Tel Aviv - Post Report Question and Answers
Are preschools available? Day care? Are these expensive? What has been your experience with them, if any? Do the schools provide before- and/or after-school care?
Yes, they are called gans. Not sure about quality or price. - Jan 2022
The preschool at the American school is great - we have been very happy with it. It is Reggio-based with great teachers and a nice mix of kids from all over. It costs about the same as a DC-area preschool. Some families send their kids to the local Hebrew-language preschools ("gans"). These do not start until age 3, can have very large class sizes, and have school Sunday-Friday, but most families are happy with them, and they are inexpensive and an opportunity to experience local culture more in depth. Note that there are very limited options in Herzliya for kids under 3 - mostly just in-home daycares. There are a few more options in Tel Aviv, but they tend to have long waiting lists and are hard to get into. - Oct 2019
There are many English-language or bilingual "gans" (Anita's, City Kids, Rainbow Nursery) in the region that provide daycare for small children. They are generally cheaper than U.S. daycare. I have heard complaints about Anita's, but City Kids an Rainbow Nursery have good reputations. - Apr 2016
Short answer, yes. We chose to pay for full day preschool at AIS for our younger child and we could not be happier with that choice - she loves it and is learning a ton. Like I said, right choice for us but it is expensive. Other options are Anita's, Gan Ora or a local gan. My understanding is that you can put your 3 year old in a local gan for minimal or no cost. For single parents or a family with two working parents some level of babysitter/nanny may be necessary. Minimum wage for a full time nanny are about US$1,200 month. Some people have live-in help. Talk to the CLO - he/she will know who has a nanny. If you are going to need full-time help it's best to start looking early and try to take over a nanny from a departing family or bring someone in that you sponsor. HR knows all the rules and are very helpful. - Nov 2014
Many are available. - Apr 2013
