Berkeley School or Duck's Nest for 2.11 yr old?

We have two sons at Duck's Nest and our youngest is in the 2 year old (duckling) classroom.  Duck's Nest has exceeded our expectations. The teachers are amazing and their creativity endless.  There is tons of outside play and exploration and beautiful grounds.  Despite being a larger school, it is a very nurturing and a real community.  The teachers know all of the kids and the kids all know each other.  Although the kids are broken into age based class room, twice a day they have all age play.  I love the combination.  There is plenty of time for developmentally exciting exploration, but also time to learn from both younger and older kids.

The two year old room is the largest room, yet it never feels chaotic.  And the teachers are great guides.  At the start of school, my two year old had a really hard time adjusting. Now he is a confident guy, who puts his lunch in his cubby, pushes me out the door and starts to play.  Because the two year old room is the biggest, there are kids who just turned 2 and kids who are almost three.  Yet the whole class seems engaged and happy.  Also, most of the two year old teachers have been at the school forever, they are amazing.  The ratio is great and the school brings in some extra help (the garden teacher, the language teacher, admin staff ) for extra support.

The biggest problem I have found in Berkeley is there are too many good options.  I am sure you can't go wrong with either school.

Good luck!

Duck's Nest Parent x2

Good luck on your decision. We have been a happy TBS family for the past five years at both the Early Childhood Center (ECC) and The K-8 Campus. From the moment I set foot onto the campus it was wonderful. We have two girls (3 and 8) that have been at the ECC. They literally jump out of the car every morning and can't wait to get to school. The staff and teachers are kind, responsive and attentive to everything. The mixed age classes were one of the draws for us. It really helps give the older children the opportunity to help support and guide the younger ones. The teachers do a great job of mixing the students but also challenging the older ones. We loved it and saw it as a huge bonus. We also continued onto the K-8 program and have been very happy with the decision. 

Our daughter attended DN Berkeley for two wonderful years and then we chose TBS for K (and beyond), so I have some perspective on both schools, and we are very happy with our choices for each. Our 2 year old son will be entering preschool next fall, and decided to send him to DN and then follow his sister to TBS for K. We looked closely at TBS' ECC program and knew we could not go wrong. A few practical things helped sway us toward DN, besides our prior stellar experience with the teachers and staff...DN runs a full year program, while ECC runs on the school year with a summer camp add-on to the annual tuition cost. Also, DN's hours go until 5:30, whereas ECC ends at 3 PM with aftercare as an additional cost. Parking and access is easier from I-80 for DN than ECC. In terms of the feel of each place, my totally biased sense is that DN's sole focus on the Reggio philosophy brings a level of spontaneity and exuberance that I didn't sense at ECC when we visited; it is more grounded more in the Montessori approach. For instance, I didn't think that our boy would be able or willing to sit for 20 minutes of circle time at ECC, which they have 2x/day (I think). The open yard at DN was intimidating at first to us, but our daughter LOVED it, and the teachers are incredibly attentive and intervene immediately and skillfully when inevitable conflicts arise on the playground. The little ones are mostly from the bigger kids, but the older classrooms do get some mixed age time on the playground, and our very social daughter knew all the teachers and several kids in the older classes--though it's certainly not as much as ECC's model. I actually prefer the age groupings at DN over the mixed ages, and our daughter's first friendships forged there continue to be meaningful ties even as the girls went separate ways for K. So, you can't go wrong, for sure, with either choice. Go to each place and listen to your gut when you walk onto each campus. That's how we first fell in love with Duck's Nest. You can feel the magic when you set foot through the gate.