This is a special place. Irreplaceable. Our child started in the toddler program where we attended…read morewith her. We enjoyed the experience and bonded with her peer parents and the teachers. We were hooked. The operator, Patricia, created a beautiful environment that feels both intimate and aspirational. The staff is immersed in the Reggio Emilia pedagogy, which makes the school feels less "schooled" and not like a daycare where they're just "watching" children. Every space presents an opportunity for learning, engagement and growth. Every teacher engages with your child. There are no "worksheets." The children learn through projects and individual study. We loved the annual camping trips and nature hikes. Over time, the school and families became a safe haven for our family, changing our perspectives of what a school should be. It should be an extension of community. I can't say enough about how amazing this place is. I literally can't find anything that compares.

Our child has continued on the Branches journey, first at summer camp, and now in the preschool…read moreprogram. This school, the administration and teachers are truly the best and we feel so grateful to be here. Additionally, the parent community is absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend.

We are so grateful we chose Young Minds for our daughter's TK year. It was truly one of the best…read moredecisions we made for her. Before TK, our daughter attended a play-based daycare. Since she is naturally shy and quiet, we wanted a program that would help her build confidence and prepare her for kindergarten. Young Minds exceeded our expectations. The teachers are caring, patient, and genuinely passionate about helping every child succeed. At first, our daughter needed time to adjust to a more structured classroom, but her teachers supported her every step of the way and helped her gain confidence. We loved how Young Minds balanced academics with fun. From art, music, sports, and holiday celebrations to hands-on learning activities like the Classroom Store, every day was engaging and meaningful. Our daughter loved earning coins and "shopping" for small prizes, and she couldn't wait to come home and tell us all about it. Over the course of the year, we saw an incredible transformation. She became more confident, independent, and outgoing, and she truly developed a love for learning. Most importantly, she loved going to school every day. Even now, she still tells us how much she misses her teachers and asks if we can go back to visit them. We are incredibly thankful for the wonderful teachers and the caring community at Young Minds. If you're looking for a TK program that will prepare your child for kindergarten while making them feel happy, supported, and excited to learn, we highly recommend Young Minds!

My daughter went to Young Minds and had THE BEST TIME. As a parent, we want the best for our…read morechildren, and choosing a preschool is super nerve racking because it's our first try at education. At our first campus visit, I could instantly tell how everyone from the front desk staff to the teachers genially care about the child development experience. And the programs they have?! She knows more about Picasso than me now! Haha. We made the best choice choosing Young Minds! They need to open an elementary school.

My son has attended Sunshine Learning Center since September 2018 and I absolutely love this place…read more(and a few months in 2017 with a break in between). The 3 teachers there are so wonderful and treat my son with such care. Breakfast and lunch need to be provided by parents, which I am fine with because I know exactly what my child is eating. They do not allow the kids to share with each other and if my son doesn't finish his meal they leave the remainder in his lunch box which I appreciate because then I can gauge exactly what he's eating each day. My son is not even 3.5 years yet and he knows how to spell his name! He brings home different crafts each week and work sheets that they work on during the day. I love their teaching curriculum and he's growing by leaps and bounds. They will work with kids who aren't potty trained yet to help them get potty trained since they start kids as early at 2 years old. The tuition is AWESOME, best pricing I've found. They do picture days occasionally so you can get cute little school pictures of your munchkin. And their hours are great!! So helpful for 2 working parents. I love this place and I recommend it to all of my friends.

I made the best decision when i put my son in sunshine learning center. I noticed the improvement…read moreof my son since he was started. Now he can write and can spell his numbers. Ms. Sherin and all other teachers are nice and helpful. It is somewhat structured but home style environment. They help the child showcase their skills academically. Teachers are all friendly.

I can't speak highly enough about this wonderful school…read more I looked at many programs in Santa Monica, Brentwood and the Palisades for my 2 1/2 year old son. I decided to visit PMC since my daughter was attending Le Lycée right next door. I was so impressed by my initial discussion with the school director, Angela. Her energy was magnetic and I knew I'd like her from the start. I didn't know any families sending their children to the school so I hesitated initially (my first visit to the school was during summer break). However, I decided to revisit during the start of the school year and was able to see Angela and Susan in action (both running the Yellow Room). Their energy, their smiles, the organization of the room and most importantly the happy children made it a very easy decision to sign up my son immediately. All the staff at PMC were incredible. They were enthusiastic and kind and really cared so much about every child. My son flourished. It really blew me away at how many performances the children put on during the year, how well they performed and how they were able to retain so much information! It speaks to the incredible teaching skills of the staff. There were ample opportunities to get involved with the classroom/school without any pressure. Also, I loved getting to know all the families. It was quite an international group with many families from Europe. Unfortunately we moved out of the country after my son finished the Yellow Room. However, I think often of the teachers, the school and the families. Our family visited the school last summer when we were in town (yes, we love the staff that much). Highly highly recommend!!

Our son started 6 months ago and we absolutely love the school. The teachers are incredible and we…read moreare so impressed how our son is developing and learning new things every day. The school's program is fantastic with a very diverse schedule that includes Arts, Music, Gym and Spanish classes every week. Further, there is a different theme every month and several opportunities for parents to connect and join school activities.

Gahh where do I start?? MPS has been such an incredible gift to our family. We enrolled our first…read morechild in 2019, and now three of our children have been lucky enough to attend. We already can't wait for our one-year-old to be old enough to join too! What makes this school so special isn't just the incredible teachers or the wonderful curriculum -- it's the community. From the moment you walk through the doors, you can feel the love, warmth, and genuine care that the staff has for every child. After the Palisades fire, the school had to relocate campuses and what could have been such a difficult transition for the children, Laura and the staff handled with incredible grace. They created a seamless experience that preserved the routines, relationships, and sense of security our son so desperately needed during an incredibly uncertain time. That continuity and community meant more to our family than we can ever fully express. If we could keep our kids at MPS forever, we honestly would. We are endlessly grateful for the impact this school has had on our family over the past seven years. Thank you for loving our children so well and giving them such a joyful, nurturing foundation. We recommend MPS with our whole hearts!!!

The cutest and sweetest school. I'm an alumni so I knew my little one would be in good hands. All…read morestaff members and teachers are so sweet, patient, and supportive. My little one loved going to school because it was always so much fun. I highly recommend this school to everyone. Everyone is welcomed and loved

Finding this school was truly a blessing. The teachers love the kids and facilities and outdoor…read morespace are wonderful. The outdoor yard is big and grassy (real grass) so the kids can just run, run, run. It makes a difference that the teachers and aides see the children as a blessing from God rather than just a job that pays the bills. My 3 year old talks about how nice Mrs. Ambrose and Mrs. Gabb are. During the week off of school, she started to ask when school was coming back. My little girl knows how to pray and they go to a 10 minute chapel service every Wednesday. It's all so wonderful and adorable. We, like you I'm sure, had toured many schools. We looked at Young Minds, New World Montessori, St Johns, Bright Horizons, and others. Of all the schools we looked at we had a pro and cons list. For Building Blocks, it was all Pro's!

My daughter has been at BBCA for two years and I can't say enough positive things about it…read more I toured a lot of preschools within the area and ultimately decided to send my daughter here because the environment is warm and welcoming, the outdoor space is colorful with a large grassy area, the classroom is clean, organized, and filled with colorful artwork. The teachers are engaged with the kids, they really know each child, and they are so creative with their lesson plans. The school is play based, but my daughter is starting to read, she's writing and spelling words, she's understanding math concepts (counting, adding, patterns, comparison), and her social-emotional development is supported in a nurturing way. The school is great at organizing small events for holidays and for the community. One of our favorites was the snow day where they brought in a snow truck and filled the grassy area for kids to play in. Highly recommend touring the school!

We absolutely loved Ms Bana and the entire staff at Westside Montessori. My daughter still to this…read moredays thinks about her years here saying they were her favorite teachers. Everything about this school was just perfect for us.

We have been sending our soon-to-be 5-yr-old son to Westside Montessouri School for three years…read more Ms. Bana and her staff are the exact people you want spending most of the waking hours with your child. She treats all the children like her own. She is warm and loving. She gives children space to grow and explore within a healthy framework with gentle guidance. She imbues her entire team with this mindset, and they follow her lead. We did exhaustive research and sent our daughter to BrightHorizons for three years because it was closer to work. We seriously regret not sending her to Ms. Bana, because our son is more advanced socially and academically, and as a result scored in the top .001% on a cognitive exam and was accepted into a very elite private elementary school. We attribute most of this achievement to Ms. Bana's approach and style. We have no connection to Ms. Bana or Westside Montessouri other than professionally (there is no underlying bias here). We just know how frustrating it is to look and look for the right place for your child. Well, look no further, you've found the right place.

We were first time parents looking for a preschool and so glad we found LHT. Our daughter went here…read morefor 3 years, and LOVED it. Now she asks to go back and visit the school and Ms Jackie. Any concerns we had with our daughter at home were also noticed by Ms Jackie and her fellow teachers, and they helped us get our daughter through the concerns. I personally was not looking forward to potty training. Ms Jackie took that anxiety away and essentially did the potty training for us while showing so much patience and love with our little one (and us parents too) Our daughter graduated from LHT (yes, there is a graduation ceremony) and was completely ready for TK, knowing how to act in a classroom setting, and being further along in her education than most of her peers. There was also a strong community among the families attending here which helped us as well.

Do your homework and ask around before enrolling. We initially loved it here (started ~18 mos old),…read morebut as our son grew, things shifted quickly. At just 2 yo, our child was "uncooperative" bc he wanted help putting on sneakers, putting on jacket, climbing on & off the big potty. Power struggles around these things at school corresponded with reports of acting out: yelling "go away" at teachers, not eating -- behavior we never saw at home. When we met about this, the director was not willing to look for causes or solutions within the context of the classroom. Her sole response was to instruct us to match the school's very high independence expectations at home, which we did. We had no difficulty teaching our son to consistently put on his own shoes, unassisted, at 2 yrs 3 mos old, when we did so with love and patience. Meanwhile, this apparently persisted as a big issue for the school. After our initial meeting, the only update we ever got was "no change" or "no improvement." In our final weeks here, conflict at school around the director's insistence that our young 2 yo use the adult-size potty instead of the training one corresponded with sudden potty anxiety & uncharacteristic signs of shame. Breakdowns in communication & trust caused us to abruptly leave just a week before our planned last day. Leaving on bad terms was hard on our child and sad for us. We went from being the school's biggest champions to feeling very concerned and mistrustful. There are so many lovely things about the school: thoughtful curriculum, field trips, homemade meals, etc. However, the extreme pressure placed on children to meet age-inappropriate independence standards really backfired for our son who is a super happy, easy, capable kid at home. We feel regretful about placing him in an environment where he was treated like a bad kid for being a normal toddler who wanted help from his caretakers. I'd strongly recommend asking parents who have recently left about their experience before enrolling, as there is a pattern of families leaving earlier than intended from this school.