Preschool and Pre-K

Half-Day Cultural Arts Immersion Program
  • Preschool

    ILS Greenwood at 7720 Greenwood Ave N #101 (Seattle, WA)
    Ages 2 – 3
  • Pre-K

    ILS Ballard at 5501 8th Ave NW (Seattle, WA)
    Ages 4 – 5
  • Welcome to ILS Preschool Program – Your little one is just beginning their educational journey. It’s our goal to have them return home excited to learn after weekly music classes, art projects, yoga & movement, Smart-Board learning, and educational play. From the time your child enters our preschool (from age 2) they begin exploring language and developing social skills, all while participating in engaging units curated by our lead Preschool Teacher. By age 4, they’re ready to move into our Pre-K where students continue their music classes and delve further into performing arts. As they near the end of their Pre-K journey, they will be ready and excited to begin Kindergarten. Graduates of ILS’s preschool program have achieved a higher readiness in reading, math, and writing when entering Kindergarten.

    By blending cultural arts into our educational focus, ILS’s preschool program helps to boost your child’s confidence, ignite their creativity, and prepare them for the big adventure of Kindergarten! Our half-day program ensures that learning remains fun and meaningful, and leaves plenty of time in the afternoons for children to venture out, play, and apply their newfound knowledge beyond the classroom.

    ILS lesson plans, developed by our certified teachers, are written in accordance with Washington State’s Early Learning Standards as well as our own interactive learning objectives. Our preschool’s objective is to create a nurturing environment where students can be creative, cultivate their social skills, and ignite their passion for learning.

  • "Tell me and I will forget, teach me and I will remember, involve me and I will learn" -Benjamin Franklin

    Parent Communication– We want to hear from you and help support your child along their journey. Once in Pre-K, the teacher evaluates students to track their progress, and meets with parents during the year to share observations and celebrate their child’s successes.

  • Benefits:
    • Morning classes tap into students’ fresh minds while leaving time for them to explore and play in the afternoon
    • Engaging hands-on learning activities including: art, nature, and technology
    • Weekly music class builds interest in musical instruments, patterns and languages
    • Fun, weekly themed arts focus for visual arts projects, drama and performance
    • Projects foster critical thinking, self-confidence and emotional awareness
    • Strong emphasis on essential learnings like letter recognition, reading sight words and writing letters, number recognition and math basics
    • Introductory Spanish language learning
    • Beginning yoga and movement
    • Our curriculum surpasses the Federal and State standards established for early childhood learning programs
    • Our specialized team is led by a Certified Early Childhood Teacher who oversees our curriculum development and teachings
  • Why Choose ILS?

  • Development

    • Harness your child's potential in these early years-- they're eager to learn and wired to absorb new knowledge and positive experiences. Why wait to nurture their curiosity when you can start fostering learning now?
    • We are your educational partners, here to support your child and guide them on their journey of exploration and learning. 
    • With at least twenty years of education ahead of them, ILS's preschool provides your child the best start possible. 
    • Celebrate the milestones as your child learns to read, write and recognize patterns in music and math in our program. 
  • Positive Exposure

    • Invested in your child’s growth and development, our dedicated teachers exhibit care, curiosity, fairness and guidance in the classroom.
    • Within a structured learning environment, ILS classes nurture your child’s curiosity.
    • Students engage in rich cultural arts experiences including music education and Spanish language development.
    • Ignite your child’s social and emotional growth with our drama, performance and art programs.
  • Community

    • We are a community within our larger community, founded and led by teachers who reside locally.
    • We encourage our students to learn about community and the importance of being a responsible community member.
    • As a small local business, we serve on our local business forums to stay involved in our community.
    • We are a family business; we appreciate every family that enrolls in our program and invite you to become a part of our greater ILS community.
  • How to Enroll:

    • Call to schedule a tour 206-900-7452.
    • Pay the 1-time $35 Processing Fee, $100 Annual Registration Fee and a deposit equal to last month tuition which may be applied to a child's last month. Please note that from April 1, 2024, the Annual Registration Fee will increase to $125 for the 2024-25 school year. 
    • Enrollment is ongoing and new students are admitted following an evaluation as class availability permits.
    • ILS Preschool (Ages 2-3)
    • Location:
    • 7720 Greenwood Ave N
    • 2023-24 Monthly Tuition:
    • 5 Days a Week
      9:00 to 12:00pm
      $1150
    • 3 Days a Week
      9:00 to 12:00pm
      $850
    • Optional: Early Start
      8:00 to 9:00am
      $100
    • ILS Pre-K (Ages 4-5)
    • Location:
    • 5501 8th Ave NW
    • 2023-24 Monthly Tuition:
    • 5 Days a Week
      9:00 to 12:00pm
      $950
    • Optional: Early Start
      8:00 to 9:00am
      $100
  • **10% discounts are available for siblings who also enroll**

    **Starting on January 1, 2024, there will be a convenience fee of 2.9% applied to all credit card and debit card transactions.**

     

  • Frequently Asked Questions

    Q: How is the Illumination Learning Studio Preschool and Pre-K different from other half-day programs?
    A: Our program lies miles apart from other preschool programs which function more like play-schools. Students here are engaged in a true-learning experience that is aimed at advancing the pace in which preschoolers learn to read, write and reason.

    Q: Isn’t play-based better for my child’s development?
    A: Of course children need play-time. Our lessons are presented in a fun way meant to engage the young, developing mind in learning that builds curiosity and advances the imagination. Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) released a 2014 report that shows children who attend [high-quality preschool programs] have significantly higher math and reading scores in third, fourth and fifth grades compared to children who do not.

    “About 85 percent of the human brain develops in the first three years of life. During this crucial developmental time, young children form the “wiring” needed to think, communicate, move and form attachments with those around them. Children who have nurturing, healthy and supportive experiences in their early years are much better prepared to succeed in school and life” (Thrive Washington).

    “Despite our best efforts, too many of our city’s children are not thriving in school. Nearly a quarter of all schoolchildren in Seattle Public Schools can’t read at grade level in the third grade. If we invest in our kids early, well before kindergarten, we can change this gloomy reality. Several long-term evaluations show that children who attend high-quality preschools are better prepared to enter kindergarten and learn” (From the City of Seattle – Preschool for All Initiative).

    • ILS changed our son’s life. And, quite honestly, ours as parents. We had our 3 year old son in full time daycare starting when he was 3 months old at a well-known and respected organization. With the 10-1 ratio, it wasn’t meeting our son’s needs. That is when I discovered ILS! I knew the minute my son and I met Molli, that it was the right place for him. ILS has a group of brilliant and caring teachers all led by Molli and Mike who are very well respected by the children. They create a nuturing and structured environment that promotes learning every single day. Molli communicated with us clearly and often while providing suggested learning activities for us at home. Our son LOVED going to school, made lasting friendships and we often had after school playdates at parks close by. The parents of my son’s classmates became my friends. A very challenging situation turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for our family. I highly recommend ILS.

      Paige S.
    • This school was AMAZING for our 5 year old son in his PreK year. Having just moved from Australia and not knowing the education system in Seattle, we were looking for a program which wasn’t childcare and didn’t want 5 days per week. We hoped for some social/ fun hours per week in a program & some academics also. We found an AMAZING PROGRAM at Illumination and our son loved every day. From Tap dance to yoga, sight words, piano, math and SO MUCH MORE, his days had so much joy, fun and academics. We were thrilled with the staff, the program, the honesty of his progress and the community celebrations throughout the year. Our son did so well in this program, he since was accepted into the HCC program in Seattle.

      It was an AMAZING year with Illumination, the staff were superb & we hope to send our youngest as soon as she is old enough!

      Sandra L.
    • ILS has been a gift during this very difficult year. My son has been attending the kindergarten program since September, and it’s been awesome. He is happy to go to school each day (which has not always been the case for him), and is eager to share everything he learned when he comes home. His education has felt very well rounded (strong academics, art, music, science, etc). The teachers are caring and fun. I have felt confident with their covid safety precautions and communication has been easy. I am so glad to have ILS in the neighborhood!

      Elissa F.
    • ILS is a wonderful preschool with caring teachers that give the kids exposure to a nicely varied creative program, including piano/music, yoga, Spanish, drama and art. What a great grouping of activities for 3-5 year olds to explore, before starting Kindergarten. Molli and Mike, the owners are amazing with the kiddos, and genuinely enjoy working with, and inspiring the kids. Our five year old daughter has benefited from the three year education she has received at ILS, and come September, she will be more than ready for Kindergarten. I can’t ask for anything more!

      Lara B.
    • I really lucked out this year when I put my son into Illumination Learning Studio’s half-day kindergarten program. I am very satisfied with the management (Mr Mike and Ms Molli) and other teachers at ILS with how they have handled a difficult year. They truly care about their students’ well-being and education.

      This is the first year that ILS has had a kindergarten program and I am confident that my son is getting an excellent start to his formal educational experience. They offer a rich curriculum of arts, music, reading, writing, and math programs. My son has greatly improved on his reading fluency and writing skills. He comes home excited to show me his new art project, or share his experience playing the drums, or the new yoga moves he did in school. Ms. Molli has been very flexible in supporting my son in his individual curriculum in math. She goes above and beyond to touch-base with parents about the students’ progress through email, formal assessments, and brief chats during pick-up and drop-off. I have no doubt that when my son transitions to elementary school next year he will be more than ready academically and socially.

      Jie L.
    • My kids have attended ILS for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and summer camps, and every single day, they go to school excited to learn and engage and come home happy, energized, and eager to share everything they’ve absorbed during the day. With the upheaval of the last year, ILS has provided stability for my kids, first online, and then in person, with their creative, dynamic programming (like Harry Potter summer camp!), and it has given our whole family so much comfort. I am so grateful to have found ILS for my kids!

      Shayne A
    • We originally signed our daughter up for aftercare, and then when the pandemic hit and schools closed, we jumped on the opportunity to attend Ms. Molli’s in-person 10-kid morning kindergarten program. I had heard great things about the preschool and pre-K offerings, but it still exceeded my expectations. With a personalized approach, and a playful but rigorous hands-on curriculum, my daughter loves it and is thriving, already reading independently, counting by five’s and starting to tell time. Ms. Molli is so personable and is fully transparent and collaborative with the parents, so even with strict Covid policies, I feel more connected with the kindergarten experience than I would have ever hoped. I forgot to mention it’s very affordable too.

      Rebecca G.
    • This is an excellent pre-school for children. Our grandson has been attending this school for 2 years and is going into his 3rd year. The staff is very knowledgeable, very good with children….Our grandson learned a lot from them. The school is very safe, clean and equipped with everything for the children to learn. We would like to recommend this school for everyone who wants their kids to have success in the future.

      -Long & Kim H.
    • I have seen so many of the kids flourish with knowledge with their time at ILS; from learning music and playing the piano to beginning reading sight words for a pre-K student.

      Shawna
    • Our daughter spent her Pre-K year at the ILS Greenwood preschool, and we absolutely loved it. She always enjoyed going, and she learned so much! The teachers are engaged and so good with the kids. We would definitely recommend ILS!

  • Locations:

    • Greenwood

      7720 Greenwood Ave N. Suite 101
      Seattle, WA 98103

    • Ballard

      5501 8th Ave NW
      Seattle, WA 98107

  • Contact Us

    Contact us for enrollment information or to schedule a tour