Oruguitas Preschool Experience?
I'm looking for a preschool for my 2-year-old and am wondering whether anyone has had experiences with Oruguitas Preschool in North Oakland. My daughter can sometimes be a bit hesitant about change, so I'm conscious of putting her in a program where they can really help to support the transition. Any thoughts would be super appreciated!
Apr 2, 2024
Parent Replies
We attempted to send our 21-month-old child to this daycare and it did not work out. I was excited about this daycare because the children in attendance looked very happy, and there were an impressive array of activities available.
This was our child’s first experience with daycare, as he had previously been in a nanny share. He also has some difficulty with separation, and requires support and nurturance in order to do it successfully. We had informed Guadalupe that he has a tendency to vomit when distressed, and she said accepted him into her program knowing this. On our child’s second day, he struggled to separate and calm down, and as expected, he vomited. Within 15 minutes of dropping him off, Guadalupe texted us, saying that she was not sure he would be able to continue in the daycare if he continued screaming. When he was picked up about two hours later, he had a stuttering breath from an extended period of crying and stood alone while the other children ate snacks at the table. As we left, she handed over the bag of soiled clothes and did not even say goodbye to our son.
Later that day, I called Guadalupe to discuss what had happened and what she had tried. She said she could not hold him or have him in her lap because the other children would expect that level of attention from her. From her description of her response to his distress, we get the sense that he was sat down and left to regulate his feelings with very minimal support. Guadalupe rounded out the conversation by acknowledging that it was only our second day and that different approaches could be used over the next two weeks to get our son more comfortable. We then planned how she would support our child in feeling more comfortable during the adjustment period.
When we arrived the following day, our child was expectedly upset to be there. When Guadalupe opened the door and saw him crying, she looked at him and said she thought his distress was impacting the other children. He then vomited out of stress again, and she said that she could not accommodate him. She did not even attempt to utilize the plan we discussed the previous day to support him.
By contrast, our son was able to soothe within 15 minutes on the first day at his new daycare, and was no longer crying at all by the third day.