My daughter was one of the first students at My Whole Earth Academy back in 2014. At that time she…read moredidn't have very good English and had some sort of separation anxiety. Thanks to all teachers and especially Miss Jen for giving my daughter lots of attention and helping her to overcome that anxiety. My daughter has very good memories about her preschool. I always recommend My Whole Earth Academy to all my friends who are looking for professional child care.

Worst school experience, on our first day, my 19month child was playing with some musical…read moreinstruments and one the the teacher was afraid that my child will break it, so she grabbed the tambourine out of her hand and put it behind her......The teacher was playing a plastic box as a drum, and she's not worried if it will break since it's already half broken? My child is only 19 month and she took the chance to let her discover and learn, without teaching her with patience. After circle time that teacher stood up walking with out care and bumped into my child and kicked her into a very sharp table corner, dented her forehead and my child started bleeding. The whole classroom wasn't protected, but right after this happened they started to put up all the protection for sharp corners......I was very upset and disappointed. The principal also called me after, but her phone call made me felt worse, and she said she was going to check back with me and I never received another phone call from her! My child has a scar on her forehead and the dent is still there after more than a month. I have taken my child to many daycare and community center, and we are still waiting to be called on a few wait list, since this school has opening, I thought I could take her there for the time being, but This is the worst school we have been to, and I suggest moms that wants to apply think twice, because they are very unprofessional. If this system could let me choose no star, I wouldn't have given one！

This review is for Oakridge Montessori School. My child went through most of the Junior…read moreKindergarten year. Unlike teacher communication at OMS, this review was written 100% without the use of AI. OMS, if you would like to respond, please consider not using AI. Prospective parent: Unless you are ultra-wealthy and have at least one caregiver who does not need to work, stay away! (You might also like to own a Tesla). You will need all of the above to shuttle your child back and forth to many field trips and special events (not on the school calendar) that last ~2-3 hours in lieu of actual school, plus you will need to pay extra for every single one of them (plus up to $10k more for auctions...as the principal said, "It's Report Card Season!"). Essentially this is an (aspirational) feeder school for elite private schools in the area, and tries to behave like one. Oh, and you should also read/write Mandarin and have the WeChat app in order to participate in the parent group. This school has absolutely nailed their target demographic. I don't think the school needs to change, because it works well for said population. I'm writing this review so that those who don't fall within this particular demographic can go in with eyes wide open. We didn't, clearly - because who can really be that choosey about childcare in Vancouver? - but I think a heads up might have helped. OMS is a self-proclaimed "organic Montessori" school. They do screen time, and they seem a bit light on some other parts of Montessori (my kid reports that they don't really clean their environment, for e.g., though I take their report with a grain of salt). What concerned us early on was the use of reward/points systems to motivate behavior in the classroom through their ClassDojo App (which, btw, suits the school well - always asking for money - and which we hate with a passion). To the school's credit, when I raised this issue with the teacher, the school principal(?)/"Director of Education" called me and addressed it, claiming it was a communication error and that the points were not to be used with this age group, only Grade 1 & up. They did seem to stop using it after this. (Though are points really appropriate for Grade 1 & up in a Montessori school?) Continuing to give credit where it is due: Teachers and staff have taken the time to answer our concerns, and have called us during what I am guessing are their lunch breaks. While the AI responses really rub me the wrong way - because these are the people teaching my child to read and write - I acknowledge that being in charge of 16 4ish-year-olds is really no mean feat. I do believe that the staff and teachers care about the students. Moreover, my child did learn to read and write quite willingly during their time at OMS. IN SUM: Our family is an outlier at OMS - we don't own a car, we aren't trying to send our kids to elite private schools, and having to pay $55 per adult to attend my child's "Spring Tea" concert (which is 1.5 hours long with no regular school) is a bit painful. And so attending this school has been a bit awkward and logistically burdensome for us. You might say there was a mismatch in values, but of course no daycare or school is going to mesh with our family's culture completely. No irreparable damage was done, we did our best to make a few friends among the parents, my child has been mostly happy......but we will not be continuing our "OMS journey".

Expensive! 2.5 hours a day! 3 programs running a day. No wonder the teacher turnover is high. It…read morefeels like a prep school for private schools with charges for every extra detail. Fees are going up $5000 next year, insane.

My son has been attending this preschool since Sept. We learned about this preschool from our other…read morefamily members. The school is bilingual. The teachers speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English although the classes are taught in Cantonese and English. The junior class has classes Monday-Thursday 12:30pm-3pm. Homework is handed out in a binder on Thursday and submitted back to teacher on Monday. The assignment consist of a page of the alphabet letter of the week and/or a number of the week. They also learn some basic Chinese characters. On most days the kids bring home the art project they have been working on that day. They also learn to sing and dance. Topics covered in class include alphabets, numbers, colors and shapes. There are 2 teachers for the 10 students in the class. The teachers have many years of experience and are attentive to the needs of the students and brings to attention any concerns they have of the students to the parents. The teachers get to know the potty training needs of the students. They learned the cues my son gives when he has to go. Overall, my son enjoys going to school and I highly recommend anyone looking for a Cantonese, bilingual preschool to consider this as an option. This preschool is affiliated with a church.

Had to withdraw my daughter from the school after she made very serious complaints against a…read moreteacher. She was fearful of the school and a teacher there. It was not a safe environment for her. We reported my daughters concerns to the appropriate authorities and there was a police investigation. In addition to my daughters above complaint, homework was often out of date, inappropriate or just wrong. From our observations we can see the school is more teacher centred and has a strong emphasis on praising "star pupils". My wife and I are both UBC trained teachers with decades of teaching experience between us, we would strongly NOT recommend anyone to send a child to this school. Update: School has maintained the employment of the "teacher"

A lovely early years centre. They have been around for a long time and provide good child care to…read moremany families. It's too bad they've closed down.

Bumblebee is such a lovely pre-school and has been such a wonderful fit for both of my sons. The…read moreteachers are excellent and the environment is lovely. It is a real community feel and a place I feel fortunate to have found.

I attended John Oliver during my last two years at high school while attending DT as I needed to go…read moreto summer school. Some of the instructors there were okay. I later went back to John Oliver in my adult years to get some further education and get some skills in my adult years that I was lacking in the work force. Once again the instructors/teachers were good. As for the school itself...I didn't really socialize since it wasn't part of the school year, therefore, didn't go through all the Degrassi pains of school, however, in the hallow hallways you can still sense the ghosts of adolescent fear still lingering. The bathrooms look like a prison. The bathrooms on Orange is the New Black looks better.

This is a wonderful school, I have twin boys who attend the afternoon class. The school has helped…read morethem to socialise with other children and they have benefited greatly. The school does field trips - to the zoo, library, pumpkin patch etc. They have a sports day and picnics throughout the school year. The teachers are very experienced and bring fun to learning. I highly recommend the school to anyone wanting to send their children. (call 604 324 1317 to register)

How can a parent find out more when there isn't much information available? No one emails back…read more What are the fees? A simple website and a way of communicating with families would be a start.

Extremely disappointed in this school. I sent countless emails to get more info and even dropped by…read more1 morning in person. I had 2 parents write emails on my behalf to introduce our family as a potential new family wanting to go to the school and got absolutely no response. Not even 1 reply back to my inquiry. There is No website. No one answers the phone. No social media presence. If this is any indication of how good their communication is why would I want my child going to a school like this?

such a run down place and rude rude staff. left my swim gear in the private changeroom for a few…read morehours and they couldnt help me find it and when i came back the next day it was gone. what do i expect from a jewish community centre..horrible people

They have an excellent Gym! Only problem is they close often early on Fridays and not all patrons…read moreand even staff are religious they should be more open with their recreation hours at least. However this place has friendly staff and a top notch gym.

Montessori World is a special school. My son was shy but over the course of the schoolyear he has…read morebecome much more social. Now, on weekends he asks why he cant go to school. I am impressed with the curriculum, field trips and extra curricular options. The school even has Mandarin and French lessons. Jelena, the principal, is devoted and passionate about engaging with her students and was very available to speak with.

We have been lucky enough to put our 3 children through Extra Steps, first discovering this gem…read moreover 10 years ago. Teacher Robb made our eldest, and us, feel comfortable leaving him for the first time. Our son took a few days to get adjusted, then didn't want to leave. The 3.5 hour duration and choice between am or pm classes are such a benefit. Our daughter attended a year later and loved teacher Christa. Our youngest is now in his final year of preschool and he loves Larry and Nicole (and Christa too!). The preschool space is bright and fun, teachers take the kids to the nearby parks and/or senior centre everyday and our kids always tell us how much they enjoy/ed the school. The teachers support each child's development, offer to assist with any learning requests and instil the confidence and love of school which led to our older 2 thriving in private school kindergarten. We have recommended Extra Steps to numerous families over the years, even those who have been hesitant due to poor experiences at other schools, and they have all been so grateful for sharing this wonderful preschool with them. Kids are all treated with kindness and respect, which allows for personal development. As our time with Extra Steps will end at the close of this year, we wish to express our appreciation to the teachers for the love and support our kids have enjoyed- we really can't recommend this preschool enough. Larry and Nicole also run the most fabulous outdoor program on Saturdays, which our youngest loves and will continue to do next year.

My son used to go to preschool here and he loved his teachers a lot. Originally he attended…read moreanother preschool half of the week but the head teacher at the other preschool was terrible and treated him like he's challenged kid and she even talked to him like one. At Extra Steps Learning, they helped him to come out of his shell and helped him improve with his personal development without judging him any different from other kids. He improves tremendously ever since he attended preschool here 5 days a week. He's now in Kindergarten and he still talks about his teachers especially Ms. Christa. I like all the educators there but my favourite one is Ms. Christa. She really helps my son to develop social and personal skills there and always treated him with kindness.