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What nursery/preschools can you recommend?  These can be public, private or pariochial programs.

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Little Tyke Day Care

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Kirkwood Kindercare

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Shining Rivers Waldorf School

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University City Children's Center- My daughter has been at the school since she was one. We've had an excellent experience there.

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Child Development Center (Newstead location) at Barnes/WashU - only caveat is that there is no sibling discount

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University City Children's Center

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ABC Daycare, St. Charles

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"We have been fairly happy with The Wilson School for preK and junior K for our daughter. The "upside" is that it has let her have a regular schedule with well organized activities at school with emphasis on scholastic achievement. The downside is that it is very regulated and there isn't much time/room for unstructured time in the JK year (was more in the PK year, with the afternoon being essentially free play time). She has had exposure to things she might not have otherwise had (organized music and gym class, French language instruction) and I have been happy with the diversity of families. It feels very much like "real school" and I almost wish she'd had a more relaxed environment prior to really starting school (Kindergarten) which she will this fall in the public school. For families wanting to commit to Wilson for primary school grades, it makes sense to get started early, as its a great school community and wonderful building/location/"feel". I have heard terrific things about the upper grades and if we did not live in the Clayton school district and/or were not happy with our public school options, I would have her stay there.

For our son, we used the Newstead location of the Childrens Development Center "hospital daycare." We LOVED this experience, especially the final year (age 4-5). They had a great balance of academics and free play time and creative play, coupled with a very loving and nurturing environment. It felt very "homey" and the teachers (especially Sue) were terrific to a person."

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Both of our daughters have attended Webster Groves Early Childhood Center and we have been very happy.  They have a comprehensive program and dedicated staff/leadership.  Drop off time begins at 7 am (which is great) and you are required to pick the children up by 6 (that can be difficult on some days).  At the moment, we have a nearly 4 year old attending ECEC fulltime and we pay $730/month.  I would absolutely recommend the school to parents with children ages 2-5.

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"Clayton Child Center
UUM"

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Our son thrives at Developmental Child Care (DCC), which is located in Dogtown.  It is small, intimate, child-centered, play-based, and very special.  Staff experience and longevity is noteworthy - many teachers have been there 5-10-20 years.  It is a very loving community and I never worry about my son for a minute.  The price is worth it.

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My children went to Washington University Nursery School, both for two years (when they were 3 and 4). Teachers are terrific, very warm environment with lots of pretend play, art, toys and books.  It was nice to have them go to school with children who would be going to their public school in the future as well as kids from neighboring cities.  There are half and full day programs, but it is not childcare so I don't know that it would work necessarily for people who work full-time.

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Both of my two children have attended The Elegant Child Early Learning Center in West County.  Strange name, great school.  My daughter started attending just before she turned 1 yr old and just graduated from kindergarden.  My son started attend at 4 mos and is about to turn 4 yrs old next month.  The early years are more play-based but at 3 yrs old they start to build in the academic program with 4 and 5 yr olds getting quite a lot.  One thing that I've really liked about the program is that they keep kids of about 4 mos difference in age together throughout so that the kids are with others of similar developmental stage, ability, etc.

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We have had a very good experience with the WU Nursery School.  The positives are great teachers, small class sizes (about 20 students), and an excellent play-based curriculum.  The school brings in special teachers for art and music (from Music Together).  The negatives are a long waiting list (i.e., not learning whether or not your child is in the program until a bit late, relative to other programs), and there is an odd communication problem that we found hard to define.  School information is difficult to come by--the website is not up-to-date and there is a feeling that you "learn the ropes" as a parent by being in the program (i.e., about the schedule, about school timing for pickup or dropoff, etc.).  However, these small negative comments are far outweighed by the positives.  Cost is approximately $335/month for a "half-day" which is 9:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.