Fantasy Island Schools for Kids helps your four- or five-year-old walk into kindergarten ready and confident, whether the next stop is CPS, a suburban district, or a private school, for families from Norwood Park to the nearby suburbs.
Your child’s kindergarten might be a CPS school, a suburban district school, or a private classroom, and each one has its own enrollment steps. Park Ridge and part of Niles are served by Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 at d64.org, Des Plaines by District 62, and Chicago children enroll through CPS. Dates and age rules are set by each system, so check its official website for the current details.
Our readiness curriculum does not depend on which door your child walks through next. It builds the early learning, focus, and classroom habits your child carries into any of those rooms, and it is taught in English with the goal of preparing children for American schools.
Getting ready for kindergarten should not feel like homework for a four-year-old. Our readiness curriculum is hands-on, experiential, and multi-sensory, covering literacy, math, science, social studies, and art. Your child learns by touching, building, moving, and talking things through, so new skills stick because they were fun to learn.
Lessons are built step by step, so each new skill rests on one your child already has. Small class sizes let teachers see where your child is today, whether that means early letter sounds, counting, or simply sitting through a story, and move forward from there. The goal is a child who sees kindergarten as the next exciting thing.
If your child struggles to sit still or keep attention on one thing, you are far from alone, and it is one of the biggest worries parents have before kindergarten. Twice a week, our founder Beata Bielic, a certified Brain Gym instructor, leads short, playful movement sessions.
Children cross the midline, balance, stretch, breathe, practice hand-eye coordination, and pair movement with listening tasks. These sessions are designed to help with focus and attention, body awareness, and both fine and gross motor skills, the building blocks of learning readiness. They feel like a game, not another lesson. If attention worries you more than usual, your pediatrician is the right person to talk to as well.
Kindergarten asks more of a child than knowing letters. It means following a routine, sharing materials, taking turns, and working with classmates on something together. Parents who want more than a child being watched say the same thing: their child needs active engagement, socialization, time outside, and a routine.
That is how the day works here. Collaborative learning puts children together on projects, weekly music class with a qualified music teacher builds listening and group participation, and dedicated indoor and outdoor learning areas give the day a rhythm. Your child practices being part of a class before the first day of kindergarten ever arrives.
Leave your phone number and your child’s age. We will call you to pick a time to visit our classrooms at 6100 N Milwaukee Ave. Prefer to talk now? Call 773-206-4627.
It is for children ages 4 to 5 in the year or so before kindergarten. It fits families who plan to enroll in a CPS school, a suburban district, or a private kindergarten, including ours. Because public systems set their own kindergarten age rules and dates, check the official website of the school system you are considering for the current requirements.
Yes. Our kindergarten serves children ages 5 to 6, so your child can move from readiness into kindergarten with teachers and classmates they already know. That path gives your child continuity, and families can also use the readiness year to prepare for a public or private kindergarten elsewhere. Either way, the skills your child builds here go with them.
Both are available. We are open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and families can choose full-time or part-time enrollment. Tuition depends on the program and schedule and includes three meals cooked on-site each day, music, Brain Gym, and the Gifted Enrichment Program, so the readiness year comes with the same enrichment as every other program.
Readiness lessons are taught in English, because our goal is to prepare children to continue their education in American schools. At the same time, most of our teachers speak Polish and Ukrainian-speaking teachers lead language activities for Ukrainian-speaking children. Our Kindergarten with Polish and Ukrainian Support page explains how that support works in more detail.
Your child works across literacy, math, science, social studies, and art through hands-on, multi-sensory lessons, with collaborative projects alongside classmates. Twice a week, Brain Gym sessions with our founder build focus, coordination, and motor skills, and a qualified music teacher leads music class every week. Small classes let teachers adjust the pace to where your child is starting from.
See all kindergarten options on our Kindergarten page, compare costs on Tuition & CCAP, or read parent FAQs.
