Wilmette IL Nursery Schools and Preschools
If you are a Wilmette parent with young children, you have many excellent choices for their earliest childhood learning experience. The North Shore is known for its exemplary schools and that tradition starts with the preschools where children learn cognitive, social, and language skills through play.
Three of the schools are located near each other in downtown Wilmette. One is in Kenilworth Gardens, one is at Romona Elementary School, and one is in the Park District Recreation Center.
Trinity is a non-denominational school that serves children from 2 years old to kindergarten. It is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and by the state of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Their mission statement declares, “Trinity strives to provide a community classroom in which every child feels loved, respected, and valued for the precious and unique individuals they are.” The school’s many programs “offer a delightful blend of free choice and structure.”
Trinity Preschool offers:
Parent-Tot class
Ready Two Grow
3-Year Old Program
4-year Old Program
Kindergarten Enrichment Program
Lunch Bunch
WILMETTE COMMUNITY NURSERY SCHOOL
Located on the opposite corner of Trinity Preschool, the Wilmette Community Preschool has a productive vegetable garden that “enhances the teaching of traditional subjects like math, science, and art, as well as some of life’s larger lessons like environmental stewardship and healthy eating habits.”
Wilmette Community Nursery School is one of the oldest on the North Shore having been founded in 1961.
Their programs include:
1-Year-Old Parent & Tot
2-Year-Old Ready to Play
3-Year-Old Juniors
4-Year-Old Seniors + the Art Pod
Nursery School Extended Enrichment
Kindergarten Extended Enrichment
Along with the above two schools, Rose Hall is located in downtown Wilmette. Rose Hall is a “Montessori school in both curriculum and philosophy.” This is a theme that resonates through all their class offerings.
Rose Hall programs:
Little Explorers accommodates children as young as 13 months.
Toddlers is for 2-year-olds. A wonderful description of this class states “The twos are NOT terrible, they are TERRIFIC.”
Half-Day Preschool for 3-6-year-olds
Kindergarten Programs for 5-6-year-olds
Lunch Bunch is an extended-day program for 4-year-olds.
The school’s philosophy is that children “must have freedom, achieved through order and self-discipline, in order to develop to their full potential.” One of the cornerstones of the Montessori philosophy is that mixed-age groupings “create a cooperative learning environment that fosters multi-age friendships and conversations.
Classes include:
Parent-Child 6-23 months Monday/Tuesday
Toddler program for 2-year-olds (5 days per week)
The primary program for 3-year-olds (5 times per week)
Full-Day Kindergarten - available for 3rd-year students of the Primary program
Extended Care is available for a variety of programs
LECHNER EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAM
This program is affiliated with Wilmette School District 39 and is housed at Romona School. Its mission is to provide a “developmentally based preschool program in a nurturing, language-rich environment. As a collaborative team of Early Childhood Specialists, we utilize a curriculum designed to teach to each child’s potential and work together to develop individualized programming.”
Lechner’s Program includes:
For children 3-5 years of age
2 ½ hours per day
Either four or five days
1-2 paraprofessionals per class
The student-teacher ratio is 3-1
WILMETTE PARK DISTRICT PRESCHOOL
The Early Childhood Center Preschool “provides a program for three and four-year-olds that is nurturing, allows children to grow through their natural instinct to explore, lays a solid foundation of self-confidence, and prepares them for elementary school.”
Their program is offered five days a week and is a multi-age class that combines older 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds for a unique classroom experience.
This program is licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services. The school is located at the Wilmette Recreation Center at 3000 Glenview Rd. and the corner of Glenview and Skokie Blvd.
Links to more nearby preschools:
While you’re here, please see
Sign up to get monthly North Shore real estate news delivered to your inbox.
It's free, we'll never sell your info, and you can opt out at any time.
Enter your email address at North Shore Newsletter
Comments(1)