Our daughter has been at Bay Sky for 2 years, and we couldn't be happier with the experience. In…read morethis time she's blossomed into a smart, confident and happy girl, ready for kindergarten. Her Mandarin is spectacular. She has no problem maintaining conversations with native speakers, whether they're close friends/family or chatting up total strangers at the playground. But most of all, we appreciate the warm, caring environment that Grace has provided for all the children. I just wish we had found them earlier so that our older kids could have also attended Bay Sky.

Bay Sky is a gem of a school. Grace does an excellent job supporting the whole child--socially,…read moreemotionally, physically, and cognitively. Mandarin is the primary language used in daily routines, songs, conversations, and play-work, and the children all seem to gain real comfort and confidence with the language even if the household is not Mandarin-speaking. The classroom environment encourages independence and hands-on activities and exudes warm calm. We've seen our child develop solid skills in emotional regulation, social interactions, and self-confidence. Highly recommended for families seeking authentic Mandarin immersion in a thoughtful Montessori setting.

We could not have been happier with AIM preschool and elementary school. They have incredibly…read morededicated teachers and staff. Ernie Mahr is a great leader and sets the tone from the top down. He even did a home visit for us to help reinforce the learning our kids were getting on a Thursday night at 7pm (sometimes parents need help too)! We would get emails from teachers late at night keeping us updated on progress and ways to collaborate with them. I have only good things to say about this school and wish we could have stayed longer. Alas, the pandemic changed the direction of our lives and we moved away but if there is anything our entire family misses from the bay area, it is the AIM school and community.

The American International Montessori School is a wonderful school. They have a nice and clean…read morefacility for the kids to play in with lots of learning going on from the infant rooms straight up to first grade. The director and teachers have been very warm and welcoming to my family. I do not speak Japanese or Mandarin. They have given me a lot of CDs and books to help me better understand the languages. I also love that they have really made it a point to include diverse celebrations from the Latino culture and many others. I really feel lucky to have found such an amazing school for my son.

My daughter has attended Mountain Boulevard Montessori School for the last 2.5 years (since she was…read more28 months old) and it is easily the best decision we have made. We looked at so many different school options and are beyond happy that we chose this school. The small/intimate feeling compounds to staff that really care about the safety, health, and development of all the kids. Students not only grow academically (reading, math, science, etc.), socially, and get exposed to different cultures and languages. She has learned so much Spanish and Mandarin which is amazing as well. We highly recommend this school to any and all parents!

The school's academic curriculum is awesome. I put my two daughters through Mountain Blvd.,…read moreMontessori and they were more than prepared to thrive in kindergarten. The staff and teachers are also very caring and want to see the children be successful in all aspects. If there is one thing I would love to see evolve is more activities/events geared towards parent and family participation. Overall, the school has done a fantastic job with our two little humans.

My 3 kids have been with GMIS for the past 6 school years. If I had a 4th, i'd choose them again!…read more We love the Montessori-style of learning! The classroom is full of different trays on shelves - very neatly organized - that the children get to choose as their activity. Everything is play-based, but all contribute to their future learning of math, language, and independence. When my kids were 2 years-old, GMIS helped to potty-train them. They are very flexible and work with you to get this done. The Young Children's House teacher is a god-send!! A huge draw for us was the Mandarin immersion. We do not speak Mandarin at home (I come from a Cantonese and Teo Chew speaking household, my husband is English only), but I wanted my kids to have a Chinese language and have more exposure to the culture. There is a Spanish after-school class if families are interested in that as well. My daughter takes that and loves it! Each class has a Chinese teacher and an English teacher. They learn all their letters, sounds and also learn them in cursive. The older classrooms are combined ages of 3-5 years-old. For enrichment activities, they are grouped by age. What I love most is that I feel absolutely no pressure to enroll my kids in any other enrichment because GMIS has it all! Consider it the "One stop shop" of preschools! The regular school day is 8:30am - 3pm (but you can have your kids there as long as 8am - 6pm) My kids have all learned: dance, music, performing arts, gardening, cooking, animal care, soccer, various art projects, caring for their environment (folding clothes, wiping windows, watering plants, feeding pets, etc...). Only thing they don't have is swim ;P There's a lot of opportunity for family engagement: Chinese new year is biggest performance. A theatre is rented out and the kids perform multiple songs and dances. They recite lines and wear costumes that are shipped in from Taiwan. There is lion dancing and food. Is a huge event that is so special to watch come together! How they get all those kids to do this is still incredible to me!! One of my favorite events is the Grandparents luncheon where the kids make stone soup for Thanksgiving. Each kid contributes an ingredient, prepares it at school, and it all goes into a pot. Grandparents come and the kids sit with them to have lunch. It's such a special way they incorporate the elders into their school lives. You may not even need to do your own trick-or-treating because GMIS throws a Halloween parade with trick-or-treating around the block afterwards! Another thing I absolutely adore is the birthday circle. The birthday kid will sit with the teacher and show the class a photo of each year of the kid's life. The teacher explains what are normal developmental milestones for that year, then the kid holds an earth and walks around the image of the sun on the floor. Then they go on to the next year of life. It's so super special! There are weekly newsletters with reminders, signups, photos, and Montessori education. When the kids graduate, they are well prepared for Kindergarten. There are some GMIS alumni who return for some of the special events too! I had the option of putting my kids into TK but opted to stay at GMIS because of the robust program they have. I wouldn't be able to do half days (many TKs end at 12noon) and wouldn't want to just have babysitting for the remainder of the day if the schools offered extended care. I've always said that GMIS feels like home. It's not a huge school and things don't feel fancy inside. But everything is well-kept, the teachers are understanding and the kids are loved!

Our kiddo has been here a year and loves Holly laoshi! It's amazing to see how much he's grown, and…read morehow much he has to tell us about all the things he does at school He likes being around the older kids at playground time - they've been helpful peer encouragement for potty-training, which was pretty difficult for us beforehand, and the teachers here made it look easy. He really enjoys the dance, music, and soccer as well.

Our daughter recently started at BIM. I am originally from Japan so I was looking for a full…read morejapanese immersion school and I have so far been impressed. BIM does an excellent job at incorporating traditional Montessori teaching methods with japanese language and culture. The children not only learn the language, they also get to experience the culture including holidays and other traditions. The educational team is excellent, a group of teachers who pride themselves on being warm and loving while encouraging the children to grow at their own pace. We have another baby on the waiting list, make sure to sign up early as it can take a while for your space to open up.

I had the great honor of working at BIM as an office admin and co-teacher for 3 years. Even though…read moreI had tons of teaching experience and ECE units under my belt when I started, BIM was the first and only Montessori program I worked at. I learned so much about the Montessori method from my fellow co-teachers and was always inspired by their hard work and dedication to their craft. Japanese is my second language that will no doubt deteriorate if I stop using it, so being able to use it daily in various situations at my place of work was also a huge benefit for me. The BIM community as a whole is extremely tight-knit and supportive. I had never felt so loved and appreciated by the families I worked for before BIM, and it was heartening to witness new bonds and friendships being formed among everyone firsthand. Of course, I really miss the kids most of all and the funny things they would say and do, but feel very lucky and privileged to have 3 years' worth of fond memories with them. BIM, iroiro arigato! Mata ne!

There are not enough words to express how grateful we are for Ms. Amela and Mrs. Sarah (school…read moredirector) Since Lily was 3 years old, you have been so much more than teachers--you have been mentors, cheerleaders, protectors, and a constant source of love and encouragement. Through your patience, guidance, and dedication, you helped shape Lily into the confident, smart, kind, and resilient young girl she is today. You celebrated every milestone, encouraged her through challenges, and always made her feel safe, valued, and loved. As parents, we say goodbye with tears in our eyes but full hearts, knowing she is ready for the big world ahead because of the foundation you helped build. The lessons, confidence, and values you instilled in her will stay with her for years to come. Thank you for loving our girl and helping her become the amazing person she is today. We will forever be grateful for the impact you have had on her life and our family. Tearfully, but knowing she's ready for her next adventure--Lily is signing out. Thank you for everything.

I enrolled my daughter to start at the Montessori school June 2025 right after she turned two. She…read morestarted in Room 4 with Ms. Howida, Ms. Reina and Mr. Martin. She loved all of her room 4 teachers and always talking about school on the way home. After being potty trained a couple of months ago, she is now in Room 1 with Ms. Amela. She loves going to school every day and learning new skills and play with her friends. Despite several issues along the way, I also very appreciate Ms. Sarah, the director of the school. She is very informative and knowledgeable. She always follows up with issues that we raised, follow through and come up with solutions that work for us.

We toured A LOT of schools before settling on Little Elephant. First, we saw plenty of larger…read moreschools and its smaller more intimate size was appealing to us. The space shows very well with two bright well laid out classrooms, nice outdoor space and lots of pets! Most importantly, we found the teaching staff to be warm and generally very experienced with reasonable tenure at the school. Our three children all had a positive experience and have fond memories of their time there. We spent almost a decade there (including through COVID) and appreciated the staff and parent community.

We love LEMs! Our 3 year old has been thriving there since she started the week of her second…read morebirthday. The teachers are fantastic and loving and fun and the environment really fosters happiness, curiosity and learning. The community is wonderful as well and we've become close friends with a few parents and good friends with the rest. We also love the diversity they foster and our bilingual daughter (we speak Spanish in our home) has flourished as she gets to speak Spanish with several of the teachers (who happen to also be native speakers) but has picked up English quickly from the learning and atmosphere here. We plan to send our second child here as we've had such a wonderful experience all around!