Fantasy Island Schools for Kids gives children ages 2 to 6 from Chicago’s Northwest Side and nearby suburbs a gifted, hands-on English-language education, so your child walks into kindergarten ready and confident.
It is one of the harshest things parents say about daycare, and one of the most common fears: that your child will be fed, changed, and left to play alone. Early childhood education should look different.
At Fantasy Island, children ages 2 to 6 follow a gifted curriculum that covers literacy, math, science, social studies, and art. Learning is experiential and multi-sensory, so children build, sort, count, and explore with their hands, and collaborative, so they work through problems together. Founder Beata Bielic, who holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from Jagiellonian University, has shaped this approach since opening the school in 2009.
Parents who switch schools often describe the same thing: teachers so busy managing a crowd that nobody has time to teach. That is why class size matters as much as curriculum.
Fantasy Island keeps class sizes small, so each child gets individualized attention. Every teacher holds an Early Childhood Education certification and has trained in child development. In practice, that means a teacher who notices when your child is ready for harder work, and slows down when something has not clicked yet.
Some families spent their child’s first five years with us and were sad to say goodbye. That continuity is possible because the program grows with your child.
Your child starts in daycare at 2 and 3, moves into preschool at 3 and 4, and finishes in kindergarten at 5 and 6. Each step builds on the one before it, with teachers who know where your child is coming from. You avoid a new search, a new building, and a new adjustment period every year or two.
Many families on the Northwest Side and in Niles speak Polish at home, and many parents fear their child will either fall behind in English or lose their home language entirely.
Fantasy Island is an English-language program, because our goal is to prepare children to continue their education in American schools. Alongside that, most of our teachers speak Polish, structured Polish language classes are held every Friday, and Ukrainian-speaking teachers lead language activities for Ukrainian-speaking children. Your child does not need to know Polish or Ukrainian to enroll. One parent even laughed that her son came home speaking Polish one day.
For many families, the big goal is a strong start in public school, often in a gifted program. An overwhelming majority of Fantasy Island kindergarten graduates are accepted into gifted programs.
Where your child continues depends on where you live and when you make the move. Chicago families who choose CPS kindergarten apply through GoCPS at go.cps.edu. Park Ridge and part of Niles are served by Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 at d64.org, and Des Plaines by District 62. Deadlines and testing dates change each year, so check the official site for current dates while our curriculum prepares your child for the classroom.
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.
Two- and three-year-olds start in daycare, with play-based learning, language, and social skills. Three- and four-year-olds move into preschool, where the gifted curriculum covers literacy, math, science, social studies, and art. Five- and six-year-olds finish in kindergarten, which focuses on academic readiness, social-emotional growth, and collaborative learning to prepare them for school.
Yes. English is the language of instruction at Fantasy Island, because the goal is to prepare children to continue their education in American schools. Polish and Ukrainian language support sits alongside that: structured Polish classes every Friday, most teachers speaking Polish, and Ukrainian-speaking teachers leading language activities for Ukrainian-speaking children.
No. Children do not need to know Polish or Ukrainian to enroll. The program runs in English, and the Polish classes and Ukrainian language activities are there as support for families who want to keep those languages alive at school as well as at home.
It can be. CPS Pre-K is offered through Chicago Early Learning, which has its own application process, while Fantasy Island is a private, state-licensed program for ages 2 to 6 with a gifted curriculum, small classes, and preschool and kindergarten in the same school. Compare both, and check chicagoearlylearning.org for current CPS Pre-K details.
Children play a lot, because play is how young children learn. Daycare for 2- and 3-year-olds is play-based, and the whole curriculum is hands-on and multi-sensory rather than worksheet-driven. Art, dance, STEM, music, and Brain Gym fill the week, and children spend time in dedicated indoor and outdoor learning areas.
See all childcare options on our Childcare page, compare costs on Tuition & CCAP, or read parent FAQs.
