New to Alameda - Seeking Preschool Recommendations

We are moving from North Oakland to Alameda (across the street from Krusi Park) in August. We have a son who will be 3 in October and a baby on the way in September. Our son has been in a nanny share and we are hoping to transition him to preschool once we are in Alameda or shortly thereafter. This move was somewhat unexpected (at least the Alameda part) so we are starting from scratch and we are WAY behind in terms of getting on wait lists, touring preschools, etc. I would love to hear any recommendations on preschools in the area and if there are any known preschools that have availability this fall. Additionally, since we are new to town, I would love Alameda recommendations in general (playgroups, parks, etc..). Thanks in advance! 

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Welcome to Alameda! We moved here last August, and while we knew we were moving to the Bay Area for a while, we didn’t know exactly where till we signed a lease in mid July. At that point, I called every preschool and Montessori in town trying to find a place for my then 3 year old and they were all long since filled up with long wait lists. I was looking for full time childcare so I didn’t call places like co-ops or places that only go till noon or something, so I can’t speak to those. You don’t mention whether you will be working, but I ended up putting my daughter in a little in-home daycare that we have been happy with and would be pretty convenient to the Krusi Park area, and May have an opening since my daughter is moving on to TK in the fall. Feel free to Respond to this if you want more info about our daycare.

Welcome to Alameda!  Our family lived on the island for several years during some intense preschool years.  We moved in to Alameda in August and had to scramble to find a spot too.  We wound up at The Seedling Child on Bay Farm and had a lovely experience.  The long time director retired so the vibe might have changed since we were there.  Also we made friends whose children attended and loved:  Kiddie Kampus Co-op,  Fuzzy Caterpillar and "Small Size, Big Mind".

There are plenty of sources of info about stuff to do in Alameda so I'll mention a couple of things that generally don't crop up:

- Bay Farm is a fantastic place for young children to ride bikes because the trails are not busy, are mostly independent of car traffic, often are along the bay or canals and it's flat.

- Lincoln/Franklin Pools (aka Alameda Swimming Pool Association) are basic and you need to find a current member to explain how it works but inexpensive and has a very retro neighborhood family feel.  The one important caveat is to keep your eyes on your children when volunteer members lifeguard the pool (particularly the small pool at Lincoln).

-Encinal Yacht Club has a well regarded youth sailing program including a summer camp program for kids as young at 6.