Little Ones has gone above and beyond any expectations I have ever had in a preschool. It feels like a real education, not just a daycare.

You forgot St. Norbert Preschool. It is awesome! The teachers are the very best!

As a parent of a Little's One graduate, as well as child who is currently attending Little Ones, I can say with confidence that our experience has been outstanding! Besides for the fabulous educational experience they provide (my son was more than prepared for kindergarten), I believe that Little One's biggest strength is the family-like atmosphere that occurs naturally in this school. Each child is treated with love and respect. The dedication and personal investment by the teachers, as well as the director, is observed in all aspects of their job.

Mustard Seed has been such a blessing for our daughter; she is so happy there! My sister highly recommended Mustard Seed after her youngest went there...she always says her biggest regret with Mustard Seed was finding the hidden gem with her last child and not being able to send her older two there.

Can't wait for our next to attend as well!

I highly recommend Little Ones Nursery School! I have had one child graduate from there, and now his brother is a current student. I have been impressed with the warmth, dedication, and joy the teachers have. Sheree, the director, is always available for communication with parents. I've recommended this preschool to several friends for its strength in social play, integrated themes, and focus on growing independent, ready to learn kindergarteners!

My daughter's been going to Little Ones for 2 years now and absolutely LOVES IT. I love that the teachers are available after hours too. It really does feel like a community and a family there.

We love Northbrook Community Nursery School. The teachers are fabulous and the director is wonderul! Our kids have loved every minute of every day they've spent at the school ~ from the early 3's class all the way thru pre-K. We love the play based learning and our eldest daughter was more than prepared for kindergarten this past fall.

I have been extremely pleased with Little Ones. Of course, I assume that most parents have great experiences at any of the ones in our area. We are extremely lucky to have great opportunities for our kids.

We love Northbrook Community Nursery School. My eldest child has attended for four years now, from parent-tot to early threes, threes and now pre-K fours. My youngest two are in their second year there. The school is so friendly, has fantastic teachers, dedicated director, excellent facilities and programs. All the teachers know all my kids, even if they have never had my kids in their class. Parents are always greeted with a smile. Not only have my kids made great friends there but so have I. My eldest is heading off to K next year and she is more than prepared for it. Couldn't recommend the school more highly.

As a former teacher, I am a self-proclaimed education snob. When looking at preschools, I not only wanted a loving atmosphere for my child, but a strong curriculum, as well. I found it at Little Ones Nursery School. The school is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children--not easy to obtain. The teachers and director all have outstanding credentials, and the atmosphere in the building is one of love and respect. In my opinion, there is not a better way to begin your child's journey of being a life-long learner than at Lilttle Ones!

We have been at Northbrook Community Nursery School for 5 years now and just love the school on so many levels.
- The school is NAEYC accredited and works with all of the area school districts to make sure children are prepared for each school's Kindergarten readiness requirements.
- The curriculum is play based. These teachers are just amazing. Each class is developed through the interests and skills of the children themselves. They delve in deeper to areas the kids are really excited about and adapt the activities as interests evolve.
- The parent participation enabled by being part of the board or volunteering for one the committees has been a wonderful experience for our family. My kids have learned first hand how volunteering helps create a sense of community and responsibility. And we have all made such close friendships that endure even though we are now at different schools.

I could go on and on. My kids have become respectful, responsible and creative children in a nurturing community of friends, teachers and parents. They were both well prepared for Kindergarten and are flourishing academically. Our family has had the opportunity to volunteer in our own community and seen first hand what it means to aid a non-profit that has been supporting the community for 60 years. And I have personally have found friends for a lifetime.

Countryside Montessori seems absent from the list.

We could not be happier with our experience at Northbrook Community Nursery School. We have been impressed with the professionalism, knowledge and dedication of the staff from day one. My son can't wait to get to school everyday!

JCC @ Apachi has been absolutely wonderful! The teachers/director are terrific and the kids are so happy there!

Little Ones is the most amazing place in the world. My family is so lucky that we have become part of the Little Ones family. The teachers and director are the warmest, most loving, enthusiastic people in the world. It is impossible to walk out of there without a smile on your face. Little Ones is the best!!!

Saint Norbert Preschool is a place that has been our home from the time our boys started school and St. Norbert School continues to be our home. We couldnt say enough good things about the childrens' early beginnings, great care and devotion from the teachers, and a community of one for another of kindness, love, education and a safe and wonderful place for children and a real family community.

My daughters had the most wonderful transition to school through st Norbert school the staff are very nurturing and my girls learned so much. When your kid greets you with a big smile everyday leaving school and cannot tell you about their day you know you have them at the right place. There is a great sense of community , the teachers are amazing and so creative with their learning styles. I highly recommend St Norbert's school

I'm not sure I agree with having a "best of" category for preschools in Northbrook as I believe they each are the "best" in their own way. We live in a town where we are fortunate to have so many choices to choose from. I am an alumni of Little Ones and have very fond memories of my days there. As many of my close friends send their children there today and are extremely pleased. I have chosen to send my children to NCNS and have been incredibly pleased with the environment, teachers, parents, and education my children have received. I don't think this should be a forum to compete or "bash" other schools. We all want the same result in the end....happy, loved, and respected children and I don't think you can go wrong with any of our choices in Nothbrook. I feel very fortunate every day to live in such a safe and wonderful town where friends become family.

We are so lucky that we have all of these wonderful pre-school options for our children. Having said that, St. Norbert has been the best fit for my kids. St. Norbert provides a loving, safe, comfortable, homey environment in which my children learn and play. The teachers and staff are friendly, easy to talk to, and very welcoming. As with many things in life, people are going to have their different opinions, and that is okay. As long as you can find a good "pre-school" fit for you and your children, it doesn't matter what other people say or the choices they make.

After sending two kids through Northbrook Community Nursery School, I would recommend it to anyone, whether your child is "typical" or has some issues requiring special attention. I think that the director and the teachers make a lot of effort to meet each child where he or she is at developmentally, and their play based curriculum was beneficial to both my children in preparing them academically and socially/emotionally for kindergarten. As a parent, I also appreciated the parent community at NCNS. It is a great group of people with the common goal of making their children's first school experience a positive one.

Let's here it for all the preschool teachers at all the schools. My kids loved St Nobert.

Our son has attended the Northbrook Community Nursery School for the last two years and has loved every minute of it - and we have too! The teachers are patient and caring, and attentive to each child's individual needs and skills. Last year, our son's teachers pointed out that he had a minor speech problem, suggested speech therapy and pointed us in the direction of resources we didn't even know we had available to us. After 6 months of speech therapy, he is on track with his peers and ready to attend Kindergarten next year. NCNS focuses on play based learning, and the teachers are constantly adjusting their lesson plans based on where the interest of their children lies - keeping my active son quite enthralled!

Not only has NCNS provided my son with a great preparation for elementary school, it has also provided us with a sense of community. We moved to Northbrook just a year and a half ago, and NCNS has allowed us to really get to know quite a few families. From attending events like the Halloween Hoopla or the Family Fall Fun Fest, to marching in Northbrook's Fourth of July parade, we have had plenty of opportunities to gather as a family with other NCNS families which adds to the fun!

We have two other young ones that can't wait to attend NCNS!

We have had two excellent experiences at St. Norbert pre school. They have built a wonderful community feeling including the parents in their child's day. The teachers are amazing. They treat each child as an individual and really talor to their needs. They teach the intangibles of life, along with what the children need for school. We love St. Norbert!

Little Ones has been such a great experience for my son and I'm so glad I made that choice. Before Little Ones, my son went to a different preschool (won't mention which one) that came highly recommended. It was awful. He cried every day....in the car...in the parking lot... And wouldn't get out of the car to go in. He has made such good friends at Little Ones, loves his teachers and Sheree and can't get enough of school. He has grown so much in the last year and I know he is ready for kindergarten.

We sent all three of our kids to NCNS and really loved the experience there. My children loved the school and were always enthusiastic about going. The environment and curriculum is enriching. The balance of play and more academic pursuits is perfect and the teachers and staff are excellent. They let the children's interests take the class in different directions, so every year is different. Gail Nemoy, the director, is a warm, caring and practical person who does a wonderful job overseeing the daily operations. The teachers there are experienced and enthusiastic. There are many good preschools in Northbrook. NCNS was a perfect fit for us.

JCC at Apachi...the teachers are wonderful and go above and beyond to make each child's experience a memorable one. I couldn't imagine a better pre-school to send my kids!

I think it's pretty clear that some of the preschools here have solicited positive reviews and rankings from their parents and teachers. I am happy to see that my children's preschool is currently focussing on their education and not on making sure their school wins the popularity vote.

I have experienced another preschool in this district and have to say that I wish I knew about Little Ones sooner. They have exceeded any expectation I've ever had for a preschool. They are extremely loving and highly qualified and we are truly blessed to live close to such an amazing preschool.

My son has benefitted tremendously from Little Ones Nursery. Everyone has been extremely accommodating and caring. The attention to his temperament and needs has helped him grow socially and emotionally. I could not have found a better team to care for my child!

My 3 children went to 3 different preschools, I was happy with all of them. However, Mustard Seed should win the prize for Northbrook's best preschool! The teachers there went above and beyond to make my daughter feel special! They encouraged her to make friends, and went above and beyond a teacher role! My only regret is I did not discover them until our last child!! If you are looking for kind, loving teachers and small classes where your child will not be LOST, you should definitely look at The Mustard Seef!

My first impression when I walked into Mustard Seed Nursery School was 'cozy'. It's perfect for my children and we've loved being a Mustard Seed family. It's laid back and provides a good combination of focus on education and important social skills. The teachers provide a warm, loving environment for my children!

Jennifer, I am a loyal reader of the Patch, but this poll is ridiculous. There aren't hundreds of readers voting for these preschools, there are a few people voting many, many times. I wondered why I saw some of these schools getting hundreds of votes in just minutes last night. A quick call to a friend of mine who creates websites let me know that if you turn your cookies off, you can vote as many times as you want. There is no "best" preschool in Northbrook. These schools have been educating children in Northbrook for decades. If they didn't properly prepare children for Kindergarten in Districts 27, 28, 30 and 31, they would have been out of business years ago. I was paying close attention to this poll because I am the president of Northbrook Community's board next year, but this article and poll is just like asking which school district does a better job educating Northbrook's kids. They all do a wonderful job.

I would agree that the poll is invalid at this point. Yesterday I saw the same thing happening to Little One's numbers going up by hundreds in a matter of minutes. I checked the polls 1 hour ago and just now and all of the preschools have had their poll numbers shoot up by the hundreds. I think we can all agree that we each choose our preschool for different reasons and that each school has their advantages and disadvantages. Each child is different and it is important to find the right match for your child. I would hope that no one would be swayed by all of the propaganda that has been put forth. Visit the schools, find out for yourself.

I am somewhat disappointed by the directions some of these comments are going on this site. As I posted earlier, we are new(er) to Northbrook. We chose this community because it boasted great schools and what I assumed were kind, compassionate and well-educated people - the kind of people I hope my children will aspire to be. I hope I am not proven wrong by this Patch poll.

I think we can all speak volumes about the preschools we chose by pointing out the positive experiences we have had. I don't think we need to slam other preschools.

Just like Lynn, I am not from Northbrook and also not from this country. I chose to continue to live in Northbrook because of the great schools and of the great friends I have made . I feel sad that instead of bringing out the best of Northbrook, all this poll has done is expose the worst. I hope that something can be done so we can redirect this energy to something more positive. Our kids and the community deserve better.

I guess that I am going to take a little bit different angle than the posters of the last couple of comments. We are in a town where there are SO many excellent choices of schools, and the people who have posted and voted here are genuinely proud of their schools. That is a good thing.

What this has shown me is that we have many families who are proud to be associated with these preschools. I think that it is nothing more than that. I don't think anyone had any malicious intent. They are just proud of their schools. And, they should be. We all should be.

Melissa, thank you for your comments. You're right, the intent was simply to get readers talking about what, specifically, makes the preschool you chose good for you and your child or children. As it happens, the comments you're referring to were deleted by the person who posted them.

I'd also like to reiterate what we've said in the story itself: Because this poll is not scientific, it is not the sole consideration in choosing a winner. The winner will be determined by the Patch editor, based on poll results, comments on this article and reviews on Patch Places. Please vote only once per survey, per Patch.

OK, folks, we have closed voting in the poll early because it has gotten out of hand. It's not too late to weigh in, however: we'll decide a winner Friday based on comments on this story and reviews on Patch Places. You can review any preschool listed above by clicking on its name in the story, which will take you to its listing. Or simply comment below.

We love the passion we've seen in this comment thread, but please, play nice when you're weighing in on the preschool you love.

We are so happy to have found Mustard Seed. The teachers are so nurturing --but also create a great learning environment. I think they don't toot their own horn enough-but that's kind of what is great about it too. A really great staff and beautiful little school!

We have loved our experience with Northbrook Community Nursery School for our 2 children. With that being their first schooling experience, it has been a significantly positive one, spanning the nurturing relationships they formed with the teachers and director, the warm, inclusive environment which helped them form good friendships with their other classmates, the creative, fun and non-threatening classroom environment which encouraged them to explore new concepts and a nice complement of enrichment activities to delve further into areas of interest, whether that be Music or Theater. We couldn't be happier with the school.

Monica Melson
St. Norberts is the best preschool in Northbrook. The teachers are great with the kids. I know my children enjoyed St. Norberts. I still have one in 7th grade at St. Norberts and am glad that we have all been apart of a great school. I, along with my children have made lasting friendships and we have so much trust in the school and the families.

I just want to give a 'YOU ROCK' to all the people who posted and used their full names. It takes a lot of courage to do that! AND... I would love to see this kind of passion for our preschools also used for our downtown development! Please keep your comments rolling on things that make a difference to the residents of Northbrook!

My husband and I are both St. Norbert graduates and are sending both of our boys to St. Norbert preschool. We love St. Norbert and cannot say enough wonderful things about the school. Parents are welcome to visit and participate in the learning process. The teachers and faculty are incredible and my son exits school every day with a huge smile on his face.

Choosing a preschool in Northbrook is a good dilemma to have since all of them offer quality education and warm nurturing environments for our children to learn. Ultimately I chose Northbrook Community Nursery School. I have no family in the area, so it was important for me to provide a sense of community for my children. The teachers are very knowledgeable and extremely caring. My children come home feeling accomplished and appreciated. The director, Gail Nemoy, is very involved in the classes and takes the time to get to know my family. The school’s family events and socials for parents have helped my family develop lasting friendships. My preschoolers and even my middle school daughter have looked forward to NCNS’ community activities such as marching in Northbrook’s 4th of July Parade and running the Goldfish Booth at Northbrook Days y. I guess, one would say my family has not only established a sense of community within the school, but also fond memories and appreciation for Northbrook as a great place to live in as well.