Our 3.5-year-old son had a wonderful experience at Greenwood Trail Forest School, where he attended…read morefour days a week. The teachers -- especially Maddy and Al -- are warm, attentive, and genuinely care about the kids. The program is impressively well organized. Everything was set up and ready before our 8:30 arrival, which made drop-offs smooth and stress-free. Maddy clearly puts a lot of thought into each child's experience, and it shows. The kids are always working on creative, nature-inspired art projects, which we loved. Our son especially enjoyed the nature discovery lessons, Teacher Jacey's dance class, and of course, snack time with the teachers :) We also appreciated the Brightwheel app for communication -- getting photos throughout the day was a real joy and gave us a window into his world. We'd strongly encourage any prospective families to join

Our daughter recently started at Greenwood Trail and we are so happy. We were worried about the…read moretransition for our almost 4 year old from a different school, yet she took to Teacher Maddy and Teacher Al right away. You can tell how dedicated Maddy is to her program, and how much she loves all the kids. I love the use of the Brightwheel app for communication and to see all the pictures throughout the day of the kiddos activities. Could not be happier and would recommend Greenwood Trail to anyone thinking about joining.

We had a wonderful experience with Stretch - to this day our kids are constantly exploring their…read morenatural surroundings. Wonderful teachers and community - highly recommended.

Stretch absolutely rocks. Michelle is amazing at running the school and the teachers are so…read moretalented and caring. Our daughter went to Stretch for a year and sadly we had to take it out when we moved and we hated that we had to. Stretch does an amazing job of understanding children and creating an environment where they feel safe and can learn and grow. Highly highly recommend the school.

Dayna, owner of Golden Gate Kids is AMAZING! When I returned to work, my son was able to easily…read moreadjust being away from home and his parents for the first time because of the warm and interactive environment she creates. She does a phenomenal job of interacting with the children and taking care of any of their personal needs and, by doing so, I am surprised of the skills my son has picked up so early! I highly recommend Dayna and Golden Gate Kids to all parents I come in contact with who need excellent child care!

I've contacted this daycare on three separate occasions to ask for a tour and got no response. I…read moreeven found the director's contact information and messaged her directly. She finally responded (wow!) and I sent an email confirming our tour date. Never heard from her again. One of my biggest pet peeves is unresponsiveness. If you can't even respond to a simple request from prospective parent, then I question how you will communicate with parents about their children under your care. Communications between parents and caregivers is KEY during this age, and I am seriously doubting Golden Gate Kids does a good job at that based on my experience. Will be taking my kids somewhere else.

Our son is about to graduate after almost 3 years at Little Tree. We loved our experience,…read moreespecially the teachers. There was no teacher turnover which is amazing as the teachers really get to know your child with all their quirks and can help through whatever you are working on with your child. They were especially patient and helpful with potty training! There is strong parent community with a monthly pizza get together at the park and an active WhatsApp group. What I especially love about Little Tree is that the kids that go here are so sweet and kind, and I think the school really helps with that through their focus on interpersonal relationships and social skills. My son was accepted to all the private schools we applied to as he was well prepared for this next stage of his education.

We are so lucky to have Little Tree as our neighborhood preschool. With so much uncertainty in our…read moreworld today, it's comforting to know our little one is in caring hands with the Little Tree staff. Our child is entering his second year here and it's almost the same team as when he started a year ago. This says a lot about how they work together as one cohesive unit with shared values and a consistent approach to early childhood development. After checking out a few in home daycare options and other neighborhood preschools, the warmth here is palpable and genuine. They are always intentional and almost giddy w new activities and fun projects to do w the kids that center around monthly units of study. This is not your "bring home a cutesy piece of art for your parents to hang on the fridge" place. Instead they let them explore colors and textures, and you can see the progress in your child's dexterity as they progress from gross to finer motor skills. I mean, my kid is still very much in the gross motor skills realm and that's fine by us. :) They also take grand summer bus trips (ex: to the Ferry Building or the Salesforce gondola ride) and a weekly trip to the local park. The attention to a play based philosophy and to fostering positive social interaction is evident in our kid's language skills. Our child will readily tell us what did or did not happen each day and how happy he feels when he's at school. He tells us that bees love pollen and that this was something new to him. He regularly tells us when he needs more room or when he is not ready to end his play at home as well . We feel comfortable sharing feedback and finding common ground in our communication with the staff and appreciate the evident love and joy they have for our kid and all kids in the program. They make a point of allowing time to chat about his day at pickup which is rare in most settings where the evening pickup rush can be hard to even say a quick greeting. They recognize how important the line of communication is w parents and always have examples of what he did at school. Lastly, I would say they will meet you where your child is in their development and support you with your parenting decisions whether with regards to potty training, food, or sleep. This level of partnership is unmatched and only possible because they are in tune w our child and with the range of where kids are on the journey. We love sending him to Little Tree. It's safe, loving, enriching, and incredible. As you consider where you'd like to send your child, we highly recommend this neighborhood school. The cost is absolutely reasonable and you don't have to do an hour of commuting just to find the elusive perfect place. It's where it should be: down the street within walking distance of home.

Our daughter has attended Pacific Heights Prep for 2.5 years, and has grown so much working with…read moreEmily and her team! The program is focused on helping kids develop socially and collaboratively, and I've seen our daughter build friendships, learn from the older children, and learn to show so much patience and care for her "younger friends" at school. PHP has also been a great community for us as parents - we've gotten to know a number of neighborhood families for park dates and get togethers. Emily helps build connection through occasional weekend park gatherings for spring and fall for families to connect. It's been a great environment for both our daughter and for us - and we're planning to send our son there too as soon as he is old enough!

Super attentive staff, my kids learned a lot and very good activities too. They were not English…read morespeakers and they helped a lot

Our 5yo recently graduated from Nature Kidz after attending for the last 2 years (transitioned from…read morePac Heights Kidz - their sister school). When we were considering transitioning him from Pac Heights Kidz to Nature Kidz, we were skeptical. This is an outdoor program. San Francisco weather is so unpredictable. How is he going to stay warm and dry and not be miserable? What happens when it rains? How is he going to learn the tools he needs for Kindergarten in an outdoor setting? Welp, he loved it more than we could have ever imagined. This is because the teachers are amazing and the program that they've designed is flawless for an explorative and energetic child. They are out and about, exploring different trails, parks, and playgrounds daily! During the explorations, they are learning and growing. If weather is poor, they adjust and communicate the change that best suits the day / group. Our son is well prepared for kindergarten academically because of the guidance from his NK teachers. He can write his name, draw beautiful pictures, understand more vs less, knows the sounds of each letter, can write each letter in both upper and lower case, and is able to act appropriately in a classroom setting (raising hand to answer questions, taking turns, ability to focus and pay attention). Over the last 2 years, Nature Kidz has been a huge part of our lives that we are truly going to miss. The teachers and families have had a big impact on our life and we were in tears at pick up on his last day. We are so happy with the decision to join Nature Kidz. If you value kids playing outside in the fresh air, exploring, running, laughing, learning, growing, and most importantly, spending their day surrounded by teachers who absolutely love and care about them, then Nature Kidz is the perfect program for your child. We love Nature Kidz and the care and love that they provided for the last 2 years! 10 stars!!

Our son has been a part of the Nature Kidz program for several months and we have seen a wonderful…read moretransformation in him. Upon joining the program, our son (3 years old) was fairly reserved around new people, and was quite used to being taken care of (having his parents/caretaker put his shoes on/off, jacket on/off, even helping to feed him occasionally). Since joining, he has blossomed. He is very self sufficient, puts his shoes on by himself quite often, cleans up his toys, feeds himself completely, and regularly initiates play requests with new children, unprompted by an adult. He absolutely loves his friends at school and finishes each school day exhausted from learning and playing, with clothes dirty from exploring outside, and with a smile on his face. Teacher Santosh is truly gifted and leads with empathy for the children, teaches through play and deliberately forms connections with each and every child. The teachers and the other children are truly what make this program special and I'm grateful we found it. In my view, some of the hardest parts of building a school are 1.creating a nurturing program that inspires children, 2. creating camaraderie, and 3. recruiting the best teachers; in my view Nisha and Marinelle have done a fantastic job on this front. It is also very important to run tight operations and have solid communication. There have been some hiccups on both of these areas (hence the 4/5 stars), however if the administration is receptive to feedback and wants to improve, these are completely fixable. It's a small program that is very flexible in how it functions and as such there are pros and cons, but the administration has responded in a humble, receptive and collaborative manner and has sought to make the program better. (I'll check back in a few months after I've had a chance to see how some of the changes play out and assuming some of the hiccups have been resolved, I'd happily update my review to 5/5 stars.) No program is perfect, but for me, I'm very grateful we found the school and the program!

We are extremely happy with our experience at Building Kidz on Clement, all the teachers have been…read morewonderful to our son and they do a lot of great work building community amongst the parents as well. The center itself is clean, all progress and milestones are clearly reported and communicated to the parents. No complaints, we love them!

Building Kidz been a wonderful fit for our family. The teachers are warm, attentive, and truly care…read moreabout the kids, and communication with us as parents has always been thoughtful and supportive. We've seen so much growth in our son since starting here, and he's excited to go to school and share what he's learning each day. This is truly such a positive, nurturing environment, and we'd happily recommend this preschool to other families.

My husband and I thank our lucky stars that we found Winnie Cuties Family Daycare and their…read morecaretakers. First time parenting is tough and nothing is harder than leaving your little one in the early months of his or her life. Here's a few highlights: Happy Kids - Our little guy started at four months old and is now happy 20 month old who asks to go to Winnie's in the mornings. During drop offs, all the kids are smiling and I always see a room full of happy babies and toddlers Videos and Communication - We get photos and videos so we can see what they are up to at school. We have even created a shared album with grandparents who love watching our son dancing and singing. In the first year, we got a daily report of milk feeds, food and diaper changes. Winnie is great at giving a quick update at pickup and will follow-up at night if needed Engaging Caretakers - Winnie's mom was extremely nurturing when my son needed to be rocked to sleep and even spoon fed him when he would not take a bottle. As he grew older, he would come home learning new things at school including physical milestones and new words Healthy Food - I did not think to ask about food when initially touring but once our son started solids, they provide delicious and healthy food that my son loves. Not having to food prep has made my life so much easier and a benefit of the daycare versus nanny share Music and Field trips - The kids go out to the playground on nice days and they will take field trips to further parks and gardens before nap time. It's nice for our kid to have art time, excursions and outdoor time. Winnie will celebrate holidays with the kids including Easter, Halloween and Chinese New Years which is wonderful. Lastly, while most of the songs are in english, my son is picking up some Mandarin Chinese and according to the pediatrician, exposure to multiple languages is great for brain development. Now that my secret is out, I hope the waitlist for potential future siblings doesn't get too long

This review is long overdue. Our daughter graduated from Winnie's over a year ago and her…read moreexperience there could not have been more amazing. The tears we shed when dropping off our daughter for the first time when she was six months old were only rivaled by those when it came time to move her to preschool. Over those two years Winnie and Popo became more than a daycare, they were a second family to our daughter. It was wonderful to see how they helped our baby develop into a perfect little toddler. Our daughter still asks to stop in and say hello every time we walk past and Winnie gladly obliges with open arms. We're so thankful we found Winnie and hope this helps others find her too.