Re: Rising Star Montessori and Child Unique in Alameda
I missed the original post, but since my daughter went from 2 years at terrific and loving play-based preschool to Rising Star Montessori, I wanted to add a comment. I was nervous about the transition from such a loose and flexible non-academic day to Montessori's more structured day. It turned out that Rising Star was perfect for her, and I am so happy we decided to place her there. She ended up loving school and her teachers so much, and I can't say enough good things about the Rising Star community. At first it did bother her that she couldn't come to school, take off her shoes and play with toys, or go outside first thing in the morning. But eventually she loved coming in and experiencing a predictable routine. Rising Star also did a terrific job preparing her for kindergarten. Meg

Re: Preschool for 3.5 year old
For true preschools I am only personally familiar with Rising Star on High St. It didn't work out for my daughter last year, for just the qualities you are looking for (it wasn't ''fun and loving''). Also I do think kids need to be potty trained. They have a good ratio (about 6 or 7 to 1 I think) but the class is just too big. There were about 30-35 kids with 5 adults. They also are fairly strict. My outgoing, social, fun-loving daughter became very withdrawn and ''shy'' there. Frances

Does anyone have any information on Rising Star Montessori School in Alameda? Any type of feedback is appreciated. Thank you. cd