I too am expecting my first child in April and was wondering about this as well. &nbsp;More specifically, how early do schools start to put you on a waiting list, or does that differ from school to school?<br />

Hi Todd, Unfortunately, since you live in a metropolitan area, its almost never too early to start thinking about preschool. &nbsp;I moved to CA this summer and was shocked that the preschools I liked best for my 3 year old had multi-year waiting lists.<br />
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Its hard to know what kind of school is right without knowing about the personality and needs of your child. &nbsp;That said I think you could at least create a short list of schools to consider when your little one is a year old or so. &nbsp;A great place to start is asking friends you know with preschool aged kids for recommendations. &nbsp;Be careful though of getting sucked into thinking you just HAVE to get into the It school. &nbsp; &nbsp;The school that everybodys talking about isnt always the best one and it certainly isnt the ONLY great one.<br />
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Spending time at the school is the only way to really know if its right for you. &nbsp;Education.com has some great articles on evaluating preschools including this one: &nbsp;http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Ed_How_Choose_Preschool_2/<br />
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Good luck! &nbsp;Kat<br />
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