Galoshes Family Day Care

Review for Galoshes Daycare and the soon-to-open Good Earth School (Pre-school):

All of these reviews are spot on and the quality of care at Galoshes is still amazing. After hours spent on the internet, visiting an array of places in the East Bay and Marin and having my child attend another daycare for a few months, I worried that I would either find a daycare that was nurturing and loving OR one that focused on child development. It's is surprisingly hard to find both. I want my baby to develop and grow and be a kind, caring, super genius (!) but I also want her to love the people at her daycare and kiss them and hug them and miss them! I find all of this at Galoshes. The quality of the activities is impressive.  The littlest babies to the 2.5 year olds participate AND benefit. The outdoor classroom is REALLY a classroom: fun and so thoughtfully designed to enhance what is already beautiful in nature. 

SO, I am both excited and relieved that Gail will be applying her decades worth of child development experience, education, legit cooking skills and gut instinct to the Good Earth School. It's Reggio-inspired. The focus is NATURE and being outdoors and using the outdoors as a place to learn. It's a calm, beautiful environment and really, you should just go and visit. 

Ok, ok one more thing! Gail has a gift for finding and training other teachers. Talk to her references from years ago or now and they will go on and on about those teachers and Gail. I love Amy and  Melissa. My daughter loves them too! And they are in-tuned with the needs of the kids. When one of them is having a rough day, they might spend more time being hugged and held. Or maybe a teacher will spend time with a child in a quiet area, which can be really helpful. When I visited, it really struck me how happy and friendly all of the kids were. I could go on and on, but I won't! Call Gail. Go visit! Daycare or preschool! Did I tell you that my baby loves quinoa and veggies? She's inspiring my husband to eat veggies! Will that convince you?

http://thegoodearthschool.com/contact/

gpavlosky [at] gmail.com (gpavlosky[at]gmail[dot]com)

Dear parent(s) researching daycare facilities,

It’s not easy to try to find the “just right” place for your dear child that will care for them as you would. Believe me, I’ve been there. I researched many places in Berkeley, Albany and El Cerrito that were highly reviewed on yelp and/or BPN and then after site visits, I left even more confused and uncertain of the plethora of options. I have two pieces of advice while you search; One: trust your gut and Two: come visit Gail at Galoshes Day Care as one of your options.

I’d like to share our story and I hope it helps you on your path finding great child care.

We hired a nanny for our son until he was 2 years old. Our child is exceptionally shy and also had some developmental delays, so when I interviewed care providers, I came with an arsenal of childhood developmental knowledge and even an infant developmental specialist who helped me in my search. I was so impressed interviewing Gail. I actually cried when I got back to the car as I knew, without a doubt, she would do an exceptional job caring for my child. And she has.

I’ll never forget the moment when she told me, “it’s not enough that I love your son, my job is to also provide a safe and nurturing environment where your child grows”. It was a difficult transition for my child. Every day he had separation anxiety. I also had to come pull him in and out of daycare three days each week for his various therapy sessions. Gail and her staff have been so accommodating and supportive of our family and my son’s needs. Truly, Gail believes more in providing my child the tools he needs to succeed than in the daycare’s schedule. She accepted us with wide arms open, providing a supportive and loving environment and making every decision in what is in the best interest of my child’s needs.

We spent 1 ½ years at Galoshes (up until our son was 3 ½) and now are moving on to a preschool. Our child has grown leaps and bounds and I credit Gail and her staff. He talks up a storm, tells me stories of playing with the children, going down the slides, making art work, and what Gail made him for lunch (he’s a BIG eater!). He is very prepared for this next step; he’s learned his entire alphabet (upper and lower case), can count to 30, can count from 10 to 1, knows his colors and shapes and sings numerous songs. The growth is phenomenal; he no longer needs therapy. I will miss Galoshes, immensely; Gail, Toya, Hannah, the children and also the other parents. Galoshes is a close-knit family environment and while Gail is right, it’s not enough to just love my child, I think love is the foundation. And her heart is full of it.