I Don't Know from Where to Start

You'll probably want to visit/consider more than just the public preschools. Two sources for names/phones of local private preschools - the public library and naeyc.org
the second one is national assoc. for the education of young children - they do accreditatation of preschools. even if you don't end up in a naeyc accredited school, their website has great resources for questions to ask and things to look for. most important - go w/your gut. What's great for one family may be horrible for yours and vice versa - kids have such different needs!

I would suggest contacting your county's resource and referral as well as local schools. Also, depending on the ages of your children keep all options open from private preschool (center), public as well as in home daycares. I personally own and operate my own daycare and think that some kids need the center structure and some are better in a home setting to start with.

good luck!

I found some information on the Cherry Creek School District website. Sometimes I find their site hard to search and navigate. Try this link. We lived in another state when my son was pre-school age, so I don't have any direct experience with the CCSD offerings. Hope this helps you start!

http://www.ccsd.k12.co.us/admin/early_childhood/index.html

E.

I used to be employed by the Cherry Creek District, and am very familiar with your area.

Sounds like your little one will attend Mission Viejo Elementary - give them a call and ask if they have a preschool program in their building. If they don't, they should be able to direct you to the nearest school that does. Not all the elementary schools house a preschool program.

They should also be able to provide you information regarding registration, dates, etc.

Start there - it's great that you're thinking about it now. Usually registration happens in the spring months for the following school year. Some schools have a waiting list because they are already full. If this happens, ask the preschool for their recommendations for nearby preschools outside the school district that you should look into.

Good luck!

Go to your county/city office and ask for information. They have a list of qualified childcare/preschool that are licensed with the state. They have references and have a record of any problems they have had or ones they haven't had any issue with.