Hearts Leap Beginnings

Community Subscriber

Berkeley, CA

Facility Type[?]:
Childcare Center
DSS Facility License #
013422490 [view license]
Owner:
International Child Resource Institute
510-549-1422
heartsleapschool [at] gmail.com
Location:
Berkeley
94704
2640 College Ave
Maximum Capacity:
40
Language(s) Spoken:
English,
Italian,
Spanish
Ages Served:
3 months - 30 months
Hours
8:00am - 5:30pm
Additional Services & Features:
Part-time available,
Year-round,
Snacks provided,
Organic options,
Vegetarian options,
Special diet support,
Cloth diapers accepted,
Potty training support
Editors' Notes:
About the Program:

Hearts Leap Beginnings offers responsive care for infants and toddlers (up to 30 months). At Hearts Leap Beginnings we believe that every child deserves a safe, loving, responsive, and dynamic environment where they can develop secure attachments and a sense of trust in the people and world around them. Through extensive communication with parents, we ensure that each child receives consistent and individualized care.

Parent Q&A

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  • Hello! We are considering sending our 1-year old to Hearts Leap Beginnings in the fall and would love to hear more updated feedback on Hearts Leap Beginnings. We are deciding between keeping her with a nanny for next year versus transitioning into daycare, so any feedback on making that decision in general also is welcome (she is a super active, somewhat demanding, and very outgoing toddler and we think she might thrive in a bigger community). We're also open to hearing experiences with Hearts Leap preschool program, since we would likely keep her there through preschool. 

    I'm especially interested in your experiences with the teachers, the space itself (especially outdoor space/time, since she is used to spending lots of time at the park), and anything else you might think is useful. There are some great reviews but none are recent, so we'd love to hear more recent experiences. 

    Thanks!

    Both my kids attended HLB starting around 1 (and continued on to the preschool). HLB was a really good experience for my older kid, and fantastic for my younger one (last year and the year before). The teachers were just so thoughtful, kind, really present and dedicated and good at what they did—sometimes I wished I could just hang out and learn from them. :) A couple of the specific teachers who wowed me are no longer there (I think one started her own school), but the director is the same, and I would have a lot of confidence in the people she chooses. I think the school has a great institutional culture going—heart firmly in the right place, and so much accumulated knowledge and skill. (I remember chatting with one of the directors who said one reason they started HLB was so the preschool’s teachers would have a high-quality place to send their own babies. She said they thought, “let’s show people what emergent curriculum can be!”) Each year they try to have one of the teachers move up with the kids to their next classroom, which was great for my kids.

    The spaces are really nice, with high-quality and well-thought-out materials and things to explore. The outside space and the Willow room might be considered on the smaller side. That said, there was always lots to do outside (I remember sand, a platform to climb up to around a big tree, a couple low swings, and rotating things like art and sensory tables and things to roll or push around). They would also take the kids in small groups to play in the dance studios downstairs, or go for walks or visit the nearby park. The Aspen room (for the older toddlers) feels quite spacious. 

    Good luck, hope this helps!

    If you like the nanny, then I would stick with the nanny. There's pretty decent early childhood research to back up the idea that for toddlers under ~2.5, their primary socialization is other adults, not other kids. Toddlers at this age have not really learned, let alone mastered, skills like sharing, taking turns, etc, and then benefit from an adult being there to reinforce those concepts. They also benefit from lots of direct adult interaction - someone who is talking with them, observing their activity and describing it, observing their emotions and naming them and helping to comfort them, etc. That just can't happen at the same level with group care for a child who is so young. If your nanny is taking your daughter to the park daily and for a good stretch of time (where they are almost certainly seeing other nannies and kids) and going to other free group activities in town, then she is almost certainly getting the developmentally appropriate amount of socialization for her age. 

    That's not to say that group care is inherently bad, and many people need to use it. However, if you have the choice, I would stick with the nanny, who will likely provide more developmentally appropriate care until your daughter is a bit older and can start preschool. 

    We had a really wonderful experience at HLB with our older kid a few years ago. We started in the Willow room and moved on to the Aspen room. We loved all the teachers and our kid thrived. He got a lot of one-on-one attention from his primary teacher, but also enjoyed playing in the larger group setting. The kids spend a lot of time outdoors, and also go on walks around the neighborhood. The administration is also great and very responsive. Overall, its a really wonderful community and we still keep in touch with some friends we made at HLB. We ultimately switched to a different school for preschool but that was entirely due to things (like school hours, school holidays, etc.) that were more convenient for us. We were very sad to say goodbye to HLB!

    Hi there! I am the one who posted about early childhood socialization. When I was first researching the options for our daughter, I came across this post, which I found to be very helpful: https://criticalscience.medium.com/on-the-science-of-daycare-4d1ab4c2ef…

    Yes, it is a blogpost from an anonymous source; however, it is essentially a literature review that compresses published, peer reviewed articles into what I found to be a compelling analysis of the state of the research in this area. The articles it relies on are cited and linked, so it is a great jumping off point, and you can do your own digging and research from there. I'm not sure that any of the cited/linked articles discuss neurodivergent kids, but I was admittedly not looking for this when I was looking for information for my own kid.  

    You can also find articles online that will talk more generally about early childhood development and how children don't really develop associative play skills (where they start interacting with other children as part of play), until they are closer to 3: https://www.webmd.com/parenting/what-is-associative-play 

    Prior to that, interactive play is really with primary caregivers.

  • Hi BPN! We are considering enrolling our child at Hearts Leap Beginnings (youngest infant group). We would love to hear about your thoughts and recent experiences, and also their efforts to minimize covid risk. Thank you!

    Hi there! Our son started at HLB a few months after they first opened (March 2018), when he was around 10 months old. He was in both Willow (the infant rooms) and Aspen (toddler room). He's now 3 years old and at Hearts Leap main (the preschool, which is in the same building). Our experiences have been excellent across the board, at both Beginnings and now preschool. He just started back at the preschool a couple of weeks ago, in small group care.

    I can't speak to HLB specifically in terms of COVID practices, but HLB is a part of HL, so hopefully this is helpful. On the preschool side, children are in small groups, with the same teachers every day, and there's no mixing of either children or teachers. There are daily temperature checks, teachers wear masks, children are encouraged to wear masks if they'll keep them on, that sort of thing. The teachers are required to change clothes when they arrive every day, and they're following strict cleaning guidelines. There are various other regulations/practices in place as well. They have a document detailing the safety guidelines they've been following; you could probably make a request to review a copy of it. I'm guessing many of the practices will be the same at HLB, though I'm assuming that infants/toddlers aren't wearing masks if they're under 2 years old. 

    As an organization, they've also been very communicative and candid with the parents during the pandemic, which we've appreciated. In comparison, we have friends with children at other preschools/daycares where communication has been sub-optimal.

    I hope this helps, happy to answer any other questions. 

  • We're looking into daycares for our son, and are wondering if anyone has experiences to share about Hearts Leap Beginnings in Berkeley. It looks like a newer program with fewer reviews here, any recent parent experiences would be very appreciated, thanks!

    Hi there! We joined Hearts Leap Beginnings when my son was about 9-10 months old (a few months after they opened); he just turned 2 years old a couple of weeks ago. He'll move up to Hearts Leap (preschool) in September. This is an added bonus to joining the Beginnings program, as it helps in getting a spot for the preschool (we really didn't want to have to do a whole new search for a preschool when it came time for that).

    We love HLB -- it's a beautiful space, and the teachers and staff are truly wonderful. Generally speaking, they follow a RIE-inspired approach, but with genuine warmth and kindness. It's pricier than other options, but you get an extremely high quality of care. They also encourage/cultivate a sense of community by organizing regular breakfast events, and an annual picnic, so you can get to know the other parents and children at the school. 

    Parents in the program are expected to fulfill some volunteer hours every school year, as an FYI. This can be done by doing a few loads of laundry, going snack shopping (parents are reimbursed for this), serving as room parent, etc. 

    If I had to nitpick, I would say that it's a bit of a bummer that they don't provide lunch. I understand why they can't provide lunch, but it would be nice if they did. They provide plenty of snacks, however.

    Happy to answer any other questions! 

    We started our 18 month old there last fall and he loves it. Teachers are caring and attentive but also great at steering behavior and dealing with toddler emotions.  

    Only downside is parents have to pack food, cost, and they close more often then other centers.

    But overall we have been extremely happy and our child has flourished.

    We have two kids at Hearts Leap and have really enjoyed our experience there. A lot of the teachers have Masters degrees and encourage the children's development in all areas by constantly changing the environment and toys available, taking the children outdoors (even the really young ones) and constantly interacting through singing, reading, etc. They have also been great with potty training, which not every daycare is willing to do. 

    Our 2.5 year old daughter has been at Hearts Leap Beginnings since it opened Jan 2018. She will move up to the preschool in the fall. We have had an incredibly positive experience. I fell in love with HL during my tour on a rainy day when all students played outside on the large playgrounds under a canopy of trees. Dressed in rain boots and rain jackets, they stomped in puddles and watched the rain pour down from the gutters; when they later came inside to change into dry clothes, one student dumped a boot full of water on the ground. A nearby teacher giggled playfully with him and together they wiped up the water. It was a joyous moment, and a true reflection of the childhood I envisioned for our daughter.

    Our hopes have been surpassed since joining the program nearly a year and a half ago. The children are given incredible care and attention. The teachers are warm, thoughtful, attentive, qualified, and above all have taken the time and care to really know our daughter and family. They are always there to support her and/or us on a rough day. Children are supported in moments of challenge and given language to foster their development. The classrooms are developmentally appropriate, with a variety of spaces and activities in which students may engage freely. On any given day there is a water table, art table, climbing space, swing, reading nook, and more for the students to enjoy. They take walks in the neighborhood, to Willard Park, and enjoy all Elmwood has to offer (even a field trip to the fire house!).

    The Beginnings program has worked through a few minor kinks as it synced programs with the preschool and crafted its own identity and staff while also embodying the philosophy of Hearts Leap.

    Similar to other comments on here, I would be happy to answer any specific questions.

  • hi all,

    we’re considering hearts leap for our child and wondered if anyone had experience with their new “beginnings” program for infants/toddlers. 

    And for those who have been at the regular school for multiple years, have you ever had challenges with getting the schedule you wanted from year to year?

    Thanks in advance!

    We're new to the Beginnings program (on week 4 now), but we're really pleased! Caretakers are great with the little ones, and the space is beautiful.

    We've been really happy with HLB. The teachers are responsive to the needs of each child and are respectful in their caregiving. There is a lot of independent play time but with thoughtful activities set up that the kids can choose to engage with. In the older Aspen Room, it feels more like a 2's preschool class but with a little extra love (which could be a challenge if your child isn't ready for that). They are a few downsides - they aren't flexible with things like switching schedules and there are some administrative hiccups / lack of responsiveness that seem related to the fact that the program is so new. But overall, it's been a wonderful experience and we're happy to be there. 

Parent Reviews

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Hearts Leap Beginnings on College takes infants starting at 4 months. Both of my kids went there and we love it!

Recommended:

We sent both of our kids to Hearts Leap, which is part of the International Child Resource Institute. There are two schools and they have several sister schools. It's one of the higher priced preschools, but the environment is nurturing and loving and the teachers are excellent. 

Recommended: