Ms. Carolynn and Laura have been such a huge and wonderful part of our lives. When we first moved…read moreto Petaluma we searched all over town for an in-home daycare that would offer quality care at an affordable price for the times that we needed. That narrowed the field quite a bit immediately. With a little more research it was quickly evident that Carolynn's stands apart from the rest. Here's how: While Carolynn runs a small operation, she is professional and offers many things that come with the bigger organizations. She is priced competitively. She offers extended care, before and after the normal school day at a small additional rate. (Extended care was HUGE for our family.) She helps to build community by offering several annual and monthly events including drum class, wood shop class, parent nights, and potlucks. Carolynn offers breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack to the kids. She serves organic foods for the most part. She also has a beautiful garden and nearly everyday she serves produce from her garden to the kids (which the kids often helped to plant and harvest). The kids learn so much about taking care of plants and really enjoy eating all the veggies. Aside from the garden, Carolynn has a small above ground fish pond (not in the school area), small colorful birds, chickens, and many play areas in the school yard. She is a huge animal lover and her beloved dogs and cat mingle with the students throughout the day. Her love of and respect for animals is shared with the kids. In the classroom, Carolynn and Laura work as a united team. They are consistent, kind, fun, and firm. They use a positive discipline approach to correcting misbehaviors. The kids learn many important life skills like putting their things away, hanging their coat, washing their hands before eating, meditation and giving thanks. Students learn through themes (ex: rainforest) and practice all sorts of skills through independent work. They focus on one letter and number each day and the hand sign that goes with it. Both Carolynn and Laura communicate easily and often with parents. We don't go more than a couple days without a picture or a story in text-form. It always brightens our day. When they have successes or concerns with our son they share them immediately. Carolynn seeks solutions to any problems in a loving and persistent manner, often seeking parent participation in the solution. Carolynn and Laura know our son. They really know him. He is VERY energetic, opinionated, caring, and intelligent. So, in short, he's a handful. We couldn't imagine any place better for him. He goes to a daycare (school) where the adults care for him. They are consistent in their expectations of him. And he is challenged by them. We are very thankful we enrolled our son in Carolynn's Montessori and had 3 wonderful years there! We can not wait until our younger son starts there! (Many families send multiple kids through her program!)

Our son loves going to Carolynn's. When I say we are visiting Carolynn's, he runs to the door…read moreyelling, "Visit Carolynn's! Visit Carolynn's!" We can't get out the door fast enough. And he always comes home with new phrases or idea about what is going on around him. He's not even two, yet, and we see his mind is open a little bit more each time he comes home. It is run out of her home, but it is a separate, good-size, room. In addition, the children go out back and play in an amazing play-yard. They also help garden and feed the chickens and clean up. Carolynn is wonderful with the children. She really understands them, since she has been working with kids for many years. Her experience shows and helps us, since this is our first child. Her two assistants, Joanie and Geneva are also fabulous. They are all so patient and understanding with the kids. We couldn't be happier with where we send our son.

We've had our 2 year old son with ABC Learn and Grow for the past 3 months, and we couldn't be…read morehappier with the experience. Vanessa and Jose do an amazing job creating an environment that is both educational and fun. Our little one is always coming home with new art projects, and it is clear he is learning so much while having a great time. We also really appreciate the daily updates. They give us peace of mind and keep us connected with what our son is doing throughout the day. Vanessa and Jose are truly caring and dedicated, and we can't recommend them enough!

We highly recommend ABC Learn and Grow! Our daughter has been with Vanessa and Jose for about a…read moreyear, and will be moving to preschool soon. Her baby sister will start in a few months, and we can't wait. The environment and learning at ABC is wonderful; there's a mix of reading, art, movement (inside like yoga and dancing and outside play too!), creativity, and so much more. Our daughter comes home brimming with new knowledge, skills, and excitement every day. Vanessa and Jose provide great structure, but also flexibility. We love that there are updates sent most days too, with pictures and videos so we can get a glimpse at what she's doing. We also highly value the social skills Vanessa and Jose foster in the kids; our daughter has learned to take turns, share, speak politely, and care for others. The friendships she's developed with the other kids her age are incredibly sweet to see (and it's been wonderful getting to know other ABC parents too!), and she has learned to care for the younger babies as well, which was super helpful when her baby sister recently arrived. We are so thrilled to have been recommended ABC Learn and Grow, and grateful to Vanessa and Jose for their care. We can't wait for our second daughter to start with them soon!

After the sudden passing of my daughter, my son-in-law and I decided it was time to find a…read morereputable and nurturing daycare/preschool for my grandson. Just by luck, we found Petaluma Village Preschool and quickly learned that this IS the absolute best preschool/daycare in Petaluma and quite frankly, the Bay Area!!! I know this for certain because my son attended You and Me in the 90's and they don't pale in comparison to Petaluma Village Preschool! Every morning without fail, my grandson cannot wait to go to school, he even cry's if we drive anywhere near the school on his days off because he wants to be there with his friends! The staff shares pictures and videos throughout the day (every day!) via an app...which is like having a second set of eyes inside of the facility!!! I just cannot say enough good things about this school and I am SOOOOOO thrilled to have my grandson in such a nurturing, supportive and caring environment. Thank You, Thank You

My daughter (and my son before he entered Kindergarten) attends Petaluma Village Preschool. We…read morehave been very happy there. The preschool is child centered and play based, which were both important to me. It is also very community oriented, sending home weekly emails, having monthly PAC (like PTA) meetings, and arranging social events for families. I also love that they serve a family style organic lunch.

Great start for your kids. The staff is friendly and welcoming. So far 3 out of 3 kids love it…read morehere.

My 4 year old daughter has been at Childrens Corner since she was 2. I visited many schools before…read morechoosing this one. The Director, Jan, immediately made me feel comfortable and I could see what a loving environment all of the staff there had created. My daughter has thrived since being there and she has loved every teacher she's had! As hard as it is dropping her off to go to work, I take solace in knowing she's well cared for and loved. Jan has always been extremely responsive to any issues that have come up (and there have not been many), resolving them quickly and professionally. I could go on with so many more lovely things about this school, but I hope this conveys my enthusiasm for this treasure in Petaluma!

Our son went to Gan Israel for 2 years and our family doesn't have enough praise to give. Teri is…read morean incredible director, the program is inclusive regardless of religion. Most kids are not Jewish and the goal is teaching about loving-kindness, and just being a good human, much of what is in the pillars of Judaism. They are passionate, caring and run an overall phenomenal program. Our kiddo looked forward to going to preschool everyday. Our son has had a seamless and easy transition into TK and I give Gan Israel a lot of the praise for his preparation. If you're considering, I would highly recommend!! Don't think twice! Just do it!!

Our granddaughters received such a beautiful and multifaceted learning experience while attending…read moreGan Israel Preschool!!! Such a positive experience for them! We are grateful they have such a strong foundation and are so well prepared for Kindergarten. We are hopeful their love of learning , (that your program helped develop in them ) will be lifelong . Thank you for Always keeping us informed of what they are learning so we could support them at home. We also really appreciated the great communication and beautiful since of community you've created there at Gan Israel Preschool. Thank you Miss Teri and All your Amazing Staff, your program is such a blessing to so many families !!!

Attention- This address listed is not them. I came for a tour with my toddler when I was 9 months…read morepregnant and waited and waited. Also no one picked up the phone when I called. I emailed her to let her know the address was wrong and she said "we haven't been there in years". (How would I know that, I literally have never used your service). Just was a bit of a turn off.

This little farm school is lovely, Julie and Barrie the owners have such a warm presence and…read morewelcome you with open arms. It's nice to have a school like this in our community with such unique Waldorf curriculum that the kids get to learn arts, music they also learn about many animals on the farm and eggs and cooking. What a wonderful experience

Imagine paying this amount of money to watch your grandchild's sense of self deteriorate and his…read moreemotional world crumble.

My husband and I could not imagine a more idyllic environment for our daughter in which to be…read moreeducated during these formative years! Spring Hill is an absolutely wonderful school. Our daughter started in the preschool program at age 3. She will be starting 1st grade in the Fall, and we definitely plan on her continuing for many years to come. In general, I think any school community is comprised of four groups--leadership, teachers, students, and parents--and Spring Hill has blown us away with the quality of each of these groups at their school. The head of the school, Shaharazad, is nothing short of a trailblazer, which she has especially demonstrated with her leadership since the pandemic. Her authentic passion and care for the students are evident in all of our interactions with her. Additionally, my husband and I wish we had the kind of teachers our daughter has had at Spring Hill! We have loved each teacher that has taught our daughter. From what we've seen, they all provide their students a high level of individualized care and support and exhibit incredible passion and teaching skills in their classrooms. In addition to encouraging personalized learning, creativity, connection to nature, and pursuing individual areas of interest, Spring Hill also places a strong emphasis on what it means to be an engaged and compassionate member of our global community, and I think this makes a genuine difference. Not only has our daughter befriended many of her classmates, we also truly enjoy the company of the other parents. The opportunities for us to connect with other families, either on playdates or group activities, have always been enjoyable, and our genuine appreciation for the other students and families only continues to grow with time. My husband and I feel blessed that Spring Hill is an option for us. I really believe it offers one of the highest quality educational experiences in the area, and we are so grateful our daughter is there!

This is our third daycare (our son is four and we've moved a couple times) and we are so happy with…read morethe staff and facilities at this location. Classrooms are well-maintained, our child adores his teachers and every interaction we have with a staff member is genuine and thoughtful. They are communicative about the curriculum and special events, and in the time we've been there we have seen numerous improvements to the facility and academic offerings. We chose this particular KinderCare because of the hours and location but even when one of our jobs moved and it became slightly less convenient we opted to stay here and are so glad we did.

We had a mixed experience at KinderCare. Some of the staff were truly kind, nurturing, and clearly…read morecared about the kids--something we really appreciated. However, there were also some deeply concerning practices that we couldn't overlook. One teacher told my 3-year-old that if he didn't stop crying for me, she would call me and tell me to pick him up late. I observed a teacher stepping on a child's foot to prevent a child from taking off of their shoes and screaming at them not to take her shoes off.. There were also questionable reward systems in place, like giving candy after finishing laps, which doesn't align with healthy habits for young kids. But most alarming was the use of blankets--multiple times, we observed blankets placed over children's heads, including in the infant room. Our 10-month-old had a blanket covering her entire body and face, which is extremely unsafe and against all infant sleep safety guidelines. While we saw some bright spots in the staff, ultimately, we didn't feel confident that our children were being cared for in a consistently safe and supportive environment.

My son has been attending Learning to Learn in Petaluma since last summer. The staff have been…read morefantastic, very communicative and quick to respond to messages. The property and layout has been ideal for this little guy and his development. The space has a great indoor outdoor flow, with a small garden, little break out rooms, nap zone, and mini kitchen. The program has been especially accommodating to our unique co-parenting schedule and a change we requested middle of the year when more child care was asked for. Highly recommended

We recently toured Learning to Learn while considering it for our son, and we were really impressed…read morewith the changes under Teresa's new leadership. We had a less positive experience in the past, but the environment now feels so much warmer, more welcoming, and better organized. Teresa clearly brings a thoughtful, nurturing approach, and we'd absolutely consider L2L in the future.

We love love LOVE River. Our oldest went there from K to 5th and the only reason we didn't let her…read morefinish 6th grade there was because River doesn't have a Jr. High/middle school program and I prefer smaller middle schools for our kids so when she got into the middle school program at this other school, we moved her. It was a hard decision that I still sometimes regret. Just like any education programs, give it some time and have faith in the system, good results will show before too long. Montessori schools assigns lots of works to their students during school time (4-6 assignments completed each day plus research projects/teamwork projects) so some students might have a harder time in the beginning but there's also no homework which allows quality family time and the time for extra activities after school. No gradings which allows kids to like learning and wants to learn. Montessori education also provides the freedom to choose how much time students want to spend with each subject but yet still comply with the CA curriculum standards. The idea is for the students to challenge themselves to want to do better each time and they have just the right tools there to help the kids to do so. Doesn't that sound more like the real world/jobs after schools? Need I say more? Learning is just more fun and practical at River! Oh did I mentioned about their Science Fair and the International Family Fair and the Sustainable Creator's Fair that's all open to the public??? Today at the parent teacher conference with my kid's new teacher at the middle school, I was told she's kind, and she is doing well in all subjects. Top 20 percent of her age group in reading thanks to River's excellence Montessori education that positively reinforced their students to want to do harder and better. I am not the only parent from River that have this "after River experience" in fact, many have mentioned the similar experiences with their kids after River so if anyone ever questioned how the students are doing after River Montessori... they are doing great! If you are interested in learning about non traditional / alternative educations for your little one but still has your hesitations, schedule a tour with them and see the River magics with your own eyes!

A free public Montessori school! We love the school, especially after paying for private…read moreMontessori preschool for both our kiddos in another area. Our kids both love their guides and their friends. The staff has done a great job making the best of the available space. We're so happy we made the choice to go here.