Newcomers Club Guide to Local Preschools

is hosting a Preschool Information Fair Wednesday to help parents searching for the perfect early childhood education option for their little ones.

"The Newcomers' Club of Summit, New Providence & Berkeley Heights presents an endless wealth of knowledge for parents to meet and learn about the local preschools," said member Missy Hiatrides. "It's all in one place. Being new the area, I would not have known where to start without it!"

"It is so nice to be able to view all the surrounding schools at once," said New Providence resident Wendi Porretti. "Chatting with the directors, it is easy to get a feel for the 'personality' of the school and narrow it down to a few where you think you would feel at home.  I was undecided about which age group to put my child in, as his birthday was right on the cutoff date, and the director of the school I chose was extremely helpful in helping me decide where to best place him and really put my concerns to rest.  Without the fair, you would have to put in a lot of personal time and effort to get the same thing accomplished in one easy and enjoyable evening!  It is a real asset to the community!"

• The Academy of Our Lady of Peace, 99 South Street, New Providence: This preschool offers a Catholic-Christian environment in which to learn and grow. Children must be the age of the program they are applying for on or before September 30th of the new school year. Children should also be potty-trained by the start of school.
• Berkeley Heights YMCA Preschool, 550 Springfield Ave., Berkeley Heights: This program for children ages three to five includes arts & crafts, gym time, outdoor play, story time, group games and swim lessons at the Summit Y. Curriculum includes reading and writing skills, work with letters, shapes and colors. Minimum three day enrollment, full day or half day options available in this state licensed program.
• Bilingual Buds, 587 Springfield Ave., Summit: Bilingual Buds is a Mandarin Chinese and Spanish immersion school, which provides a fun learning atmosphere for children ages 1 - 10 years old. It helps children develop proficiency in Chinese and Spanish language and literacy. Its dual-language teachers, unique curriculum which focuses on art, music, science, math and language, and timely communication with parents make this program special.
• Camp River Bend, 116 Hillcrest Rd., Warren: Camp Riverbend provides a wide range of activities, including crafts, sports, environmental learning and performing arts. Every camper gets individual attention from instructors and group counselors.
• Central Presbyterian Church Weekday Nursery School, 70 Maple St., Summit: This program seeks to help children develop a Christian orientation as they recognize the worth of persons and our common responsibility to God. The staff strives to create an atmosphere of understanding, trust, and freedom in which children can come to examine who they are and what they are like. Each child is an individual within a group and learns to interact partially through sharing ideas, as well as possessions. The whole child is of importance here–physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and spiritual welfare.
• 79 Maple Street, Summit: The Connection for Women and Families provides a wide variety of experiences for your preschool age child with daily activities that develop the child's language, social, emotional, fine, and gross motor skills. The child's independence is encouraged and supported as a whole new world is opened to discovery.
• The Cornerstone School, 561 Springfield Avenue, Summit: At Cornerstone, early childhood education is more than just child's play. State-of-the-art facilities create a space where children experiment with an array of developmentally appropriate materials and activities. Bright, lively classrooms with an abundant supply of open-ended materials inspire creativity and collaboration. The Cornerstone Experience promotes the development of the whole child through an engaging curriculum that ignites curiosity, inspires creativity, and promotes character.
• Diamond Hill Montessori School, 105 Diamond Hill Road, Berkeley Heights: The Diamond Hill Montessori School offers programs for children ages two and a half to six in foreign language, fine arts, music and yoga. 
• Faith Lutheran Nursery School, 524 South Street, New Providence: Offers programs for children ages two and a half to five years. Faith Luthern provided a Christ-centered preschool with three different morning classes: a class for two-and-a-half year olds that meets on Monday and Wednesday; a class for three year olds that meets Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and a Pre-K class that meets Monday through Friday.  Enrichment classes and lunch parties are also offered as supplemental afternoon programming.  The school has two teachers in each classroom with class size no larger than 15 children.
• Indigo Gymnastic, 705 Central Ave., New Providence: The misson at Indigo Gymnastics is to provide a safe, fun and challenging environment for young gymnasts to excel. The staff teams with the parents to inspire and enable children to realize their potential, believe in themselves, and become achievers in society.
• Lil' Reading Scientist, 641 Shunpike Road, Chatham: The misson at the Lil' Reading Scientist is to promote literacy in young children by building a solid foundation of language, pre-reading, spelling, and writing skills through Orton-Gillingham-based methodology.
• The Little Gym of Summit, 545 Morris Avenue, Summit: The Little Gym offers weekly classes using dance, gymnastics, sports, karate and cheerleading to teach kids things such as how to follow directions, listen or count, while still having fun. 
• Santa Fe Center, 1496 Springfield Avenue, New Providence: This school offers a thematic curriculum that transforms the classroom centers and allows teachers flexibility to tailor experiences to meet their students' needs.  The focus of the environment is interest areas rather than content or skills to awaken the child's innate desire to learn. 
• St. Andrews Nursery School & Kindergarten, 419 South Street, New Providence:  Offers morning, afternoon and full day programs for children 2 to 4.
• St. Teresa's Preschool & Kindergarten, 306 Morris Avenue, Summit: Directed by faith in God, the St. Teresa of Avila school community is committed to helping all members learn and live the message of the Gospel. All members of the staff of St. Teresa's will help every student to obtain a strong spiritual, moral, and social foundation.
• SuperKids Childcare & Learning Center , 2 Broad Street, Summit: Part of the Rainbow Academy, SuperKids is a family-run childcare center that is part of an owner-operated network of schools. One of the most unique features is ParentView, a state-of-the-art security system that allows parents to view their child at school from anywhere in the world.
• Westminster Nursery School, 725 Mountain Avenue, Berkeley Heights: The school, which offers programs for three and four year olds, seeks to promote a child's social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth within a caring and supportive environment. All curricula and programs are designed to foster this growth in a developmentally appropriate manner. Each child is seen as an individual and is encouraged to appreciate and respect himself/herself as well as others.
• Zadie's Nurturing Den , 1 Walnut Street, Summit: Zadie's is designed for the working parent. The school, in addition to offering the Kiddie Cam, offers extended hours options and provided meals for the children.