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I'm looking for a preschool recommendation in SF for my 2 3/4 year old daughter (yes, I'm crazy and late considering). I have the book ''How to Find....'' and I've used the website Savvy Source, but would like to find one that's off the beaten track. Maybe a Family based, but any recommnedations will do. I'm more interested in play based, laid back style which would explain why I didn't prescribe to the ''apply while in utero''. Thanks for all advice and recommendations. cindy
Can anyone recommend or send me to a list of preschools in SF in the area streching from the Embarcadero to Powel, above or below Market St? Since finding a good and ''available'' preschool in the East Bay is becoming a nightmare, maybe taking my son with me on my way to work would be an easier solution.
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We are planning on moving to San Francisco from the East Bay sometime in the next year, and would like to find a good preschool for our son for the Fall of 2005 (he'll be 2 1/2). We'd prefer to find a good bilingual (spanish-english) school or Jewish preschool, but the most important thing, of course, is the quality of the care! Does anyone have any recommendations? Abby
recommended:
We send our daughter to a wonderful, intimate, family-welcome preschool in San Francisco that has some openings for this year. It is an 11 month (!) school, so that is a bonus as well. You don't have to be Jewish or religiously inclined to attend. Please see the website for contact information: www.bethsholomsf.org or you are welcome to email me and start a conversation! Some families have moved to the East Bay, which is why there are openings. Check us out! Nancy
Easter Seals Bay Area Child Development Center (aka Healthy Environments) is located at 95 Hawthorne Street. Telephone 415/744-8754. You don't say how old your child is, but this center takes infants from (I think) 6 weeks up. There is a *very* long waiting list for the infant room, but there tends to be better availability for older kids. (Kids are grouped by age all the way up to 5 years old). This place is expensive, but if you can afford it, I can honestly say I have never encountered daycare of higher quality. They are accredited which means that they must go way above and beyond the requirements for basic licensing. This translates to really fantastic, well-trained teachers and wonderful age-appropriate activities for the kids. On the practical side, they have very long hours, are open all year long, feed your child a hot breakfast and a hot lunch (and snacks). They just brought in a new director, Patrick Shannon, who has made a great program even better. He has an open door policy for parents and welcomes suggestions on how to improve the center. Call him and set up a tour. The facility itself is only several years old (no worries about lead-based paint, etc) and is located in an earthquake safe building. The classrooms are big, always filled with a variety of great toys, and there is even an outdoor playground for the exclusive use of the daycare center. Another reason I love this place is that they will never show your child a video on a rainy day - no TV. Good luck with your search. I know it can be kind of overwhelming. Happy with SF Daycare
I am interested in hearing about any recent experiences at the San Francisco State Child Study Center. How long has it taken to get through the waiting list? Is it a great place for a 4 year old? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kristin
That said, the class sizes are all fairly small so it's not that easy to get in--I'm a faculty member & fairly low-priority so I signed my older daughter up at six months old. We went to a private daycare until she was 2 so we'd been on the waiting list a while & got right in last spring. But new enrollment fluctuates from semester to semester according to demand--last spring when we were admitted there was less demand because student fees had just gone up. Plus they only offer set schedules i.e., MWT afternoons, or TTh all day and so forth, so sometimes the people at the top of the waiting list can't get the schedule they need and have to pass.
Anyway, if you're at all interested you should put yourself on the list for sure. You may get lucky and get offered a slot right away or you may have to wait a while. But if you get in you'll probably like it--the ony complaint we have is the fixed schedules and the fact that as a faculty member I get nearly last priority in scheduling. Small complaints for a great place-- vsoe
However, the Child Study Center is a completely different building, and is a completely separate program. I have not heard that much about it, but the people I know who have looked at both programs picked the A.S. center. I believe they do a lot of teacher training there for students in the Education department. Good luck, a parent of two
Re: Preschools serving organic food in Fremont/SF Try Marin Day Schools in San Francisco. They have a lunch (optional) delivery from Chefables, an organic lunch program for pre-schools. I love Chefables, the cost is about $5.00 a day, but worth it. Or, just contact Chefables and ask them who they deliver to. www.chefables.com anon
I checked into daycare in SF. I found Marin Day School to be a great place. It is pricey- $1200 for pre-preschool. The waiting list is long also. We decided to find something near home due to cost.
They have a couple of schools located in the Embarcadaro area (one on Spear and one on Harrison). 2 Harrison St # 150 San Francisco, CA (415) 777-9696 220 Spear St San Francisco, CA (415) 777-2081 Good Luck! Lisa
I have a 15 month old daughter that i would like to introduce into a preschool 1 or 2 days a week. Can anyone recommend one in SF? Thanks for your help. Liz
My 4 and 1/2 year old son will begin his 3rd year at Lakeside Presbyterian Center for Children which is located on 19th and Eucalyptus, next to Stonestown. (My sister's 3 kids went there some 25 years ago so it has been around awhile). Most of the kids come from families which are not affiliated to the Lakeside church and religion is not emphasized. There are 4 classes. The younger kids are in the morning sessions which run from 8:30 to 11:30. Child care is also available.
We also were looking for a school primarily for social purposes (no kids in our neighborhood). There are about 20 kids in a class. You can sign up for 2, 3 or 5 mornings. The classrooms are spacious and full of creative and fun toys. Art projects are done daily, but children are not forced to participate. The playground was completely redone last year so the equipment is new and lots of fun. The school does require a fair amount of parent (or adult) participation. There are monthly meetings (although "events", such as an adult/child dinner and a bookfair replace meetings some months). Parents (or grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) are also required to participate in the classroom twice a month or do minor maintenance one evening a month. Alternatively, you can pay an extra $10 a month and not do either.
There are 2 teachers in each class and 1 to 2 aides in addition to the parent helpers. For the younger children, the first hour or so is "free play" and art projects. Then comes "circle time" as children learn to sit in a circle and sing songs, play games, etc. Then there is snack time, playground play and story time. My son loves it. He has learned a lot, made lots of friends, and loves his teachers. During the summer, they run weekly "mini-camps" which go from 9 to 1 so they will be open if you want to call or take a look. I believe they are closed entirely during the last week of August.
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