This school has been absolutely amazing for my three-year-old daughter!! We recently moved here and…read moretried another school that was just not a good fit. After talking with Elizabeth, the school's director, I felt so peaceful and excited about the school's vision for teaching, and their approach to child lead learning. My daughter has thrived at school! She is a highly spirited, very vocal, and a quite lively child, and she gets everything she needs and more. They have a large outdoor classroom that they utilize every day, that lets children learn through play, and movement, which is so appropriate for their developmental stages. She is already learning math, and doing very well picking up Spanish. It has taught her independence, and build her confidence, and ability to self regulate. I cannot say enough great things about the school's approach to learning! Then there are the teachers, who are some of the nicest people we've met here in Santa Maria. They are patient, they talk to my daughter with respect and kindness. Every time I pick her up, I see teachers down on the kids levels, teaching them, and helping them to solve their own problems between one another. Whenever I ask, they are so quick to share positives that they see in my daughter, and ways she is improving (along with ways that they are helping overcome obstacles that are unique to her in the classroom). I cannot say enough good things. I was recommended through a mom I met at Trader Joe's, and have recommended the school to several of my friends, one of which has recently enrolled her daughter, and is in love with the school too.

I am the father of a 4 1/2 year old preschool student who was recently expelled/kicked out. I write…read morethis review because no child should be punished for their parents speaking up regarding the health of their own child. How did a simple request regarding keeping my child inside on a cold and wet day escalate to an expulsion? Our main concern was the fear of having our child get sick that would increase the severity of her asthma resulting in us having to give her regular breathing treatments. The owner Elizabeth didn't agree with our request to keep her indoors on a wet day because she operates an outdoor Montessori school. So, I picked up my child on a cold and wet day and soon a flurry of text messages between my wife and Elizabeth resulted in Elizabeth soon determining that her school was no longer a good fit for my child. Take into consideration that all of this was by text message, the professional courtesy of a phone call or a sit down meeting to explain the situation and work together to find a mutual solution NEVER took place. As a parent in Santa Maria finding a preschool is tough enough and the last thing we want to do is criticize or question our childrens teachers. Flaws were always there yet we choose to look the other way. But, sometimes a culmination of flaws must be addressed. We often wondered why other parents were leaving the school. Now I am that other parent looking in and I am speaking up. Multiple lice outbreaks in 1 school year is unacceptable. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, I will be glad to explain in detail my experience at Casa dei Bambini. Zero stars!!!!

Amazing school Go to this school is so amazing and so…read moremuch better than any other school is go to this school

There is no option for zero stars. Anyway, kinder was fine for my son. It wasn't until 1st grade…read morewhen things got bad. My son was getting beat up at school. Not like pushing and shoving type, but he was held down by 2 boys at recess and beat by a third. Another time, he was on punched in the groin. There were other times when he'd get punched for no reason. Told his teacher. She did nothing. Told the principal and had 3 sit downs. Basically, they said there are too many kids and they can't watch all of them. They suggested he punch them back. They also said the other kids come from bad homes and get beat themselves or don't always eat. That is very unfortunate, but in no way is it an excuse to beat my kid whenever they please. Wrote an email to the district superintendent and got no reply. That was 2 years ago. IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR CHILD GETTING BULLIED AND BEAT UP, THEN THIS IS THE SCHOOL FOR YOU.

Our experience with Creative Beginnings and its director, Johna, was extremely disappointing and…read moredistressing. We enrolled our 2-year-old son for his first preschool experience after clearly explaining in advance that he is a slow-to-warm-up child and may need time to adjust. Before enrollment, we were reassured that this was normal, that children often cry at the beginning, and that the school had experience helping toddlers transition. Based on those assurances, we trusted this preschool with our child. Unfortunately, the reality was completely different. On the third day, our son had what appeared to be a very positive drop-off. He recognized the school, walked in on his own, and separated without crying. Less than an hour later, we were called and told he was "not ready for school," and we were asked to pick him up. We were then told he should probably not come back. His belongings had already been packed, which made it clear that they had already decided to remove him rather than give him a fair adjustment period. We found this deeply unreasonable. He is only 2 years old, and many toddlers need time, patience, and support to adjust to a new environment. Instead of offering a gradual transition plan, reassurance, or professional guidance, the response was abrupt dismissal and labeling. Our child was described in a way that suggested his behavior was outside normal expectations, even though he has regular pediatric visits and has never been diagnosed with any behavioral or developmental abnormality. What made this even worse was how cold and inconsistent the communication felt. Before enrollment, everything was positive and reassuring. Once he started, the tone changed completely. Rather than support, we were met with negativity, impatience, and a clear lack of willingness to work with a toddler who needed a slower transition. At pickup, our son appeared unusually distressed and fearful, much more than we had seen before. He was alone in a classroom with the director, with no other children present, crying intensely. When we asked for clarification about what had happened and whether there were cameras to review the situation, we were told there were no cameras inside the preschool. That left us with serious concerns and no transparency. In addition to all of this, we were also alarmed by the drop-off and pick-up safety around the school. We observed unsafe traffic conditions and no clear child safety signage or controlled traffic measures in the immediate area, which is unacceptable for a preschool where very young children are arriving and leaving with their families. Overall, this was a very painful experience for our family. Our son deserved patience, safety, and a chance to adjust. Instead, he was judged quickly, dismissed early, and left us with serious concerns about the professionalism, judgment, and support provided by this preschool. We would not recommend Creative Beginnings to families with young children who may need a warm, gradual transition into preschool, and we strongly encourage parents to ask detailed questions about how adjustment difficulties are actually handled before trusting this place with their child.

My daughter and I enjoyed her time at Creative Beginnings! She always came home excited to…read moreshare/sing about all the things she learn in school, she loved her teachers (she still talks about them), and she loved having all the open space to play indoors or outdoors. My daughter had a blast on their water days, birthday celebrations, performance, trike event, and field trips. There was always something fun going on! I, as a parent, love that Faith and prayer are incorporated into their daily routines, teachers were quick to communicate with me for any questions or concerns, and I was assured from day one that my daughter was safe and happy with pictures and updates through the app. I also enjoyed their early and late start/end times of operation compared to other options in the area (even though we didn't always use them), autopay made payments easy, and their app was easy to use. Overall, we enjoyed our experience here and highly recommend it for your littles as well!

My daughter started at Ocean View her 2nd grade year. In her first few months she was involved in a…read morebullying situation. The principal never listened to her side of the story but told her that if she saw her again she would suspend her. My daughter is a fairly timid girl and this terrified her. Now in 3rd grade she continues to be picked on and is terrified to tell anyone because she doesn't want to get in trouble. This school is full of cliques and my daughter will be going somewhere else for 4th grade. I believe the only reason the testing scores are so high compared to some other schools is because they have no diversity and pretty much all the kids are English speaking unlike many other schools in the area.

My daughter goes to Ocean View, this is her second year there. She loves the school and has loved…read moreall of her teachers. I haven't had any problems with the school beside other parents. Everyone that is part of the school that I have to interact with have been nothing but nice and helpful.

My oldest son has attended since he was 2 and he is now 5 and heading to Kindergarten, while my…read moreyoungest started a year ago and will continue until he is ready for kindergarten. I LOVE this school! The teachers are amazing and treat my sons like family. The structure is fantastic and the director is well educated, accommodating, and works very hard to advocate for every single child in her care. I cannot give this school enough kudos! My oldest is more than ready for kindergarten with the skills he learned at ACV and my 2.5 year old is learning so much from their teaching. Give it a chance and you will not be sorry!

We have fond memories of Little Shining Stars Preschool. It was safe, small, and affordable…read more There were field trips and plenty of activities for the little ones. Ms. Laurel is the big shining star and models what it is to be kind, patient, and responsible. She is so approachable and there is no wonder why there is usually a waiting list. Don't knock on the front door of the house. During business hours, enter through the side gate to the backyard on Marlene and enter the preschool door in the backyard. Love this place!

Our family feels so incredibly fortunate that we found Little Shining Stars Preschool. Our daughter…read moreis currently a student there and the care and attention and education she is receiving is incredible thanks to Miss Laurel and her co-teacher Mrs. Biggs. It is so amazing to have found a school that is offering our daughter such a high quality education and experience and is still this affordable. We all want the best for our kids, and that's what each family gets at Little Shining Stars Preschool.

As a student, don't send us here. they barely have any options for electives and the classes feel…read morelike bare minimum. they did not set me up for my future. the culture is legalistic and the kids are no better than secular school kids. this is not a Christ centered experience, they only care about money and appealing to rich parents

We love this school! On top of memorizing scripture an daily bible learning, they hold chapel once…read morea week and apply all that they are learning to their lives. The teachers are nice and the staff is accommodating. I only wish they had a special education department so that ALL children could have Christian education.

Ok so this school is kinda cool but boring some times I am a 4th grade student and I love…read moreMrs.Thacker but one thing I don't like is that you can't were flip-flops no fair!

As im picking up my child who is in transitional kindergarten,I park where all the other parents…read moreare parking and I was confronted by an employee that stated "I work here,I was going to park there" of course in return I replied and said "oh okay ill move" and she then states "oh thats okay" to me that was very unprofessional as an employee as she stated.If that particular employee can mistreat me not even knowing what my intentions were at the time,imagine how she would treat my child ??