By Matt Villano
Some like to think of education as a marathon, not a sprint.
Yes, every milestone in a child’s educational journey is important. But there are literally dozens of milestones along the way, which means there are a lot of important decisions for parents to make.
On one level, this means parents must remember to save energy and bandwidth (and resources) for the biggest decisions at the end. In another way, the realities of modern education suggest that before parents wrestle with private schools or college, they first must select the best preschool for their child.
Preschool is the school before kindergarten — the earliest of the options for early childhood education. The Bay Area offers a lot of options for this phase of schooling — quite literally hundreds of preschools of just about every shape and size. These entities differ from each other in a multitude of ways: target age groups, coverage hours, curriculum philosophy and religious affiliation are four of the most common differentiators.
“Preschools are like kids themselves — they’re all very different,” said Ellen Park, CEO and co-founder of Peekadoodle, a preschool in San Francisco. “It’s important [for parents] to take the time to get to know what’s what before you just sign up.”
Variety of preschools cater to different families’ needs
Different programs offer different types of environments. Church preschools offer early education with a religious bent. Forest schools are held mostly outside. Preschools built around the Montessori model incorporate certain chores such as cleaning and organizing. Waldorf preschools support a model that celebrates each child’s unique strengths — almost a different curriculum for every kid.
Then, of course, there are the region-specific programs, which are focused on offering coverage for parents. Mission Neighborhood Centers, for instance, a federally funded Head Start preschool program in San Francisco, offers classes in English and Spanish.
The program is offered for up to eight hours every day — a perk designed to appeal to working families.
Other Head Start programs are organized in a similar fashion. The Early Childhood Impact Program offered through the YMCA of the East Bay is available in 28 different locations in Alameda, Yolo and Sacramento counties, including six in Berkeley and four each in Oakland, Richmond and Antioch.
Executive Director Melanie Mueller said the program has developed a curriculum around play.
“We want kids to have fun,” she said. “We’ve learned that kids like learning best when they don’t actually feel like they’re learning.”
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So how do parents know which preschool is best for their kids? Park, the co-founder of Peekadoodle, said a lot of the decision comes down to gut.
“If you go to the school and you’re on the tour and you love what you see and hear, listen to that,” she said. “Raising kids, generally, you’re often times figuring out and realizing what’s important to them and what’s important to you.”
Park added that while curriculum philosophy is important, it’s shouldn’t always dominate the conversation about which school to choose. She noted that sometimes it’s just as important that a child engage in something outside their comfort zone as it is that do things that are comfortable and familiar.
Velez, from the YMCA, agreed, noting parents should request a trial session before committing for good.
“One of the most important things we can think about for children is their attachment to security,” she said. “If a child feels secure and supported, it opens doors for them around being able to learn other skills — not just in preschool but well beyond.”
A child explores a water table at Peekadoodle, a preschool in the Inner Richmond. The indoor-outdoor learning space includes a 2,500-square-foot play yard that has sand and water features.
Credit: Peekadoodle
Smorgasbord of options
It’s almost impossible to get to know every preschool in the area, but parents certainly can have a decent lay of the land with a modicum of research.
Park’s preschool is one of the best-known in the region. It began as a drop-in kids’ club in Ghirardelli Square in 2008 and subsequently has evolved into a full-time, all-day, year-long operation in the Inner Richmond. Peekadoodle had separate programs for younger kids (ranging from 20 to 36 months) and older ones (3 and 4 years).
The programs themselves incorporate a mix of inside and outside time, art and science, play-based learning and regimented learning. As Park explains it, the goal is to provide kids with a balance.
“We like to stretch but not stress the child,” she said. “Kids want structure but also to play and explore.”
Unusual approaches
While most preschools in the Bay Area fall into the groupings above, some take these tried-and-true models and incorporate special features to create unique approaches that are notable.
Take the Choice in Learning Montessori preschool in Pleasant Hill. Most of the time this school operates like any other preschool, with a mix of art and play, book time, outside time and more. Once a week, however, students go next door to a senior center named Choice in Aging, where they engage in different activities with the older adults.
According to site director Gina Velez, the result is a program that benefits young and old alike.
Velez said kids and older adults work together on art projects, folding laundry and more. The older adults find it very exciting to have little partners for these tasks. Kids, in turn, like it too.
“The kids understand that just because you have gray hair or you can’t walk as well as everybody else, you’re not part of a throwaway society,” she said. “It makes them part of a global situation. They see beyond just themselves. They see other people. They see the cycle of life. What we’re trying to teach these kids is that regardless of your age, everybody is entitled to dignity.”
Another unique preschool: The Discovery School, the on-site preschool for kids ages 3 to 5 at the Bay Area Discovery Museum at Fort Baker in Sausalito.
Here, educators value and prioritize time for pursuing interests, developing relationships and engaging in imaginative play and exploration with open-ended materials. The group spends time having circle time, exploring outside, sharing stories, singing songs and engaging in small group work.
What to Look for
A child looks at their reflection at Peekadoodle, a preschool in the Inner Richmond.
Credit: Peekadoodle
Different programs offer different types of environments. Church preschools offer early education with a religious bent. Forest schools are held mostly outside. Preschools built around the Montessori model incorporate certain chores such as cleaning and organizing. Waldorf preschools support a model that celebrates each child’s unique strengths — almost a different curriculum for every kid.
Then, of course, there are the region-specific programs, which are focused on offering coverage for parents. Mission Neighborhood Centers, for instance, a federally funded Head Start preschool program in San Francisco, offers classes in English and Spanish.
The program is offered for up to eight hours every day — a perk designed to appeal to working families.
Other Head Start programs are organized in a similar fashion. The Early Childhood Impact Program offered through the YMCA of the East Bay is available in 28 different locations in Alameda, Yolo and Sacramento counties, including six in Berkeley and four each in Oakland, Richmond and Antioch.
Executive Director Melanie Mueller said the program has developed a curriculum around play.
“We want kids to have fun,” she said. “We’ve learned that kids like learning best when they don’t actually feel like they’re learning.”
So how do parents know which preschool is best for their kids? Park, the co-founder of Peekadoodle, said a lot of the decision comes down to gut.
“If you go to the school and you’re on the tour and you love what you see and hear, listen to that,” she said. “Raising kids, generally, you’re often times figuring out and realizing what’s important to them and what’s important to you.”
Park added that while curriculum philosophy is important, it’s shouldn’t always dominate the conversation about which school to choose. She noted that sometimes it’s just as important that a child engage in something outside their comfort zone as it is that do things that are comfortable and familiar.
Velez, from the YMCA, agreed, noting parents should request a trial session before committing for good.
“One of the most important things we can think about for children is their attachment to security,” she said. “If a child feels secure and supported, it opens doors for them around being able to learn other skills — not just in preschool but well beyond.”
Some like to think of education as a marathon, not a sprint.
Yes, every milestone in a child’s educational journey is important. But there are literally dozens of milestones along the way, which means there are a lot of important decisions for parents to make.
On one level, this means parents must remember to save energy and bandwidth (and resources) for the biggest decisions at the end. In another way, the realities of modern education suggest that before parents wrestle with private schools or college, they first must select the best preschool for their child.
Preschool is the school before kindergarten — the earliest of the options for early childhood education. The Bay Area offers a lot of options for this phase of schooling — quite literally hundreds of preschools of just about every shape and size. These entities differ from each other in a multitude of ways: target age groups, coverage hours, curriculum philosophy and religious affiliation are four of the most common differentiators.
“Preschools are like kids themselves — they’re all very different,” said Ellen Park, CEO and co-founder of Peekadoodle, a preschool in San Francisco. “It’s important [for parents] to take the time to get to know what’s what before you just sign up.”
A child explores a water table at Peekadoodle, a preschool in the Inner Richmond. The indoor-outdoor learning space includes a 2,500-square-foot play yard that has sand and water features.
Credit: Peekadoodle
A child looks at their reflection at Peekadoodle, a preschool in the Inner Richmond.
Credit: Peekadoodle