Melissa and her team have created a really special place here. It's beyond your typical childcare - it feels like a magical learning community and is rich with culture. Loved how multi-dimensional the experience is - lots of outdoor structured and unstructured play, child-centered, emergent curriculum, gardening, animal care, music, singing, making and sharing meals, field trip experiences, exposure to other cultures (in addition to Spanish immersion! What a gift!). To top it off, I found it operationally really smooth, and communications were always consistent and thorough. The teachers really felt like a team, and the parent community was very involved. We appreciate and miss JDM! read more

My daughter started at JDM when she was almost three years old. She already understood Spanish from her nanny so we doubled down on Spanish immersion. At first I was worried that she would not be prepared for Kindergarten in English if all of preschool was going to be in Spanish. Lola absolutely flourished at JDM thanks to the extremely nurturing environment and the scaffolding provided by the teachers. She especially loved all the arts, crafts, animals, la Huerta and Friday trips. And of course all her spanish speaking amigos. Like most children she had some ups and downs at school. After she dropped the nap she had some behavior issues in the afternoons. Melissa and team handled all of it extremely well. One day I was in communication with Melissa about her behavior and she said "let's try something" and suggested animal therapy and let her go and play with the bunnies and rabbits. Turns out that was exactly what she needed in that moment! She is currently in Kindergarten and could not have been more prepared from both a social and emotional and academic perspective. She entered Menlo Park public school way ahead of expectations which made the Kindergarten transition a fantastic one. We actually love JDM so much that she now goes there in the afternoons after Kindergarten. She gets to play outside after school and practice her Spanish. Win Win! Melissa is an extremely experienced child educator and she has built an All-Star team of teachers that create an extremely nurturing environment. We feel honored to be part of the JDM community! read more

I love Jardin de Mariposas. I cannot express how thankful I am for having the opportunity to send my daughter, Ariana, to JDM. The teachers there are incredible and we also love the directors, Melissa and Eda. The staff there is extremely caring and take the time to get to know each student individually. We feel so much love in the school amongst the teachers, students, and the parents as well. My daughter has attended their school for the past two years and is now fluent in Spanish! She is also artistic and I attribute that to the programs dedication to expose the children to a variety of daily art projects. The school also highly focuses on science as well. I could go on and on about how much I love this school! I highly recommend this school for anyone looking for an amazing well run Spanish speaking program! read more

I cannot say enough good things about JDM. This school taught my children not only Spanish language skills but so much more, including social skills, writing, foundations of math. Rather than rote memorization of numbers and addition, my daughter developed the conceptual understanding of numbers, addition, patterns etc. Meanwhile my daughter and 2-year-old son explored in the garden and grew in creativity with open-ended art and building projects. I could not be happier with the way JDM fostered the kind of exploration-based and play-based learning kids need and deserve at this age. With joy! Thanks to JDM, my kids think learning is exciting and school is a joyful place. All of the maestras are brilliant teachers who treat the students with love and care. They teach children how to resolve their disputes verbally and respect one another. The director, Melissa values her staff and gives them opportunities to grow and advance their training. She herself knows and interacts daily with every child. My daughter thought she was one of her main teachers! And Melissa cares deeply about creating a sense of community among families and between the families and the teachers with potlucks and events throughout the year. This school is a true gem. We were so very sad to leave this school when we moved out of the state. If I could pick one thing to take with me it would be JDM! read more

It's unfortunate to be writing this review about JDM's TK program (no opinion given on the twos and preschool). Having had to consult an attorney, I will state these disclaimers: 1) We will keep some personal details out. Feel free to contact us for further detail. 2) the teachers are kind, knowledgeable, and thoughtful 3) This is about JDM's TK ("transitional kindergarten") program based on two months of attendance. ---- First, the facts: If your child is age 4 and has been in Spanish Immersion or other preschool, JDM's TK is likely a regression. We are not alpha parents, we goof off on the weekends and evenings and believe kids should play as much as they can. Our son has been making a mess in the kitchen and garden since age 2. JDM's curriculum was still behind where he arrived, at age 4, already being able to write + read letters and numbers and speak Spanish fluently. On our child's second day in TK, another child told our son that he would die if he didn't play her game. JDM's response was that kids will be kids and that he has to learn to navigate that. We then had two more months of our son telling us that two girls constantly said mean things on the playground and the teachers didn't intervene. As two months passed, he repeatedly told us he was lonely, that people weren't very nice, and that it was "kind of boring." After our second time discussing issues with the school, they told us they would provide us with daily reports. Two days went by and they didn't. Then this was the final straw: JDM staff allowed another parent to let our child out of the locked gate along with their child. We just happened to be arriving at that time, went in, signed him out, and decided that was the last time our son would ever go there. ---- Second, the following is our opinion and is stated as such. JDM's TK program needs to go back to the drawing board or not purport to be a Spanish Immersion TK. It is an education + creativity exposure TK that happens to be somewhat in Spanish. Alternatively, it might be the right school for children whose parents have done very little with them other than hand them an iPad and push them off to a nanny. The school claims it has an "afternoon program" but it became very clear that it mostly ends at 1 pm, and then onwards it is just a person keeping your child occupied for a few hours. As we began to suspect this we'd drop by earlier and frequently found our son just playing outside on the gym (i.e., babysitting). One time the teacher told us he had been there for three hours. At our old school, reduced class size resulted in focused education and lessons, more engaging, not less. The school applies different standards to parents to fill a classroom, but enforces those standards to keep their $2,300 deposits when we withdrew our son. While the bulk of the students are in the 2s and preschool programs and may have a sense of community, TK is an outlier and the experience is much more transactional. There is very little sense of cohesion in this group. I believe the old location as a family home daycare built a very strong community, but that new students joining the older cohort are isolated. It is very clear that parents who have been there for a while or parents of the younger kids have something special that the TK kids do not. The school claims it is Spanish immersion but our son told us that regularly lessons were conducted in English and teachers communicated with students in English. They frequently mention "exposure to" Spanish on the website. Many times we heard students talking to teachers in English. This resulted in a few conversations where our son would come home and say "why doesn't ____ talk in Spanish at school? He only talks in English to the Maestras." This is uncommon at nearly any other SI school. It's just not a very warm and welcoming place. Perhaps that is an aspect of attempted professionalism, but we prefer that our son is in a place that radiates kindness since it goes the other direction fast as they get older. ---- In the two similarly highly-rated Spanish immersion schools before, and one in the two weeks since, we have experienced none of these issues and yet found a strong sense of parent + child community. And two weeks in, we are already on parents WhatsApp groups, being invited to group activities, the students all contributed to art on a Día de Muertos altar on display the Redwood City Museum, and so on. Yelp allows responses. I fully expect JDM to blame us as impatient parents, blame our son for not fitting in, say that a 4 year old might see the world differently, say that we created a plan and left before it seen to fruition, say that we should have given it more than two months, and so on. That's fine. They will try to protect their reputation and we respect that. However, if you are a parent, you will know when your own experience has had enough questioning and you're confident about your conclusions. read more

Jardin has been a wonderful preschool for my 3 year old son (and our family has been to 6 or 7 preschool across our kids, so we have plenty to compare it to!). The program is well thought, with exposure to science, letter writing, music, field trips, nature, and lots of other things -- and of course lots of play. One thing that stands out to me with Jardin is that the teachers clearly make an effort, consistently, to connect with the kids. At some preschools, unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. If a kid is crying at drop off, the teachers are there working with the kid to engage. If a kid isn't doing what they're supposed to, the teachers are working with the kid on the issue -- but they stay kind and loving (which, again, hasn't been the case everywhere). I particularly appreciate the balance of free play and structure. Jardin has a ton of open play time, as you'd expect in a play-based school. But there's also some "okay now it's time to do ___" (go to the garden, go to music class, etc). I feel that that's really valuable to help the kids learn to comply with rules. As for the Spanish piece, interestingly, that's not why we picked the school. We were looking for a great preschool for our son, and weren't at all looking for a language program. We picked it more *in spite of* the Spanish than because of it (not that the Spanish was a negative, but it wasn't something we were seeking either). I say this because I'd encourage even families who aren't particularly seeking a language immersion program to consider Jardin. It's a great preschool that just so happens to be in Spanish. Now, at the end of his first year, my son (according to the spanish speakers we know) understands a lot of spanish. That's pretty cool :). read more

Would give zero stars if I could. Melissa gave us every indication our kinder child was registered , including a "see you at class on Monday". We tell our other alternatives we're set. Two days later we follow up asking for the schedule and Melissa says"we're full, sorry, but I can put you on the waitlist". Ok, let me blow up over here and NEVER call them or even consider this disorganized mess sgsin read more

My daughter is about to complete a full school year at JDM in the half-day 2's program, 5-days a week. Due to a move abroad, we are very sad to leave the school just as my daughter is feeling a sense of community, immense trust in the teachers, and has built a strong group of friends! Overall: We didn't plan to enroll our daughter in school and didn't intend to send her to a Spanish immersion program (i.e., we aren't Spanish speakers), but due to a variety of circumstances, we jumped into it. JDM turned out to be such an amazing experience for her and our family. The school is BEAUTIFUL! Set in the middle of a gorgeous natural space with lots of trees all around. They have the perfect mix of indoor / outdoor spaces with plentiful developmentally appropriate toys, a great playground area, sand, science and art room, gardens, and ANIMALS!! The school takes an open and inclusive approach that starts with meeting each child where they are. They aren't rigid to a particular educational philosophy and instead focus on creating a warm, nurturing environment for all kids to blossom. The classes have times everyday when they intermingle, and this has worked out really well for my daughter as she's made great friendships with some of the older girls. We've also loved engaging with the parent community and found some great friends in this past year through school. The Curriculum: I am not one to hone in on "curriculum" for a 2's program but they have a wonderful mix of art, music, science, nature and play intermixed within their day. There's not a day that goes by that my daughter isn't thrilled to show me her artwork. They are happy for the kids to get dirty which I love -- and it has built in incredible sense of joy and ownership for my daughter in her work. They also LOVE gardening and animals -- as do we -- and my daughter has spent hours talking about the chicks, the bunny, the bearded dragon, the insects! In fact, they are a regular part of our day to day conversations at home. The school and the children are taught to treat the animals with love and care. My daughter has also picked up Spanish incredibly well! She often comes home singing Spanish songs and tells me how to say things in Spanish! She now knows three languages fluently by the age of three! :) Transitions / Staff: My daughter has a very tough time with transitions, and going from being home all day with me/nanny to a half day pre-school was no exception. She struggled for three full months every day during drop off. The teachers remained kind and thoughtful throughout the process and tried many different ways to make her feel more comfortable. Finally, we met with the director Melissa, and she was genuinely concerned for my daughter and her first experience with school given she was not showing signs of easing up. We brainstormed and were on the cusp of looking at other options, but also discussed how my daughter feels especially loved. The teachers acted on that insight immediately and she literally took a 180 turn that week! Now 6 months later, she loves going to JDM! No more crying at drop off and she talks about how much she loves her school, friends and teachers regularly. JDM has been such an incredible first school-going experience for us, and though we had a tough start, the staff's thoughtful kind hearts were key in working through it all with us and our daughter. Would highly recommend them to any parent! read more

We love this school. My kids have participated in every grade level offered, and we couldn't be more pleased with each one. We were drawn to the school not because of the Spanish immersion, but because of the philosophy, which is all about exploration, exposure, fun, and nature. The director is amazing (thoughtful, purposeful, considerate) and the preschool program she has managed to create is the best one that we've come across (we've tried four other local preschools). The teachers are universally engaged, high-energy, and caring. We've had a great connect with the other families. The location is beautiful, safe, and spacious. And my kids understand a good deal of Spanish now, which from our perspective is a bonus. Muchas gracias Jardin de Mariposas! read more

We sent our child to Jardin de Mariposas after having a very negative experience at another Spanish Immersion preschool in the area. It was like night and day for us - my child (a naturally outgoing boy) went from crying at dropoff to looking forward to going to school. The teachers were warm and caring and paid attention to my child, and have a play-based philosophy. I love the nature activities and constant new and amazing decorations around the school (huge balls representing planets on the ceiling, etc.) Some daycares never change what they put out, but Jardin is serious about rotating to expose children to new topics, often based on their interests (and based on the vocabulary they go through). My child basically didn't know any Spanish before starting, and learned a lot over several years. It was a gentle introduction. Teachers always spoke to my child in Spanish but would listen if he responded in English, and athough they discouraged children from speaking to each other in English but didn't force it. For me, this was great. Other places you might learn faster if your child does well in very strict environments (in some other schools, all kids must draw the same drawing at the same time so the teacher can teach them Spanish words relevant to the drawing. It might work, but at a cost to creativity). And over time the children learn Spanish fine and I know of multiple students with English-speaking parents who went on to test bilingual for kindergarden programs. Also, Melissa is excellent at ensuring good classroom management. She ensures children behave nicely to each other and can quickly turn things around so there isn't hitting, pulling hair, , etc. as happens with other young children elsewhere. Melissa does have a philosophy that children should not be forced to all be friends with each other, so if one child doesn't want to be your friend, she teachers your child should find someone else to play with instead. That might not work for every child but worked out fine for mine. The teachers were always attentive to my son's personality and interests and had great thoughts on how to encourage his development. In short, we loved Jardin. My son says "I liked it. They had fun activities. And they have good snacks that they get. We even made food sometimes. And I made spaceships and dinosaurs." read more

Our son started at Jardin de Mariposas in the 3s program last year and was in the 4s programs this year. We speak Spanish at home and were looking for a Spanish immersion preschool. We could not have asked for a better preschool experience for our son! I was nervous to drop him off on his first day as he sometimes struggles in new environments/situations, but somehow he strolled in the first day with no issues and never looked back! The teachers are wonderful and loving and truly care about the children. The location is beautiful, with plenty of space for the children to learn and play. It is a play-based program, which I love, but our son still had many opportunities to learn and grow within the program. Due to COVID regulations, our son and his classmates finished the last few months of the school year virtually via Zoom. This was not ideal, but a huge plus side for us as parents was being able to see our son interact with his teachers and vice versa. It made us truly appreciate the teachers even more to watch the effort they put into keep the children engaged. They are wonderful people and we will miss them so much as our son is getting ready to start Kindergarten. Thank you, Mariposas, for a wonderful preschool experience! read more

Jardin de Mariposas is a fantastic language immersion program for kids. I enrolled my oldest there as a referral from another parent and although I was skeptical, the more I got to know the school, the more I interacted with the staff, the more I saw my child blossom, the more I loved the school. I love their approach to learning and it has really help my kid develop important social skills like learning to interact with others, deal with conflict, sharing, thinking creatively and critically and learning the all important skill that that I value which is confidence in yourself. My child has learned so much and oh yeah my child has learned very very very good Spanish and I would know because I am a native fluent speaker. We often get complimented on how well our child speaks. My absolute favorite is how excellent the staff is. They are friendly and respectful and they treat each child with in a caring way. I love that they teach creatively and that they teach with play. Melissa, who is the director is incredibly passionate about what she does and I can tell that she cares about every student, every parent, and every staff member. I have recommended this program school to many many of my friends and if you are fortunate enough to get in, you will know exactly what I mean. My child has now been enrolled for 2 years now and we absolutely love it. We love it so much that we have our second child there also. This school has been around for 8 years and many still don't know about it so, my best recommendation for you is to get to know them and you will not be disappointed. Best wishes read more

My daughter has been at Jardin de Mariposas for a little over a month - we switched her from a relatively traditional (but excellent) Montessori school because she really wanted a bilingual school. We speak Spanish at home, and my daughter is a native Spanish (and English of course) speaker. Also we are a relatively rare family inasmuch as we (except my husband) are Jews and also Spanish-speaking. So finding a Spanish-speaking preschool located in one of the most beautiful reform synagogue campuses I have seen in N. Ca was an amazing bonus. Our daughter really likes her school, and I will echo another parent who says that it makes us happy to see her come home covered in dirt and paint and with all sorts of projects. There always seem to be many teachers available, always smiling, and I have never heard a single staff member utter a word of English to a child during school hours. Many of the parents do not speak English, so obviously the staff has to speak English to them when they arrive. It is true that the majority of the children seem to speak in English while at school. But I think that is natural as they learn a foreign language. We love the beautiful wooded surroundings and the overall cheerfulness and enthusiasm of the teachers. My daughter hugs her teacher goodbye when she leaves. We are not parents who feel very strongly that our 4-year-old should be studying calculus, so I cannot speak to the math/linguistic component of the curriculum, but our daughter is happy, entertained, and well cared for, and we have nothing but good things to say about this school. read more