering thoughtful, practical guidance. Teacher Karen runs her classroom in such a warm and engaging way that my daughter is always happy and excited to go to school. Seeing that level of joy and enthusiasm means so much to us as parents. I would like to thank all the staff and administrators at Best Beginnings for creating such a positive and supportive experience. We feel very thankful that our daughter attended this preschool and highly recommend it to other families.

Amazing school, the teachers are great! Very clean and organized in a nice neighborhood. They have…read morea fun, engaging curriculum. I definitely recommend to all parents, my son absolutely loves it!

The Montessori Forest School has been a great fit for my son and our family. This has been his…read morefirst experience in a school type setting and Shaija has been absolutely wonderful helping us all transition. We LOVE the combo of the outdoor setting and Montessori style of teaching and learning. My son THRIVES in the outdoor setting! He loves the adventure and is a very high energy kiddo, so we love knowing that he is getting to move and play and breath in the fresh air. He has learned so much since he started and will often randomly bring up some fun fact he learned. He is learning about REAL things. Shaija is so passionate about teaching and she really cares for the kids.

From the owner: Montessori Forest School offers fully outdoors classes at Centennial Fields Park, Snoqualmie WA,…read morefor 3-6 year-olds. We have a Forest Graduation Ceremony in July, followed by Summer Camps. Call Now! for a Classroom Tour, Info Night, or Community Event!

This is such a friendly and welcoming preschool. Amber and Althea have been leading children's…read moreprograms for the past two decades. Children love Island Time. It is an excellent program for kindergarten preparedness.

From the owner: We provide a safe, nurturing space for children to grow socially, academically, emotionally and…read morephysically. We have a theme-based curriculum that integrates engaging, weekly topics that keeps each week new and exciting while working towards kindergarten readiness. Our program includes: Large Muscle Activities-  patio and large indoor room activities for children to use and develop large muscle coordination. Art- exploration of different media and projects designed to promote fine motor and visual perception skills (cutting, gluing, stitching, matching, sequencing, etc.) Listening Skills-  stories, music, sound, matching games, following directions Verbal Development- interaction in play, purposeful activities, show and tell Basic Concepts-  shapes, colors, rhyming, opposites,  left and right, patterning, sequencing, classification, seriation, beginning sounds, number identification and correspondence, pre-reading, pre-writing, science and math Social skills- sharing, verbalizing feelings, responsibility for self, and courtesy to others

The Orchards Childcare and Preschool is better than I could have imagined a childcare center could…read morebe. I currently have my two children enrolled at the Orchards. I am particularly impressed with how the caregivers and teachers take a genuine interest in the progress and lives of each of the children in their class. Whenever I've had questions, the Orchards Director has been easy to reach and prompt in her responses. The classrooms have been recently renovated and are kept clean. There is a good variety of age appropriate and safe toys in all of the classrooms. Security is well maintained with video monitoring, keypad access to facilities and fenced outdoor play areas. I love the phone application that they use for the secure check in and out procedure, as well as the photo updates throughout the day. Their Junior Kindergarten class is quite robust in its educational curriculum. The lead Junior Kindergarten teacher has been teaching young students for over 20 years, I believe. I'm honestly impressed at the progress my four year old has made behaviorally and educationally. They also have done a great job at offering events throughout the year. Kids Christmas program, picture days, Easter egg hunts, "pumpkin patch" etc. I couldn't recommend the Orchards more.

We've had such a positive experience with the Orchards preschool! Our kids love this school and…read morewe've had such a positive experience with the teachers and staff.

Sammamish Children's School is our two-year old's home away from home. Every morning when he wakes…read moreup, he's excited to go 'play with friends' at 'new school'...he's been attending for two months, but this is his name for school. Our son is in the 'Dippers' class, and his teacher, Ms. Melissa and assistant teacher, Ms. Bella, are amazing. There are stations setup each morning with age appropriate and engaging activities (water play, sand play, Mr. Potato Head, etc.) which our son loves! There's music class every Monday and Thursday, an amazing outdoor play space on acreage, and nutritious, diverse meals served. Emotionally - Ms. Melissa and the staff helped reinforce preparing our son for the arrival of his baby brother by talking about being a 'big brother' and reinforcing our son's role in our family. It made the transition of bringing baby home more exciting than nerve racking. Above and beyond a typical school experience in my opinion. Operationally - SCS also has many less closure days than some of the schools my friends kiddos go to in the area, so much more predictable for work schedules. It did take us a little over 7-months to get off the wait list, but Ms. Kelly (assistant director) was awesome at helping us plan for a reasonable date to possibly join. I cannot say enough positive things about this school, the faculty, the activities, the food, and overall experience. Highly recommend to any families looking for a long-term 'home' for their kiddos.

The absolute best! Both of our kids have gone from 1 year old day care all the way through…read morekindergarten at SCS and it's the best money we've ever spent. Great Teachers (even at the early age, 1-2-3, they have a curriculum) Well run operations (sign ups, billing, updates) Awesome chef (yes, they feed the kids healthy food, you don't need to pack fruit by the foot) Safe! (Before, during, and all the way through the pandemic) The kids love it and it's really set them up for success.

I currently have my little three year old attending this preschool and he now loves school and is…read moreso engaged. Definitely a rewarding experience having the opportunity to be involved as a parent teacher with the Co-op program. I highly recommend for anyone looking to start transitioning their little one into preschool.

My daughter loves her school. The small class size is great and there is always at least the…read moreteacher and a parent helper. The only thing I wish was different was the option of longer days. Overall we are really happy.