What a special school, led by outstanding director Holly and her truly incredible teaching team! I've been a middle/high school teacher, and my kids previously attended two different preschools in the area, so suffice to say I've met a lot of teachers and seen a lot of schools, and I am just blown away at the quality of Michael Lane. The teachers are genuinely warm, kind and loving with every kid, calm and professional in every circumstance and interaction, authentic and kind with parents...I'm not sure how they do it, other than they are just really special people, with a remarkable director, and they have a ton of experience. Great play-based program with thoughtful activities and opportunities every day/week for the kids. Inclusive and non-religious, though it's connected to a church. Hands down best decision we made was to switch to Michael Lane!! read more

With our first kid, we toured three preschools and got lucky getting accepted into MLP. Our daughter loved being there from the first day to her last , so it was a no-brainer sending our second one there. The teachers are amazing, the facilities are amazing, plus the snack calendar that's published every month is amazing. You'll get to know other parents and get integrated into a very welcoming community. read more

My child attended Michael Lane for a year and I have very mixed feelings about the school. I loved the the creativeness of the school and the experience of the talented staff. However I found working with the Director Kim to be very frustrating. I found her to be defensive, and difficult to communicate with. My child had some fine motor delays and needed some encouragement in doing activities that would benefit them. I tried to talk with the Director about ways in which they could encourage more fine motor activity, since my child would not naturally gravitate towards such activities and even had a tendency to avoid them. My request and suggestions were very reasonable hoping that they could just have my child do 5 minutes of a fine motor activity before moving on their preferred large motor activity. Unfortunately the Director accused me of being to "academically driven" and wanting to push my child? My child was 4 and had NEVER drawn a picture or a shape and more concerning seemed to have a huge aversion to any fine motor activity that would help support the development that would lead to being able to write. The way the school is set up is that the only staff person you talk to is Kim the Director who communicates great with children but very poorly with adults. Ironically I ran into some other former ML parents who had a similar experience (or worse) and opted to move their child to a different school. Their kids also had some delays and they found Kim to be inflexible. I felt I had no choice but to find another program for my child and defer Kindergarten another year since my child was clearly not prepared. The school makes you pay your deposit and last months tuition in advance which is non refundable despite it being played 16 months in advance. Having said all that, I really was sad that this program did not work for my child. I fell in love with the school, I love the small classes and Kim is truly very gifted when it comes to being creative and interacting with kids. The healthy organic snacks and the calm environment is really special. I most likely would of had a better experience if my child needs were different. read more

There aren't enough words to describe how wonderful Michael Lane Preschool is. It's a hidden gem of a school tucked away in Burton Valley, where kids get to be kids in a safe, nurturing, creative, and rich environment. I love it for so many reasons - it's play-based; it's a mixed-age class; the class size is small. The play-based environment allowed my child to learn in a way that's most suited to her age and developmental stage. Through "play" my daughter learned important social skills, such as cooperation, assertiveness, kindness, humility, and how to be a good friend. She also picked up academic skills along the way through play, so that when she entered kindergarten, she was not only amply prepared academically, she instantly became one of the leaders in her class whom the other children looked up to. I attribute a large part of her smooth transition to kindergarten to Michael Lane's mixed-age setting. She started preschool at 2 yrs 9 months and was the youngest in the class. She spent her first year being taken care of by the older students. By her last year there, she was the "big girl" and in turn took care of the youngest incoming students. These are skills that a child can only learn through experience. By being immersed in an environment that promotes the idea and values of community, where people look out for one another, my daughter learned that kindness goes both ways. She received it as a young incoming student, and was able to give it as an older student. Michael Lane creates a microcosm of the world I would love for her to grow up in, and the values I would love for her to live by. The small class size means many things to me. It means that the teachers (3 teacher for 17 children) have the opportunity to truly know each child, their strengths, their challenges, their temperaments, their likes and dislikes, their habits, their gifts, and their talents. It also means that there are roughly 5 to 6 children in any age group (age 3, 4, or 5), which lends to a more intimate setting in which my child was able to make friends easily. I think she would have been intimated to be in a class of 20 other 3-year olds. The small class size also means that the children are well-supervised at all times, whether in the classroom or on the playground. Inappropriate or aggressive behavior is minimal, or nonexistent, when teachers are always watching and guiding children toward more appropriate ways to interact or handle conflicts if they arise. Lastly, the teachers are wonderful and creative. I had been concerned that my daughter would be bored as a five year old, doing the same activities as the three year olds, but that never happened. The curriculum is designed to be flexible and open-ended, so that any of the activities can be modified by the teachers and children as appropriate. Plus, the activities are creative, engaging, and fun. I was also concerned that by her third year there, she would be bored being there with the same teachers, but I came to realize that the opposite was the case. Having the same teachers every year made school feel safer, more familiar, and more comfortable. It eased the transition of starting school each year and eliminated any angst of having to get to know a new teacher and a new room. All in all, we had a wonderful experience at Michael Lane and I wish my children could stay in preschool forever. read more

It seems a little odd to me to write a review of a preschool, but I feel compelled to do so once I saw Diva's review of MLP. All three of my children attended (one is still there) this amazing school. I cannot say enough good things about this school. We moved to the area after our oldest had already attended another preschool so I feel like I have some basis of comparison. I don't think you can find a better blend of progressive early childhood education theories combined with practical application anywhere else. It is NYEAC accredited. Everything from the organic way they explore math, science, literacy and social studies through play to the cozy, welcoming environment and class pets, to the locally-source healthful snacks that are provided daily has made Michael Lane Preschool the best preschool experience for our family. I have never found any of the teachers to be defensive or frustrating. The school has very low turn over in staff and the only aide that retired while we were there still comes back to sub and visit. All of the staff have nothing but the children's best interest at heart. I don't know this parent's specific experience but I do know that there have been children with dedicated aides for other delays at the school so clearly, they are not dismissive of the need for extra attention for some children. If you are a parent looking for a preschool, please do take a tour and meet the staff and see what a wonderful place Michael Lane Preschool is despite one disgruntled parent's experience. read more

I have an endless list of positive things to say about Michael Lane Preschool and the program director. But here is the summary: - MLP encourages play first in a highly educated and educational manner - The director knows what she's doing and is exceptionally educated in healthy child development - The combination of creativity and structure is magically balanced - Everyone who works at MLP cares deeply about the children and love what they do - The activities the kids do are truly world class. I'm always amazed at the wonderful activities the kids take part in. But in the end, when I ask my daughter about school, she glows. She loves her school. I'll be sad when she heads off to Kindergarten. I feel exceptionally lucky to have my kids there. Looking forward to when my son starts. He'll love it! MLP is one of the main reasons we stay in this area. Its that good. read more

This is a magical preschool experience! As a local elementary school teacher for over 12 years, I am very picky about educational programs, especially early education. Both of my children attended Michael Lane Preschool and our family had a wonderful experience. I say our family had a wonderful experience because we all really did. MLP has wonderful parent education nights and gets great speakers about important topics on parenting, education, child development, the list is extensive. MLP also believes in a parent community so there are several parent socials each year to facilitate parents making connections and friends even if they can't be there at drop off and pick up each day. As an educator, I loved that MLP allowed parent volunteers but did not require it. They have a very open door policy, meaning that parents of enrolled students are always welcome anytime. There is a lot of transparency and you never have to wonder what is going on at school. They have a board up each day at pick up outlining what the students did that day. They also post pictures on a secure password protected website that shows all of the students in action every day. It became part of our family's daily routine to sit down together at night and look at the pictures from the day and have our child tell us about what they were doing and learning at school. The pictures really helped spark their memory about the day and was a great conversation starter. The creative learning opportunities were amazing. These incredible teachers made learning so fun. I appreciated that we did not send a snack to school but that the director shopped at farmer's markets on the weekends and the students helped make their snack each day. There was always a "cooking" station where the students learned to use a peeler, cut (with plastic knives and adult supervision), measure, mix, follow picture directions etc. They even made their own butter. This was also a wonderful way to get the hand muscles built up to assist in fine motor development. My children were exposed to a variety of foods that they were willing to try (and liked) even my picky eater, that they would have never tried at home. I liked how students poured their own drinks from a pitcher on their snack table and built their independence. Snack was family style and encouraged students to talk to one another. They learned to ask to have things passed, used tongs to serve themselves, passed the food, learning to use manners in a natural everyday way. This was great for my shy child. I loved that easel painting and clay were available every single day, not just when the teachers felt like making it a painting or clay project day. There was always an art table with lots of supplies for children to create their own masterpiece. The art table facilitated fine motor and building hand/finger strength. Actually, most activities promoted fine motor development but it was NOT a paper pencil, cut on the dotted line worksheet activity. Activities had the fine motor imbedded in them and the kids didn't even realize it. Both of my children had fine motor issues and saw an occupational therapist outside of school. The OT was always welcome to come to school and observe my children and work with them there. She had no problems working with the director, Kim, and was impressed with how much fine motor was in each activity. I also talked to Kim to be sure that my child was choosing to go to each activity since he would avoid non preferred activities. Kim and I worked together to be sure that her play based, child centered philosophy was not compromised yet made sure that my child was experiencing all of the activities, even the ones he would normally have avoided, without feeling pressured to do so. Both of my children left MLP and thrived in kindergarten. One of my children even went to an extremely rigorous academic kindergarten (where you took an entrance exam to be admitted) and had a wonderful year. My other child went to a regular Lafayette kindergarten and was very prepared socially, emotionally and academically. Michael Lane Preschool is one of Lafayette's little gems and the staff truly cares about each child as an individual and fosters their development. I can't say enough about this wonderful little school and the incredibly gifted teachers. Go take a look. Be ready to see children engaged in playing and learning. read more

I'm not sure why the only review listed for MLP prior to this November is from Diva dated 1/12/12. I am new to Yelp but have previously posted my rave reviews of Michael Lane Preschool in 2011 and 2012. I had the good fortune of sending both of my children to MLP for 3 years each - one year in which they overlapped. I cannot even begin to summarize all the wonderful things my children gained and learned during a total of five years. The safe, supportive and nurturing environment where my kids were cared for and encouraged created the foundation by which they are now thriving in elementary school. Some of the benefits of MLP are intangible and you can only witness them if you are experiencing them personally . So let me focus on the facts. (1) MLP is one of only few accredited preschools in LAMORINDA, (2) MLP has one of the higher ratios of students to teachers in the area, (3) the care put in to seasonal, local, fresh, healthy snacks is absolutely best in the area, and (4) the play based curriculum creates the right solid foundation for healthy, socially capable, confident kindergartners. This preschool is an absolutely gem and anyone should consider it a privilege to get in to this small, top-notch, exceptional preschool. read more

Michael Lane is a truly exceptional preschool. This is our 4th year there (my son attended for two years, and my daughter is currently in her 2nd year) and I could not have asked for a better introduction to formal schooling for my kids. They've loved every minute they've spent there, and I can see why - the director and teachers bring in new activities every day that stimulate thought and creativity in playful and fun ways. The kids often take part in preparing the healthy snacks (they shuck the corn for corn fritters, pull brussel sprouts off the stalks for sauted brussel sprouts, grind up apples for apple sauce, knead dough for homemade bread, etc.). It is a play-based school, but so much learning takes place through the activities - in fact, my son's kindergarten teacher was very surprised to learn he had gone to a play-based preschool because he was so well-prepared for school. It's just such a special place that I feel so fortunate to have found. read more

I feel extraordinarily lucky to have found Michael Lane for my girls, now in their third year. The school has such a creative and well-thought-out curriculum. The other day my girls came home all a-chatter because they had spent the morning measuring collected rain water and talking about where the rain water goes. This was building on an earlier activity in which they had talked about the differences between ocean water and river water, and experimented with floating objects in both salty and fresh water to see which was more buoyant. Top all that off with "water paintings", and you have a fun and emergent curriculum, finely tuned to my girls' developmental needs and based on the latest research in early childhood education. The small size and mixed age makes for a nurturing environment, and the teachers are absolutely wonderful: warm, funny, intelligent, and professional at the same time. The schedule is part-time, so might not work for all parents, but Michael Lane has plenty of working parents who make it work in order to benefit from such a special school. Did I mention the food? Snacks are healthy, seasonal, and organic whenever possible, with the kids often participating in making the snack--brining their own pickles, for example, or helping to mix the cornbread. (The other day my 4-year-olds came home raving about the brussels sprouts!!) . The parent community is great, and many dedicate their time to the school and to spreading its virtues by word-of-mouth. Consider the word spread! read more