Top Preschool Guide: Brooklyn, NY

We know the task of finding the perfect preschool for your child can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! Winnie’s marketplace makes it easy to find the best preschools near you and browse photos, view licensing information, and read reviews from other parents. We did the legwork of getting all the information you need to make the best decision for your family, so you can focus on the fun stuff like booking tours and finding that perfect preschool for you!

In Brooklyn, the options for preschool programs are as diverse as the neighborhoods and people who make Brooklyn so great! Parents can choose between philosophies like Montessori and Waldorf and even dual language or bilingual programs. In fact, there are 2,435 early childhood programs in Brooklyn alone. 

Our team has combed through the reviews to find some of the top-rated preschool programs in Brooklyn. Consider this guide a starting point for your search— at the end of the day, you know your child best and you have to feel comfortable with the program you choose. Be sure to tour any programs you’re interested in and ask all your questions (even the ones you think are weird, they’re not weird we promise).

Top Rated Preschools for Brooklyn, NY by Category

Montessori: 

Collective Kind: A Micro school program embodying Montessori anti-bias, nature-based education work for preschool-age children. The play-based program uses the outdoors and upcycled materials as educational tools to nurture children's natural empathy for the planet. 

Highlights: Collective Kind families describe the educators as super attentive and love the focus on equity and anti-racism. They offer sliding scale tuition and have on-site co-working spaces for families to use. There are three different locations— Park Slope, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Fort Greene.

Center-based preschool:

Maple Street School: The Maple Street School is a progressive preschool program, inspired by the Reggio Emilia and Bank Street philosophies. Children engage in outdoor play in neighboring parks each day (weather permitting). Each day includes circle time, story times, and choice times. 

Highlights: Maple Street School is a Cooperative, which means families own the school and support everything from the classroom and buildings to scholarships and cleaning, to the arts. Families go to meetings,  clean, participate in fundraising, donate, serve on a committee and bring their gifts, skills and interest to make the school a better place.

Bilingual Preschool:

French:

The Language and Laughter Studio: LLS is a French-language center and French immersion pre-school located in the heart of downtown Brooklyn, New York. Since 2006 they’ve been leaders in progressive language education focused on arts integration, imagination, child-driven projects, and play-based learning.

Highlights: LLS offers preschool programs, drop-in language classes and summer programming. All classes are taught by native french speakers and they encourage children to practice their language skills by offering a full immersion program. 

Spanish: 

One World Project: One World Project (OWP) was born in 2012 with the aim of promoting cultural understanding and environmental sustainability through multilingual community, after-school, camp, and preschool programs.

Highlights: The curriculum is led by children's interests and uses art, music, movement, and science to cultivate global and environmental awareness.  Each day includes opportunities for free and structured play and includes time outside in our backyard playground or school garden.  All in Spanish. They also contract with the DOE to offer free Spanish immersion UPK programming to 4 and 5-year-old children. 

Free or low-cost preschool

Park Slope North Early Childhood Center:  Welcomes children from 12 months through four years of age. Their teacher to student ratio is kept low, securing individualized care and attention.

Highlights: This program is open year-round, with extended day program hours. They have Universal Pre-Kindergarten, as well as EarlyLearn and private tuition fees for enrollment.

Religious Preschool

Church preschool: 

Plymouth Church School: Plymouth Church School is a place where children are encouraged to explore and ask questions about the world around them. Every Friday the school attends chapel together to celebrate the week through song and to share and reflect. 

Highlights: The space includes nine classrooms, an art atelier, materials center, library, and music room, plus an expansive gymnasium and outdoor playground. Art,  music, dance, and library specialists meet with each class weekly. 

Synagogue preschool: 

Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Preschool: BHS classrooms are designed to “embrace exploration with open arms, open shelves, open-ended activities, and open minds!” They follow an emergent curriculum, based on the children’s interests. Teachers introduce the Jewish holidays to children in the same way they approach curriculum, by making it relevant, meaningful and accessible to young children.

Highlights: Shabbat is celebrated weekly with grape juice, challah, songs, and stories. Families often opt to join the “Challah Club” and take home a challah each Friday afternoon.

Top Rated Preschools for Brooklyn, NY by neighborhood

Depending on where in Brooklyn you are searching, here are some more top-rated preschools by neighborhood!

• Williamsburg: Guidepost Montessori
• Brooklyn Heights: Brooklyn Friends 
• Clinton Hill: The Dillon Child Study Center
• Carrol Gardens: Open House Nursery School
• Gowanus: Rivendell School
• Prospect Lefferts Gardens: Amy's Academy
• Prospect Heights: Montessori Day School of Brooklyn
• Multiple locations: Beansprouts Preschool

More research

This guide is a great starting point for your search but we encourage you to continue researching on your own. Once you narrow your options down, schedule some tours! Touring a preschool program is a great way to get your questions answered, meet the teachers, see the space and get a feel for the school culture. 

You’ll also want to check and see if your family is eligible for any scholarships, subsidies or whether any schools on your shortlist offer free Universal Pre-K. Preschool can be a huge financial investment for some families and any help you can get making it more affordable can be helpful. 

You know your child best, and you may find that one type of program suits your child better than another. Just because we’ve rated a school as “best” in a certain category, doesn’t mean it will be best for every child!

All the hard work you put into searching for the perfect preschool for your family will pay off once you see how happy your child is and how much they're learning each day!