Re: Berkeley preschool that is racially diverse?
New School, on Bonita at Cedar is as diverse as any private preschool I've seen, in both students and staff. The staff has a good gender diversity, too. happy parent

Hello, I am very seriously considering the New School of Berkeley (1606 Bonita) for my 2 1/2 yr old son this fall. I am very attracted to the facility because I would like my son to really ''get his hands dirty'' with clay and other art materials - he doesn't get a lot of exposure to this at home. And I don't have any concerns about the care - I know the staff are very caring.

But...(!) I was wondering if anyone had observed the effect of a very free play environment on different children. There were some comments that it might be more appropriate for some children than others. Your opinions would be most appreciated! Thank you.

For other kids, though, the lack of structure can be intimidating and even scary. We know another family who took their son out of the same program our daughter thrived in, because, as the mom said, he spent his time there either cowering in a corner or wandering around aimlessly, not engaging with anyone or anything. When they switched him to a tiny, very structured program he felt much safer and happier.

The key seems to be the child's tolerance for, and enjoyment of, situations in which s/he is presented with a wide range of options but is not told exactly what to do. If this is the kind of thing that your son likes, then free play at the New School would probably work well.

There are many pre-schools that offer free messy play and also assistance with the all important social skills. I am sure you can find these listed on the parents digest website or NPN pre- school listing. anon

You might wish to try The New School (formerly The Elmwood School, a Waldorf-inspired school that branched off from the EB Waldorf). They are small enough to accomodate a special child as yours seems to be. In addition, since we have a child with the characteristics ''oppositional-defiant'', creativity and spirit, I would like to suggest you check out THE EXPLOSIVE CHILD by Ross Greene, PhD. He gives parents a different take on this type behavior, with enormous compassion and understanding, laying out tools and suggestions for both parents and teachers. He even makes suggestions on picking the right school for your child. This ia a new book but in paper. We tried the private school route for our child, but without success, so he is now in public school and doing remarkably well. Another parent

Re: Preschools that serve organic food
At a recent tour of The New School preschool in Berkeley, at Bonita and Cedar, we were told that the school serves snacks (that parents take turns bringing) that are wholesome and, at least generally, organic. (Kids bring their own lunches; organic food encouraged and sugar not allowed.) robin

My daughter goes to The New School on Bonita and Cedar in North Berkeley.

The children's days are filled, not with academics, but with hands-on and physical activities. They have good outdoor (and indoor) play equipment (and better to come as they work on renovations) in two large yards, bunnies, a garden, a wood shop, and a kitchen where they help cook. They also participate in dance, yoga and capoeira classes (but only if they want to), and during the summer months children can sign up for up to eight weeks of swimming lessons, five days per week. Also, there are walks to local parks, field trips in the school van to places farther away, and games of soccer, basketball, and even wrestling. Another highlight this past month happened to be someone visiting the school with live bats!

The children are offered many different outlets for their boundless physical energy and curious minds -- but what makes New School special, at least to me, is that no child is ever forced to do something they don't want to do, not even walks or field trips. Also, doors between the rooms and to the outside are always open, and children circulate freely, participating in what activities interest them -- as groups or individuals. New School has many more staff members than other schools I've seen, which makes this kind of free movement possible -- teachers are everywhere, so children can be everywhere.

There might be puzzles and crafts in one room, cooking and drawing in another, games in the north yard and water play and face painting in the south yard. Meanwhile, tucked away in some corner (outside or inside) will be a spontaneous small reading circle, because a group of children have brought some books to a teacher and asked to be read to. Elsewhere, or during snack times especially, a teacher will bring out a guitar, and there is singing (and sometimes dancing or plays the children make up and perform) during snack eating (or more stories). And a sleepy child may be curled up on a bean bag chair having a nap in the midst of all of this!

A word about snacks: I've never seen a preschool feed children so well as New School does. Several of the teachers are wonderful cooks, and the food they serve is wholesome and delicious and plentiful. Picking your children up before they've had their afternoon snack can be grounds for mutiny some days.

It *is* a large preschool, and there are always many things going on at once. And because children are given so much freedom, I've heard it referred to (with more or less affection) as "Lord of the Flies Preschool." That's an unfair and completely inaccurate description, especially given the staff's dedication to teaching and modeling peace and respect. But I do laugh every time I think of it, if only because of the frequency with which my daughter comes home spattered with paint and glue from the waist up and dirt from the waist down. So I guess if you're looking for someplace neat and orderly, you might want to shop elsewhere. Montessori this is not.

In the past, there have been many children from other countries who initially spoke little or no English; Central America (Nicaragua, I think), Japan, and Israel come to mind. All were welcomed, and all did just fine.

Susan Hagen is the school's director and has been for 25 years. Many of the teachers have been there 10 or 15 years. Some of the older teachers' children, having gone there years ago, have now also returned to teach -- so there are two generations, teaching side by side. It is a place much beloved by children, parents, and staff. And children blossom there. What more can I say? -Anne

The ''Lord of the Flies'' reference is actually somewhat accurate. Because the teachers generally do not pay close attention to the interactions between the children and do not offer the sort of gentle guidance in social relations that many preschoolers need, there tends to be a clique mentality among the kids--the same kids seem to play together all the time with very little of the flexiblity between groupings that I have observed in other preschools. Because of this a lot of kids are left out socially. All ages (2-5 years) are together nearly all the time and, without more involvement by the teachers, this can also lead to problems such as when younger children try to get involved in the older children's activities and end up disrupting them. I agree that the teachers are very caring and react quickly when problems errupt, but the New School seems to have a philosophy of not getting involved in the children's play and socializing and thus they don't do a lot to prevent problems by teaching the children social skills. There is a feeling that the teachers are mostly reacting and not proacting. My child prefers to have more relaxed interactions with the teachers and did not feel comfortable with the little they offer the kids there.

I have heard the New School referred to as chaotic by a number of people who have both taught there and had children there and I would have to agree with such a characterization. Even so, it does work for those kids who manage well in busy, unstructured environments with a minimum of adult interaction. You need to have a sense of what is best for your child. My child has had a lot more success in a slightly more structured program where the teachers provide useful but unobtrusive guidance, especially in the realm of social relationships. anonymous

My daughter, now age 9 and in grade 4, went to New School from the time she was 3 until Kindergarten, and then she attended their after-school program through 3rd grade. We liked NS very much, especially their hang-loose way with the kids. In the pre-school, there were organized activities that the children could join, or not, as each child was so inclined. Kids are encouraged to be active, get dirty, and be involved, but they were also permitted to go off to a quiet spot to read. Steffi, my daughter, enjoyed time to do group activities, time to make her own activities with a few friends, and time alone, and NS allows this to a significant degree. They are much less concerned with academic development at this early age and concentrate on the children developing social skills, coordination skills, skills in the arts, and just having fun. There's plenty of time for school later, which I am inclined to agree. But, I also realize this is not every kid's or every parent's idea of what's right.

The one thing we didn't especially like is how Susan, the director, can be overbearing about certain issues, "no TV" being one of them. It's a VERY "PC" environment, policy-wise, and VERY "Berkeley." We tended to ignore her diatribes.

When it came to after-school care, the program is really good, I think, for K-1 and maybe grade 2. By third grade, Steffi was bored and there was never any homework support so all the homework was left for when we got home after 6 pm and she was pretty tired by then. Homework got to be a frustrating chore and often ended in tears as the clock neared 7 and sometimes 8, which is very late for a third-grader to be doing homework.

This year we switched Steffi to the JCC (Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center) for after-school care and she's doing much better. Most nights, all of her homework is done before she comes home because they give good support there if the child wants to do homework. This give us time to relax together and maybe work on a special project or read.

New School of Berkeley, 548-9165 (I think). It is located about 1/4 mile from here at Cedar and Bonita in a space owned by the Unitarian Church. It has a long history, about 25 years, and the staff are all very experienced with children. Many of the staff have had several years 10-15 of childcare experience and I found that to be great because so many childcare centers are relatively new with new, young staff. It's a great facility with several outside spaces and ample indoor spaces. One thing I like in particular about New School is that the doors are always open. There is also supervision both inside and out so a child can choose to be outside or inside depending on how he/she feels in any moment. There are programs for both the young kids 2.5 - 3 & 4-5. They have a van so they can go on field trips. It's a wonderful established program and I love it! Please check it out!