Navigating Preschool

Hi! I was in the same boat as you when I began looking for preschool options for my son, Griffin, who is now 3. I must have looked at about 100 options across Yelp and BPN! Generally I found that there were two pretty distinct camps for 3yr olds - you have larger, more structured full day programs that are a little more daycare-esque by design. They tend to focus more on routine and set activities throughout the day, e.g., an hour of art-time, an hour of quiet time, an hour of puzzle time, etc. While some kids do well in this environment, it can be challenging as there isn't much room for free play and for child-led activities, where they have more discretion in how they want to interact and what they prefer. This kind of individualized, play-based learning can generally only be found in part-time and co-op programs, and there are only a handful of these around. My family found that it was very much oriented around this kind of philosophy, and luckily these programs also tend to be much more affordable than full day. We currently attend Broadway Children's School of Oakland and love it. They have a 2 and 3 day part-time program for 3-4 yr olds that runs from 9-12pm, and it has been just perfect for my son. They are definitely a diverse group of families, but really the best thing to do is to schedule a couple of tours and get a sense for what clicks for you. The first question will be evaluating the difference in cultures between full and part-time (and non-play vs play-based), and once you have that settled, evaluating the 'feel' of a school in terms of its culture and philosophy. For example, we really wanted a place that focused on individualized attention, empathy, kindness, and community. We also looked at a few co-ops, but those are much more demanding in terms of parent volunteer hours and we didn't have that flexibility. Happy to expand on any particular item....feel free to contact me directly for follow-up. Good luck!

I'd recommend using Winnie.com to pre-select some preschools. It's a searchable database that will also often tell you whether the school has openings or not. That's where I started. Many of them will have open houses between now and December, I recommend attending them with your child so that you can get a feel for the school. Or call them to schedule a private tour. 

In terms of affordability and diversity, I recommend looking at The Model School in Berkeley, a women owned and operated non-profit. Very diverse in terms of teachers and students. Very active parents group so if you're looking to connect with families with kids, you'll probably find new friends pretty quickly (we did!). Rates are well under market. They have openings, too. The overall program is Montessori based. My kid has been attending for a year now, he joined when he turned 3. It's amazing how much he has learned in one year! They did two months on the solar system, one on the ocean, October was about North America (cities, cultures, music, art, animals). Parents were invited to give short presentations about their cultural backgrounds, so the kids learned about Haiti, Thailand, Germany, Rosh Hashanah, China ... Is everything perfect? No. But teachers are lovely, engaged, loving, and my kid loves to go there. That's all that matters. 

We can chat offline if you want to know more - just send me a PM. 

Good luck!