Orkidz Preschool

Community Subscriber

Albany, CA

Facility Type[?]:
Preschool
DSS Facility License #
013423059 [view license]
Owner:
Sunflowers Daycare Inc.
510-926-7747
orkidspreschool [at] gmail.com
Location:
Albany
94706
1370 Marin Ave
Maximum Capacity:
58
Language(s) Spoken:
English
Editors' Notes:

Parent Q&A

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  • Orckids Preschool in Albany

    Oct 17, 2019

    Hello,

    I would like to know if anyone knows or have comments about Orckids Preschool in Marin Avenue, Albany?

    Thanks for your help!

    I have sent both my kids to Sunflowers, which is the home daycare owned by Mahta (the owner of OrcKids). I honestly trust Mahta more than myself and would recommend anything associated with her! I know that she has hired someone else to run OrcKids, so this might not apply as directly but I have very strong positive things to say.

    We love Orckids! We were one of the first families to enroll and we couldn't be happier. The facility is beautiful (and I mean beautiful). The staff are warm and kind and full of love. They take a real interest in each of the kids and in following their individual interests. The highlight of my day is getting pictures of the fun things they are doing -- crafts, tracing, music, nature walks, yoga, and Zumba. My kid LOVES going to school and is learning and thriving. They also provide healthy meals and have great hours (especially for working parents). We have been a part of several preschools over the years, and I can only say that they all pale in comparison. If only Orckids had been around before!  It's a real gem and definitely worth checking out!

  • i recently toured orckids and loved it. has anyone here enrolled?

    I recently toured orckids and also loved it.  We are seriously considering enrolling.  The last time I checked (which was a few weeks ago), they only had about four enrolled kids.  I am taking my daughter to observe the classroom tomorrow, so I will provide an update on that if I can!

    Yes, we did – and I highly recommend it! I also toured the preschool and loved it. I was impressed by the love and care that the owners had put into it -- the beautiful site, the new materials, the all-natural aesthetic. Although the school is brand new (so no reviews), the owners bring lots of experience running a separate, highly rated daycare. I spoke with Mahta (the founder) at length and felt reassured about Orckids and excited about the plans that she laid out. The preschool officially opened in July, and so far the experience has been great. The teachers are kind, caring and responsive to the kids. Their activities include fun things like nature walks, field trips, and weekly yoga. My kid has been really happy and is thriving. They are still building enrollment, and I suspect that once the word gets out, spaces will fill quickly. Having visited multiple preschools in the area, I firmly believe that it's exceptional among them.

Parent Reviews

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We want to share how grateful and appreciative we are of all of Orkidz attention, care, energy, and adoration for our daughter. In the past year she has developed into a more responsible, caring and funny toddler because of their time and thoughtfulness in her schooling. This year she’s more confident in the 3 year old class and bravely trying so many new independent activities after school and on weekends. When she comes home from school she immediately wants to play preschool and she’s the teacher and her parents or dolls are the kids. She LOVES going to school everyday and misses teachers on breaks. We’re so happy to have found this school and so thankful for their care and support in raising our daughter.

Orkidz is amazing! My daughter has been going there for almost 2 years - and my younger daughter will enroll there in the spring. Teacher Amal and Mahta and all the teachers are awesome. They have a good curriculum of learning (letters, numbers), science (science experiments), reading, and playing. Lots of exploratory stuff too - like yoga, and music, and nature walks. My daughter loves it - and a bunch of our friends have also ended up sending their kids to Orkidz - our neighbors who moved out here from SF have both their sons enrolled. My daughter started in the downstairs class (for young kids) and has moved to the upstairs class.

Great school! Your kids will love it, and will learn a lot.

Orkidz has been a wonderful experience for our family. My daughter has been going there for almost a year now, so we are still new but plan to stay as long as they'll have us. The environment is clean and friendly and warm. The kids eat healthy, homemade food, play A LOT and learn even more. All of the staff really care and are very welcoming. The space is super cute and full of plants and flowers and life. I plan to send my youngest there too when she is old enough. 

We love Orkidz Preschool! Our son has been attending for over six months and we love his teacher Ms. Amal; he has clearly bonded with her. It is a play-based preschool that provides three meals a day!! They have a monthly schedule of daily activities with art/craft projects, music, reading, outdoor play and nature walks every Friday. They send a daily photo via an app that we enjoy so much.

We were so lucky to find an opening in December starting in January right when I was having to return to office. We arrived for an information session/tour with a few other parents and met Mahta, the wonderful woman who owns and runs the preschool for an informational evening tour. We loved the space and the convenient location and most importantly, we got a very good impression from Mahta. She understands what it's like to be a first-time parent looking for a preschool. We felt very strongly that we could trust her. She has very good judgement, is direct and reasonable and we have a lot of respect for her.

We had toured and interviewed at several preschools where either there was a waitlist or the schedule didn't provide enough coverage or the location/distance was difficult or the contract was predatory. We were so fortunate to find Orkidz.
 

Mahta opened up a spot for my daughter after baby #2 arrived and we needed #1 to have a structured learning environment for our daughter. We were so lucky to have been able to send her to Orckids. She learned so much in the short time she was there and she really enjoyed all of the activities they did at school. The staff were so warm, loving, supportive and trustworthy. They provided nourishing snacks and meals which she just loved. The indoor and outdoor space is beautiful. Thank you for all that you for her and for us, we appreciate your exceptional care. 

Orckids was a second home to my toddler. A few months into pandemic parenting, with no childcare, and full time jobs, we got lucky and found a spot for him at Orckids when they were allowed to reopen. 

Ms. Mahta and Teacher Sheila immediately made it a warm and comforting place for him. It was only a week when he would just waltz in and barely say bye to us at drop-off. 

It’s a great space with an awesome outdoor area and varied curriculum. He loved music class, yoga, and the guinea pigs. We also loved getting photo updates in the HiMama app every day. 

The other teachers (C & A) were also great and we loved hearing stories of what happened each day from our son.

We definitely would have kept him enrolled until TK but we moved out of Albany. 

Our daughter enrolled to Orckids this January when she was four years old. She was taken very good care of, and came to enjoy her stay here even though she could not speak a single word of English to begin with. She became especially attached to Sheila, who is there in the morning, and we can't thank her enough. Though we planned to stay here until July, we have to return back to Europe now due to the Coronavirus situation. Mahta and her husband were very supportive and helpful during this sudden transition. Thank you so much!

It's hard to find enough kind words for Ms. Mahta and Orckids preschool! They have a great variety of engaging activities, provide a good amount of structure, and have a wonderfully warm environment. Our son, a very active boy who is almost 4, loves going here. He is always chatty and in a good mood when we pick him up. We've also seen him grow and mature in the past few months since enrolling. Ms. Mahta's energy and positivity are contagious and I can only confirm the other reviewers' comments that this place is a gem!

Our 2 year old daughter has been going to Orckids since it first opened end of July and she absolutely loves it. She has always been taken care of by family members so we were worried that this would be a difficult transition. Fortunately Vicky, Director at Orckids and Mahta, the owner explained to us exactly what to expect and enabled a smooth transition. Our daughter is still getting used the routine but in general is thriving at Orckids. Its only been a month and she already talks about all the new songs she has been learning and talks fondly about her teachers and new friends. Vicky also shared with us pictures and daily updates to make sure we are at ease. We also appreciate the way they have accomodated a vegetarian diet for our daughter.