Park City Preschools

Photo Credit: Matt Molinari (Flickr Creative Commons)

Though easily categorized as a small town, Park City preschools are abundance and diverse. Whether you’re seeking half-day, full-day, or even extended day to accommodate work schedules, there are many opportunities for local kids to get a head start on school, while also enjoying many of the recreational amenities that entice so many to call Park City home. September might seem months away, but now is the time to secure a place for your toddler or preschooler.

Park City preschools to consider

For a preschool experience that is uniquely Park City, send the wee ones to either Deer Valley or Park City Mountain Resort. They’ll get the chance to mingle with an international crowd while enjoying amenities at two of the top resorts in North America. Park City Resort’s Little Adventures Children’s Center offers infant care, toddler care and preschool for kids ages six months through six years. The program runs from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and ski lessons can be added on for kids ages three to six.

Deer Valley Resort offers its Deer Valley Academy, which accepts infants starting at age two months, and teaches the “Mother Goose Time” curriculum for kids ages two-and-a-half to five in preparation for kindergarten. Their hours are working-parent friendly from 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with an extended pick-up fee. Ski lessons at the esteemed Deer Valley Ski School can be added in the winter.

Park City offers three Montessori options: Soaring Wings, Little Miners and Another Way. Soaring Wings recently moved from its long-time home in the Park City Library to a newly-constructed school building on S.R. 224 at Old Ranch Road (across from Canyons Resort). They offer a parent/infant program up to 18-months, 18-months to three years, and three to six years. Parents can choose to add an early drop off at 7:45 a.m., but they do not offer an extended day past 3 p.m. Click here for registration and tuition information.

Little Miners, located in Silver Creek, has programs for children ages 18-months through six years, and offers an extended day option until 5:30 p.m. Add-ons include art, yoga, skiing, Lango, ice skating and a summer camp. Existing student enrollment ended on January 27th with new student open houses on February 4th and 5th.  Registration and tuition information can be found by clicking here, or calling 435.940.1822.

Another Way, located in Highland Estates, admits only 25 children ages three and over. With a focus on incorporating Native American ways into the Montessori method, the school provides abundant outdoor opportunities included in tuition such as horseback riding, skiing and frontier skills for kids six and older from their resident Mountain Man. Tuition and registration information can be found by clicking here, or calling 435.615.1429.

Three part-time preschool options available exclusively to three- and four-year-olds are Park City Cooperative Preschool and Park City School District Preschool. Park City Cooperative Preschool is a not-for-profit administered by the parents, with an agreed-upon time commitment from each family upon enrollment. The school is located in the Park City Library building on Park Avenue, but was temporarily relocated during library renovations this year to the recreation building in City Park. Classes meet either on Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m., and are limited to 18 children split between to the two age groups. There are additional school hours for four-year-olds on Fridays when they focus on pre-kindergarten skills, Spanish and special projects. For more information, visit the Park City Cooperative Preschool website, or call 435.649.5949.

Park City School District Preschool, available at each of Park City’s four elementary schools, offers three-year-old classes on either Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday, from 8:15 – 11:15 a.m. Four-year-old classes meet Monday-Thursday, from either 8:15 – 11:15 a.m., or 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. Registration is offered at the District Office on Kearns Boulevard on Monday, Feb. 9 from 12 – 3 p.m., and on Tuesday, Feb. 10 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., or on Wednesday, Feb. 11 from 3 – 5 p.m. at McPolin Elementary School. Visit the Park City School District website by clicking here, or contact Veronica at 435.645.5600, ext 1443.

Shining Stars, located in Park City Community Church at 4501 Highway 224 (behind Park City Nursery) offers preschool for kids ages three to five. Three- and four-year-olds attend two days per week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday), while four- and five-year-olds attend three days per week (Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday/Friday, with Friday as a pre-Kindergarten enrichment day). As a co-op preschool, parents are required to put in time in the classroom, registration is accepted on a priority basis, with current families receiving top priority, then alumni, then members of Shepherds of the Mountain church, and finally open enrollment. Open enrollment begins on February 6 at 9:30 a.m., and they are holding an open house on Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 5:30-7 p.m. for parents who want to see their classrooms, meet their teachers and learn more about their preschool and kindergarten programs. For more information on registration email Tiffany Lawrence or call her at 802.238.1505

Two full-time preschools with hours that are helpful for working parents are The PEEK Program’s Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten , and Creekside Kids Academy. PEEK, located in the cute log cabin on Pinebrook Road (just past the Fresh Market in Pinebrook), offers kids starting at age three flexible half-day mornings, full days until 3 p.m., plus a “Stay and Play” program that runs until 6 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and until 5:30 p.m. on Fridays. PEEK also picks up from the elementary schools, which makes it ideal for families with both preschool and school-aged kids.  A ski program is offered as well. Returning student enrollment starts in February with new student enrollment commencing March 1.

Creekside Kids Academy is located on Rasmussen Road, east of the Jeremy Ranch exit, and offers a Preschool/Pre-Kindergarten program for children ages three-and-a-half to six. They focus on social emotional development and Kindergarten readiness, with Spanish, Sign language, Yoga, Cultural Studies, Zoophonics, Music and Art taught in each classroom. Hours are 8:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m., with the option of aftercare until 5:30 p.m. More information on Creekside Kids Academy is available by clicking here.

As a full-time working mother of two, my best advice is to start talking to the parents you know – and even some you don’t, but see out and about at the Field House, Black Diamond, etc. – and get their gut impressions of each of these options. Then, like all good data, remove the best and the worst reviews and pick the one that works best for your family. Be sure to drop in to the locations which interest you. Just like buying a house, you’ll know instinctively which preschool is the “one.”