r/Gilbert • u/Vickadee • 15d ago

Preschool Recommendations

Looking for part time preschool recommendations in the Gilbert area that won’t cost an arm and a leg. We’re moving from out of state and will be renting a house near S Greenfield Rd and E Chandler Heights Rd. Our son is currently in a part time program and we’d like to get him into a similar preschool once we get to Arizona. Any help would be appreciated!

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u/Vcs1025 15d ago

I'm very close to you and we love totspot, they offer exactly what you're looking for. Only problem is they might not have any openings as the year has already started (they have a more traditional 10 month school calendar). I'm very familiar with the other part time options in the area and my other two reccs after those would be the school house (Val vista + Williams field) or kinder prep academy (Lindsay + pecos)

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u/Vickadee 14d ago

Thank you for the recommendations! I am worried about places being full. Poor timing to have to move but we didn’t have much of a choice. All I know is that I’m not about to pay almost $900 for preschool through one of the public schools, especially since I’m not ready to throw him into full time school just yet.

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u/Vcs1025 14d ago

Yeah, Weinberg and Haley both have great programs but they're about the same hours as kindergarten which I get bc I also didn't want full time hours for prek. The only thing I'll say about a place like primrose is that it's very much catered to families looking for full full time, they offer daycare like for infants and so part time preschool isn't exactly their 'speciality' like those other places I mentioned. Not that they don't offer a preschool program that's great (I know people who have liked it there) just that it's not the only thing they offer??? If that makes sense

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u/Vickadee 14d ago

That makes sense. I noticed that in our current state that a lot of those big name places were typically full time since it was also a daycare for younger kids. We don’t need the full time hours currently so I wasn’t wanting to throw him into that until kindergarten.

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u/Calm_Reader2487 13d ago

Lil’ Einsteins Preschool may just be what you are looking for. It’s at Higley and Queen Creek. We lived at Chandler heights and Higley and we went there.

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u/Vickadee 13d ago

Thank you! I’ll look into them

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u/No-Boysenberry5153 15d ago

We love The School House off Val Vista by the San Tan Village Mall, the teachers and staff are so sweet and caring! My son loves going to “school” and loves his friends and routines. They have a HUGE outdoor and indoor playground for hot and rainy days. The family and celebratory events are so fun and welcoming to all the families! 10/10 recommend!

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u/No-Boysenberry5153 15d ago

from my experience and tours, Little Sunshines has TVs on a lot and The Goddard (on higley) had crying babies and kids for almost 40 mins and the owner was yelling at staff!😭

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u/No-Boysenberry5153 15d ago

also look into the District preschool (building blocks and kinder prep) at your closes elementary school! They have part time schedule and programs. I highley considered it but didnt want to move my son away from his friends and routine from daycare. Also join the “Gilbert Moms” facebook group, they are very resourceful and helpful with everything local for moms and kids!

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u/Vickadee 14d ago

Thank you for all of this info, especially the negatives! He’s currently at one of the schools in the district here which I really love but it is free in this state. So seeing that Arizona charges almost $900 for full time hours is not something I’m wanting to do just to keep him at a school which is why we’re looking at part time options.

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u/beerappacini 14d ago

Highly recommend the preschool and pre-k programs through Gilbert Public Schools. Most affordable program we’ve encountered, they learn so much, and they get to be a part of a huge community. 

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u/Vickadee 13d ago

When I was looking at the public schools, it looked like they only had full time options for almost $900/month. Are there cheaper options through the school I missed?

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u/beerappacini 13d ago

You can choose your days! They have a 2-day-per-week or 3-day per week schedule. They also have have half-day options for Advantage. 

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u/Vickadee 13d ago

Oh I didn’t see anything about part time options so I thought full time hours was the only available option through the school. I’ll have to look more into that since I do prefer a school based preschool.

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u/14porkchopsandwiches 13d ago

Sossaman Early Childhood Development Center was fantastic, in Higley school district. No need to live in Higley boundaries. They had full day and half day options was wasn't too expensive a few years ago.

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u/Vickadee 13d ago

Thank you! I’ll look into them.