Preschool is sometimes called daycare or childcare. It's also sometimes referred to as nursery school or even kindergarten. And it sometimes has a similar approach to these other options. Yet there are often differences between these alternatives.

In 1816, Robert Owen, a philosopher and pedagogue, opened the first British and probably globally the first infant school in New Lanark, Scotland. In conjunction with his venture for cooperative mills Owen wanted the children to be given a good moral education so that they would be fit for work.

Nursery kindergarten (children's garden), is a name given by Friedrich Fröbel, who created the Nurseru in Germany, in 1837. Other common names are pre-school, playschool and playgroup. The German word Kindergarten is also used in many non-English-speaking countries to denote a form of pre-school education.