Be a part of a community

Somehow something happens when you pull into the preschool parking lot. The stop-and-go hustle and bustle of our little DC suburb gets hushed by the woods surrounding the school. You walk your children to school on a gravel studded safety path filled with deliciously distracting nature. You join other parents as you make the short trek to the school, teaching your children without even realizing it: “Look, this is how you make friends.”

After the chaos of the first days of school melts away, preschool becomes more than just something a few hours of the morning. It’s the place where lasting friendships are made, new skills are learned, challenges are navigated, and accomplishments are celebrated. And I’m not just talking about the kids.

And everybody seems to get it; sometimes co-oping is hard. Sometimes Junior isn’t at his best when you’re on his turf. Sometimes schedules swim along beautifully, and sometimes children only get sick on the days you are supposed to help in the classroom. Luckily, you’re surrounded by parents–a title that, by definition, means “life happens”. We band together. We help. We make coffee and baked goods and playdates, and we sometimes make it up as we go along.

We’ve all heard the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”, and the reason we’ve all heard it is because it’s true. We hope that you see the value in being a part of a cooperative preschool community, and the true investment that it is. Join us in our hallways and you’ll see. Annandale Cooperative Preschool is more than just a school. It’s a community.