Luna's has been wonderful for our daughter! She attended their Montessori curriculum from ages 2 to…read more4, and is currently enrolled in their Spanish language aftercare program while she attends public TK during the morning. My daughter is always excited to go to Luna's and often talks about her teachers there. Initially, I noticed many positive changes in her behavior since starting, such as a better ability to share, a regular use of please/thank you/sorry, and an understanding of needing to wait and take turns. She's also regularly learning new words/songs in Spanish, an understanding of time/seasons/holidays, numbers, the alphabet, geography, nature, and the ability to express herself with artwork and crafts. Teachers at Luna's were also always supportive of our daughter's needs, and partnered with us to help guide her through potty training and other toddler milestones. Since graduating from Luna's and moving to TK in a public school, it has become very apparent to me how well Luna's prepared my daughter for a formal school setting both in terms of her applied education (writing and letters as well as counting in both Spanish and English) and her social/emotional learning. We're are so grateful to Ms Abigail and all of the wonderful teachers there!

We had a great experience at Luna's Montessori. From the beginning when we first started inquiring…read moreabout the school, Abigail, the director was very welcoming and supportive. We feel very grateful for how she and the other teachers supported our daughter while she was getting used to being in school. Our daughter was 2 yrs 3 mos when she started and cried almost every day but Abigail and the teachers always reassured us and long and behold after a few weeks of going to school consistently, our daughter started enjoying school. She will come home singing songs and talking about what she learned. I also greatly appreciate the support we got from all the teachers while my daughter was being toilet trained. Lastly, the logistical processes in the school are very well organized and easy, and they follow the Montessori philoshy to the point. I strongly recommend Luna's Montesorri.

Turning Point Educational Services is fantastic. I hired Carolyn Edwards last year to help my…read moredaughter with reading challenges. She is a gifted tutor and a consummate professional in every way. She has changed my daughter's life (and therefore mine), and I am eternally grateful. We are in our second year with Turning Point. Carolyn Edwards is dedicated to raising a child's academic progress and self-esteem, and the results have been profound. My daughter Magdalena improved dramatically and quickly. She went from an uneasy first grader who had taken kindergarten twice and refused to raise her hand to one who ALWAYS raises her hand. Magdalena's teacher at Redwood Heights School in Oakland said at the end of last year that my daughter was "one of the major success stories in the school this year." I attribute this remarkable progress to Carolyn's work at Turning Point. If you hire Carolyn to help your child get a leg up, you will receive not just top-notch academic tutoring, but also a friend to your child that will genuinely connect to them and affirm their entire character and being. Carolyn is truly a gift. Don't wait to hire her. I wish I had done so sooner.

I am writing this review 7 years later because Carolyn's words and tone at my son's assessment were…read moredisgusting at best and haunt me to this day. Her final analysis was "Well let's just say your son will not be a college professor" he was 6 years old. Shame on her insensitivity then and I am sorry it took so long to finally write this review. Happy to say my son is now a straight "A" student.

I've been working with Karen for the past six months, and it has been such a rewarding experience…read more I learned so much, not just about public speaking, but also about communicating with more confidence and intention. Karen is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and encouraging. She has a wonderful personality that immediately puts you at ease, and every session was engaging and enjoyable. I genuinely looked forward to our classes each week. She has a great ability to recognize your strengths while helping you improve in areas that need work. Her feedback was always thoughtful, constructive, and tailored to my goals. I left every session feeling more confident and motivated. If you're looking for someone who truly cares about your growth and is exceptional at what she does, I can't recommend Karen highly enough!

Excellent methodology, focused on each learner's needs. My…read moregoal was to improve my pronunciation and confidence speaking during meetings and making presentations. I feel like there was no time wasted, each session was planned to cover exactly what I needed. Karen also shared plenty of resources for me to continue learning after the program.

Absolutely love this school. My daughter started this year and it was her first exposure to any…read moreschool setting. The teachers are absolutely amazing and are so attentive to every child's needs. The school itself is sooo adorable and more importantly clean. You just know love goes into everything about the school. It is a co-op so parents are expected to participate. The expectations are totally manageable and clear. Can't hype this place up enough.

My daughter has been going to LBCP for two years and has grown tremendously during that time. The…read moreteachers, curriculum, play-based learning and parent community have given my daughter the emotional, social and academic readiness she has needed to smoothly transition into Kindergarten. The teachers at LBCP are like no others and offer a loving, empathetic and patient environment where all children feel welcome and truly enjoy coming to school. Extracurricular activities include gymnastics and Spanish classes every week. Even with our daughter being eligible for T-K, after much deliberation we decided to keep her at LBCP for another year given how much growth she was experiencing and how happy she has been. Our son will begin in the Fall and we can say with confidence that Linda Beach has been a wonderful experience for our children and highly recommend it for others seeking preschool.

I am taking private Portuguese classes via Skype with Betania. I love what I am learning!! She…read moretailors my lessons to suit my "mixed level needs." This means so much to me, and I am making progress very quickly. The nice thing about skype is that you can learn from the comfort of home, save travel time, & be eco-friendly by not wasting gas. Adeus parking, hello class in pjs on your couch with a cup of tea!!! I met Luciana and Vanessa at a Brazilian language meetup--they also teach and are very warm and welcoming. Luciana coordinates payments and matches students with teachers. She also writes a blog and has great tips on language usage right on her webpage--streetsmartbrazil.com. I am getting exactly what I need for my work, while having fun at the same time. It is very rewarding!!! Don't be shy, get started now!! A new group class starts in Jan. 2012. Boa sorte (good luck!!)

I've only just started learning Portuguese with Street Smart Brazil and I can't rave enough about…read moremy experience and the quality of instruction. I love being able to take my classes over skype, in the comfort of my home (I don't even have to change out of my PJ's!)- skipping a commute saves me tons of time. I'm also super impressed with the materials provided in the program; everything was created by the owner (Luciana) and it's clear that a lot of time, effort and energy was put into developing the learning guide and workbook. The style of teaching is the best part- it's clear that Luciana is passionate about what she does and that translates into every part of the learning experience. She's professional, always prepared, and enthusiastic! I've tried other classes in the Bay Area and Street Smart Brazil is definitely the way to go if you want to learn Portuguese. Another big plus? Her class rates are VERY reasonable.

Arturo is a patient and calm teacher. He helps you understand the language easily and converses…read morewith you so you can practice speaking what you've been taught. It is nice having classes with other students and allows for more opportunity to speak the language. He also provides notes for each lesson plus grammar practice. If you want to learn Spanish and have fun while doing it - this is the place for you!

I am travelling to Spain this summer, where I will take an Spanish course, and in preparation, I…read morethought I would enroll in a class here. I'm taking classes right now, and while the first week was great, I'm really not so into it now. I'm in the advanced beginner level, as I took Spanish in high school (about ten years ago). I am not fluent at all, but have some vocabulary, and can conjugate in present tense. Pros: 1. Right now, it's just me and the instructor. So, I'm stoked about personal instruction for just $14 per hour. (Cost depends on length of course. Check the website for more info. http://institutomesoamerica.com/) However, I don't believe this is the norm. 2. Instructor seems to be patient with me, as I try to figure out how to conjugate the past tense. UPDATE: He's not so patient anymore... see below... 3. Must think of third "pro" Cons: 1. Teaching method is not creative. I have dittos, from which I conjugate verbs. Sometimes they are in sentences, sometimes, just the verb. Today we did this for over 2 hours of the 3 hour class. So freaking boring. 2. Sometimes I feel like the instructor is SUPER bored. Which makes my selfconciousness kick into high gear. 3. I do not feel that there is enough interaction between me and the instructor. 4. Instructor claims to use a NATURAL teaching method, and a NEW approach to teaching Spanish. Ummm. What?? Reading off a ditto is natural and new??? 5. Instructor IS bored! He taps his fingers, stretches and is not patient. Corrects me before I have the chance to correct myself. 6. Misspellings on the dittos. Gets annoyed when I don't understand the words, which happen to be in ANOTHER LANGUAGE AND ARE MISSPELLED. 7. Doesn't follow along on the dittos. Corrects me even when I'm right, as he's not looking at the ditto. 8. Somehow thinks that I will remember EVERY word we've used previously. Thanks, but I'm not magic. But I will definitely try suggesting some other activities to the instructor, and asking about specific things that I would like to learn, such as practicing being at a hotel/train station/restaurant. Hopefully, the instruction will improve. UPDATE: I added a star, because I felt satisfied with the resolution I recieved. I was unhappy with this particular school and recieved a refund. Very honest and wanted to resolve the problem, and I appreciate that.

Choosing Mi Mundo will make it to your top list of proud parenting decisions for life - as it has…read morefor 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.

Our daughter spent 3 years at Mi Mundo, and we have had nothing but a great experience there. While…read morewe 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.

Rafael is an amazing teacher- patient, willing to meet you where you are, recognize your…read moreshortcomings and help you advance. I highly recommend him without reservation

Rafael is an amazing teacher. Trust in his methods! I went from only knowing a few basic vocabulary…read morewords to reading and speaking Spanish quickly. I highly recommend Spanish fun and easy with Rafael to everyone I know who is serious about learning. Prices are great compared with other classes and private lessons that I have seen.