Neighborhood Preschool in Kensington?

My two children are at the Neighborhood School Preschool 5 days a week from 8:30-1:30 and we absolutely adore the school. I really can't say enough good things about it, The teachers are all so warm and loving and all the children who attend the school seem exceptionally happy and well-behaved whenever we do pick up and drop off. Although its play based there is actually a lot of structure built in to the day and the transition to Kensington Hilltop School for elementary seems like it will be really easy given that the Kindergarten classrooms are just across the yard.  I looked at lots of other schools in the area and the Neighborhood School was by far the most reasonable in price and although they take the same days off as the elementary school and about a month of in summer (which requires me to get back up care) its pretty great for working parents in that there is no parent participation time required and they are flexible re drop ins and later hours,etc.

Hi! First, if you are talking about Kensington Nursery School, it is not part of Kensington Hilltop (which is a WCCUSD public school) but is actually a separate parent co-op preschool. That said, they do offer an aftercare program for Hilltop kindergarteners, and many KNS preschoolers go on to public school at Hilltop, so there is a close relationship between the two. 

My 4-year-old daughter has been at KNS since last summer and she loves it! We moved her there from a Montessori preschool that was a bit too structured for her taste. It is a nice balance of lots of imaginative play and unstructured outdoor time, without being kids gone wild. My daughter loves the caring teachers and having free choice of so many activities. She never wanted to go to her old school but now she comes home happy and eager to share her artwork or tell me about what game the kids made up to play that day.  It is a co-op, but the co-op obligations are pretty manageable. Each family has a job and there are occasional work parties, and some parents work as parent-teachers in the classroom. Each family also has to provide a snack to all the kids once a month. 

I would encourage you to check out KNS. Especially if your preschooler will also go to Hilltop for K, as she would then make the transition together with many of her preschool friends. If you want something more structured, there is also a Montessori school adjacent to KNS called Growing Light Montessori which has a great reputation. Both KNS and Growing Light share space with the Arlington Community Church and so are equidistant from Hilltop.