We're in our second year at La Scuola's Dogpatch Preschool and couldn't be happier! The caliber of…read moreteachers and staff is outstanding - you can just feel the love and care emanating for each individual. The emphasis on on curiosity and community comes through every day in big and small ways, and the physical space itself - with lots of light, color and energy - reflects the spirit of the school. The outdoor space is some of the biggest and best I saw in my tours of SF preschools. While our family doesn't have any connection to Italy/Italian, it's been amazing to see how quickly she picked up a new language and it gives her a chance to teach us something, which is a fun role reversal. And man, is Italian a beautiful language to listen to :) I love that my daughter is served healthy, homemade food (some of which is grown at the garden) and it's a huge bonus that I don't have to prep meals! They also learn meal etiquette - the students set the table, wait until every is served to eat, and wait to leave until they're finished. At pickup time, it's a challenge to get my daughter to leave she's having so much fun and loves her friends. You won't regret enrolling your child here!

Our almost 8 year old son has been attending to La Scuola since he was 5. He's currently in second…read moregrade. We have been having a great experience. We are a bilingual family (I'm from Italy) and it has been a highlight to be able to be closer to the Italian culture through the staff and other families. The school has a thoughtful approach to social emotional learning, has proactive communication, an enrichment program during after care, a great music teacher, and organizes several events, many to foster inclusion of minorities, to educate parents about their learning approach, and to encourage social connections among parents. Families here are very friendly, down to earth, and kind. They have a large outdoor area for kids to play and a garden. And our son loves their food and goes often for a second round!

GSA was my daughter's first school and we couldn't have been luckier! Ms Sandy and the staff…read moreespecially Ms Jessie and Ms Christy were simply amazing in providing a nurturing environment filled with creative crafts, learning skills and building her up ready for TK. My daughter loved her time here and made friends she'll remember for long. She picked up quite a bit of mandarin even though we are a non native home so the staff must be doing something right to keep kids engaged and excited about learning a new language. It's located perfectly close to several parks so kids get plenty of outdoor activities as well. We recommend GSA whole heartedly.

We visited Growing Stem academy when they held the open house a few months ago, and it was amazing…read more Inside the school was new and clean, and there's plenty of space, books and toy. Ms. Sandy and her staff were very welcoming and our kid had a great time there! We are planning to enroll in the winter.

I can't say enough good things about Potrero Kids! My younger daughter was at the Illinois campus…read morefor almost a year and is now at PKDW. We LOVE it! The playspace, the teachers, the crafts, the learning, the curriculum, the sense of family and safety. She has definitely blossomed into a fabulous 4 year old and we love hearing her stories about school that day. Plus she is learning spanish through songs and phrases which will hopefully prepare her for Daniel Webster! This is truly a gem (an AFFORDABLE gem!) in San Francisco. (On the affordable note - We're paying less for alllll day with all meals and snacks than we were at the Italian school down the street half days and we're not being constantly asked to donate more and more money.)

I had a nephew apply to the preschool. He lived just a few blocks away...but apparently on the…read morewrong side of Potrero Hill. This "neighborhood" school only focuses on the north side of the hill.

Tel Hi is a brand new daycare/preK tucked in the back of the new Uber building. We were fortunate…read moreto get into the toddler(Piper Peeps) class when they first opened and have had a great experience so far. Classrooms are beautiful and Montesorri-esque and they have their own outdoor playground and outdoor space(a huge plus during Covid!). Tel Hi makes everything easy and stress-free for working parents with amazingly flexible hours(7:30-6 pm), reasonable vacation closures and by providing delicious catered meals and snacks(by Chefables). The teachers and staff are all very sweet and experienced and it's obvious that they care about all of the Tel hi children and community. I'm honestly amazed by how many creative activities and mini field trips they do and by how much he has learned here-he is constantly singing new songs and telling us about new things they learned(bugs, animals, transportation, etc). They also played a large role in helping with potty training, getting him on a consistent schedule and teaching him good manners. The online app is great for communication and the teachers often post photos and updates there. With toddlers, there are often accidents and mishaps and I've been impressed by how transparent and communicative they are during everything. Staff all wear masks and everything feels very safe and clean at the facilities. They also helped our kid learn how to mask indoors and the teachers are understanding when the kids are less than ideal at masking sometimes. The only slightly annoying thing is the sign in process-have to enter in keycode to enter building, sign in on an ipad and then also sign a paper form, however I understand this is necessary to help keep things secure and safe. Overall, we love coming here and feel very grateful to be part of the Tel Hi community!

Our daughter has been going to TelHi Mission Bay since she was 1 and a half, and she's now 3 and a…read morehalf. Throughout we've seen the school do a wonderful job of caring for her and providing an environment that nurtures her curiosity. The facilities are top-notch and brand new, and the location is great being so close to public transit and having secure on-site parking. We really appreciate the amount of outdoor time she gets, taking advantage of the expansive and new playground right on site. But the real stand-out to our experience are the teachers and staff, who are very attentive and supportive, providing frequent check-ins and insights about how our daughter is doing. They are the keys to providing that nurturing environment, and we've been grateful with how they manage the classrooms to continue to engage our daughter as she's been growing up. They organize field-trips and walking tours of the neighborhood, which always gets our daughter excited and she always comes home with stories to tell. They also have done a great job teaching her new skills and helping us prepare her for major transitions such as potty-training, dealing with big feelings, and getting ready to move into new classrooms. Finally, TelHi does such a great job of fostering community with the families and neighborhood, with regular activities and meetups. Because of all this, TelHi has become a critical part of our child care plans and has been so helpful to our family.

Our toddler is a student at Provident Montessori and we could not be happier. We toured many…read moreprograms when looking for the right environment for our child but nobody compared to Sudhar and Felicia. They are loving, kind and extremely knowledgable. Our son started attending the school at about a year old and from day one we could see the difference in his behavior. He started coming home and cleaning up after himself, putting toys away, putting on his own coat, etc. He is also extremely happy every day at drop-off which makes me confident that he enjoys his time there. We get lots of updates, photos and videos through the Brightwheel app throughout the day which is also really nice. They spend some time outdoors at playgrounds daily which was really important to me. The school provides uniforms and snacks which makes my mornings easier. Overall we highly highly recommend and could not imagine a better situation for our toddler!

Our third baby is at Provident Montessori and we are so pleased to have found them. We were worried…read moreabout the pandemic and staying safe from Covid and both the facility itself along with Sudhar and Felicia have been very communicative throughout this time with everything. From the beginning with the application process, interview, and acceptance, Provident Montessori has been nothing less than professional and also welcoming, and loving. We couldn't have asked for a better place to send our child where we felt comfortable knowing that he will be in their care throughout the week. Communication and updates with photos and videos are great through the Brightwheel app. The pick-up and drop-off is very convenient as well. We have referred many friends to them as we have been so impressed and pleased with the Montessori and both Sudhar and Felicia. We look forward to seeing them grow the Montessori with more children and also expand in the future. We highly recommend them to anyone looking for a Montessori daycare with professionalism and love.

We have had such a wonderful experience at Happy Trails. Our daughter started when she was young…read moreand has grown so much during her time there -- not only socially and emotionally, but also in her confidence and independence. The teachers have been incredibly caring, patient and attentive, and it's clear that they genuinely get to know each child as an individual. Our daughter has always been excited to go in each morning, which has given us so much peace of mind as parents. We've particularly appreciated the warm, welcoming environment and the communication from the team. It really feels like the teachers and staff care about the children and want them to thrive. We're so grateful for the wonderful start they've given our daughter and would happily recommend Happy Trails to other families.

Our family has been with Happy Trails for over three years, since our oldest was 5 months old. Our…read morekids are now 2 and 3.5. Venny and Crystal have consistently gone above and beyond for us. They are always flexible with our schedule, accommodating extra days when we needed them. They are very responsive and communicative, and send photos every day of the activities the kids do. They also provide all meals and snacks, which has made life so much easier for us as parents. We've watched our kids grow and thrive here and it's clear they genuinely care about our kids. Venny helped us know when our son was ready to potty train and encouraged us to go for it. We're grateful for the care Happy Trails has given our family and would recommend Venny, Crystal, and the whole team to anyone looking for a great daycare.

Red Bridge is a unique school, with a super interesting pedagogical model. We're very grateful to…read morebe part of the community there. Our kid started Autonomy Level 1 (K/1st-ish) in September and is learning so much. The teachers are super kind and supportive to the students. On the way to school today our kid was wondering what they were going to do next in robotics class on Friday. Kids have lots of opportunities to learn from peers, in various mixed-age scenarios. If you're looking for an elementary school in the Dogpatch, I'd highly recommend you dig into their website, and go for a visit. Thanks Red Bridge for all that you're doing for our kid and his classmates.

We were looking for a school where our daughter would learn to be a learner, and Red Bridge…read moredelivered. Oftentimes kids are prompted to ascend the grade level regardless of their ability to learn and their skillset. At Red Bridge, we experience a different approach - here, the kids learn the most important skill - the skill to love learning as a process and to approach learning in a methodical way, without the fear of the unknown. Our daughter is thriving in this environment. She's also gaining the confidence to know that she CAN learn, that she can advocate for herself, and that she can decide - on her own - when she is ready to move to the next level. The students learn to treat teachers as trusted resources in their learning journey, as opposed to figures of authoirty that must be at best - obeyed and at worst -feared. The teacher-to-student ratio is phenomenal. As parents, we are extremely grateful for the in-house afterschool care till 6 pm. We can see the love that shines through each teacher's eyes towards all of the kids at this unique institution.

Our daughter was at little crystal's from 8 months to almost two years. She was happy there…read more Jialing was communicative with us and provided photos during the day. We felt our daughter was safe, happy and in an enriching environment with plenty of books, toys, safe climbing equipment, outdoor trips to park across the street, and healthy appropriate-age solid foods. You can tell Jialing loves babies and toddlers and gets them. I recommend Jialing's daycare.

I highly recommend Little Crystal Learning Child Care and the hardest part about moving to East Bay…read moreis leaving Jialing. My daughter was with Jialing (Crystal) from 4 months to almost 3 years old. Jialing is such a kind, warm-hearted and gentle person that is excellent at developing children (same with her staff). Also, Jialing is great at communicating with parents and her advice to new parents is very helpful (I was one when I dropped my daughter off at 4 months). My daughter is always excited to go to Ling's play with her friends and talk about what she did everyday. She has learned so much from Jailing. Jialing really helped her grow into a thriving almost 3 year old. My daughter understands Mandarin, can sing songs in Mandarin, has great English sentence formation, has good manners for a toddler, is confident, is socialized extremely well, among so many other things. My husband and I are extremely grateful for Jialing and her staff.

I contacted Blanca at Giggle & Grow to guide us with the Montessori method in re-organizing our…read moreplay room. What I needed was direction in how to de-clutter the playroom and also create a space to keep my 2 daughters engaged in their toys. Every time I walked by the playroom it was causing me stress due to the immense amount of toys & items crammed into the room. I was having to clean the room multiple times a day so that once the girls were done playing they had a clean space to come back to and we're able to walk around in the room without stepping on toys. I needed direction on how to arrange the room in a manner so that the girls could stay focused for more than a few minutes to then ask for the television to be turned on. I'm sure they were sharing the same feelings of being overwhelmed with the clutter as I was. As soon as Blanca came in she was able to transform my cluttered playroom into a beautifully simple space that blew me away. I didn't want to throw any of their toys and items away but instead Blanca helped me organize their toys and offer them to my girls in a way where they could entertain but also engage their development. She incorporated my daughter's art work which was such a huge hit for my 3 year old daughter to see her art work hung on the wall at eye level. She comments on it everyday! What I've noticed since the playroom transformation: clean up time is less than 2 minutes, girls are utilizing the playroom space longer and TV time has decreased. Also they are both actively interacting with their toys & materials and using trays which makes clean up time so easy! Our routine has shifted at night for the better. The whole family goes into the playroom and we wind down with puzzles or coloring before going into to bed to read!

My husband and I knew we wanted to give our son a montessori type education. We were not sure where…read moreto start. We wanted to make it fun and have it in home until he was of age to enroll into a Montesorri. The Giggle Grow program was exactly what we were looking for. Blanca is amazing and we benefited from the Rotation & Meaningful Play service. Her consultation helped us transform our play area into a wonderful space that our son could really feel comfortable to explore and learn. His behaviors changed almost immediately. Kal was showing more focus on how to play with his toys and where to find them, and eventually where to put them back. Blanca provided us with a very well curated list of item and ideas to create the perfect play area for Kal's development We noticed a big shift in his interest in battery operated toys with lights and noise that would normally mesmerize him to the items suggested by Blanca. He was using his imagination and talking more and increased his hand gestures. Having items at eye level allowed him to have more independence and encouraged Kal to play in his area longer and longer everyday. We aren't finding random toys all over the house as much as we use to. Blanca suggested for our program that we find everyday and natural objects to help with a few sensory stimulation activities. Kal love's his cinnamon stick jar. Blanca created a personal plan for our family from her observations of our sons skill set and development. It helped us with a great starting point and how to keep challenging him for the coming weeks and months.

Update: Our daughter is now graduating from Modern PlaySpace. On her first day at her new school,…read morewhen we asked what she wanted to put for "what I love" on her first-day-of-school board, she said, "my old school," referring to MPS. I think that says everything about how much she loved her time there. We're so grateful to Sandy and the MPS team and will miss them so much!

Wow, I can't believe it's been over 6 years! I met Sandy at…read moreher original location back when my nephew use to attend Modern PlaySpace. Fast forward to today, now my son attends Modern PlaySpace at the new location! Sandy has not changed, always so warm and friendly. All the new teachers I've met are just as amazing. Modern PlaySpace is always so clean and organized. When you walk in, it's so inviting with all the toys and colors. There's so many fun activities for the kids. My son is within autism spectrum and at Modern PlaySpace all the activities are so supportive of his needs. They do lots of sensory friendly activities and the kids practice living skills. Not to mention we have been accommodated with having my son's therapist arriving to give him his session there. All of my son's therapists love it at Modern PlaySpace too. We're honestly so grateful to be at Modern PlaySpace working with Sandy and all the teachers. Never in all my years have I ever felt pressured in any way. I truly feel comfortable having all the children in my family attending Modern PlaySpace. If you want a safe, clean, fun and small group setting for your children to attend, then I highly recommend Modern PlaySpace.