Preschools in Anchorage, AK

Birchwood Christian has an amazing program!!!! Full time or part time K4 classes!

Creative Minds is wonderful! Ms. Melanie had my daughter reading before kindergarten

Creative minds is awesome but Mrs.Melanie has a full class her partner does great also who is in the same building and her class is called Sparkling Futures

Firelake Preschool is fantastic! All three if my children went there!

http://www.blueskiespreschool.com/

Nanook Montessori. She is fantastic!

Call Birchwood Christian School!!!!

Yes, they're different. BCS is private and Birchwood ABC is a public elementary school.

Birchwood Christain School is great!!

Check out Blue Skies! http://www.blueskiespreschool.com

Anchorage Waldorf has a "mommy and me" program. There are also a few Waldorf based preschools in town, Franny's over in Turnagain, one on the South-west side of town, and then another on the hillside...

My children went to both Wallula Preschool in Lansing our first time there, and Jack and Jill preschool in Leavenworth our 2 nd time stationed there. They are both private Christian schools, with option of 1/2 day or full day. Both schools accepted our children as long as they were "potty trained" (of course we all had oopsy incidents) look into both depending on where you end up living.... Both are taking enrollment now for next school year.

We like Jack & Jill as well.

Love Miss Anne's on Eisenhower. Here is a link to their Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/missannesllc/

Depending on when your child turns five, they have transitional kindergarten available in the elementary schools. I personally used Strong Beginnings full day at the CDC on Ord. The program helped set up my daughter for kindergarten this year. Even her teacher said how well prepared she was compared to some kids coming in from other programs. Rates are based off of income and you can get more information from the site. http://www.pom-fmwr.com/fmwr/index.php/family/child-youth-a-school-services-cyss/parent-central-services

For preschools maybe look into Holy Family & Navy Hale Keiki by AMR and Hickam. There's a variety of preschools in all areas, it all depends on the tuition costs and type of preschool you're looking for (faith based, Montessori, parent participation, etc). Just be prepared to dish out some big money for any preschool here. Also, I'm not sure what income level you're at, but the Head Start program here is really great if you qualify. They're accepting applications for the next school year and their full day preschools are half the cost of other preschools. As far as the public school system goes, the elementary school my kids go to is great. I've compared their curriculum to what my friends' children are learning at various posts and they have similar curriculum but taught in a different order, so I'm definitely not worried about them being behind. I'd say their teachers and support from their administration makes all the difference as well.

We love Stepping Stones Academy for PreK. It's in Pearlridge.

We had a great public school experience in Hawaii, and in fact my kids were almost a year ahead of the students in Indiana, nor were they behind when we moved to Germany 2 years later. (Meaning, the Indiana schools weren't just behind, they were on par with the rest of the nation) lol! Our kids went to Aikahi Elementary in Kailua near the Kanehoe Marine Base and flourished. They also attended Hale Kula on Schofield Barracks and did really well. Their teachers at both schools were amazing and the activities offered were fantastic. It really depends on where you live and which teachers your children get. We always write a letter to the school outlining each child's strengths and weaknesses and ask for a teacher who would best fit their specific needs. So far, every one of my four children has had the best teacher for them each year ( in elementary, it's different in middle and high school). Also, they have done really well transferring from different schools in different states and even different countries. We are very involved in our children's education and we stay well connected to each teacher 1.) so the teacher knows we are there to support and reinforce our children's education and 2.) so the teacher knows we are there to support them. We have friends who do charter school by hi jam and love it, we have friends who go to private school and love it, we have friends who homeschool and love it, and we have friends who also go to public schools like we do and love it! My oldest is graduating Cum Laude, National Honor Society, National Science Society, German Language Society, he played the saxophone for 6 years and worked all through high school. Your children's education will be what you make of it. Take care! I'm sure you'll find the right fit for your family, whatever you decide.

My daughter went to St Georges (which closed down) and then to the ASYMCA on Pearl Harbor. Loved it there! They will 'test' your child to determine which class they should be in (based on letter recognition, shapes, colors, etc) and assign a class accordingly so it's not based on age at all. They have morning or afternoon classes but it's much cheaper than Navy Hale Keike (although they have an after school hourly program that the ASYMCA does not have). Good luck! We loved Hawaii and miss it terribly!

We lived in Hawaii for 5 years and we started homeschooling our oldest in kindergarten, after he attended Kailua Baptist Preschool in Kailua (he's now finishing third grade). We also sent our second son there and I would continue to send every one of my 4 children there is we still lived in Hawaii. Absolutely phenomenal preschool where the kids are not only being prepared for formal education but are also experiencing Hawaii! We loved it.

Try Holy Family. It is near Hickam AFB, my daughter attended their preschool program for two years and she loved it. It was a great program.

We sent our daughter to Tiny Tots behind Catlin Dr. It's only half days and you can choose from 2/3 days a week. My daughter loves it there and so didn't we.

ASYMCA on MCBH, and they offer it at Pear Harbor as well

I highly recommend Del Sol Church's MOPs program! They also have a Mother's Day Out program. All of their children's programs are very well done (i.e. trained staff, safe/clean facilities, etc.) We use Dr. Guggedahl for our kiddos. He accepts Tricare standard and is pro-parent choice on all subjects (something super important to us).

Dr. Rance is fabulous (on base pediatrician). He cares and listens and does a great job! We lived off post and hated it. I'd say on post if possible.

Off post pediatrician: Dr. Salloum at Westwind Pediatrics. He is an excellent pediatrician.

My parents attend Trinity Lutheran Church (Wisconsin) and I grew up going to Grace Lutheran (Missouri).. they are both in the North East.

We were there for 7.5 years and never had a problem with anyone messing with our house! We lived in Corrigador (which is where you would be for O3). Great new houses, playgrounds, etc.. Freedom Crossing (PX) is amazing! Lots of stores and water feature for the kids to run through. We miss that! Also amazing indoor rock wall pool open all year round on East Bliss. My kids went to Hughey and liked it. Stay away from Cielo Vista Elem if you can...problems everywhere, even though they have good scores. Don't be fooled! EPISD has its problems and I'm so glad we are out of that district! But overall we miss that post. Good luck!

Corrigador and Pershing Heights are on main post. Corrigador is newer and bigger. Upper Beaumont is post housing that's off post. There's a wall around the area but the gate is unmanned so it's pretty much open to anyone. But those are your options for O3. You'll be moving late in the season so it's not uncommon to be on the list for months to a year. I would put in your application as soon as you have orders. You can request a certain area but if they offer you something else and you say no, you'll go the bottom of the list.

Dr. Isaac's group (West El Paso) for pediatrics and First Baptist Church of El Paso has an awesome MDO. Please message me if you need more info, we were in El Paso from 2010-2012.

Sure!I saw a sign that said United community even rents out to retired and Reserves.I love it here and when you are on post you can choose between schools...The Atlantic is close and with New York,Philadelphia...around there is tons to do!But yes,housing is very expensive. I checked Zillow or AHRN before we moved here and you have to be really lucky to find something nice for a reasonable price...proberty tax is really high as well.So far one of my 2 favorite duty stations!

"JB MDL Area deals and activities" is a great facebook group for things to do

We lived in Manhattan when we first got here. Very expensive rent, buying is more economical. We like our house on post much better! We live in the new housing in Colyer Forsyth. Our son goes to Creche Day School in Manhattan and even though it is a 30 min drive, to me it's worth it knowing he goes to a wonderful daycare with great teachers and owners.

Neighborhood Leaning Center in Junction is fantastic!

The FAA has a fabulous daycare and preschool program. It's right outside the base. The center is called FAA Merry Go Around.

Thanks Jennie! Jeremy Crowfoot, Janelle Marie Duhon, Jaden T. Perry?

We are in Silverdale now, but not on base. There are several preschools. My youngest attends First Stage Montessori. There is also The Farm and Silverdale Lutheran. Those are the ones I know of that friends attend. Several churches in the area offer preschools.

The most useful page for info is The Real Housewives of Fort Meade page. We chose not to live on base, for us it wasn't a good trade off for our BAH, but others liked it. For preschool, I recommend Wesley Grove in Hanover, I sent both of my girls there. The teachers are wonderful and very caring. They probably just opened registration for next year and it fills up FAST, so if you're interested, give them a call now. They were affordable, schools are very expensive in MD. In regards to the previous post about expenses, maybe it was because we had moved from a high cost area to there, but I didn't find it to be obscenely expensive. Sure, some activities can be expensive (the aquarium is stupid expensive), but there's plenty of cheap fun to have too.

DIR floortime w Dr. Greenspan. Many books available. My son began low functioning at 20 months, and by age six was "undiagnosed" w DIR techniques.

Peace Lutheran is a wonderful preschool. Also, the JCC and St. Marks have strong programs. We definitely loved the West Side!