Choosing Mi Mundo will make it to your top list of proud parenting decisions for life - as it has for us. We enrolled our daughter in Mi Mundo Alcatraz. The quality of the educational program, the kindness and warmth of the teachers, and the parent community have enriched our entire family's life. Our daughter enrolled when she turned three with very little exposure to Spanish, and she has loved it from day 1 and in month 2 we already see her language skills at work. Mi Mundo has also passively instilled beautiful families values in our child that she has taught us. A small example of that is, she waits for us all to be seated with our meal so we can eat together. This is not something we asked of her, but something she asked of us. Since starting at Mi Mundo, we also saw her three year old temper tantrums go down and an ability to reason and self regulate her emotions. We cannot thank all of the teachers at Mi Mundo enough, and Lina for her vision and leadership. read more

Our daughter spent 3 years at Mi Mundo, and we have had nothing but a great experience there. While we started before the pandemic happened, when it did hit, Lina did an excellent job of pivoting and helping all of us survive those first few months of being at home, and then safely transitioning back to in-person teaching. Masks were required (and still are) and we had NO outbreaks in the school. Lina, was also, and continues to be, very inclusive of parents, and works with us as well. She has the hardest job of the lot, having to navigate each family, and of course her first duty is to the school, but we have found working with Lina to be a pleasure, and her candor and demeanor is one you can only hope for in a director of two preschools! The Spanish Immersion program worked wonderfully, after 3 years, our daughter is completely proficient, and will be ready for her elementary Spanish immersion experience. She has developed a great base for Spanish, and while one of us speaks it in home, neither of us as are native speakers, and our child got a great deal more proper Spanish instruction at school. She didn't speak any when she started, and while we were nervous, many families are in the same boat, and the kids adapt amazingly, much quicker than us adults. The kids all fared really well, and I imagine was a bonding experience for many of them. The Maestra's - there are no words for how wonderful all 5 of them are and have been to our child and family. When I asked my daughter what she will miss most about leaving MM, she didn't say her friends, playing, art, singing, all of which she loves - she said "the maestra's. all of them." The love and attention they give to each child is exemplary. They all have early education backgrounds, and know each kid is different and approach each child with a unique perspective. The kids at Mi Mundo genuinely adore their Maestra's, they make them feel safe, feel loved and valued. The semester check-ins provide excellent feedback on what each child is doing, where they should be and where they are at. We found it to be immensely helpful, and would use their progress reports to help us work on areas of our child's development that needed it. It is an art-based preschool as well, and the art is incredible. The "proyectos" are creative, and help develop their fine motor skills in imaginative ways. There is a lot of it, so get ready so send some off to family - the grandparents love getting them as gifts. Homemade Halloween costumes were my favorite. The curriculum is well thought-out, week to week, they explore lots of topics from oceans, planetary systems, the body, ecosystems, social justice, and more. It's a topic of the books picked at story time, and then blended into their art projects as well, so they kids get to make sense of what is being taught to them in an age-appropriate manner. Snacks are healthy and to my knowledge organic. The parents all get along and have become close friends. They have a safe and enclosed backyard where the classes have (separate) lunch times and play outdoors as well. We couldn't be more happy and grateful to Mi Mundo for the incredible foundation given to our daughter, and we look forward to our sons attending as well. read more

Mi Mundo is a wonderful community, with caring educators and a fantastic curriculum. My two children (now 4 and 5.5) have both attended preschool there for two years and loved it. They have made lasting friends given the way the school is structured, focusing on art projects and working together, circle time, song and dance, and time for play in the yard. The art projects are fun and creative, using a variety of materials and mediums, and they often reflect cultural moments and seasons. Though they had exposure to Spanish prior to Mi Mundo, neither spoke it fluently and now my younger child is conversational and my oldest is fluent--his kindergarten teacher in his new bilingual school told us she never would have known we didn't speak Spanish to him at home! We love the other families; the school seems to attract a group of caring, down-to-earth parents. And most importantly, every teacher we've had is patient, kind, communicative, and very attentive to the needs of each kid in the classroom. We really love this school, and we're so grateful for the skills our children have developed with their Maestras and friends! read more

My son has been at Mi Mundo Berkeley for just over a year now and we absolutely love it. We are so glad we made the choice for him to join this beloved preschool for his first group learning experience! The Maestras are wonderful - caring, playful and supportive of the children and parents. They do art projects based on a theme so my son comes home having learned a lot, and it's gotten him into expressing himself creatively (whereby before going to Mi Mundo he thought he needed his art to look "perfect"). It's play based, and they get time to do so indoors and outdoors. The backyard play area is a great size for the children to explore on the slide, Geo dome and in the sandbox. The best part is that he's learning Spanish, and comes home teaching me new words, and how to speak with a proper accent! I highly recommend it! **For Covid times, Mi Mundo has made many updates to protocols in order to keep kids and parents safe - keeping class sizes small is just one of the many. read more

We are so fortunate to have our daughter at Mi Mundo - she has been attending for two years and it is a fantastic program, full of creative art projects, kind teachers and director, gentle guidance on social and emotional development and behaviors, and best of all, high quality Spanish instruction. There is a nice structure to the days with circle time, involved art projects, lunch then nap/rest and quite a bit of time for outdoor play and social interaction as well. They also have a regular dance/music teacher and story teller come in, which the kids really enjoy. The community around the school is also lovely, the parents are all friendly and there are family picnics every few months where everyone comes together to connect and visit. Lina, the director, organizes nice holiday and graduation events every year where the kids really shine. We are a bilingual family, speak mostly Spanish at home, and our daughter has thrived at Mi Mundo, expanding her vocabulary and bringing home all sorts of rhymes, songs and fun information from her day. I also know most of her friends are from English speaking homes and they have learned Spanish well from their time at school. It has been a great fit for our family and we look forward to one more year there. read more

My daughter attended Mi Mundo for 3 years and just graduated. We feel so grateful for the incredibly loving and solid foundation she experienced there. She LOVES speaking Spanish and learning about everything! They made incredible art every single day. She likes to say, " My school is an art school in Spanish" Every day she looked forward to being with her maestras. The school is very invested in the whole being of the child. We are very sad to leave Mi Mundo but super grateful for the incredible foundation and love for learning and creativity. read more

Our story with Mi Mundo Preschool its just amazing. My daughter started attending Mi Mundo when she was two and half years old and the preschool was getting prepared to open for the first time. I remember walking-in and meeting Lina and Pamela. They are wonderful people and I immediately knew this was the place that I wanted my daughter to spend her days. Lina explained the school's vision and I totally could see her passion. A close family friend have referred me to her and told me great things about her as a teacher. My daughter is very sensitive and not good with transitions. They guided me and I learned to manage my child's emotions during drop off. Later my daughter started to stutter. Mi Mundo's teachers and us worked together, following the therapist recommendations, to help my daughter. Soon the stuttering got better. My daughter also has asthma. The teachers always kept track of her breathing/ wheezing cough and administered her daily medicine. I am very thankful to every teacher at Mi Mundo. They cultivate unity, make sure children are safe and their daily experience its the best it can be. I have a lot of respect for Lina and Pamela and I am very grateful for all they did to help my daughter through her preschool experience. I also love the art pieces they create. To this date, my daughter's art decorates our home. My daughter started Kindergarten this last September and we recently received her first grade card (She is now in a Spanish immersion school at Melrose). She is doing great and her Spanish is amazingly fluent, proper and she can count up to 26. Her social skills are the best in her classroom and she continues being a very creative girl! And I know that is because of the good start she had at Mi Mundo. I am just glad that I trusted my gut feeling when I walked into Mi Mundo and decided to become part of their amazing community! To this day, my daughter is in touch with her teachers and old classmates and she still feels they are part of her life. Soon my youngest will be attending and spending his first preschool years in this awesome environment. From our experience, I totally recommend Mi Mundo Preschool. It is just the best Spanish immersion preschool in the area. read more

My daughter started at Mi Mundo in January 2014, and we've been thrilled with it! We've tried a couple of other preschools and none hold a candle to this place. What drew us there was the combination of a bilingual school with a strong focus on creative activities and making things. But what has really made the experience so positive has been the thought and energy that the teachers put into everything. Every week there is a theme -- things like the ocean, space, dinosaurs -- and every day there are new and exciting projects that my daughter makes, from a wide variety of materials. The school had just opened when we started, and in a few short months the backyard has filled with life, play structures and fun activities. The kids have been a big part of planting plants and really enjoy the seeing them grow. There is music and dance and in general, a really vibrant atmosphere. There is a nice feeling of community around the school as well. When I come at the end of the day, the kids here are always excited about what they're doing and what they've done - and proud to show me the things that they've made or tell me facts about the planet earth, or animals that swim, or how to say new words in Spanish. We had hope to raise our daughter bilingual and were struggling to do so at home, but now through Mi Mundo she is really picking up a great deal of Spanish, and even more importantly she is more excited about the language. When she started my daughter was having trouble with potty training, which her old school did little about. Here they made a real effort to talk through the issues with me and pretty quickly figured out the right way to approach things with her and the accidents stopped. I highly recommend Mi Mundo! read more

Mi Mundo is an amazing preschool. My son has been happy there. They have a nice daily routine filled with amazing arts/crafts (their art projects are one of my favorite thing about this school;-), reading, singing/music in Spanish. The school is very clean and safe. They have nice outdoor area which is fenced in safely with lots of green, sitting area, and fun play area. Mi Mundo does an awesome job keeping us updated with what's going on sending weekly email with slide show. The director and teachers are very responsive, flexible, warm and passionate. Definitely take a tour and see for yourself! I really feel lucky to have found such an amazing school for my son. read more

My son just graduated from Mi Mundo after attending for two years and our experience was positive. He loved going to school everyday, got to play outside a lot, and worked on art projects daily (like another reviewer mentions, soon you will have to get creative with what to do with all the art your kid brings home). The teachers and director create and maintain a safe learning environment for the kids and teacher-parent communication is also great. We are a bilingual family and Mi Mundo really helped my son retain and improve his Spanish language skills. However, this school is also great for English speaking families. Your kid will learn Spanish here! In short, Mi Mundo is a great little school and I thank Lina, the director, for founding it. read more

Our daughter is in her third year at Mi Mundo. We feel so lucky to have had these years here. My daughter does not want to leave most days and has considered moving in. The teachers are wonderful...supportive, rule enforcing yet loving, and smart. There was some moving of teachers as Lina opened a new school in El Cerrito this year, but Lina somehow found more great teachers. We love the focus on Spanish, art projects, weekly photo updates, festivities, community, and friendships we have found here. It has been amazing to watch (well hear really) our daughter progress in speaking Spanish. We will miss Mi Mundo and are thankful for the wonderful experience we have had. We are confident that our daughter will be ready for Kindergarten after all her years at Mi Mundo. Based on our experience we highly recommend this preschool. read more

I called to inquire about this program. The Director Lina called me back and left a very curt and brief message that they were full. Since I am still interested in learning about the school for the following year since my daughter is just 2 and 4 months. I called back and left a message for the Director stating that I knew the program was full for this coming September but I had questions about the program in general. She called me back again and the first words out of her mouth are "we are full"....clearly this woman is not interested in developing future students from bilingual families. I was really struck by her attitude and defensiveness when I said that I found her tone and message odd. I clearly understood that the program was full for this next year, but things change. read more

I couldn't be happier with this preschool. My son is really actually learning Spanish. He can converse with native Spanish-speakers (and with mid-level speakers like my husband and me.) He has gained abilities to draw, paint, & to use clay, scissors & glue. The teachers have been very engaged with us, and I see them working so hard to create a safe, creative, and nurturing learning environment. They are adept at planning projects and breaking them down into steps, so that the children can accomplish amazing creations largely on their own. They even led them through building their own Halloween costumes, and they were all different! They make 2-D and 3-D projects. You will quickly find yourself wondering what to do with all the little drawings and sculptures! The school is respectful of the childrens' many different cultures and family structures. The school made room for children & their families to share cultural traditions during the year. Great fit for us! read more

We love Mi Mundo Preschool! We were drawn to it at first by the fact that our two daughters, two years apart, could both go there - but even now that my older daughter has graduated, we wouldn't think of sending our younger daughter anywhere else. My three year old is learning so much Spanish, through non-stressful, non-academic play (which study after study has shown to be best for preschoolers). The art they create there is incredible, and our house is full of amazing found-and-recycled object creations, clay, paintings, and constructions. They really make an effort to meet the kids where they are, and when a child shown an affinity toward something, they are flexible enough to be able to adapt and encourage it. Their outside space is wonderful, and thanks to a tent-like covering outside, they spend a lot of their day outdoors even when it's raining. They serve healthy snacks (you have to make lunch, though), and the teachers are wonderful. We get daily updates about what the kids are up to thanks to a daily log book, and a weekly video (set to music) featuring photos of all their adventures. I couldn't ask for more in a preschool! read more

I am so grateful for Mi Mundo Preschool. Our daughter began attending after a toxic experience with another local preschool. The teachers at Mi Mundo are incredibly warm and friendly and our shy daughter immediately felt loved and included. The environment Lina and the teachers have created helped my daughter come out of her shell and gain confidence. In fact, we were happy to keep her another year in this warm and nurturing environment instead of sending her to TK (which would have been free)! In addition to stellar social emotional care at Mi Mundo, the art projects are incredible. She has created every kind of art, from watercolor to mixed media to costumes. She is in Kindergarten now and wants to be an artist when she grows up. I credit Mi Mundo for this as her dad and I have zero artistic talent! Lastly, we feel very lucky that our children will be bilingual thanks to Mi Mundo. We only speak English in our home, but because of her acquisition of Spanish, she is now attending a dual immersion elementary school where her teacher calls her the "language anchor" of the class due to her bilingualism. The benefits of bilingualism are many and I am so thankful that Mi Mundo started her on that path. Overall, I cannot say enough good things about Mi Mundo. Our son, who has a very different personality than our daughter, attends now, and we find the love and care just as strong for him as it was for her. Thank you Mi Mundo for having such a positive impact on our family! read more

My daughter attended Mi Mundo for one year from 2015 and 2016. She had the most amazing experience at this school! She woke up everyday excited to attend, see her friends, do her artwork and be part of something she loved. The teachers are incredible, it was great to see teachers that are so involved and who truly care about their students as well as parents. We loved that it was a Spanish speaking school, we loved all the art projects they did everyday, the outside space kids have to play in, the garden, the parents involvement, the location and so much more. My only regret is not starting our daughter there sooner. She will have so many fond memories and has made so many great friendships that I know will stay with her and us for years to come. Thank you Mi Mundo and all the teachers that make this pre-school such an incredible, caring, safe and fun learning environment for our children. read more