Caterpillar Cottage is the preschool you want for your little one as well as to help you through your own parenting journey. If you're looking for "play based learning," the teachers and owner are the golden standard for this approach (and if you're not familiar you must get familiar and find a play based environment for your kiddo-I have lots of thoughts on this). All the teachers care deeply about each student and are always exploring, considering and applying the most thoughtful means to help guide and nurture each and every one of them. I can't say enough. Go to an open house and see for yourself. You will be forever changed from the first step in the door. I heard so many good things about this school from friends with older kids before we toured and it did not fail to impress and inspire me. read more

Caterpillar Cottage is a true gem. Both our daughters attended pre-school here (our youngest is still attending), and though the girls have such different personalities, they both thrived. The school's approach is empathetic so that even the littlest children feel seen, heard, and understood. The teachers model and foster social-emotional skills skillfully, so that the kiddos become considerate but effective self-advocates and negotiators, establishing the building blocks for identifying their own emotions and needs and working through conflict. The teachers are gentle and caring. You feel totally confident leaving your child under their guidance, knowing they will be treated with respect and kindness. The teachers and director also become your genuine partners along the journey of raising your child. Through coffee hour chats, expert talks, knowledgeable resource recommendations, and one-on-one conversations they can help troubleshoot any parenting challenges you are working through. For myself and some alumni parent friends of mine, the school has been such a trusted guiding light that "Caterpillar" has become a verb. If you're not sure how to deal with a child situation, you ask yourself, "How can I Caterpillar this?" What would (lead teacher) Andrea say or do? All this is on top of the other good stuff of pre-school they provide: arts exploration, outdoor play, stories and gardening and science experiments and a lovely community of parents and friends. Highest recommendation! read more

This is it, this is the preschool, trust me. The amount of care that Andrea and the other teachers give each child as an individual is everything you could ask for. Andrea is magical in her ability to understand children. Whenever my daughter has any issues, no matter how small, they take it seriously and work it out both with advice for me as a mom, and by helping my daughter navigate her conflicts with her friends at school. My daughter has grown so much during her time at caterpillar, it's wonderful to watch her learn how to advocate for herself and make compromises with her friends. And the director, Heather, is so present and caring, and gives the best advice. Seriously, she's brilliant. The school also is blessed with the friendliest parent community I've encountered in LA, everyone is so open, and the monthly coffee hours to discuss parenting questions are such a special source of support. My daughter is heading to kindergarten next year and honestly I'm a little heartbroken that we'll be leaving caterpillar. read more

Caterpillar Cottage Preschool - Preschools Near Me - Northridge, California

Caterpillar Cottage has been everything I wanted in a preschool for my kids. It's play based and let's your kids really explore who they are. It's such a safe and nurturing environment. The teachers are amazing, super attentive and engaged, and really work with you if there are any individualized needs. I had so many worries and anxiety about choosing the right preschool .... and here I am 3 years later with my second kid now happily enrolled.... Caterpillar is such a special place! Truly a gem. There are so many "extras" you get too! A like minded community of parents, monthly coffee hours, reports on how your child is doing, etc. Watching my kids, not only grow, but thrive at Caterpillar Cottage has been such a wonderful experience. If you're on the fence, take the tour! 5 + stars! read more

If you are interested in a preschool that focuses on all aspects of child development, look no further than Caterpillar Cottage. Heather is an amazing and compassionate program director who focuses on the individual needs of each child, providing a safe and supportive environment for their natural curiosity and love of learning to develop. Children develop skills from conflict resolution to problem analysis and solving, all in age-appropriate ways. The facilities are amazing, when we've visited my son doesn't want to leave! There's something for everyone at this preschool, in my opinion it is the gold standard for the area. read more

TL;DR: An incredible, life-changing experience for parent and child alike. It's difficult to review Caterpillar Cottage without sounding like I'm being overly dramatic, but it really is one of the best, most important choices we've ever made for our children and for ourselves. Heather, Andrea, Valerie and the rest of the staff helped our girls grow and thrive while also being available to parents with their questions and concerns. Andrea was always happy to help whenever I needed answers. That was empowering. The value of that can't be overstated. It takes a lot of the stress out of our job and helps make it fun. We have a blast with our daughters, thanks in part to the lessons we ourselves learned, not just our daughters. Caterpillar Cottage is less of a preschool and more of a community. Even now my older daughter wants to see her former teachers and asks for them often. Our community of parents continues to play date long after our children have moved on to other schools. We've made friends for life. I feel so strongly about Caterpillar Cottage that I'd recommend you use it as the yard stick by which you measure other early learning centers. You get out of anything what you put in, so if you get active and involved you're going to be richly rewarded. We were lucky enough to be a part of the program and I hope you are, too. read more

This school is beyond amazing! I knew from other parents in the area before I was even pregnant that caterpillar cottage was special and it was high on my list. So, when it was time for my child to start at a preschool program in 2022 I was sooooo pleased to discover that they had moved into their current location which is even closer to our home! My child is so loved and supported here. My child has made the most amazing friends and grown so much over the past 5 months. The teachers are all amazing! So in tune with each unique child's needs and staffed with a low child to teacher ratio so they are positioned to truly guide the social / emotional development of each little learner! Best decision we've made for our family! read more

Fair warning, gang: I'm thorough. I heard about Caterpillar Cottage from a former school parent, who highly recommended it. My biggest concern for my son at his age (2.5) was that he was treated with kindness and patience, so that I wouldn't worry while I was away. After meeting the Director and staff, I knew it would be ok -- they were gentle, kind, patient people that I could not imagine snapping at children. Leaving my son with people I didn't know personally was scary to me, but they let me stay with him at school as long as he needed to ease the transition. During that transitional time I observed quite a bit: 1. Conflict Resolution: Teaching positive resolution, rather than shaming or punishment, was important to me. What I observed was that teaching the children to value others and their feelings (as well as their own) and to resolve conflict in a respectful way was a primary directive here. When conflict arose, if the children had not resolved it themselves, a teacher would go to the scene and get down on the floor to the child's eye level. Mediation began with encouraging the kids to say what they felt or wanted (usually emotional clash or toy conflict). They next had the children brainstorm ways they could both get what they want (take turns, for instance) or to acknowledge and ease hurt feelings. In this way, the children were taught steps to resolve conflict themselves. 2. Play and Learning -- Play is encouraged and learning is very much child-directed. Let's face it, when you're 2 or 3 (and a boy), sitting still for a lesson is not likely to happen. Instead, I observed teachers taking any opportunity during play activity to engage the children in learning. It happened in an organic way, rather than rote memorization. It also occurred with the many educational toys, costumes, outdoor play structures, gardening, etc. 3. Circle Time -- happened twice daily, and seemed to be a way to introduce the children to structured time and learning. My son, at 2.5, had some difficulty staying put, so he ended up sitting on a teacher's lap when he needed help to keep him engaged and present. By the next year (age 3.5) he was helping and explaining to the younger kids "what you do at Circle Time and why you need to sit down." 4. Diapers -- My son was not potty trained by 2.5, but that was ok. They provided "standing" diaper changes when needed, and a trip to the bathroom at a certain point of day was part of the routine for all. 5. Food -- To my relief, children were allowed to eat whenever they were hungry. There were designated morning snack times and lunch times, but if he got hungry, he was allowed to get into his lunch box and eat something. Also, the snacks provided by the school were healthy and mainly organic. 6. Written Reports and Conferences -- I saw the teachers taking notes at times about the individual children for inclusion in a scheduled written report to parents. It was a nice way to hear what was going on with him at school, and his grandparents loved getting them from me. There were also parent conferences, one each term. We were provided a written statement of what the developmental goals were for the term and how he was meeting them. It was helpful to me to understand what to expect both emotionally and developmentally. 7. Good Communication From School -- I never worry that I will arrive for pick-up and find him with an injury. Over the years there have been a couple minor bumps or scrapes, but I always got a phone call telling me what happened. They were probably not necessary, but it was nice they erred on the side of caution, so I never worry. Also, email reminders for school events or information were an easy way they kept us informed in a timely manner. 8. Child Comfort -- Sometimes children cry -- they miss their mom, they bump their knee, they're just having a "bad hair day." The teachers were very attuned to that and offered hugs or even carried the child around for a bit while they got themselves back on track emotionally. It makes for a nurturing environment and is a way children can learn to soothe themselves (by taking comfort from another person). In addition, we were encouraged to let the children bring a loved toy to cuddle as another way for them to learn to self-soothe. After nearly 3 years, my son will graduate from Caterpillar Cottage in June. When we first started, he would cling to me and it was a while before he got comfortable. By the second term, he would run up the walkway to be let into school to "play with my friends." The fact that he can kiss me good-bye and get right into the school activities, and that I'm able to leave him without any qualms about how he's treated or what he's learning, is everything to me. Highly recommend. read more

I visited this school and was very impressed. The location didn't work for me (much too far from where I live), but the program seems wonderful. Very nurturing environment and teacher with a big variety of fun, educational activities for preschool aged kids (2.5-5 years). The teacher/student ratio is a lot better than what I've seen elsewhere. The cost the director quoted me was $300/mo for Tues and Thursday mornings, which seems very reasonable. My daughter loved it and didn't want to leave when we went to visit - I wish we lived closer! read more

We can't say enough great things about Caterpillar Cottage Preschool. After attending multiple Montessori's we toured this wonderful place. First thing you notice is the teachers are 100% focused on your child. They are watching them at all times and extremely focused on their development and needs. They even send you full written reports every week detailing the activities they did and their progress. Our daughter has multiple severe food allergies which was a significant worry for us but Heather and the teachers went above and beyond to accommodate her needs (Implementing a no nut policy, knowing exactly how to administer an epipen and making sure to keep them at the right temperature, etc.) Once the pandemic started we were very concerned about the virus but once again Heather and her team were on top of everything: practicing social distancing, masks, sanitizing constantly, making sure parents were being safe outside of school. We also can't say enough about the wonderful teachers. You can tell teaching is their passion and it shows. No one is ever checking their phones or taking a second off, they genuinely love what they do and excel at it. We are so grateful our daughter was able to attend here. I've used Yelp for 10+ years and never written a review but it's places like this that truly deserve 5 stars. Thank you so much to Heather, Andrea and all the wonderful teachers at Caterpillar Cottage Preschool! read more

Quite possibly the best decision I ever made for my daughter was to send her to Caterpillar Cottage. Looking for preschools was difficult, as it's hard to know what exactly to look for. This place is it. Every adult (from the director to the assistant teachers) care immensely from the children, constantly considering their perspective and what might be best for them individually. There were times when my daughter would be going through something difficult and Andrea (the teacher) would tell me how she was thinking of it at home-- never do you expect teachers to worry for your child as their own. This is the norm here. My daughter went here from the time she was 2.5 until she graduated (became a butterfly) last year. She is now thriving in her new learning environment, thank you Caterpillar Cottage! I will forever look back fondly on our years spent here, so incredibly grateful for you. read more

Caterpillar Cottage is a truly amazing preschool. I had toured preschools all over the Valley, and nothing compares to the levels of empathy and care from Heather and the teachers at Caterpillar Cottage. Students thrive at the preschool and learn valuable social skills there. Their activities are very developmentally appropriate, encourage creativity, and involve sensory-related arts and crafts and experiments. It is worth the drive from whichever corner of the Valley you are in. read more

I LOVE this preschool! My two boys went there for a year and they loved it everyday. They always had a smile on their faces when I picked them up and on days when they didn't attend school they would talk about how they missed their teachers and friends. The entire staff is friendly and professional and well qualified. Andrea in particular is a gem of a preschool teacher, a person who is practicing her true calling working with children. When my son starting expressing some problematic behavior at school Andrea and Heather were so patient and gentle with him and communicated with me about the issues they were having and the ways they were addressing it. They offered my son love and patience and me support and resources. My ONLY criticism is that this school is quite expensive. The cost is WELL WORTH IT, and completely justified because they have a stellar staff and high quality program. However they do not have a financial aid program available for families who struggle with the high cost of quality child care. I really believe the school could benefit from a more economically diverse group of families being able to afford their excellent program. read more

I just want to say how refreshing it is to see more preschools like this in the world. Heather really seems to "get it"...

My son loves this preschool and attends 5 days a week! He is very picky about who cares for him. He intuitively knows if a teacher is interested in him, cares for his feelings and wants to see him confident. I'm happy to report that all of the Catepillar Cottage staff has passed his high standard! The teachers at Cathis preschool are nurturing, gentle in their instruction, encourage the children's natural interests and strive to help each child has the best day possible. They diligently work to help the children resolve conflicts and teach them how to express themselves so they are heard and needs are met. The level of patience that the staff displays on a daily basis never ceases to amaze me. I'm one lucky mom to have stumbled on Catepillar Cottage! read more

Such a gem of a preschool. This is a warm, nurturing and thoughtful preschool that promotes empathy, communication and child-led discovery. So different from other preschools out there in such a wonderful way! You won't get a vague "your kid loves preschool." Instead you will get detailed reviews (once a semester) of what your child loves to do when there, conversations they have had with other kids and teachers, and how your child is doing developmentally. Heather and Andrea are absolutely amazing and truly love, respect and cherish kids. Heather, the director and owner, is inspired by Reggio and really understands what that means. She is current on all child development literature and uses her knowledge to better the experience of each child at the preschool. Children are treated with empathy and respect here and learn to treat their friends with the same respect and express their feelings when they are upset. They garden and love their outdoor space and eat organic snacks. This is such an amazing place. I would recommend it (and have) to anyone who cherishes their child and wants them to learn in an environment that respects their developmental stages and values child-led play and discovery. read more

I wish I could leave my son at this school forever. I know that the social skills he has learned along with confidence instilled here will give him the tools he needs to make the transition to kindergarten. Heather has all the right answers and the all the teachers are absolutely wonderful. My little boy looks forward to going to school and is truly disappointed when school is out or he is sick. I don't think you could find a better preschool. I will definitely be sending my second child here too. read more

I love this school. We are starting our third year here and I'm already sad thinking about graduation. Class size is small (12 kids) and the teachers are so warm and caring. They really respect the kids' feelings and listen to them to find out why they are upset. The teachers carry little notebooks and write down interesting or funny things the kids say and then include them in their written updates to the parents. Seriously, these written reports are so thoughtful and such a window into what our kids are doing and saying at school. Also, parents are encouraged to hang around the classroom for as long as a kid might need, especially when new to preschool. As another reviewer mentioned, kids can access their lunch whenever they want - another example of how they really respect the kids. I drive 30 minutes from North Hollywood, and it's so worth it. read more

I can't begin to express how wonderful this preschool is in every way! Our daughter attended the school until we moved from Sherman Oaks to Redondo Beach towards the end of the school year. It was so hard to leave because we saw her grow in so many ways due to the teachers approach to what school should be at this age. They really care about the children and help them to understand/express their emotions among other valuable age appropriate lessons. I really could go on and on about how I wish every school was like this and how I am still looking for one that at least comes close to it in our new area! Thank you to Heather the director/owner, and Andrea and Valerie our wonderful teaches - for setting the bar of what preschool should be as high as it could be placed, and for teaching with open hearts and guiding hands. Thank you again for everything!!! read more

I was so happy to discover Caterpillar Cottage last year when I was looking for a new school in my area for my 3 year old son. What I like most about this school is that it is play based and they don't impose too much structure and rules but rather encourage the children to share, use manners, be respectful toward others and begin to problem solve themselves when there is conflict amongst the children. Appropriate social interaction in my opinion is so much more important than the academics at 3 years old. I also love that the children can eat when they are hungry, NOT when it is time for them to eat. Yes, there is a scheduled lunch and it's important to sit and eat with others but with the rate of childhood obesity in this country on the rise why should anyone have to sit and eat a meal simply because it's time to do that. Especially young children who mostly just eat when they feel hunger and stop when they feel full. Children here are also allowed to bring any comforting object with them from home. Other schools usually only allow that on the first day. They can bring toys from home if they are willing to share otherwise, they go in a cubby but they can bring them which is wonderful. Why should we as adults get to tote around items in a bag but a child has to leave the house with nothing but a sippy cup? They have open play days on some Friday mornings and I encourage you to check it out. By the way, the teachers are superb too! read more

My 4.5 year old attends this school and it is a warm, wonderful school. It is play based and child lead learning but they always have educational materials available and find ways to make play a fun learning experience for the kids. This is what I'd call an "attachment parenting" friendly school which are rare, sadly. They ask that you stay the first and second full day of school to help with transition. This alone said a lot to me about how they respect the children and also their respect and understanding of the parent/child relationship. The teacher student/ratio is incredible, this is NOT a preschool factory with the chaos of a hundred kids running around. We toured plenty of those. This is a very small, personal school, like a second family for the children. The small groups are very comfortable, especially for those children attending a school for the first time. It is NOT an academic machine, children will not be forced to learn anything they do not want to. Learning is based on their own individual interests and level. They WILL leave with joy in their hearts and a love of learning and honestly at these tender ages this is what matters. At least to me. read more

After touring numerous preschools in the valley, speaking with their program directors and then often times requesting to stay additional time for observation, I found that Caterpillar Cottage is the best kept secret in the valley. Other programs that I was considering with great reputations, were second choices after seeing the amazing teachers at Caterpillar Cottage.Some programs initially seemed attractive for a variety of ancillary reasons-they had an amazing outdoor play structure or because ,"if it has a long waitlist it must be good". However, after all of my research, I came back to the fact that THE TEACHERS are the single most important element in a preschool for me. They will be my child's first figures of authority outside of our family.I wanted an involved and caring presence who would help guide my child through her first social experiences. These teachers give her the freedom to express herself, but then also are actively involved with the children. It's not uncommon to see a teacher riding around on a tricycle with the kids ,or engaging the child about problem solving -not just saying "Don't do that" or You need to share" but actually showing them HOW. Other pluses are their creative art projects,fun imaginary play toys interspersed with challenging Montessori learning toys. Also,every child is given a fresh hand towel after each hand-washing-no paper towels here! This school even sends out progress updates to each individual family every few months noting things like special accomplishments or new friendships/interests that developed. I was so confident in my decision to send my daughter here that not a tear was shed by me or my daughter(which all of my friends warned me would happen).As a matter of fact ,she cried when she has to leave! read more

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PRESCHOOL!! The teachers are so caring and wonderful.. you can tell as soon as you walk in that door that the teachers are going to be great.. I love that this is a playbased preschool, where kids choose what they want to do and not have to be on a set schedule.. they absolutely cater to the child..i would totally recommend this preschool to anyone in a heartbeat! read more

Caterpillar Cottage is a true gem for any kid transitioning from toddler to school age. Heather and her staff really focus on each child's individuality and creates a learning curriculum based on that. Personally, I was very hesitant about how well my very sensitive child would transition. I was very surprised when my child transitioned in two weeks. Heather really knows what she is doing, and now my child LOVES going here. I couldn't have chosen a better place. read more

I have only been working at Caterpillar Cottage for a few months and I can't imagine teaching anywhere else. This is a wonderful program that is creative, nurturing and most importantly developmentally appropriate. The teachers meet with Heather the director daily after preschool to document the day. A file is made for each child including photographs and quotes from the children, and information about their development. A treasured gift to each parent when they graduate into Kindergarten. Heather implements an emergent curriculum that meets the needs and interest of each and every child. I only wish this program was available when my own twins were in preschool. read more

All of the previous reviews capture the treasure that is Caterpillar Cottage. Heather and her team provide loving attention to each child, and encourage his or her uniqueness. It is a small, half-day program at this point in time. My hope is that the program will eventually move to full-time. read more

I am so sick of "educators" trying to force really young children into doing "lessons." Thankfully, Caterpillar Cottage is a perfect play-based environment where my daughter learns what really matters at this point: how to communicate with others, share, resolve conflict, speak up for herself while still being kind to others. There's plenty of time for academics. In fact grades K-12 are based solely on them. I'm thankful there's a school that focuses on social interaction while there's still a chance. Best of all? My daughter loves it! read more