Language & literacy
Introduction to phonics, capital and lowercase letters and pre-reading. Introduction to basic Spanish words.
The Best Preschool In NYC!
Montessori-based Preschool and Pre-K for the early years
Make your little one’s first school experience count! Receive a well-rounded education that will prepare your child for Kindergarten and life.
OUR APPROACH
Instill an early love of learning through our elite Preschool & Pre-K programs
Playgarden Prep ensures that little ones get a head start in life through a comprehensive curriculum, developed over 15 years by New York City’s most passionate early childhood educators, specialists, and psychologists. Students aged 18 months to 5 years old consistently achieve preparation skills for kindergarten which can place them up to two years ahead of national standards, all while they learn to socialize in a classroom setting, hit developmentally appropriate milestones, and acquire valuable life skills.
Locations and Programs
We have Manhattan locations in the UPPER WEST SIDE, the UPPER EAST SIDE and TRIBECA with a variety of programs, including:
Preschool: Monday to Friday 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Pre-K Program: Monday to Friday 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Extended Day: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Full Day: Until 3:00pm
Full Day + Afterschool Club: Until 4:30pm
3 to 5 day programs, which vary by location.
Ready to Apply?
ADMISSIONSOur Curriculum
Our curriculum builds a strong foundation across every developmental area:
Our Curriculum
Math
Focus on number recognition, counting and early addition. Introduces shapes, patterns and geometry to develop spatial awareness.
Science & Sensory
Sensory table activities explore sand, rocks, water, soil and other textural elements. Introduction to the scientific method, color mixing, seed to plant and basic experiments.
Art
Projects introduce a variety of mediums, styles and artists. Introduction to holding a stylus, stamping, clay, gluing and paint.
Music
Focus on a new genre of music and introduces a new instrument each month. JAZZ-SOUL-CLASSICAL-REGGAE-POP-BLUEGRASS
Movement
Physical education includes yoga, dance, obstacle courses and basic sports fundamentals. SOCCER-BASEBALL-LACROSSE-DODGEBALL-VOLLEYBALL
Nutrition
Weekly food tastings and vegan baking projects. Introduction to mindful eating, setting the table, food preparation, and food groups.
Motor Skills
Children practice letter tracing for Fine Motor and letter construction with educational tools for Gross Motor, among many activities to build coordination and motor skills.
Playgarden Prep welcomes students 18 months to 4 years and offers both 4-day and 5-day enrollment. Our certified teachers are experts in introducing first separation and success in a formal classroom environment!
Students thrive in our carefully designed classrooms, which provide developmentally appropriate materials to encourage each learning style. We use a combination of proven and custom learning tools/materials to connect with our youngest students. Our mission is for children to gain independence in an educational community aimed to build a foundation for successful future learning.
SPECIALIZED SPEECH & LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
Playgarden Prep, together with Support By Design, is offering a specialized preschool program for children 2 and 3 years of age with speech or language delays and communication challenges. Our curriculum focuses on learning through play and focused stimulation, as well as creating foundations of early literacy and learning from peer modeling. Emphasis is placed on pragmatic skills and social relationships, while ensuring language and communication growth to promote school readiness. The specialized classroom follows Playgarden Prep’s robust preschool curriculum, in tandem with the other Playgarden Prep’s classrooms. Support By Design will adapt the curriculum as needed with a team of specialists to nurture the whole child approach.
ARENALES BILINGUAL DAY SCHOOL
Playgarden has partnered up with Arenales Red Educativa to provide learning in English and Spanish for bilingual students.
The Application Process
We do not conduct interviews of children or parents in the admission process. We created our program to be the first educational experience for toddlers with a curriculum that incorporates different learning styles. We believe every little one that joins Playgarden Prep will be a successful student and will graduate to be ready to be admitted in the Kindergarten program of choice.
Applications are accepted throughout the year on a rolling basis and they are started by filling out an application form on this website. Families may apply for September or January start dates.
In order to accommodate demand in excess of our capacity we have a priority enrollment system in place: returning students, legacies, existing Playgarden members and new families. Families may also request to be added to the Waitlist.
OUR COMMUNITY
See what others have to say!
I have had two children graduate from Playgarden. They both became confident and independent children with a great love for learning. The teachers at Playgarden are unparalleled, teaching early literacy skills and science alongside all of the social-emotional skills early learners need. I have yet to come across a school environment that is as purposeful and communicative.
2026-2027
Sept
School begins
Exmissions
Playgarden Prep is well known by continuing schools and supports parents in the next steps in their child’s education. We offer informational sessions to learn about future schools and we happily offer guidance with application processes and interviews. We can also provide letters of recommendation upon request. Our graduates have gone on to the following schools:
- Avenues
- Bank Street
- Blue School
- Washington Market
- Grace Church School
- Brunswick School
- City and Country School
- Covenant of the Sacred
- Heart
- Greenwich Academy
- Little Red
- UNIS
- Friends Seminary
- Horace Mann
- Marymount
- Spence
- St Ann's
- St David's
- St Luke's
- The Dalton School
- Trinity School
- Washington Market
- Wetherby-Pembridge
- Whitby School
- 92nd Street Y
Still have questions? We are here to help!
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SCHOOL HOURS
Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm
PLAYGROUND HOURS
Every day: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
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SCHOOL HOURS
Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
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SCHOOL HOURS
Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
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SCHOOL HOURS
Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
