Berkeley Little School
Community SubscriberBerkeley, CA
- Jan 2021: New school, occupies the former site of The Gay Austin School.
- See other Little School preschools
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Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.Our son went to BLS for 8 months at age 3-4 and absolutely loved it, despite joining part-way through the year. He made close friends and received tons of loving, warm and supportive care from the teachers. We never had any kind of issue or challenge with BLS and simply could not thank them enough for all they did to make us feel welcome in the community.
We sent both our kids to BLS and feel so lucky to have found it! We came upon the school in a moment of, frankly, desperation, when our previous preschool closed suddenly. But in the end it felt so serendipitous, because BLS opened at the exact moment we were scrambling and we knew almost immediately it would be a great fit. We were there for three years and both kids absolutely thrived! The school is warm and welcoming; the teachers are super calm, patient, creative, and funny; and both kids grew so much in their time there (and created so much art!). We weren't eligible for TK so both of our kids did the BLS pre-K year, and we're so glad they did -- they really took to their roles as the "seniors" at school and marched into kindergarten happy, confident, and ready to take the next step. Feel free to reach out with any questions!
Our daughter started at BLS in 2022 when she had just turned 2 years old. We were a little nervous sending her post-pandemic and transitioning from a nanny share, but she has thrived and genuinely enjoys going to school to see her friends and teachers. The school has been instrumental in supporting many of her milestones (potty training, addressing hitting/biting issues, welcoming a new baby, making friends, taking turns, meals, emotional and physical development, etc.) The teachers and directors are welcoming, creative, and communicative. The parent community is very strong; we often have birthday parties and play dates over the weekend and have gotten to know the other families. The school extended their hours to 8am-5:30pm this year at no additional cost and it has helped us since both parents work full time. We also plan to send our 1 year old to BLS when she turns two next year. I'm happy to connect with anyone making the decision about childcare/preschool in the area. Add BLS to the list of schools to check-out!
Berkeley Little School opened a toddler program for 18 months+, and they offer a few different schedule options including a half day option, 5 days a week. It's not entirely outdoors, but they have a nice outdoor area and spend a lot of time outside during the day. It's based in North Berkeley on Hopkins close to Monterey Market.
Our daughter started there in the toddler program in May, and recently moved to the 2-year old group, and we love it! I think they still have a few spots open in the toddler program right now if you want to check it out!
Our son has thrived at BLS. The teachers are incredible, loving, inclusive and so creative. They build upon the kids’ interests and I’m consistently blown away by the child-led activities they facilitate. Like others have mentioned, the school is bright, beautiful and clean. They make the most of the smaller garden and play area with creative activities and free play. I was initially concerned about the small yard area but our very active 3 year old comes home wonderfully exhausted and happy each day.
We’ve seen our son grow tremendously over the 1.5 years he’s been at BLS. The teachers work closely with us through all the tough and tricky transitions - starting school, potty training, the welcoming of a new baby - the list goes on but the teachers have met us with empathy and patience. I sometimes can’t believe how much our kiddo has matured and blossomed over his time at school. I only wish he could attend elementary school at BLS. Feel free to reach out if you have specific questions.
Our daughter attended Berkeley Little School, which is one of the "Little" schools, for about 6 months in 2021-22. This location, which you may know from the Yelp reviews or the school websites, is the newest school. The physical environment was very lovely, although small: very clean, all new high-quality toys, a cute yard. The teachers were kind, welcoming, and fantastic!
We did, however, notice leadership issues -- mainly subpar communication around COVID policies but also in general. There was a school blog, an app where they post photos of the kids throughout the day, and that sort of stuff, but we found overall communication lacking, and felt the vibe to be more a school business vs. community, if that makes any sense. (Again, this was last year, so perhaps things have changed.)
We transferred my daughter to another preschool that was more aligned with our budget at the time, which was initially a sad transition, but in the end worked out better for us.
We had a wonderful experience at Berkeley Little School. The school just opened last year so the facility is brand new, spacious and clean. My daughter loved all of her teachers and her happiness made the drive to Berkeley worth it. They're affiliated with Rockridge Little School. I know RLS doesn't have the greatest reviews, but Erika the director at Berkeley Little School is awesome and competent so we always felt like we were in good hands.
I've been curious about that, too! Our child goes to school across the street at Mustard Seed and we love it there, if you're looking for another option.