If you live in the Laurel/Redwood Heights/Mills area and your girls are over 18 months, I would encourage to you check out Daisy Child Development Center. I have been INCREDIBLY PLEASED with this preschool. They have a lovely staff and the Director is wonderful! Website - daisycdc.com Nina

We are considering Daisy Child Development Center in Oakland for preschool for our daughter, who will be 3 in the fall. (She's now in a family day care with 3 other little ones.) We really like what we saw when we visited there and love the philosophy on their website. We'd be grateful to hear from families there now or recently. One qustion is whats the difference between the upstairs and downstairs preK rooms, and do parents have any input as to which room their child is in? And how much individual attention do children get? Coming from such a small daycare the class of 20 seems big to us. Do parents get reports on how they napped, toileted, who/what they played with? We'd also love to hear overall reviews of the school. Thank you.

We're considering Daisy in Oakland for our 3 year old boy. I'd like to hear the experiences, positive and negative, of families who've attended. Thank you. Mara

Re: Preschool for Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
I know one family has enrolled a child with Asperger's at the preschool my son goes to, Daisy Child Dev. Center in Oakland. Most of the kids are Neuro-typical, but they seem sensitive to meeting a wide range of needs. They actually say in their materials that they welcome special needs children, which is a nice change. They seem committed to it, and by and large we are very happy with the program. It's worth chatting with them about in any case. Here is their contact info: 531-6426 anon

Re: Seeking smaller preschool for shy 3 1/2 year old
I think Daisy, where my child attended, would be a good fit for a shy child. Though it is actually fairly large, it "feels" smaller. They have done a really good job nurturing a few children with special needs in their classes and recongnizing and valuing each child. The Galaxy room has two VERY experienced teachers, and I think they would be very straight ahead whether they thought it was a good fit.

Re: Preschool Openings for Jan 2004
I know that Daisy Child Dev in Oakland (Redwood Heights/Mills area) has openings. I have a child who started there this August and we have largely been very pleased with the program, and she is very happy to be there every day. It's got good place space outdoors, very experienced staff, and a very homey feel. Lots of kisses, hugs and a diverse student and teacher population.

Contact information:
Daisy Child Development Center
5016 Daisy Street
Oakland, CA  94619 
510-531-6426

Re: Urgent Need for Preschool
I just enrolled my 3 year old son 2 weeks ago at Daisy Child Development Center. I believe they have openings beginning in September(I was told they have kids leaving for Kindergarten)

My son is loving it. It is a developmental preschool (learning through play) as opposed to academic. Culturally diverse, one teacher teaches Spanish to the children, and one plays music on her cello at playtime in the afternoon. They have chickens and 2 pet snakes, and an organic garden. They take kids in at all stages of potty training. They have 2 teachers per class, one is the Galaxy Room, one is the Rainbow room, and they have a younger program that is separate. The number is 510-531-6426. It is located at the V of Hwy 13 and 580.

Maybe this will help you or some of the other families. I will answer anything I can, but we are new to the school..so I am still going on early impressions. I searched several schools in person before choosing this one, so I know how hard it is. They do tours in the mornings at 8:30 and 9am with the center director Eva. Hope this helps!

Does anyone have recent experience with Daisy Child developement Center or the Geranium Cottage at Mills. I saw some older posts, but am interested in more recent experiences. We went and visited Daisy and got a good vibe from it, but I am interested in other opinions. Thanks. Mom

My daughter attended Daisy Child Development Center on Daisy Street located in the V where 580 and 13 meet. She was there from age 2 1/4 to 5 1/4 and liked it very much. They have arrangements for parttime, including half-days. Since it's been over a year since she attended and change can happen fast, I'd recommend visiting and observing to see if it suits your needs. It's rather large with lots of activity, which suited my daughter, but that may not be for everyone Cathy

Daisy Child Development Center 5016 Daisy, Oakland (near the intersection of 13 and 580) 531-6426 Eva and Joanna, co-directors

I am in love with the people here! I met both directors, and the two teachers for the Galaxy Room (the downstairs classroom where my daughter will attend). They are very loving and obviously cherish the kids. Opportunities and creativity abound. They apparently "have it all"--music, art, books, dramatic play, multicultural activities, large play area, with slides, swings, grass, sandbox, an organic garden (the kids help!), bunnies, chickens etc etc. They have field trips monthly, and strongly encourage parent participation (2 hours/month, or you can buy out of this for $20/mo). The ONLY concern that I have is the high child:teacher ratio, which is 9:1 for preschool (each preschool class has 18 children and 2 teachers). But I think their usually high experience level will make up for this. Toni (a woman) and Ron (a man)--the two teachers in the Galaxy room--have worked together at Daisy for 7 years. 80% of the staff have been there for 8 years. The cost is reasonable (I think), though the price structure is a little opaque (there is a separate "materials fee" and the parent involvement time, in addition to the regular tuition). Prices are higher for toddlers and preschoolers who are not yet potty-trained. There are two preschool classes, a 12-child toddler class, and a separate infant-care facility. As I write this, there are still 1 or 2 openings in the Galaxy room.

One measure of how comfortable we were there: The day after our visit at Daisy, we drove to Sunflower House for a regular day of daycare. When we pulled up, my daughter looked outside the car, and said "Not here--Daisy!" and she began to cry, because we weren't going to Daisy immediately! Dawn

Re: Laurel/Redwood Heights preschool
Check out Daisy Child Care on Daisy Street, you can get the number from Bananas. We just recently put our baby there. We got LOTS of good references from other parents, and feel the place is a good start for our daughter. The staff is friendly and well-trained, the environment is good.