Fantasy Island Schools for Kids gives working parents on Chicago’s Northwest Side and nearby suburbs a full, busy, caring day for ages 2 to 6 that fits your workday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
When you both have demanding jobs, the schedule has to work before anything else does. Fantasy Island is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, an eleven-hour window that leaves room for a full workday plus the drive in and out.
Full-time enrollment is available for every age we serve, from 2-year-olds in daycare to 5- and 6-year-olds in kindergarten. That means one drop-off spot for the whole stretch from toddler to school age, instead of a new search every year while you are juggling work.
Many parents start looking because their child needs more than they can give while taking calls all day: active engagement, other children, time outside, and a routine. That is what a full day here is built around.
Your child’s week moves between classroom learning, art, dance, STEM, weekly music, and Brain Gym movement sessions twice a week, with time in dedicated indoor and outdoor play areas. Three meals are cooked on-site each day, so the day has a steady rhythm from morning to pickup. The learning side is covered on our Early Childhood Education page.
The guilt of handing your child over on the way to work is real. One Fantasy Island parent put it simply: finally, I can drop off my child and walk out of daycare without a broken heart.
That trust comes from the people in the room. Every teacher holds an Early Childhood Education certification, every staff member is First Aid and CPR certified, and the team completes training in trauma-informed care and asthma management. Classes are kept small, so the teacher who greets your child in the morning actually knows them. Parents tell us their child is always so happy when they come home, and that is what lets you focus at work.
Parents often describe the location as convenient, and the map explains why. The school sits on Milwaukee Avenue at Elston Avenue, and Milwaukee runs about 2 miles southeast to the Jefferson Park Transit Center, where the Blue Line and the Metra Union Pacific Northwest line both stop.
If you commute downtown by train, the same street that brings you to drop-off at 6100 N Milwaukee Ave carries you on to the platform. If you drive toward Niles and the suburbs instead, Milwaukee takes you straight northwest. Either way, the drop-off fits the route you already travel.
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.
Fantasy Island is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and closed Saturday and Sunday. Those hours are built around a standard workday, so you can drop off before work and pick up after it. If you need a full five-day week, full-time enrollment is available for children ages 2 to 6.
Yes. Pace bus route 270 runs along Milwaukee Avenue between Golf Mill and the Jefferson Park Transit Center, and the school is on Milwaukee at Elston Avenue. That makes the bus a practical option for drop-off and pickup if you live or work along the Milwaukee corridor and do not drive.
No. Three nutritious, locally sourced meals are cooked on-site every day and are included in tuition. On a busy work morning, that is one less thing to prepare, and you will not be unpacking an untouched lunchbox at night wondering whether your child ate.
Your child is with teachers who all hold Early Childhood Education certifications. All staff are First Aid and CPR certified and complete training in child development, health and safety, trauma-informed care, and asthma management. Fantasy Island has been a state-licensed day care center since it was founded in 2009, under Illinois License #483511.
Yes. Fantasy Island enrolls children from age 2, starting in the daycare group for 2- and 3-year-olds, and full-time care is available at that age. Your child can then move into preschool at 3 and 4 and kindergarten at 5 and 6 in the same building, so your work routine does not have to change as your child grows.
See all childcare options on our Childcare page, compare costs on Tuition & CCAP, or read parent FAQs.
