Little Beans Preschool

We love Little Beans; my son is 3.5 and has been there for about a year, and we are so excited to send our second child there when he turns 2. The program has been an incredibly positive experience for our son; his language and knowledge EXPLODED within weeks of him starting there, and he made friends so quickly I wouldn't have believed it. He loves his teachers and the logistics and everything is so well-run to keep us informed with calendars, photos, live updates from the teachers, and they do once a month date nights for the parents which both parents and kids are obsessed with. 

The kids love all the outdoor time and activities; my son and some of the kids were very interested in construction vehicles: Ms. Heather made the kids a whole construction zone with vehicles, cones, vests/hats, and the teachers are all equally experts on construction vehicles. 

My son also successfully potty trained at Little Beans and the team could not have been more supportive. 

Little Beans is a truly incredible preschool. Our daughter started in the summer of 2023 (age 2) and has thrived under the loving care of the teachers. She's learning new things every day -- the other day she unprompted named for me the different components of a book (spine, cover, illustrator, author). She brings home art projects seemingly every single day, and is also learning about the natural world, holidays, other cultures, and music. At the same time, there is a deep commitment to open-ended and creative play, outside time and physical exercise, and socio-emotional learning. Both the indoor and outdoor spaces are lovely -- we knew the moment we toured that it would be a warm, safe and comfortable environment for toddlers and preschoolers. My daughter has become incredibly attached to her teachers, and is genuinely sad on weekends when it's not a "preschool day." Ms. Heather and the other teachers also work hard to build a strong parent community, hosting regular parent socials and keeping everyone updated through photos and emails. We are so grateful to have found Little Beans and highly recommend it to other families!

We came to the USA for the first time in October 2022. Our son was 2.5 years old. We searched almost 15 preschools for our child. Unfortunately, we could not get a response from any of them that fit our budget, until our way fell on the little beans preschool. Ms. Heather, without exaggeration, we can say that she is the best person we have met in the USA. She is very kind, professional, understanding, helpful and communicative. At the same time, all the school teachers are very communicative, supportive and professional. Although our child has a language barrier, he got used to the preschool in a very short time and they provided great support in this process. They constantly informed and warned about his development by phone or email. Within 2 weeks, we were able to leave our child blindfolded and we felt very safe and happy. If you are new to Berkeley or living here and in search of a preschool, we definitely recommend you evaluate this place. The school is in a very safe and accessible location. The garden is quite large and beautiful. They organize a lot of activities for kids and families. If you are looking for a safe, comfortable, educational, developmental and peaceful school for your child, you can talk to Ms. Heather without any hesitation. We can't thank Ms. Heather and great teachers at Little Beans Preschool enough. We will really miss you. Thank you for everything.

We came to the USA for the first time in October 2022. Our son was 2.5 years old. We searched almost 15 preschools for our child. Unfortunately, we could not get a response from any of them that fit our budget, until our way fell on the little beans preschool. Ms. Heather, without exaggeration, we can say that she is the best person we have met in the USA. She is very kind, professional, understanding, helpful and communicative. At the same time, all the school teachers are very communicative, supportive and professional. Although our child has a language barrier, he got used to the preschool in a very short time and they provided great support in this process. They constantly informed and warned about his development by phone or email. Within 2 weeks, we were able to leave our child blindfolded and we felt very safe and happy. If you are new to Berkeley or living here and in search of a preschool, we definitely recommend you evaluate this place. The school is in a very safe and accessible location. The garden is quite large and beautiful. They organize a lot of activities for kids and families. If you are looking for a safe, comfortable, educational, developmental and peaceful school for your child, you can talk to Ms. Heather without any hesitation. We can't thank Ms. Heather and great teachers at Little Beans Preschool enough. We will really miss you. Thank you for everything.

Our daughter has attended Little Beans since she was 2 years old and we've been very happy with the preschool! She didn't know a word of English when she started, but Heather and other teachers were very accommodating and helpful, so that she felt heard, included, and could learn the language at her own pace. She is now in the big kids class and very much prepared for the school in terms of her social and language skills. Our daughter has been very happy at Little Beans, she found some really close friends there, she adores all the teachers, and is always excited to tell us about all the activities they're doing at preschool. The school's response to COVID-19 pandemic has been great -- throughout this whole time only once the school had to close for a week due to the outbreak. The kids spend all their time outdoors, and are PCR tested every week. We, as parents, really appreciate the Little Beans teachers and parents community, especially the monthly Date Nights and the playdates with our daughter's friends' families.

My daughter started attending Little Beans when she was 2.5 years old and it’s been amazing. The teachers are kind and loving and really meet the children where they are rather then set expectations for all kids to act exactly the same and follow strict rules and guidelines which I saw at other schools. That doesn’t mean they don’t have rules and routines  though. They definitely do but I see their flexibility when it comes to my child. The school has stuck by us as our daughter has been diagnosed with autism and has worked with us to make her experience at school a positive one. I don’t worry about her being well cared for when I drop her off and really feel like the staff here love her which means a lot. She now runs into school each day and is so happy to see her teachers. The school also has so many fun extra activities and classes during the week. I can tell they really value what they do and a lot of thought goes into the class activites and toys for the month. The outdoor space is huge and I really love that the kids spend all day outside weather permitting. It makes it a quieter and less chaotic place. They also do monthly date nights and weekly Covid testing for all kids and staff. Little beans has been awesome and we are fortunate that our daughter gets to grow up with this school. 

Little Beans has been wonderful for our little lady on so many levels. She's learned SO much both educationally and socially. We've found the structure to be perfect - enough for her to know what to expect when, while still providing space for play. I knew she was learning her letters, but was blown away that during her vision test at her doctor's appointment, she was able to verbalize which letters were which, and didn't need to point at the associated menu.

We have found both Heather and Little Beans teachers to be incredibly communicative and supportive. It was a big transition for her to go to school fulltime, particularly in a pandemic world where she had spent ALL her time at home. The teachers are incredibly loving and engaging, ensuring our little one feels supported and safe.

We're incredibly grateful for the teachers and Little Beans overall. We're excited our little guy will be joining the crew next year as he will be old enough to do so.

I could not be happier with our experience with Little Beans! Heather is amazing and runs a fantastic program. When looking for a preschool I looked at over 20 schools in the area. I knew as soon as I met Heather and the entire staff that this was the school for my daughter.  She loves going to school and loves all of her teachers at Little Beans. Their patience, willingness to help and just overall care for our daughter just gives me such peace of mind when I drop her off. I just love this school so much I can't even begin to express how grateful I am!!!  This is a top notch preschool and I would highly recommend it! 

Thank you Heather and the wonderful teachers at Little Beans. We will miss you so much!!!! 

Our daughter who is now 5 has been at Little Beans since she was 2.5. She has loved every minute of it. It is a very well run school and for the most part is run outside which was wonderful during COVID. It strikes a great balance between tons of play based learning and positive social interaction. Their Stringbean program has really prepared her for Kindergarten. We have referred many others to the school and plan to send our 1 year old there in another year. All of the teachers are very warm and wonderful. We are very happy at LB.