Pumpkin Seed Childcare

We cannot say enough about Pumpkin Seed, what they’ve done for our family, and what they mean to us all these years later. We had both of our boys in Pumpkin Seed from the age of two, and it was the best decision we ever made for them. We had to move to Colorado when our oldest graduated, and we're not exaggerating when we say that if we could have afforded to commute via plane to keep our youngest in Pumpkin Seed through his graduation, we would have done it. 

Damond and Jennifer are incredible, and they do an awesome job of preparing children for the transition into elementary school life. They have high expectations for the children, but are there every step of the way to support the kids in meeting those expectations. They let the kids have fun while teaching them responsibility, and they teach them discipline without heavy-handedness. Above all, they teach the children how to become themselves, and be themselves around others.

The learning, the music, the walks, the holiday performances, the incredible meals, the awesome backyard, the nights out at the open space are all excellent, and our kids still talk about the memories from those times. To top it off, they provide detailed reports for each child at the end of each day. I truly don’t know how they do it, but they do, and they do it extremely well. 

We could go on forever about how great Pumpkin Seed is in this review, but will end with this. At our send-off party before we moved to Colorado, my husband told Damond and Jennifer that when he dropped off our boys in the morning, he rarely thought about what they were up to until we picked them up at the end of the day. He said it was because he knew that when we dropped them off, we were dropping them off with family. They loved our children as if they were their own, and they still do to this day, 10 years later. We have no doubt that if you were to entrust your children in their care, your experience would be the same.

All three of our children had the privilege of attending pre-school at Pumpkin Seed and we could not be more grateful. Damond and Jen have created a wonderous world for little ones to play and learn while they are nourished, nurtured and loved. Delicious home-cooked meals, a backyard vegetable garden with chickens, daily walks in the surrounding hills, lessons in music and art provided by a musician and an artist - what more could you ask for! Pumpkin Seed is truly a treasure.

We were so fortunate to find the Pumpkin Seed for our daughter, who started there at 2.5 and stayed through kindergarten. Damond and Jennifer’s warmth, dedication, and genuine love for what they do made all the difference. They didn’t just focus on academics—they taught our daughter important values like kindness, sharing, and self-advocacy, which you come to appreciate even more as you see how rare these skills are in many other settings.

Their approach also includes music, gardening, and plenty of outdoor play, giving the kids space to grow in so many ways. Plus, the strong sense of community they foster with family events like kite flying nights, outdoor movie nights and holiday performances made us feel part of something special.

It’s amazing to think our daughter is now 20 and a junior at UC Berkeley, and we still credit her early success to her time at the Pumpkin Seed. I can’t recommend them enough.

I cannot recommend Pumpkin Seed highly enough.  Our daughter attended from 2.5 until she entered kindergarten.  When she started kindergarten she was completely prepared, which I fully attribute to the hard work of Jen and Damond Moodie.  The preschool provides not only healthy meals, tons of learning, art projects, fun and safe outings, and lots of play time, but they provide a detailed report every day.  These reports are so helpful to give an insight into your child's day, and really creates a relationship of teamwork and accountability between the parents, the kids and the Moodies. One of the things I appreciated the most was that the children all learn and play together, regardless of age, so the little kids learn from the older kids, and the older kids become leaders, looking out for and encouraging littler kids. Also, the leadership and support continues after they graduate - my daughter received a lot of guidance and reassurance about kindergarten from her pre school peers that were moving into first grade, or second grade which is so sweet to see.  The community in general is really supportive and there are lots of opportunities to get to the other families and the other kids.  For example, in the summer there is backyard pick up, which means the kids all play in the backyard while the parents arrive to pick them up, chat and catch up until its time to head home for dinner.   It is really powerful to get see one of the families at backyard pick up with a new baby sibling, then a few months later get to see that baby start to walk, then get to see the baby turn into a toddler and start Pumpkin Seed themselves.  My daughter absolutely loved her time there, and still visits from time to time. 

Pumpkin Seed is a gem of a preschool led by an experienced, nurturing, and loving couple, Damond and Titi Jen. We could go on and on about what makes it great: the music and crafts projects, the home-cooked meals and end-of-day reports, the creativity of Jen and Damond and the love that they give to each child, their parenting tips and guidance, and the community they build among parents in the backyard at pick-up time and movie nights. In our search we came across many preschools with much higher price tags and fancier philosophies, but it's hard to imagine finding a place better than Pumpkin Seed to develop a young child's social skills, sense of wonder, early reading and math abilities, and confidence. While we have another eight months before our kiddo graduates, we're already dreading the departure. 

I highly recommend Pumpkin Seed if you want a small, loving community of families that will set clear boundaries for kids. At Pumpkin Seed your child will learn how to play with others, will eat vegetables daily, will run around and play outside a bunch and will be potty trained with low drama. Jenn and Damond are highly experienced educators that set goals with children and families, and work with families on whatever the child needs. They differentiate play and activities based on what the kids are interested in. You will receive a written daily report of what they did at school and usually a run down conversation if you hang out after pick up. That's one of the many things that set PS apart- they actually encourage families to hang out in the yard and catch up with one another while the kids play. It is a really nice way to end the day. 

If you want a school that allows children to do whatever they want and never heard the word "no" then Pumpkin Seed will not be your school. Jenn and Damond want the kids to be able to understand the rhythm of the day and will intervene if a child is out of line. But if you want a school that is loving AND prepares them for the structure and rigor of Kinder, then Pumpkin Seed can work for you. After three years, our son, who is a pretty anxious kid, was more than prepared for Kinder. He knew his numbers, how to write his name, and how to interact with kids of different ages. Plus, he can deal when kids are not nice to him, or when there is a conflict and a teacher isn't always there, which will be the case in most Kinders. When the pandemic kit, we did online Zoom school for three hours a day which was ROUGH for all (our son was 2) but it helped keep consistency and connection. And once schools were able to open up again ten weeks later, Jenn and Damond went full force to develop new systems and protocols to keep the school in person. Many places did not. Jenn and Damond are dedicated and energetic educators, and people you can trust with your kids. 

We feel blessed to be a part of the Pumpkin Seed family. Our daughter has attended PS since she was 2.5 years old, and is now in her final year there. Under the wise and caring tutelage of Damond and Titi Jen, she has blossomed into an inquisitive, respectful, responsible little leader. We so appreciate the values they’ve instilled in her, and have no doubt she will go off to kinder next year with the emotional, social, and academic tools she needs to be successful. The Moodies have helped us guide our daughter through the thorny toddler years, and are never more than a phone call or text away. We cannot recommend PS enough—any family would be lucky to be a part of this community. Some extra notes that may be helpful:

-kids are required to be potty trained, but they completely help you in your potty training journey

-delicious and nutritious meals/snacks are provided

-it’s a small program with ages 2-5 all together, so the little ones learn from the older kids and the older kids learn to lead the littles

-The Moodies host a number of parent events throughout the year, providing an opportunity for the families to bond and get better acquainted

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

I cannot say enough about how wonderful Jen and Damond are, and how formative the Pumpkin Seed experience was for my kiddo (and for us, as her parents)! Pumpkin Seed Childcare is a warm environment where kids are trusted to be their best, kindest, and most curious selves. My older daughter graduated and started kindergarten in 2021, after being there for 3 years. Jen and Damond work to really understand your kid as an individual, while also helping kids see themselves as part of a community -- where taking care of each other and the space they're in is encouraged. The kids get ton of music, art, and outdoor education, and my daughter was more than kindergarten-ready when she left. And they potty-trained her at 2 years and 4 months. The food that Jen makes for meals and snacks is incredible and my kid is still talking about Jen's chicken curries, dumplings, and quiches, nearly a year and half after we left. Jen and Damond are wonderful partners to parents, as well -- they make themselves available to talk through different developmental stages and different techniques to support your kid's learning/sleeping/eating, etc etc etc. They host a number of events throughout the year to help the families of Pumpkin Seed get and stay connected, which is a lovely bonus. We miss it all the time, and can't wait to start our younger daughter at Pumpkin Seed in August. 

We literally can’t imagine raising our kids without Titi Jen, Damond and the Moodie kids too! Our daughters are becoming intelligent thinkers, creative artists, excellent members of a community and just all around beautiful human beings due in no small part to the steady leadership, education and guidance offered by this amazing place called Pumpkin Seed. I feel like my children are being raised in a larger family and caring community, something truly special.

When my older daughter started kindergarten this past year she was 1000% prepared, it was a beautiful thing to have so much confidence in her ability to thrive in a new environment. Pumpkin Seed has an amazing program, from field trips to the library, swimming lessons in the summer, daily hikes to explore and wonder, a curriculum that inspires, beautiful art projects, chickens, music, kite nights, movie nights, date nights, breakfast and lunch prepared from scratch with a menu that makes me salivate and my kids ACTUALLY eat all their veggies! The daily reports specifically written about my children helped me feel completely in tune with their wins, tough moments, and overall what’s going on at school. The advice of Titi Jen and Damond has been so essential to our parenting experience, we feel so supported! The community they work so hard to build have become our forever friends. We couldn’t be more grateful!

Please consider checking them out: www.pumpkinseedchildcare.com

If you're looking for childcare and are lucky enough to have stumbled upon Pumpkin Seed, then you should look no further!  All three of our children attended Pumpkin Seed over the course of 9 years, and we could not have found a more nurturing, engaging and loving environment for them to spend their early childhood years in.  All of the reviews posted here are spot on - Jen and Damond go above and beyond "childcare" and take care of your children as though they are their own (and their own are an integral and lovely part of the extended Pumpkin Seed family!).  Delicious and nutritious homemade meals, the famous "Pumpkin Seed band", extensive daily walks and puddle jumping escapades around the neighborhood, excursions to the library and to the pool for swim lessons, family kite-flying nights, and so much more.  We love and cherish this family and are so grateful for the positive impact they have had on our children's lives!

I cannot say enough great things about everything that Pumpkin Seed has to offer. Jen and Damond offer an amazing balance of discipline and nurture, and know exactly when each is needed, whether to resolve conflicts (which are rare), or just make sure everything is going smoothly (not an easy task with 12 kids at any given time!). Their detailed daily report is truly something I look forward to all day. It tells you everything your child, and other children did that day, whether they needed to work on something, and what they excelled in. I sometimes wished I could attend PS myself simply for the gourmet lunches Titi Jen makes. :) 

In addition to providing a full day of delicious, home-cooked meals, the kids get to: walk every day, rain or shine; take swim lessons; have a community-building movie night; kite day; dance parties; structured activities (numbers, letters); reading; free play; and much, much more. If I could use only a couple of words to describe PS, it would be family, fun, and perfect balance. I could not have wished for a better place for my daughter, and I doubt one exists. It is obvious that the Moodies really enjoy what they do, and pour their hearts into each and every child. Our seedling has grown into a perfect little pumpkin, all the while surrounded by positive energy, encouragement, and great friends. We LOVE Pumpkin Seed!