pre-schools in newcastle

[courtney]

hi, im very confused... im 37 weeks pregnant and have just been informed that i should book my child into chosen pre-school as soon as possible...is this true? and, would anyone happen to know of good pre-schools in the newcastle area?
i am so confused!
please help

[°o.O߀llðh'§ mümO.o°]

:)Hi
As scary as it is even thinking about it - yes its true!!
Enrol your bub asap to a day care.I found it hard to find somewhere but luckily i did!
There is a new long day care cnter in Belmont called Stepping Stones.
Its for 2-5 yr olds,they open from 7.30-5.30pm & they are sucjh a lovely group of girls!
At the center, they supply children with cooked meals & supply nappies,wipes all u bring is cot sheets & a piece of fruit to put in the fruit bowl.
It is CCB aswell.

Good luck with bub!!
Amanda :)

[courtney]

thanks for that

[H&B'sMum]

Hi Courtney,
I don't think we have meet I'm Karena, mother to Harry nearly 10 months. My DH of 7 years, Harry and I live in Newcastle. Yes you do need to book in your child as soon as possible. Waiting lists can be as long as two years, so the sooner the better. I have send you a pm about this more.

[jaycobntyler]

hi there
I have an 8 yr old and we used to live in Newcastle. I found that the best childcare/pre-schools that we (my sister and I used) were:
Charlestown: i cant remember the name of it but it is mulbinga street, the girls there were fantastic and they did alot of arts and crafts and school readyness activities as well as excursions occasionally, they also had a fully qualified chef for their lunch meals which always smelt sooo good. at the end of the year they handed out report folders for the parents with your childs work in a plastic folder. They also held graduation for the kids going off to big school.
The other fantastic one was at Jesmond just behind stockland (it wasnt the council one). it was great and really encouraged kids to become independant, my niece went there and loved it and she was a very clingy child who didnt like other kids. I know at Jesmond they did alot of art and craft and music as well.
My son went to Wickham pre-school when we moved but he didnt really like it there, there wasnt really any outside play areas, and I ended up moving him over to Kintaiba at Newcastle uni. Wonnayba at the uni isnt very nice my son went there and I wasnt very happy with the way that they handelled a few things there and they seemed to do very little with the children.
My son also went to the playstation at belmont when we were living there, they are really good there too :)

[LuvMyKids]

Hi there
I'm Felicity, mum to Connor (3) and Ella (1). I know of two fantastic childcare centres:
Elder Street Early Childhood Centre (Elder Street, Lambton)
and
Blinky Bills (New Lambton).

My son has been at Elder Street since Jan 03, and I absolutely love it (he does as well). My daughter started there in Jan this year and even though she was only 10 months old when she started (she seemed too little to go to daycare), she has been fine.

All meals and nappies are supplied. Connor has a great group of friends there as well.

Good luck with finding one.
Felicity

[vickster]

Hi Courtney,

My name is Vicki. You absolutely should put your name down at as many schools as you can. I had our names down at 6 centres before we even fell pregnant. The waiting lists at day care and family day care in Newcastle are ridiculus. As I need a 0-2 yo placement, my cc choices were fairly limited. Warners Bay Early Learning & Care Centre are really lovely. I use to work there a few years ago and their programs, routines & staff were great. We have our name down there. The ladies at Ruby's Place and The Meadows were really nice when I rang to leave our details too ( they're at broadmeadow). I don't know if you specifically want preschool as opposed to long day care, but make sure you let them know you are open to ANY days. Don't restrict yourself to just one specified day/s. Once you get in for one day, it's easier to get others ( a friend of mine told me this and it took her nearly 18m to get her son into care after he was born ). I've also heard Belmont Playstation is good too. Hope this helps!! :)

[Graeme]

Hi,

We put our name down at Orana Community Preschool (opposite Wallsend Hospital) in early 2003 and Jasmine started there last year (one day a week). Because of things not connected to the preschool we put her name down for two days a week at Jesmond Community Preschool. We didn't do this until about October last year and she was accepted there in about week 2 of this year.

We have been happy at both. In particular we have been really impressed with Jesmond and have heaps of positive reports about it.

Good luck
Graeme :)

[singlemumofone]

I just moved to Newcastle from sydney and was shocked at how difficult it was to get my 1yo into child care. They were all booked out. I found a great place at Salt Ash which is around 25 mins from Newcastle and I am so glad I did. They supply all nappies and food for the day and they have a cook there to prepare the meals. Its well worth the drive. My son goes twice a week.
Its called Blinky Bills Early Childhood Centre at salt ash and my boy loves it there. The playground huge and they have a helicopter (a real one) for the kids to play on and its like a fun park for the kids.
I also think they have a bus to pick the kids up but I havent explored this option yet as I drive my son there myself. Not sure where the bus goes but you could call and ask.
None of the other centres I spoke to supplied food and nappies. I dont have to mess around in the mornings preparing food. I just dress him and go....:flowerz:

[millymoo]

:eek: I haven`t put Amelias name down for pre school yet. Although at the same time I am not sure she is going to go. There is one near me...perhaps I`ll give them a call today in case I decide to send her a day or two a week once she turns 3.

Thanks for starting this thread or I wouldn`t have known:D

[singlemumofone]

I kept my son home until he was one. It is good for them to mix with other kids, learn to share etc. I think it is adding to my son's social skills. I am also enjoying the break. 12 months without a day off is a long time!:yelclap::yelclap::yelclap:

[musictracey]

HELLO!!!!!

I was just having a squiz on the bub hub website and could resist a post.
I'm just letting all of the mums and their friends and family know about music and movement classes for their little ones.
LITTLE MUSOS is new to Newcastle. We teach children's music and movement classes for babies, toddlers and young children at the Little Musos studio in Adamstown. The classes are sooooo much fun. The children and families love coming each week. In every class there is lots of wiggles, giggles, singing, dancing, running, jumping, playing and creating just to name a few exciting things.
If you would like to know more please feel free to contact Tracey.
tracey@littlemusos.com.au
or
inquiries@littlemusos.com.au
or
simply visit the website www.littlemusos.com.au

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!!
I hope to talk to you all very soon.
:smiliedance:

[singlemumofone]

OK I have spoken to the people at Blinky Bills at Salt Ash (not to be confused with the one at Lambton) and they say they are willing to send a bus to Newcastle, provided they can get enough babies/children to use the service.

Their bus has child seats and baby capsules in it and can take children from 0-5 years old from designated bus stops (to be advised) in newcastle and take them to salt ash. They will bring them home again in the afternoon. There will be qualified child care workers on board to entertain and supervise the kids. So you can bring your kids to work if you work in the CBD and then the bus can pick them up from your workplace..so easy.

They supply food and nappies all day. They have a chef and a massive playground.
Bus enquiries line 0411 826 666
School general enquiry line 02 49826240
I know my baby (1yo) will be on that bus! Thats so great I dont have to drive there any more. If anybody is interested then give them a ring.:thumbsup::chef:

[mumofabeauty]

I hear this place has heaps of different staff and there are new ones all the time. That bus thing sounds a bit scary for babies. I think an older place is better where the staff have been there for ages. Wallsend Community Preschool is EXCELLENT.:yelclap:
I just moved to Newcastle from sydney and was shocked at how difficult it was to get my 1yo into child care. They were all booked out. I found a great place at Salt Ash which is around 25 mins from Newcastle and I am so glad I did. They supply all nappies and food for the day and they have a cook there to prepare the meals. Its well worth the drive. My son goes twice a week.
Its called Blinky Bills Early Childhood Centre at salt ash and my boy loves it there. The playground huge and they have a helicopter (a real one) for the kids to play on and its like a fun park for the kids.
I also think they have a bus to pick the kids up but I havent explored this option yet as I drive my son there myself. Not sure where the bus goes but you could call and ask.
None of the other centres I spoke to supplied food and nappies. I dont have to mess around in the mornings preparing food. I just dress him and go....:flowerz:

[twolittlepixies]

oh my goodness! we were in newcastle last week (we are looking at moving over from nz) i had no idea the waiting lists were so long! our daughter is almost 4 she goes to daycare 1 day a week and playcentre one morning a week here, and ballet for an hour once a week, do they have to go to pre-school? should i perhaps look into putting her name down somewhere? i liked the look of a montessori school in cardiff but i havnt checked out anything else...

oh im all worried now! id really like her to get into something as soon as we get there as it would really help with the transition - making new friends etc..