Duck's Nest Berkeley
We are considering Duck's Nest in West Berkeley for preschool for our son. They don't give you a ton of time to make a decision, so I wanted to crowd source some opinions from BPN. It seems like there might have been some issues a few years back, so I wanted to get the opinions of parents who currently have their children there or have children that recently moved on to Kindergarten. Are you happy with your decision to go there? What makes the program great/special/unique? Were there any problem areas or things you wish they had done better? And if your child is now in kindergarten, were they well prepared? Is the communication with the teachers/staff good? Thank you in advance!!
Jan 18, 2017
Parent Replies
We LOVE Duck's Nest Berkeley! I couldn't be more happy there. My sons both went to Duck's Nest Oakland last year, before we moved to Berkeley, and it was perfectly nice, but Berkeley really is tops -- the teachers are so loving, kind, compassionate and creative; the outdoor spaces are great; and I just love all of the play-based emergent curriculum in my son's 3-4 year old class. Communication is easy, the administration are very warm and accessible, and they have nice family events fairly frequently (holiday parties, etc.). They also have a low-key but thoughtful approach to social justice curriculum; for example, on Inauguration Day they planted an olive tree, sang peace songs, had kids do portraits experimenting with mixing skin colors with paint, celebrated diversity, etc. The gardening program is a great extra, although I think it will take place onsite next year. Overall, I really can't think of one negative (other than cost, but that's true for all preschools pretty much!) I'm a huge fan, and will be sad when my son moves on from there; I feel like he (and all the kids) are really known, appreciated and cared for by their teachers, who are sensitive to individual needs and personalities. On that note, my older son started Kindergarten in BUSD this year, and I think Duck's Nest prepared him nicely.
My son was in Duck's Nest from the time he was three years old until he was almost six years old and started Kindergarten. He's an active boy and it was the perfect environment - play based with a strong focus on social/emotional well being. They also have great Reggio style - child based projects going on in each classroom and have a strong parent community. It's a large busy school - for us it was the the right fit. They also have some really wonderful teachers. We like our elementary school, but we really miss Duck's Nest. It was a really special place for us.