My family is moving to the New Tampa area this June (yet to find our house but are looking in this area), and we have two girls, ages 2 1/2 and 4. They have been attending preschool here in Dallas, Tx, all year and I would like to continue their schooling once we move. I know that registration is now for preschools here in Plano, and am going to guess they are as well in your area.
I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for great preschool/pre-K programs for both my girls....particulary a 4-5 day program for my 4 year old (she'll turn 5 in Dec.), and 3 days for my 2 1/2 year old.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as I feel a bit overwhelmed about relocating with no leads in this department.
Thanks so much!
I have heard great things about Primrose! I have a friend who has her daughter there and LOVES it! In fact when my daughter is a little older I would like to send her there...H. this helps you!
Hi G.
I live in N Tampa. I'm not sure if you are only looking in New Tampa. I just signed my 2 year old daughter at Lake Magdalene Methodist Church school ###-###-####.I'm not sure what they have ,they had reg on Feb 1.There is another school right down the street from Lake Magdalene at a Catholic church called St Paul ###-###-####.They are having their reg on 3-6-08.I also have a friend that is selling her house very close to these schools and is getting ready to put it on the market.Let me know if you need anything else.Hope this helps.
Hi G.. I live in New Tampa with my husband and 3 1/2 yr old daughter. She is at Primrose school of Tampa Palms. You can check them out on the internet. We are very pleased with her progress and the level of care she recives there. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Lee
Hi G., I have 3 kids 6,4,and 22mon my 6 and 4yr. old go to Hillsdale Baptist preschool and Academy, they have classes for pk2 through 2nd grade, you can check out there web at www.hillsdalebaptist.org they are one of the best schools around. I am very pleased with my children's education that they are getting there:) Good luck!
I live in New Tampa- the northern part in Meadow Pointe and my boys (almost 3yo twins) started preschool this year at St James. It is one of the more popular preschools where parents will camp overnight to get a spot. They have a very loving environment with a learn through play and experimentation philosophy. We have been very happy there and I plan on sending them there again next year. Good luck with your move!
I don't live in New Tampa, but I have friends who do. I strongly recommend that you contact a few of your choice daycares/preschools and get your name on the waiting list. Many daycares in Tampa in "good" areas are filled to capacity and have waiting lists as long as a year...and if you're on a waiting list, you need to keep bugging them to see if there are any openings. Putting a face or voice to a name has helped me in many cases!
Hi G.,
I've lived in Tampa all my life and have two boys, ages 5 & 8. We had great success with a Methodist Church preschool. They have the days per week you are interested in and the fees averaged about $6.00/Hour. Probably any faith-based program in the New Tampa area will be priced about the same.
I am a work-at-home mortgage broker. If you aren't working with anyone yet, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about Tampa or mortgage financing. This wasn't intended as a sales pitch...so no pressure or obligation.
Good luck to you with your move!
C. B
My 3 year old daughter has been going 2 mornings a week to the New Tampa Bright Horizons (near Hunters Green and Bruce B Downs) and really enjoys it. They have 3 teachers in her class, so a good student/staff ratio. They always seem to have an opening in my daughter's class, so give them a call. If you are looking for someone to have playdates with, send me an email, we are also newer to the area and I'm always on the lookout for other girls for my daughter to play with.
L.
I'm in Odessa, another community in the Tampa Bay area. I used to teach preschool at the Jewish Community Center (north branch), and though it's quite a drive from New Tampa, we had several children from that area. Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church has an excellent program also, but it's definitely one of those that requires overnight camping to get a chance to enroll your children, and it's also located on the northwest side of town.
There's been so much growth in New Tampa that I'm sure they have good preschools now. Perhaps your realtor could make some recommendations. My boys are both in their early 20s (as are all of my friends' children), so I can't be of more help. Sorry.
we have a home in tampa palms. we are currently living in tokyo for a while. but, we sent our two children to kindercare at tampa palms. our son went from 6months until recently when we moved and he will be 2 end of month. our daughter started when she was 4 months old and she will be 1 end of march. they both loved it there. they were very good to our children and i felt very comfortable leaving my children with them. my son even cried when he couldn't go. they have full-time and part-time hours. they are open from 6am- 6:30pm they provide breakfast, lunch and snacks.
your days are reserved for you, so you can bring them in at anytime and pick them up at anytime. florida has it where all children can go to pre-k free of charge. incase you didn't know. kindercare is an accredited knowledge learning center, they have pre-k. infact alot of their pre-k children skip kindergarten. when we get back from tokyo, our children will go their again. their number is ###-###-#### you can ask for judy or jill. good luck!
We made the same move 5 yrs ago. We were in Richardson and my kids were at the Heights. We didn't find a similar program to what they were in while in Texas. We missed registration so we ended up having to send the kids to two different programs because of availability and their ages. The 2 yr old (he was a boy - so our story is a bit different!) at the time went to St. James - it was more of a typical TX MDO program. My daughter was 4 at the time and went to preschool at Family of Christ. Both are right off Bruce B Downs in Tampa Palms. It was a smaller program - but Maddie loved it there. We moved out of New Tampa when our house was finished being built, so I'm sure stuff has changed, but in general the big MDO/Preschools that you find at mega churches in Plano just aren't available here. The closest we found was Van Dyke Day SChool in Lutz- but it is a haul from new tampa. When we moved we switched the 2 yr old to Van Dyke Day School - it is pretty much like what we experienced in Texas (but still on a smaller scale).
My suggestion is to contact the schools now to see if you can register or at least get on the wait list.
If you are looking at the Creme De La Creme (for you non-Texans, it is an over the top Disneyesque day care in Plano!) or Primrose Academy type facility. I think they had a Primrose open in New Tampa about the time we were moving out - look for a location on Cross Creek Blvd on their website.
Good luck with the move!
L.
Are you interested in private or public. The best private school by far is Berkley for your oldest. They have a pre-k program, and if you get her in that, she will more than likely get into the Kindergarten program. As for other schools, I do not know the New Tampa area,but I will ask around. A.
