Somerville has a wide variety of both Center-Based child care programs, and Family child care programs.
Center and School-Based programs may have one classroom or multiple classrooms and take place in a designated space outside of the home.
Family Child Care programs are usually smaller and take place in a provider’s home.
We have three divisions that manage our home-based family child cares. Catholic Charities Family Child Care West is a full-time, full-year family child care system. Our licensed homes, located in Somerville, Cambridge, Everett, Malden, and Medford, serve children ages 8 weeks to 5 years and are open Monday through Friday. Catholic Charities contracts with licensed family child care educators to care for children in their homes.
Children of the World in Somerville, MA, offers a warm, loving preschool environment where your child will experiment and learn through play, engage with interesting ideas and materials in many domains, and where social relationships and living peacefully with others takes precedence. www.childrenoftheworldpreschool.com
CAAS Head Start is a free preschool program funded by the federal government for low income families. We support the learning and development of children ages 3 -5 years and prepare them to be successful in Kindergarten and beyond. We provide comprehensive services to children and families: Supports for children with special needs, social services, health and nutrition supports, and family advocacy and engagement. We have two sites in Somerville: the Mystic Center at Mystic Public Housing and the Jack Hamilton Center at 29 Allen Street. We also have classrooms in partnership with the Somerville Public Schools at the Arthur D Healey School and the Capuano Early Childhood Center. Individual classroom start times vary. We offer full, and half-day programming. For information, applications, and enrollment, visit or call our Union Square offices at 617-623-7370 ext 127, or email chosman@caasomerville.org.
A Caring, Play-Based Preschool in the Heart of Union Square: Community Preschool is an urban Somerville preschool where the focus is on children's play and their social and emotional growth. We're located at 73 Bow Street in Somerville, one block from 87 and 85 bus stops. Visit our website (http://community-preschool.com) to learn more about our preschool.
Our mission is to provide a high quality early childhood program in a safe, nurturing, and happy environment where children can develop to their greatest potential. We have three classrooms for infants, toddlers and pre-school. Our little students will build skills, confidence, and a love of learning through age appropriate activities designed to ensure that each child reaches his/her individual potential.
The Eliot-Pearson Children's School is the laboratory-demonstration program of the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University. The Eliot-Pearson Children’s School is based on a socio-constructivist model of teaching and learning, where children are actively engaged in the learning process and with a focus on the social and collaborative dimensions of learning. Our program reflects a developmental approach to early education. Hands-on, constructive explorations nurture and promote children's self-esteem, confidence, sense of wonder, and natural passion for learning. Our focus is on the whole child. The head teachers, all of whom hold advanced degrees in early education and have years of teaching experience, create classrooms in which each child can be physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually challenged and engaged in meaningful activity. The school serves 80 children and families in three preschool classrooms, a kindergarten and a first/second grade.
Accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), The Elizabeth Peabody House’s Preschool Program focuses on the whole child. With a seasoned faculty, our program’s holistic approach in and outside the classroom is designed to stimulate the child intellectually, physically, emotionally and socially. The curriculum offers a host of learning opportunities, including field trips, guest speakers and a low student-teacher ratio. Another asset is its diverse student body whose families hail from around the globe.
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care also provides a searchable database of licensed childcare programs in all areas.
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