Small play based pre-school in Oakland/ South Berkeley Area
Hi all,
I am hoping for recommendations for small play based pre-school in the Oakland/ South Berkeley Area with openings from August 2025. We are in North Oakland.
My daughter will be 3 by the time we send her to this school. She has Type 1 Diabetes so hoping to send her to a small nurturing environment , where staff will be willing to work closely with us to help monitor her blood glucose ( we will do all the decision making for her care and lion's share of heavy lifting with her glucose management).
Even if you are not sure if the diabetes part is a good fit but your kid goes/went to a school you loved in the area please let me know! I am also open to co-op programs with some parent involvement!
Thanks so much!
Apr 3, 2025
Parent Replies
Room to Grow in Rockridge, Oakland. While our kid does not have Type 1 Diabetes, our child has numerous allergies (known and unknown) that required additional attention and care. We felt RTG supported our child very well. It's worth a look. It has been a few years since our child graduated, but we look fondly back at our time at this lovely small preschool.
We’ve loved our experience at The Lake School in Oakland. Warm, caring community of teachers and parents.
My daughter went to Inch by Inch -- it's about 12 kids total and mostly outdoors in their beautiful fairy garden of a backyard in North Oakland. Really lovely people and environment. I don't know about the diabetes part though, and they do mostly fill spots in December/January so they may not have openings for August, but worth checking out. Good luck!
Beatie St. Preschool in Ivy Hill is wonderful! It's a small, play-based preschool (about 15 kids total) for ages 3-5. My daughter has been enrolled since the summer and we plan to keep her there through kindergarten. The teachers are fantastic as is the parent / guardian community. We do not have experience with Type 1 diabetes so I can't speak to that aspect.
We’re at the Montclair Community Play Center in Oakland, which is a small co op with that is very inclusive of kids with medical needs. I’d recommend it!
Magnolia Children's School in Central Berkeley has spots for next year and is play based, small (12 kids) and very nurturing! I'm not aware of experience with diabetes but I know they have handled serious allergies. I recommend you do a tour and ask!