Little Elephant Montessori Too!
Community SubscriberBerkeley, CA
- See also: Little Elephant Montessori Oakland
Little Elephant too! is our North Berkeley campus. Located in a home like setting, Little Elephant too! is a one room schoolhouse with the capacity for 24 children and two instructors. Little Elephant too! has a huge outdoor play yard surrounded by trees.
We practice the Montessori philosophy at Little Elephant and as such, we are a progressive, warm, welcoming, non-rigid environment.
Our CORE ideals are:
Compassion and Kindness
Supporting Creativity
Building Community
Passion for learning
Peace
Our daughter went to Little Elephant Too for two years. We could not have asked for a better school for her and our family. Now that she is in TK I can see how she got the skills and preparations to thrive in public school. We are grateful for Natanya and the Little Elephant teachers. They have taught us so much and created a great community.
So fortunate to have found this little gem. We found Little Elephant Too in Berkeley online when we were moving from India to the Bay Area last year in 2022. Fortunate to have fallen in love with this cute cozy and calm space for our daughter! She had so much fun here, loved her teachers and her friends. We have been enjoying being part of this community, talking to the parents and bonding over birthday parties at the park or potluck gatherings in school. Amazing memories we will cherish forever! If you ever want to gift something special to your child, gift them montessori education for their early childhood. My daughter spent 2 wonderful years in this school. We still keep in touch with the teachers as well as parents and kids my daughter went to school with. I miss how close all of us were really like a big family. We were so blessed to experience it. My daughter now attends Chabot Elementary in Oakland (not our neighborhood school) and is absolutely thriving. I can see all the amazing skills and knowledge she gained from those 2 years at LET and how well prepared and well balanced she is for kindergarten in a big elementary school like Chabot. LET is an absolute gem and I highly recommend it!
Both of our children started at LE Too! in summer 2020, when no other preschools were open, because the director, Ms. Natanya, is a BOSS. Our very different children both thrived at Little Elephant under the warm and firm hand of the head teacher. While we didn't initially seek out a Montessori preschool, we found this version of it to be a good fit. The kids had lots of outdoor playtime, enjoyed doing the various indoor activities, and our 6 year old (TK-age) learned to read.
Our kids went to different schools before this due to moves and the pandemic, and LE Too was by far the best run environment. We feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of this special community!
We were fortunate to find Little Elephant when moving from NYC to Berkeley with our two children, and it has been an incredible experience! The atmosphere is warm, nurturing, and truly conducive to learning and growth.
The teachers here are exceptional. They've unlocked so much curiosity and creativity in both of our children, helping them thrive in ways we couldn't have imagined.
We couldn't be happier with our experience and highly recommend Little Elephant to any family looking for a fantastic place for their children to learn and grow!
Little Elephant Too does two three-week sessions over the summer and are Montessori with a lovely big backyard and strong daily routines. I'm not sure if they accept kids just for the summer, but we've been really happy with it (our older kiddo attended throughout the pandemic and our younger kid is currently there) so you might want to see if that works for your family.
Little Elephant Too in central Berkeley does two summer sessions that you enroll in separately, so you can opt out and not pay tuition for three weeks or so at a time. They do mixed ages 2-5.5 and there have been several sibling pairs in the mix over the past few years. We were really happy with it for our first kid and our second is starting in September.
Our son has attended Little Elephant Montessori in Berkeley for the past two years and we love it. Natanya, the owner, has decades of serious Montessori training and experience (as do the teachers) and takes the method very seriously. But it's also a fun, relaxed environment for kids. Couldn't recommend it more highly! There's also a location in Rockridge.
We've had a good experience with Little Elephant Too! in Berkeley -- seems to check all your boxes. We chose it specifically because we wanted a smaller school environment for our little one. There's a little less than 20 kids, mixed age, and the bigger ones help the little ones. There's both the great indoor classroom with a lot of interesting Montessori toys and a large outdoor space. Many parents come from outside the United States and several have come into the classroom to share traditions and stories from their home countries. We're grateful to have been part of the community for two years, since our kiddo was 2.5. And he loves it!
We've been happy with Little Elephant Too! which is on McGee and University. Montessori school with longtime teaching staff and smaller-sized mixed age single classroom. Maybe a little far to walk but definitely bikeable from Shattuck and Vine.
We could not have been happier with Little Elephant Too, and how it helped our daughter develop in those important first years.
We had not been looking specifically for a Montessori school, but visited this school due to its close proximity to our home. We were immediately taken with the calm atmosphere compared to other places we had considered. All kids were extremely well behaved, while also clearly enjoying themselves very much.
Our daughter stayed there from age 3 until it was time to move on to Kindergarten. It had been her first time away from us, and there were some initial tears involved. But after just a few days, she was looking forward to going every morning.
Little Elephant Too was also very flexible in terms of times: We initially enrolled her for mornings only, and then later (after some pressure from our daughter ;-) ) extended her stay to full days.
It was amazing to see her develop during this time into a kind, thoughtful, playful, and independent little girl. I'm sure Miss Julie and the other teachers, and their approach to teaching, learning and play had a major part in this. Thank you!
We have been really happy with Little Elephant Too, which is at McGee & University. I think the youngest kids can attend is 2.5 (when our daughter started). It's a small school with a great parent community and really caring, experienced teachers (who have been consistent the 1.5 years we've been there). Montessori approach, with an emphasis on cultivating independence, lots of outdoor play since COVID and great hours for working parents (8-5:30).
Our children attend Little Elephant Too! Montessori in Berkeley and it checks all of your boxes. My 3.5 and 5.5 year olds have both been there since July after the pandemic interrupted our other childcare plants. The school has consistently exceeded expectations. Communications from the director related to Covid and health have been EXCELLENT. My girls absolutely love it at school, the teachers are warm and caring, tons of outdoor time, and a child-led learning approach. If the Montessori learning approach resonates with you and the hours meet your needs, I highly recommend setting up an intro with the Director, Natanya. I know they're enrolling for the fall. Bonus (for you) - they have a Rockridge location if you end up there :)
My daughter had been stayed in Little Elephant Too for 2 years, since she was 3 years old, until she was 5! We loved all her teachers in Little Elephant Too! They all are very kind, patient and friendly. My daughter is 6 now, and she still misses her teachers there, and talks about what she learned and her friends in Little Elephant Too. My husband and I are very happy that we chose this preschool for my daughter's first school. They creates a perfect environment and an elegant atmosphere for young kids to learn and grow. We can't love more to this great preschool. Highly recommend to all other parents with young kids!!
My two girls (3 and 5) are at Little Elephant too. Happy to chat if you have questions, but generally we are really loving the program and staff, and our girls are thriving. Our family is white, fwiw.
Two years and three months may be a little too young, but otherwise Little Elephant Too in Berkeley seems like it might be a great fit. It's a small (single pod of 12) Montessori school that currently has kindergarten-aged kids whose families wanted to keep them in in-person education in addition to online K and one sibling pair with a similar age gap. My daughter started there when she was 2 and a half and we've been really happy with it.
My daughters are 3 and 5 and started in June at Little Elephant too! Montessori school in Berkeley. They are in it together and it's been such a wonderful experience. There are also two children in it who are Kindergarten age. It's a mixed ages class in a single classroom, and the Montessori program encourages mixed-age interaction and play. Let me know if I can answer more questions!.
We have been at Little Elephant for the past two years and love it. Our son has been going to the Berkeley location, but there is one in Rockridge too. The director/founder, Natanya, is wonderful and so passionate about Montessori education. She is extremely supportive and has helped us work through behavioral problems with our son. With the COVID-19 pandemic, she has also been very open to discussing parent concerns over tuition and working with parents to develop a plan that would relieve some of the financial strain parents are feeling while school is out and also providing for the teachers. She also organizes parent education nights where she brings in people to lecture about topics (like positive discipline, for example). And we have been amazed at our son's development in the environment the school provides. Highly recommend.
Little Elephant Montessori (they have both Berkeley and Oakland schools, but I think that Berkeley may be the only one with openings for the fall). Both of my kids went there and loved it, as did we. Natanya Moore, the founder and director, is fantastic and all of the teachers are warm, interesting, well-trained, and great with the kids. I can't recommend it highly enough. My kids haven't been there in a while, but my niece will be starting in the fall, and it is exciting to have the next "generation" of our family there. http://littleelephant.net/
My kids have both been going to little elephant too! In Berkeley l. While I had a lot of concerns about transitioning them into preschool the team has been extremely supportive. They truly care about the children and their well-being.
The parents community is diverse and engaging, everybody is extremely friendly.
Natanya (Director) cares so much about education that she organises parents conferences where for example she invites positive discipline specialists.
The teachers Ms Julie, Ms Angelina and Ms Jamilett are wonderful with the kids. My kids got attached to them do quickly that they are happy to go to school to see them.
Additionally to the Montessori program, the kids get to do yoga and spend a lot of time outside in the lovely backyard.
It took me a while to find the perfect preschool for my kids and for sure it is Little Elephant too!
Our 3.5 year old son has been a student of LEMS Too (Berkeley) for a year now. We love it. Our son is doing very well with the balance of structure vs. play and freedom. The teachers are very warm and communicative. The Montessori approach emphasizes a very deliberate approach to learning, yes, but also being a positive member of the community (environmental stewardship, courtesy for others, etc.). The physical environment is warm, inviting, tidy and organized. We've had a very positive relationship with the founder, Natanya, and all of the teachers and we look forward to the coming year!
we LOVE Little Elephant montessori too (LEMST). The school founder, Natanya, and main teacher Julie are incredibly wonderful and warm and willing to work with you with any needs your child may have. Our son has grown so much since starting at LEMST and I attest this to all of the teachers and their outpouring of love and consideration they have for each child and their special traits. Happy to answer any questions you may have about the school!
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.