There is a reason why the waitlist of the school is very long. The school just earned its reputation throughout the years. My older one went to LMP pre-Covid, and we loved the school. The school is very well managed. One of the biggest reason is Ms. Darlene, the owner/ director. She is very hands on. She knows everything about the business and her school, including all the students in various classes and their parents. When you have concern or questions, she is always very welcoming and takes time to address your concern, whether it's related to the school or to your kid. As a parent, I feel very comfortable sending my kids there. We also love the teachers there. All of them are very caring. Even though not all of them are my kid's class teacher, most of them knows my kid's name and always have a big smile on them when talking to him. It is also a great school to get your kids ready for the kindergarten. In case you are curious, they use Hook on Phonics program. The program really prepares all kids very well, and lead them started on reading. So from a parent's point of view, they are very organized administratively, teachers are very caring, and your kids are beyond ready academically for the next step, what more can I ask for? Luckily, my younger one will be going there soon! read more

A Wonderful Start to Our Son's Early Years! Our son Hrishikesha was part of the Little Mud Puddles family from age 2 to 4, and we couldn't have asked for a better place to support his early growth and development. What initially drew us in was their play-based learning approach--something we truly value at this age, instead of overwhelming kids with academic pressure too early. From the very beginning, the warmth and personal attention from the staff stood out. Every teacher greeted each child by name with genuine affection, creating a nurturing and welcoming environment. The bond the teachers develop with the children is clearly visible, and we always felt confident that our son was in good hands. A special thank you to Ms. Vanessa and Ms. Tanya, who were his teachers during his first year. They played a crucial role in helping him transition smoothly into daycare life and made that big adjustment much easier for all of us. In his second year, Ms. Emily and Ms. Becki continued this wonderful care. A huge shoutout to Ms. Emily, who greeted Hrishikesha every morning with a big hug--something that made daily drop-offs so much smoother. She also guided him through potty training, encouraged him to try new foods, and supported his language development with such patience and care. The school is led by the ever-approachable Ms. Darlene, whose thoughtful insights and regular updates about our child's development were always appreciated. The biannual assessments covering physical, language, and social development were thorough and shared thoughtfully during PTMs. We also loved the many memorable events and celebrations--from the Halloween parade and Christmas performance to Easter egg hunts and birthday celebrations. Even little touches like photo day every six months made our time at Little Mud Puddles extra special. We wholeheartedly recommend Little Mud Puddles to any family seeking a safe, loving, and joyful environment for their child. It truly was a second home for Hrishikesha, and we're so grateful for the love and care he received there. read more

My daughter attended this preschool for a year. We were on the waiting list for a little over a year and a half. The teachers were always very kind and welcoming and made my daughter feel safe and loved. Her teacher, Miss Becki, is exactly the type of preschool teacher I wanted (as a teacher myself). She is creative and play-based while also being clear with the children about boundaries and expectations. Miss Darlene clearly takes pride in her center and maintains a safe environment for the children. We feel very fortunate that our daughter was able to do her first year of traditional schooling at Little Mud Puddles. read more

Wonderful day care! I put both my children in this daycare for several years. They really treat your kids like family. The teachers are very sweet and considerate to the children and they handle all kids like they are theirs. Mrs. Darlene- the owner of the daycare is the sweetest person you can meet. She really takes care of any problems that may come up and even helped come up with strategies to potty train my child. The food they provide to the kids is excellent and the phonics class really helped my children with learning their letters and reading. I highly recommend this daycare.. You will surely know your children are cared, loved, and taken care of. read more

Today is my youngest daughter's graduation from Little Mud Puddles (LMP) and she has been at this school since she was 2 years old and she's now 5 and moving up to kindergarten. I can't say enough great things about LMP and I have such an immense gratitude to everyone that works there. As a working mother, our biggest concern is making sure our kids are very well taken care of while we're at work and I can honestly say that Little Mud Puddles went above and beyond all my expectations. I have so much gratitude to all the teachers that have taught and cared for my baby girl. They are awesome with communicating and working together to make sure my daughter is both developmentally and intellectually ready for kindergarten. My older daughter also graduated from LMP so I definitely whole-heartedly recommend this school. Ms. Darlene and her staff are all wonderful, caring and all around awesome! read more

My daughter has been at little mud puddles for 2 years and has amazing engaged teachers that truly care about her and invest in her growth. We joined this day care because it was clean, the program is structured and the faculty is amazingly kind. Mrs. Darlene is the most caring owner I have ever met. She greets us as provides updates multiple times a day. We live 40 mins away and work in the city but we still send our Daughter to Little Mud Puddles because we trust Mrs Darlene and her staff. Covid has been very difficult on all of us and seeing how Mrs. Darlene went into action from the day it started to scaling back the number of kids in the school and implementing social distancing and limited contact protocol was amazing. Little mud puddles was one of the only schools that has a video auto scanner to check temperature, and requires kids to watch their hands on entry, from recess and on departure. Little mud puddles also does not intermingle classrooms, that means a max of 10 kids interact all together + 2-3 teachers who all wear masks. Little mud puddles manages checkin for the parents so there is no physical contact on a shared device. As a parent that has respiratory health issues I can say Mrs. Darlenes policies make it easier for me to send my child to daycare. Thank you for all you do Mrs. Darlene! read more

I appreciate Miss Darlene, Miss Bernice, Miss Tanya, Miss Gloria, Miss Amber, Miss Tianta, Miss Yuner, and Miss Olivia for caring for my little Allison. My daughter was only there for a year but it was quite memorable. She outgrew her shyness and became more confident. During lockdown, Miss Darlene took every precaution: limiting class size, requiring temperature checks and masks, having the kids remain mostly outdoors, and having staff wear masks and gloves, There was also a sanitizing routine after every restroom use. I feel the kids were secure. Key fobs were required for entry and the lobby was always with a receptionist. The play ground was well-gated and surprisingly clean. I can tell that Miss Darlene put a lot of effort in the general upkeep but ramped up the cleanliness efforts when Covid hit. During my daughter's graduation, social distancing practices were maintained, sanitizing and masks were required. It was really sweet. I can't wait for my second little girl to join Little Mud Puddles. read more

To say that the Little Mud Puddles Learning Center is amazing, is truly an understatement!! Miss Darlene & her wonderful staff are true angels here to protect, guide, teach, encourage & to love each child that they welcome into the school. From the classrooms where our children learn their ABC's and numbers. To having fun with arts & craft projects daily. Where our children socialize with friends & teachers. The Little Mud Puddles goes above and beyond to be a great place for our children to be. The extra precaution in regards to COVID is taken into consideration with following all CDC regulations to guarantee our children are safe and healthy while at The Little Mud Puddles learning center. Miss Darlene is so good at reminding us to wash our hands when arriving, take temperature, check to make sure we look well and have no COVID symptoms while entering the school. From the kitchen where they prepare fresh, healthy meals to the phonics and learning teachings, to the arts & crafts, and special care that each teacher brings is sincere and all of their efforts show throughout our children's growth. Thank you Little Mud Puddles for all you do for our children's future and well being and for giving us parents a piece of mind that our children are in good hands! We love you all very much and appreciate all that you do for my family and for my son! read more

Many many years ago my child attended Little Mud Puddles and I attribute his success in learning and life to the amazing start he had with the most compassionate, motivating and caring childcare People on the planet! I'm sure Darlene continues to maintain employing high quality individuals as well as maintaining a safe and secure environment. I am proud to say my son is now an Emergency Room Doctor - thanks Darlene and Little Mud Puddles! read more

Update: 2021/1/8: I saw she had say Sorry about this. Not really apologize But I do not care anymore. I just request the refund for tuition Dec 30 and Dec 31. I added the suggestion email. There is no conspiracy as 'I knew more than you or hiddenstory. I chose to post all out for truth is truth. END Update: 2020/12/31: I saw there is good review behind me. I would like to say. This email address is not personal it could be found in their website. https://littlemudpuddles.com/contact-us/ Also there are 4 citations in the past 3 years which I just found out. https://www.ccld.dss.ca.gov/carefacilitysearch/FacDetail/010215677 Update: 2020/12/30: I need a apology no matter whatever you reply others, or in the name of whatever for your own malicious words. Updated: 2020/12/29 I upload the email screen shot for her email and my previous email for better reading. Between these two emails, there is no other email. I did not feel surprise to see her official reply. However, it does not relate to the part that she insulted me. I did not delete or modify any of the word part in the comment. the update is just the screenshot of email. -- I rarely leave review for preschool. However, I was personally attacked and insulted by the owner Miss Darlene who judged me a terrible divorced single mom, a rude and mean person. Immediately she kicked my son out. However, what I email to her is the Covid19 concern as parents, no any personal issue. There was a case that a kid was discovered positive on Dec 19 2020. (correction, the kid has symptom on Dec 19, and test positive on Dec 24). I send email to her ask if the school may have improvement, like limiting the parent enter into the classroom each time when they pick the kids. There are 40 kids, so which means 80 visits every day. However, Miss Darlene replied and attacked said I am rude and mean, and kind ex. I knew when the police invests the crime, they manipulate people first destroys their confidence and dignity, makeup unrelated thing to support this 'pre-set' character. and make whatever they said is invalid. This happens to me as well. I could not image how a preschool owner could do this to a parent. I would like to post all other conversations in the future. (there is what miss Darlene replied to me in the first paragraph. in the second paragraph, which is untrue. They allowed me to stay a bit longer since it is my son's first day. It is their place, if they do not allow me, they can easily speak it out to or stopme ) On Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 2:37 AM DARLENE JOHNSTON wrote: '' --------------------------------------------- You really are not a very nice person. I have chosen to put up with your situation due to your divorce and the pain your son goes through when I see how he is between you and his kind father. You have a very mean spirit. His last day is now. You are rude and not kind. --------------------------------------------- I took you because of the pain I see in your son. You were the parent I asked to please not visit the classroom the first day due to the health and safety of the children and families. I had one wonderful mother complain about you because you kept on coming into the class because Eric was crying. I have this documented on top of the incident between Eric's father and your situation. Parents come and they leave respectfully. We do not have families stay long. If I observe or am told by a family, which I have not seen, they are asked to leave right away like I told you the first and second day when Eric begun our program. This situation was a child, not a parent!!! Unfortunately the child might of contacted the COVID-19 due to wearing his mask and doing something outside our school and home and touched his face. By having families working together to wash children hands before they enter our school and after they leave our program , helps all of us working together to keep everyone safe. Many programs that don't allow families into their program unfortunately have had many COVId -19 cases. I feel blessed that in this situation that it kept to that child instead of effecting any of us. Your last day is today 12/29/2020. Darlene Johnston Director/ Owner - Here is what I wrote in the previous email. On Dec 28, 2020, at 9:11 PM, I wrote: Miss Darlene, I understand what you are saying. However, following government guidance does not ensure everyone is safe. That is still there are so many cases, about 150000 per day. From what I know that most preschools, the kids are just dropped in front of the preschool door. to eliminate the contacts. As we already got one case in little mud, what I would concern is what we may do for improvement from our side. I know people have different opinions regarding this covid, or if other parents may think in the similar way, but that is what I concern as a parent. thus I think it may be worthwhile to bring this suggestion to your attention. Thank you, ---- read more

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Miss Darlene and the Little Mud puddle team is simply THE BEST when it comes to day care business. We have been with Little mud puddles for a little over one year now. Miss Darlene has taken personal care to help our 3 year old son integrate into the school and feel a part of it. Our Son is hyperactive with less attention span because of which he was let go from his previous school. Little Mud puddle has been a blessing for us. While other schools were apprehensive in including our Son, Miss Darlene not only felt made us feel welcome but took extra care of our Son to ensure that he integrates with the school. The level of transparency love and attention that we found in Little mud puddles is generally not seen with other providers. We consider this as a life-changing event not only for my son but also for us. Miss Darlene gave us numerous personal advices and suggestions in how manage our Sons hyperactivity and in all cases we have been successful. Ex - when our Son jumped from his bed fearing a barking dog in the neighborhood, Miss Darlene introduced "Honey" her gorgeous little puppy to our Son so he would no longer be scared of Dogs. It worked like a charm. She is the most loving person we have ever met in our lives. she not only considers Little mud puddles as her business, but her life's mission to take care her Kiddos, and it manifests in the little thing she and her staff does to make life easier for busy working parents like us. Every challenge, every problem we faced with respect to our Son was dealt with at utmost love, professionalism and teamwork. Miss Darlene has an infectious positive and optimistic spirit, she is willing to solve problems by going out of the box and that's what you love most about her. We have been incredibly lucky to be a part of the little mud family and we hope encourage anyone who wants their Kids have a loving and caring environment to try the LMP experience. We cannot recommend Miss Darlene and her little mud puddle staff more. Miss Darlene we wish you and the entire LMP staff good luck and lots of happiness. Shumi read more

I highly recommend Little Mud Puddles School and can't say enough good things about them. My son has been going there for about 1.5 years and absolutely loves it. It is a joy to watch him grow and thrive there. He started with classroom 1 and is now in classroom 3. Along the way, we have worked with multiple teachers and they are all so very nice and supportive to say the least. Miss Gloria and Miss Amy helped with my son's initial transition and were always very patient, keeping us posted on his daily moods and working with us together to help him succeed. I have seen Miss Gloria sit down with him and taking individual time to understand his emotions and help him. Now, my son is in classroom 3 and it is a blessing to have Miss Gayle work with him. Miss Gayle knows him just as I do as his mother, and appreciates and encourages him to be his best self. Miss Darlene, the school owner is such a nice and lovely person, and that reflects in how she cares for her school, her staff, the families and the kids. She has been so supportive since the beginning, super responsive and makes sure all families and kids get individual attention from her. Whenever I am at school picking or dropping off, I see all the teachers being so interested in what they do, all of them greeting children as they come, smiling at them and easing their morning transition to school. I see the kids happy, chirpy and lively. It is truly a joyful place to send your kids to. I have been and will continue to recommend LMP to friends and neighbors. read more

*disclosure* - we are leaving a yelp message for LM (Miss Darlene) without actually putting our daughter to LM. Why? Because Miss Darlene made such great/amazing/wonderful impression with us that our decision not to go to LM was PURELY due to the Pandemic risk (we have a senior/high risk living with us). Where should we start? How about we met with Miss Darlene twice on-site to discuss fall enrollment for LM and each visit lasted 2+ hours? Not one second/moment we noticed any impatience with Miss Darlene while we asked million questions. From our conversation with Miss Darlene, we can definitely sense her passion, drive, and her deep caring for your little one(s) & building relationships. Unlike other schools out there, we did not get any sense of "business-like" (a.k.a. caring only on MONEY) from her and that's such an unique quality for private school now days. She's just an amazing person/owner and we were really sad to make a hard decision to continue home school our daughter until we felt safer with the situation. There's a recent why we were on the wait list for so long (pre-pandemic) with LM. Miss Darlene, we will pray for you/your family safety/health with all of your wonderful teachers/staff at LM. We definitely hope we will cross path again! Good luck! read more

I went here as a child! I graduated the class of 1994 and I had really fond memories when I did attend even though I was so young. I remember it being a very loving and nurturing environment. If I lived closer I would definitely take my child here! read more

By looking at one complaining review, just want to share one of my opposite experience: recently my two year old son started to join LMP. Since recently he started to show terrible-two, join a new school, and need time to ramp up his English, he started to be aggressive in school. That worries me a lot. As a first time Mom, I was quite clueless besides reading different parenting books. Thankfully teachers in LMP here are very experienced and super helpful! They tried different strategies and also shared their solutions with me so that I can learn from them. That is very useful! Recently Miss Darlene also invited me to have a meeting with Miss Gloria,Miss Tanya to discuss the possible root causes of those behaviors and what could be the best solutions. Unlike that review, they didn't just blindly put all the responsibility and blame on parents, instead they focus on the solution, how we as a team to solve this problem. After several hours' constructive discussion, they decided to make lots of changes on their side: use calming box to calm down my upset son and then teach him how to express his feeling and "enter" play with other kids in a safe manner, and also they found my son is probably easy to get over stimulated in the afternoon, they plan to break into smaller groups and reorganize the groups considering different ages, birth order, etc. From my side, I need to stop using high chair and bottle to show him good table manner, which is very important. Dear Miss Darlene also kindly lent me different parenting books to look. After those changes, I can see my son is improving and doing much better, which is amazing! Really appreciate Miss Darlene, Miss Gloria, Miss Tanya, Miss Amy, Miss Yuner, Miss Elizabeth's help and useful suggestions! This really helps my son to be friendly and happy toddler! Parent, I know you probably felt frustrated when you son had some misbehavior. I have the same feeling. But instead of blaming teachers, we should work with them as a team to solve the problem and nurture our kids to be a lovely, friendly person. The teachers are in our side to help us, help our kids. They have professional knowledge and keep learning it. BTW, we should be our kids' role model. It's not nice to say such 60 year old age discrimination statement. It is not true and instead that means LMP has lots of experienced professional teachers, they know how to teach kids with different personalities. I am always so impressed to see how knowledgeable and experienced they are. Hope your kid doing better! Thanks! : ) read more

Little Mud Puddles Learning Center - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - Fremont, California

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Where do I begin? First of all you should know that I am very particular about where I take my son to school. We tried other places and ran into a slew of issues and problems. Little Mud puddles and their staff are without a doubt the best center I have been to. They are kind and loving with the children. They nurture and help the kids develop and learn. They are dedicated to the success of each and every child. And they are very very well prepared for any emergency or mishap with the kids. I can vouch for this because my mom is with the American heart association and she teaches and re-certifies teachers, centers, and nurses with first-aid and CPR. Ms Darliene is the director, her passion for the children is so evident. She is also an amazing leader and treats her staff as family. I love this. Ms tiffany is the phonics teacher and has helped my son so much! He was not learning how to read and write prior to coming here and now he is well on his way. His teacher from room 4 is Ms Bernice, she is exceptional and has taken such great care of Diego from day one. Another thing I should note is my son has terrible allergies to food. He is allergic to tree nuts, cow milk, soy, and soy proteins, and eggs. This made is so difficult for me to #1. Find a place that was willing to accommodate or allow me to replace meals. #2. Trust that the staff were willing to take it as serious as we do. #3. Was being feed good nutritional food. Not prepackaged crap, that has been processed so much it's left with no nutritional value. Not only are they awesome and experienced with food allergies. They have an on site cook, Ms Bexi cooks most of the meals from STRACH. That's right folks- they feed our kids Real food that hasn't been processed a million time. And they are constantly reading food labels. Honestly I cannot say enough about this place. It has been such a blessing for my family and I. I have complete and total piece of mind when my son is in their hands. My only regret is that I didn't find this place earlier. My son is graduating June 20th and will be moving on to St Joseph's :) Lucky for us our journey with LMP doesn't end here. We are expecting a little girl in sept and will be definitely reserving a spot for her here. read more

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Which other pre school in entire country closes for 25-30 days in an year? If you are working full time with little flexibility from work then this is not the place to put your child. I m so happy that my kid is out now and I don't have this torture of thinking about her setting Parents -teacher meeting on MONDAYs... School is otherwise good. Who on earth gets 30 days PTO from work. There was no vacation for me throughout the year, all PTOs were lost in babysitting my kid.. Huh.. read more

This is the best learning daycare and pre-school. Miss Darlene has done an outstanding job hiring the best teachers, addressing parents' concerns in a timely & effective fashion. They are genuinely compassionate, disciplined and professional in every way. Very grateful. read more

Today is my son's last day at this school, and I cannot help recall all the good times he had here since the last year and a half. LMP will always hold a special place in my heart. The teachers here are so warm, you would wonder if they are for real. More than 90% of the staff has been here for a little more than a decade, with some close to 2 decades! Which other school can boast of this!? My son had the opportunity to start in Room 2 and move through Room 3, and 4, and literally every teacher of his was wonderful, with no exceptions.However Miss Yuner and Miss Bernice will always hold a soft spot in our heart for the love they showed towards our son, even when they were not his class teachers. I particularly like the Hooked On Phonics program run by Miss Amber. She taught my son some wonderful pronunciation techniques, and I am very thankful to her for that. I also love how Miss Gayle always gave us detailed reports of how our son was doing at school, and we are thankful to her for that. Miss Darlene, the director runs a tight ship, and is constantly striving to make progress despite the fact that the school already has a huge waiting list. The Webcams are a great luxury, and so there is no room for he said she said kinda situations. The pictures they send now an then, are a nice personal touch. About a year ago, the school introduced security fobs, which means you are not allowed in unless you swipe it. Isnt that nice!? In addition to that, Miss Darlene has a heart of gold, and that explains how she has been able to retain her staff for so long. All in all, centers like LMP are the reason why working parents can dream of having the best of both worlds. Thank you LMP, we will always love you. read more

I really love this place. My daughter had a questionable home daycare provider that she went to in Union City and after 1 1/2 yrs of going she was considered not thriving developmentally per her doctor, plus the fact that she would scream and claw to go outside. Darlene and this place became my saviors!! My daughter is soo bright and happy now. She might come home messy everyday, but I love because it tells me that she had fun. They offer free phonics in their program and every year they have a pony come to school for the kids to dress up like cowboys/girls and take pictures! They also have Santa visits too! I LOVE THIS PLACE!! I am soo happy to have my child attend here. Sign up early though because there is a wait list. Did I mention that I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!! read more

We love this place. More importantly, my daughter loves this place. It's family run and they really care about it so it shows. Only issue is the parking, but it's worth braving the parking issue for the quality of the place. read more

Our oldest child went to LMP for a year before he started kindergarten. We were so impressed with the support from the school staffs and how happy our child was in school, that we started our 2nd child as soon as she turns two. Both our children enjoy going to school very much. They miss school on the weekends. The school adminstrator is very focus on the children's life skill developments and also academic curriculum. Not only they offer Hook on Phonics, they are offering writing without tears starting last year. Our daughter enjoy the regular school activities and extra activities such as Soccor, Mandarin, and Tuff Tublers classes. Our son is no longer attending school. But he got very excited when we go to pick up his sister together. He wants to visit all the teachers and the school director. The school provide breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks daily. They are not junk food and are very balanced meals. The school is also very good with health and safety issues. We are constantly being inform with all the situation including flu out break. The hours are very good for working parents especially they recently increasing the afternoon hour to 6:30pm. We are very fortunate to be able to send our children to this school while we are working and know the they are well taking care of by the staffs. Staffs are very easy to talk to and they know all the children attending this school very well. We are going to be sad this will our daughter's last year. But we will definately come back to visit when possible. read more

Prepares kids for school and also like the way they teach alphabets. Keeps kids engaged with lots of activities both indoor and outdoor

Today, my second child graduates from Little Mud Puddles into Kindergarten. Over the last four years, both of my kids have benefitted from the excellent, caring teachers at LMP. I researched it and social preschools are better for children because the academic stuff is easier ground to make up than the social deficits that occur at academic preschools. The cool thing is that LMP balances the two very well, preparing the preschoolers for Kindergarten both socially and academically. Both of my children were reading before they left preschool and my son is academically one of the top students of his class. It is competitively priced and I highly recommend it! read more

I'd like to start off by saying my wife and I have raised our children to be self thinkers. We don't want our kids to be cookie cutter kids who do what ever they are told we want them to express their opinion. I feel that some of the academic schools in this town don't know how to handle expressive children. I can't tell you how much this preschool has fostered my children's social and emotional well-being. My daughter and son both attend The Little Puddles Learning Center. They both started going to preschool when they were 2 years old. The funny thing is that my wife attended the same preschool when she was little. My wife and I work long hours so I'm elated this school has so much to offer other then just kindergarten readiness. I see how much my daughter has learned now that she is 5, it literally brings tears to my eyes when she brings a new book home to read to me from her Hooked On Phonics Class. I can see her self confidence growing when she has me look in her Handwriting Without Tears Workbook in her classroom, to show me all the new letters and numbers she can write. I feel like such a sap but the first time I received a love note from my child in her own handwriting I framed it and kept it on my desk at work. I have my oldest in gymnastics, music and dance class. Both of my children are learning Mandarin as a second language and love taking soccer with their friends. Without getting to personal I had one of the teachers voice a concern about one of my sons speech, ends up the teacher was right and the Director helped guide my wife and I thru the process of getting my child help early enough that you can't even tell there was ever an issue. Not every family is as lucky as we have been. When you decide to have children you pray that they are healthy and happy you don't necessarily think about getting them into a great College- starts with a great Preschool. Thank God my wife had us tour this school. I honestly was sold when they told me they had an open door policy so I could watch my children from an app on my phone or from a monitor in the office. The facility is so clean and I always see the teachers cleaning the toys. Knowing my children are being taken care of is priceless and allows me to do my job to the best of my ability so I can start saving up for that Ivy League Tuition! LOL read more

Both of our children attended Little Mud Puddles from age 2/3 through 5 and thoroughly enjoyed their time there. The teachers are warm and caring and do a great job with teaching the children both academic curriculum and life skills. Our children definitely started Kindergarten one step ahead because of the things they learned at LMP. The Director is extremely committed to making preschool a positive experience for all the students. A couple specifics about the school: They offer twice a week Mandarin classes, once a week music and tumbling classes, and they have a Hooked on Phonics program to help the older students learn how to read. All but the HOP program are an additional cost, but for a working parent, the convenience of not having to bring your child to separate extracurricular classes on the weekend is a big plus in my book. They are really responsive to emails, have cameras monitoring the classrooms, and an electronic sign-in system, so they're quite tech-savvy as far as preschools go. They have fake grassy turf on the playground, so your kids won't come home with as many dirt/grass stains as they would on the real stuff, plus it withstands the effects of sand much better. The parking lot can be a bit of a chore at 9 am and 5 pm, but I think the good aspects of the school outweigh the inconvenience of sometimes having to wait to park. I think the biggest indicator of what a great job they do is the fact that my older child couldn't wait for our younger one to start at LMP, even though he was already in Kindergarten. He just thought it was a great place to be and didn't want her to miss out. Similarly, even though our youngest is now happily in Kindergarten, she regularly asks to go visit LMP, just to say hi. They obviously both have lots of happy memories from there. Us parents have made some good friends as well, since it feels like a community there and you meet a lot of other working parents. read more

My daughter went to Mud Puddles her preschool years. The daycare will always have a special spot in our heart. The school was excellent with their academics program, which helped prepare her for her journey into kindergarten. The teachers were very sweet and caring towards my daughter by giving her extra hugs when she needed it. The facility was always very clean (which is something I am a stickler about) and I loved how they had special events that included all the families at the daycare. With these events I was able to get to know the other families at the center. The director Miss Darlene, along with her staff made us feel comfortable and seemed very personable with us and all the families. We left after my daughter graduated from LMP's because we moved to the valley and then I had my twin boys shortly afterwards. Looking at other centers near where we live now don't even come close to the LMP standards. The only complaint I have is that they don't have a facility in my area! read more

I did a YELP search for daycare/preschools in Fremont because I am looking to transition from home daycare to a learning center. What sold me on visiting LMP was the fabulous website. The website provides real time information, wonderful videos that let you get a sense of the philosophy, staff and children in attendance. I schedule a visit through the website, received confirmation email promptly and showed up. I showed up for my tour and the staff were in the middle of heavy meetings and a bustling learning center. To her credit the Director literally hand held me through the center and allowed me to sit in on a prospective class. The teachers were not expecting a parent but they did a great job answering questions, making themselves available to discuss the daily structure and philosophy of the program. I hung out for over an hour and got to see the children transition through activities. The staff here are great with the children. They encourage kindness of one another, clear communication, independence and responsibility. I observed the 2-3 year-olds. The facility was clean, modern and filled with smiling faces. I especially liked that the staff put on gloves during the bathroom breaks. When I got a chance to meet with the Director/Founder Darlene Johnson I was impressed by her attention to detail, openness to questions, awareness of the importance of diversity culturally and educationally and all around professionalism. She apologized for the delay but it actually served as a wonderful opportunity to observe the children and staff interactions. What I really appreciated was her time, I never felt rushed despite the fact that she had a lot going on that day. I got the sense that if I had a concern she would listen and work on finding a resolution. I really liked the openness of the teachers I spoke with and the attention from the Director. read more

Little Mud Puddles is a great preschool. My child made so many happy memories here and looking forward to making more. I am very picky on the type of schools I send my child and this was one I had a great feeling about. Other places do not offer what Little Mud Puddles does. The staff is so caring of my child and all the children. Definitely Recommended!!! read more

My both kids are in this preschool. So far we are all very happy about the facility, teachers, and the director of the school. I'd highly recommend this preschool to any parents who are seeking a safe, loving and fun environment for their kids! read more

My son has been with little mud puddles since he was 2.5 years old and now he will go to kindergarten. From a worried mom to now a proud and happy mom, journey has been so beautiful for my son and I both. Because 1) my son took about month plus of crying when he joined I saw that teachers did their best to soothe him (carrying and rocking him included) to integrate with other kids 2) they have camera in every room so parents can see their children grow, they email their pics during day and meals every single day 3) teachers engagement with kids: they teach, encourage and appreciate them for every single effort their activities are designed to learn and still lots of fun, they teach them to be socially responsible on top of everything else they learn 4) Ms Darlene is one of the most wonderful women I know. She understands children like no other and have very positive attitude towards families. There is so much that I have learned from her. 5) their evaluation system is great that they call ages and stages. You learn what your child is great at and what your child needs to improve at with incidents that Child is great at focusing and teacher writes the observations why they think so, it's so convincing. 6) very secured with the fob checkin and security policies. 7) secured playground 8) open to constructive feedback and every single time I have brought anything up (super minor), it's been implemented from next day. Ms Darlene or and Ms Elizabeth responds so fast to any emails. I have even received calls from and Ms Darlene on her day off when I had a question about my son (not school) and I sent an email on Friday night just because parants and their well being also matter to her as much. List can go on and on. I am not surprised why this is one of the best preschools in Fremont/UC area and why their wait lists are so long. Only con is parking lot is small but with all other positives that we get I honestly don't worry about it. Thanks to little mud puddles family. read more

We started our son at Little Mud Puddles when he was two years old. It was the best decision we have ever made! The facility is clean and organized, and they provide very healthy meals and lots of activity. The teachers are wonderful, and clearly love their jobs and love working with children. Leaving a child at a preschool or daycare facility can be such a difficult situation for parents. I cannot express what a relief it was for my husband and I to drop our son off at Little Mud Puddles before we went to work, and KNOW that he was in such good hands. Never did I worry while he was under their care, which made my days so much easier. The facility has video camera survelliance, electronic sign-in/out system, and I was able to go in and observe my son's class whenever I wanted to. But aside from all that, it was very evident from the moment I met the owner Darlene and her staff, that our son's safety and education was their number one priorty. And I honestly don't think that our son could have loved a place more! He was so happy to get up each morning and go to school. And now that he is in kindergarten, it is quite evident how much his educational experience at Little Mud Puddles helped to prepare him. He is doing extremely well as indicated by an "exceeding all standards" on his progress reports and report cards. Little Mud Puddles provided our son with a very strong foundation for learning, and he continues to build on that. We recommend Little Mud Puddles to everyone looking for a nuturing, caring and safe learning environment for their child. We loved our entire experience there! read more