We can't say enough positive things about Sunflowers Home Daycare. Our 3.5 year old has been there…read morefor a year now and the growth we've seen has been amazing. She knows letters, numbers, is beginning to spell, practicing tracing/writing. Her days are balanced with fun outdoor play, music, yoga, science/cooking/baking, and arts and crafts. The directors and teachers are so caring. We feel so lucky to have found this gem of a daycare/preschool!

We're thankful to have found Sunflowers! Our daughter has been there for a year and her younger…read morebrother has just joined her there. We like that there's a fun mix of different activities (cooking, yoga, music, outdoor play, nature walks) and learning. The kids play well together, I often hear about things like whose favorite color was what that day and cute songs I haven't heard before. The teachers are so wonderful and in tune with our kid's personality/needs/temperament and they make a point to nurture their interests.

Great customer service and very helpfull, with reasonable price. Highly, recommend getting your…read morefurniture from here.

This is my take on how utterly unprofessional my experience with this establishment. Take a look at…read moreanother one star complaint below. When I called, I was just trying to explain what I need--- and then the person hung up on me. I then called again and the person with the name of Jennifer - said she was not the one who initially answered my call. I called the reception area. I asked for info on licensing and this Jennifer proceeded to say rudely - "Are interrupting me because I won't be able to help you." This is after I told her someone just hanged up on me. My observation is that they do not like to answer phones. It is absolutely baffling how these people are getting state funding and partnership but has lack of professionalism. Also, this Jennifer connected me to a phone extension of someone who was out on vacation since March. The voice mail said the person is returning on April 3 but it is almost May. I don't know if this Jennifer is trying to make a joke. Since I am not exactly sure if the person is still working there. I called again and then I was yet connected to another voice mail. I will call again.

Update: I posted this review before everything shut down…read morebecause of COVID. Luckily, we were able to stay with Lia and Apple Cheeks through it all. She did a *fantastic* job of wrangling our social bubble and keeping all of the families safe and feeling confident. I don't know how we would have gotten through the last year without her. We've decided to keep our son at Apple Cheeks another year to reduce our exposure. We feel so lucky that Lia is able to create a custom preschool curriculum for him and that he's continuing to flourish despite the pandemic.

You don't have to look much further than the smiling faces in the pictures above for thorough…read morereviews. Every morning, our daughter walks through the door with a smile on her face ready to play with her friends and to participate in whatever neat activities Lia's got planned for them. From story time to play time with lots of learning sprinkled in between you can tell Lia really connects with the kids. Beyond that, she really loves them and is genuinely interested in helping them grow in every way.

Kindergarten is a whole new beast. And it ends at 130? After being waitlisted at my son's school…read moreaftercare program, we ended up with Kids in Mo, as everyone so fondly calls it, a private option at John Muir. Funny how life works out the way it is supposed to, as we could not be happier. We even got off the waitlist at our son's school, and kept him at Kids in Mo, taking the school bus (which he loves!) to the John Muir campus. Was the first week stressful? Yep. Parents, everything is terrifying and new, we got this. There isn't a ton of structure, which at first made me so sad that my beautiful child who is used to the warm hug and schedule of pre-school is out in the big world with 5th graders. There is no schedule. There are no groups or nametags. There is go, have fun. 2 months in, I absolutely love this. My son has learned so much on how to socialize, how to explore, he's become such an independent little human. The John Muir campus is stunning - a playground, soccer field, a creek flowing near where they give out snacks, and a big lunch room for those kids wanting to play games inside. We call Kids in Mo 'after school camp', and if your kid is active, they will love it. I pick my 6 year old son up every day and he's playing soccer with 9 year olds, jumping in the creek, or playing board games. He literally never wants to leave. The director, Troy is my type of 'parenting'. He treats your child like a little adult: with respect and with accountability. My son loves the 'counselors' and all the staff are so nice. It's also a very diverse crew of leaders on the team. They coordinate the bus from his school to Kids in Mo. They have staff at the gate to account for each student. Wednesday is capture the flag and pizza... could it get any better? This is the few hours where your kid runs free having to figure life out, without a hovering parent or teacher, and I mean that in the best way possible. So grateful for Kids in Mo.

I SO wish I had known about this place when my older daughter was younger! Although Kids In Motion…read moreis an afterschool program during the school year, it also has a fantastic summer program. The location is at John Muir Elementary School and the Director, Troy Thompson, has been running the program for 20 years now and in fact one of his new teachers/caregivers, Tracy, was once in the program herself. Today my daughter learned how to ride a bicycle, climbed a tree, baked brownies. Thursdays they go swimming. They have weekly rates as well as daily drop in rate. But most importantly I know my daughter is in a safe environment with lots to do, new friends to meet and is in for a memorable summer. While I would never pick a child care for this reason alone, it is a huge bonus for us that this program is run by a man as there have been few opportunities (I am a single mom) for my daughter to see a man in a caregiving role, And it is particularly awesome to have someone like Troy who allows the children to be very active but doesn't miss a beat in his supervision of what are safe choices for active children.

Joyce has been watching our daughter since she was 10 weeks old -- she's 20 months now…read more She's a total pro with decades of experience working with young children and their nervous parents. She delights in the milestones, funny moments, and unique personalities of her charges almost as much as their parents do! We'd recommend her to anyone looking for quality childcare.

My husband and I remind each other every day how lucky we are to have found Joyce. Our 9 month old…read moredaughter started care with Joyce when she was 6 months old. Our daughter does not take kindly to strangers, but she almost immediately made an exception for Joyce. Now, when we pull up to Joyce's house, she smiles in anticipation to see both Joyce and her lovely community of tiny friends. Joyce holds a degree in child development and has been running a childcare for over 40 years. She cares for a maximum of four children up to the age of 3. In her beautiful home in Elmwood, she has carved out a room specifically for the children which opens directly onto a shaded garden into which she takes the children daily. The environment is both calm and engaging. Joyce seems to truly enjoy each child and bring out their own special personalities. I found the prospect of going back to work and leaving my daughter somewhat difficult. Knowing that she was in this environment which was actually better than anything I could provide for her on my own was incredibly comforting. Joyce is truly a gem.

I can't say enough about this wonderful gem of a preschool. Just before my daughters third birthday…read morewe decided we better get this social butterfly into school! We came across Arbor, toured the Oakland campus, and instantly knew this is where we had to send our kids. Arbor is a safe, warm, creative, accepting environment, where the kids are free to explore, play, and learn. We are so happy here and can't say enough positive things about it!

From the owner: Arbor Preschool Rockridge is currently enrolling! We are hosting an open house May 1 from…read more10am-12pm. Arbor Preschool is a Spanish/English bilingual program offering an emergent, play-based curriculum for children ages 2.9-5.

Fantastic school for your little ones! Our son has been attending since he was 1 year old and it…read morehas nothing short of a wonderful experience. When he started, he wasn't yet walking or talking and now he's almost 3 and has been through 2 classrooms (infant/toddler and now preschool). He's doing exceptionally well - is very verbal and independent - and has made great friendships with both his classmates and the teachers in each of the classrooms he's been in. For what it's worth - my sister and I both went to Montessori schools and that experience was so positive for my mother that she trained as a Montessori teacher and now runs a school (unfortunately in a different country). Since the Atlantic Ocean makes it hard for us to send our son there, we had to look for a suitable alternative near by that is true to Montessori and is well run. We've evaluated 10-15 different schools in the Berkeley/Oakland/Lamorinda area as we looked for the right spot for our son. Here are my favourite things about Rockridge Montessori- + Loving staff, extremely low turnover. The head teachers in each classroom that we've been part of have been there for over 10+ years - which speaks to how the school's administration look after and invest in their teachers. This is very different to other schools where turnover is very high. + AMS (American Montessori Society) trained teachers, plenty of Montessori time and activities from learning letters to practical life (cooking!). + Very clear and protective care policies for your child. For example, they disallow teachers babysitting students on the weekend to avoid favouritism. + Involved parent community - lots of social events and birthday parties. We spend a lot of time with our son's friends and their parents. + Well maintained facilities. Parking is easy, the playground is fantastic (and kids get to spend a lot of time outside, which I love). + Tonnes of communication. It's been very easy to get updates on our son (which was very helpful during those anxious first few weeks). The teachers update us on his progress throughout the week and have been a big help when it came to potty training him. + Diverse student body + Parent friendly hours (7:30 to 6pm) and - starting next year - prepared hot lunches for students. + Location is very close to BART, if you commute into San Francisco - about a 10 minute walk (or you can park at BART parking for $3 - post COVID there is usually space until past 9am). In conclusion - we're very happy we made the decision to send our son to RMS and would heartily recommend it to anyone who was considering it.

My younger toddler son went to Rockridge Montessori for about six months in 2021-2022…read more I thought about posting my experience for awhile, hoping other parents can make a decision. As I know it is difficult to find a caring, loving and trusting place for your young one. In the beginning of the process we were taken care really nicely. Paul and the other partner were communicative and encouraging. As soon as my son started we realized the challenges. 1) they have a lot of holidays/time offs. It almost felt like a school with a general timeframe. We ended up taking a lot of time off and asked family support since the school would be closed occasionally for things like; planning, cleaning, holiday, etc. 2) lots of plastics. Toys outside are plastic which is not a Montessori way. Inside, they were using a lot of plastic materials too. 3) I'm sad to say this but unfortunately teachers are not good at communicating. We struggled and we often hear other parents having trouble understanding what teachers were trying to say or they would be shy or not interested in providing updates. 4) A few times there were incidents in the class regarding biting. We were not communicated immediately. We were told when we picked my son up, and that felt really bad. On top of this, the teacher did not share a lot as she said she was not there when it happened. The other parent shared with us that his daughter was also got bitten and they were not communicating with much. Once we reached out to Paul, his response was very disappointing. He did not take any responsibility on the communication part and did not follow up with any action items. 5) my kid was not necessarily introduced to Montessori way of learning; neither myself. I was disappointed with teachers and the school overall after the teacher conference. We spend 15 mins online and neither teachers were able to communicate and tell us what our son is like during the day, how we can help him. It felt like some daycare. I know lots of good people work there too, so I wanted to keep my experience a bit neutral but these were the main points why we left that school. It is in a nice location but the education is not good. Paul was not engaging and helping. His emails were not supportive; more so cutting things. He did not like if we questioned anything. Also we always sensed that "you can leave if you want" kind of attitude along with, "you signed a contract for a year, so good luck" It is hard to find a good place for your kid, especially in the bay. However, I would like to say, this is not a place I'd send any kids I know. Not worth your time, money and energy. Good luck.

We love the Model School! All three of our kids attended and our youngest son is currently in the…read moreToddler 1 room. The school is incredibly convenient for working parents, with a flexible schedule between 7-6pm and you have flexibility to pay by the hour, starting at 20 hours and up. Our boys were very ready for kindergarten with the solid PK curriculum and learned wonderful social emotional skills as well as got potty trained. Our youngest started in the infant room and is now in the one year old room. The teachers are incredibly warm and caring and the parents group is very active and strong and supports the school through facilities upgrades as well as by supplementing enrichment's like Music and dance. Come visit and check it out!

We were thrilled to find the Model School!…read more The waitlist was pretty long ... took about 3-4 months to get into the Toddler Room for kids that were over 1 year old and can walk. But once we got in, we soon found why this place is so popular! The teachers/caregivers are absolutely amazing! My son, who was 14 months at the time had only been taken care of by family (parents and grandparents) so adjusting was really hard on him! We had tried another daycare facility and they refused to deal with my son. (They would call us to pick him up within 5 minutes of him crying). The Dr Mante (the director) and the teachers at the Model School (numerous of them, not just the one's assigned to my son's room) did everything they could to get my son comfortable. They would hold him, walk him around, talk and sing to him, play with him, try out other classrooms and teachers (because he connected faster with some) ... etc. Though it took some time my son eventually got comfortable with drop offs, started eating well (sometimes too well) and his naps went from no naps to 30 mins, to over an hour, to sometimes over 2 hours! Other things I love about this place: - The daily routine and schedule which my son thrives on - Play based but with structure and variety. - Ability to socialize with other kids of varying ages and other adults. - Art, music, books, dancing, playing sessions - Very active parent group that's always working towards making the school a better place.

Signed up our kid when born, now over 2 years later we follow up about enrollment and get the…read morerunaround. We've waited more than the stated average, but also maybe will never be able to join. Its unclear what privilege you need to have to be invited. This is a recent response we got from them after a followup. "I completely understand that its frustrating to be on the interest list and yet not be offered spaces - but thats why we call it an interest list, not a waiting list. You've told us that you're interested in a space, and we've told you that if anything opens that matches your needs, we'll contact you in the order that we received your information. On average families wait 18-24 months to be offered a space, and for most families who contact us, we are never able to offer them a space. We are a small program, with only 45 spaces total, and generally are only able to offer spaces to about 5% of the people who request them. Unfortunately, that means that most people who contact us are not able to enroll."

Our background: We came to the US in 2014, our children were…read more3.5 years and 10 months old.. We are German, and had spent two years in Switzerland before coming to Berkeley. We learned about this preschool from friends who had their own children there. We had gone through one very good and two seriously bad experiences with day care centers in the past. At SJCC our son went from no English to full conversations within a few months. He was also very insecure and had a lot of issues approaching other children due to the experience in the other two places. Within a very short time he overcame most of his social deficits. After his first short visit at SJCC he had such a huge meltdown that we were allowed to cut the visiting time short and could send him all day. My daughter started around the same time in the baby room and was immediately at home. The style: - This daycare is truly play based. All learning activities are disguised in fun games, and most activities are optional. If a child would rather read a book or draw a picture than engage in an activity that is accepted. A lot of the free play is self managed so children learn skills like conflict solving, making decisions, etc. - Child centered, with a focus on individual development and personality. - No academic parts, i.e., no reading lessons for pre-k children. - There are three rooms: Babies (up to 18 months), wobbly walkers (18 months up to about 2 years 9 months), busy bees (up to K). Children are moved to the next room based on development not on age alone. - The maximum hours are 7:30 AM to 6 PM. Advantages: - Flexible hours for the parents. - The option to learn what is going on behind the curtain. Parents can become board members and be involved in important decisions, e.g., the next tuition increase. This makes the center extremely transparent. - Very low fluctuation! This daycare treats their staff very well and some of them have been there for 20 years. - SJCC is over 40 years old. Some parts look worn down, some toys look well used. The center has grown and evolved. This gives a very cozy feeling and a living room atmosphere. Everything is clean but it is clear that the toys get played with not just looked at. - Children rarely hear the sentence "this is not safe". They are allowed to try things out while the teachers make sure they can't hurt themselves seriously. My children often came home drity all over with holes in their pants, and I knew they had an amazing day with lots of learning. The teachers already teach the babies how to use a slide safely. Ouchies do happen but most kids are very well aware of what they can and can't do with their bodies. - Children get dirty. Art is a large part of the program and comes in all forms. The kids get to use their whole bodies to do art, squeeze paint between their toes, or color their own belly. Sometimes the teachers make goo (I think it's glue and paint and something else) and my kids LOVE it! - Love! The teachers have amazingly close relationships with the children, give them space if they need it, let them come to cuddle and hug, let them scream it out if they need to. - No potty training! Children are supported when they are ready but there is no pressure. No one is held up in one room because of the lack of potty training. - Amazing skill building for later in school life. My son is now in second grade and has already shown a resilience to bullying and very good communication regarding his needs in school. - They work with you! I had several times when I felt the need for advice. I got very good explanations of my children's behavior every single time and some hints on what to do in certain situations. - No gender role pressure! Boys and girls get to dress (up) however they like and play whatever they like. - There is a quarterly potluck. This gives the opportunity to meet other parents and create friendships. - A program for sliding scale tuition assistance. Makes the program more diverse. Disadvantages: - It ends with K A note on "no reading before K": When my son entered school, reading and writing was not on his list of priorities and the first half of K he was a little behind. He ended 1st grade on the reading level of what is expected at the end of 2nd grade. I'm convinced his long-term skills still help him. He is awake in class, he comes up with his own projects and even in K started presenting them in the class. He has the ability to focus and is great in group situations. The program is the closest to a typical German preschool we have seen so far. In 2015 we left SJCC for 9 half a year due to a move and had to deal with a Silicon Valley program. My daughter survived but we had all sorts of fall out due to their illogical rule enforcement, the daily yells of "THIS IS NOT SAFE!" and the lack of flexibility towards the child and the parents.

Helen is so fantastic with our son Jackson. Jackson has so much fun going and Helen is extremely…read morecommunicative and responsive. Highly recommended

Our son started daycare at 15 months old with Helen, and has received really excellent care. For…read morethe first 3 days, we received lots of updates on our son's eating, sleeping, and diaper changes. It really helped put our minds at ease that he was doing okay during the transition period. After that, she would text us updates only if his schedule changed or something was out of the ordinary. Our son felt comfortable with Helen, but especially loved following her mother, Halmoni (Korean for "grandmother") around. They made sure he ate well and spoon-fed him delicious Korean meals. He also napped really well (even better than at home), falling asleep in seconds for approximately 3 hours. They really understood his needs and made his first daycare experience wonderful!