Love the staff at Kama'aina Kids St. Mark's. The director is very responsive and caring. My son…read moreloves going here and he is always happy and singing songs in the car that he learned in daycare on the way home. Of course daycare costs an arm and a leg but we are glad that our son is in good hands while we are at work. The kids all look happy at drop off and pick up and the teachers know all the kids names even if they are in a different age group. If you're looking for a daycare option then I would recommend this location.

I am not only very thankful to all teachers but also leaned a lot to be a good parent at this…read moreschool. My son went to this school from 3 to 5 years old. We checked out many schools in town and tried couple for few weeks but this school was most fun, loving and caring as well as had good discipline and academics. Ms. Tammy quickly realized my son was behind in writing. She told me not to pick him up till 4pm so she could work with him more personally. A couple of months later, I realized that my son and his classmates were lot ahead in academics from other kids in their age. She said she wanted kids to be confident by being ahead so they would always do well in school. Now my son is in kindergarten and has been always the top of the class in all subjects. In fact, people often asked me which preschool he went to. Ms. Tammy was also very fun and planned many activities even on weekends. She brought a whole class closer and many of us had quality time and memory together. When she taught dodgeball to kids, not only parents but also teachers jumped in to play. We got scoldings for being so loud by too much laughter :) We had so much fun. Another difference I noticed was teachers are more realistic and sustainable. Unlike other schools that focus on fancy wooden toys and recycle papers, they use the back of used papers and make many things from cardboard, fabrics and plants. I was very impressed how creative they were. What I love most about this school was all teachers were very loving, caring and fun at the same time they give good disciplines to kids. They were very nurturing and experienced mothers, they know names of all kids in school and what's going with them each day. As soon as I walked in to pick up my son, the first teacher I saw always told me how my son was. The office lady even the director were often helping kids in the classroom. They are not only sweet but strict in a good way too, and children have good understandings and behaviors. Watching how they deal with kids, I learned how to be fair to kids. Lastly, the director and teachers were very understanding and lenient with our complicated family situation. They were always there to listen and give me good advices, and I felt very supported. I referred many of my friends to this school and they are all happy. The school helped my son to be kind, strong and smart and me to be a good mom. I highly recommend this school!

Our daughter started at KA at 10 weeks old, very shortly after KA first opened, and (a blink…read morelater!) is now soon to graduate and head to preschool. KA has been spectacular through and through. The school is loving, nurturing, supportive, clean and full of fun activities. My daughter has thrived, with so many great friends and teachers, and so many fun things each day. She loves the play nook, book corner and circle time. Meals are all coordinated from a neighboring restaurant, so the kids eat well and with a healthy variety. They have a "book library" you can borrow from. AND They have parent-accessible cameras so you can check in on your kiddo through the day! We feel so lucky to have been a part of the KA 'Ohana and are so thankful. When I was dropping off my baby so I could head to work, I always knew that she would be loved, well fed, clean and cared for. After over 2.5yrs, they have done and been so much more. In addition to the amazing teachers, the management at KA are incredible. They are hands-on, friendly and accommodating, and truly care about the daycare and the children. When a child is hurt or sick or having a tough day, they will often be found on the laps of Ronna (the owner) or Keesha (the manager), so they can get some extra attention to help ease whatever the issue. We cannot recommend KA enough for your little one! Ps. Tell Keesha I say hi!!

We loved Kiddie Academy and sent both of our children there. The teachers and management are…read morecaring, professional, and helpful. They were all amazing and we especially loved Ms Kimmie and Ms Caitlyn, as well as Ms Keesha and the owner Ronna. My son was quite young when he began and I like that they kept the tiniest babies in their own room which (I think) helped reduce the number of times he got sick! We also had some behavioral challenges and greatly appreciated the level of communication, empathy, and willingness to try various approaches and solutions.

Our 5 yr old daughter learned more in a half year at Chaminade University Montessori Lab School…read morethan she has in her previous 4.5 years of life! OK, I may be exaggerating a bit, but I really wanted to sing the praises of the incredible staff at CUMLS. My daughter comes home and asks when she can go to school next. She's constantly amazing us with her vocabulary. She actually taught me the definition of an archipelligo. Maybe she can teach me how to spell it too? What's truly important too is that this year's current crew of teachers are so loving to our kids. I can feel how much they care for the kids as if they are all Ohana. They grow herbs in their garden and my daughter brings home kalo chips, hummus, and other wonderful things that were from the things grown on campus. Extra Kudos to Kristie Sakai who provided a safe space for our keiki and gave us the flexibility to stay distanced during Covid and welcoming us when we were ready to go back to in-person learning. The logistics and coordination are not taken for granted. I'm especially emotional about this fine school since this is our daughter's last day and she'll be moving on to a different school. Our many, many thanks to Ms. Claire, Ms. Megan, Ms. Veronica, and Ms. Kristie for their love and care of our most valued treasures. We will miss CUMLS!

Our third son just finished his last year of preschool at Chaminade University Montessori Lab…read moreSchool and our fourth son is going to be starting this upcoming school year for 2019. All four of our sons will have attended preschool here - which shows clearly how much we have appreciated everything about the school, including the teachers, the program, the campus, the fun night events where parents are invited to visit the school and see students' projects, the security, the shaded and safe playground, convenient school hours, ample parking, and the beautiful view from the classroom and school grounds. The classroom is well organized, clean, and full of amazing educational materials. As other reviewers have noted, the curriculum is Montessori, so no complaints there. We think methods used to teach learning and skills to the young children really works and it's easy to see the progress each month. Some of the other specific things I really liked about the curriculum and how this school instructs the children, is the teaching of practical skills and shared responsibilities like cleaning up and preparing food together, or taking care of the younger children in the classroom. During this past year, our third son looked after a couple of younger children and in turn, was befriend by an older boy that took him under his wing. He couldn't wait to go to school each day! Other things my wife and I appreciated about the school, included all the educational field trips to a variety of places around the island, including historical sites, organic farms, and holiday events. While the teachers and the head staff have changed since we enrolled our oldest son five years ago, the ratio of teachers to students has always been high. We have also liked all the teachers and thought they were caring and attentive and did a great job of communicating about our sons and their progress, including providing us with photos of them learning and doing projects at school. At the end of each year, the students work hard to put on a graduation show that includes music and singing, and a potluck lunch. It's always been a little sad to leave at the end of the school year, which means I highly recommend Chaminade University Montessori Lab School!

It's always hard for parents to know whether their child is going to do well with their first…read morepreschool experience. I was very nervous when we started looking for preschool for our then 3 yr old son. I toured a few and felt that Kailua Baptist Preschool would be perfect because from the moment I walked into the office, I could just feel the atmosphere of love and care. There was none of the cold matter-of-fact business nonesense. The sweet ladies here are all about the relationship. Let me just say, as soon as we applied, multiple friends made comments about how much their kids loved that preschool which just solidified for me internally that I made the right choice. . The facility is small but they have such am amazing program. The teachers are outstanding and fully equipped to handle anything toddlers can throw their way. Our son has a very strong will and sometimes can wind me up in a matter of seconds. Amazingly, his teachers and the entire preschool staff have been able to find an individual approach that worked to get him to cooperate and enjoy preschool. He's made friends, went on field trips, and learned his numbers and ABCs. He can spell his name, and recognizes different letters that he associates with the names of his school friends. He absolutely adores his teachers. We will miss KBP next year a lot. It has been such a wonderful experience. I only regret not putting our oldest daughter in that preschool when she was little, and not putting our son in for 5 days a week instead of 2. We highly recommend KBP to all of our friends.

I cannot say enough great things about this school! From the teachers to the office, just all…read morearound amazing people that actually care about the kids & parents. My child had no problems adjusting to going to school here & misses his teachers on the weekend! When I decided to put my child in preschool, I was that parent that was so nervous, hoping I was doing the right thing & I am so glad I did because he is thriving! I highly recommend this school!

Please be very careful about enrolling your child here. I was so excited when my child was able to…read moreget a spot at Cole. I overlooked a lot of things that bothered me for years because of that. I told myself I was too sensitive when the teacher in the infant class told me that my child was far behind developmentally and needed to be much farther along. I was point-blank asked if I was not doing enough at home to help further her along. (Now that I have a second child I see that what my first child lacked in gross motor skills at an early age she more than made up for in communication skills.) I told myself that maybe the teacher in the toddler class was right when, after a week of my daughter being bitten daily by another kid, I was asked if anything in our home life had changed to cause my daughter to want to get bitten. (Blaming the victim starts early, I guess). I told myself it was just another parent overreacting on the day that a father saw his daughter screaming from being cold. She had doused herself in water from the bathroom and was soaking wet and shivering when he stopped by. The sight he saw prompted him to have a very loud argument with the teachers in front of me and my kid. I really wish they had moved him away from the main classroom to have their discussion. From that day on for the next 6 months she was terrified of any new male she came across. But then she broke her toe and my vision finally shifted. At first, I only knew my side of the story. The side where I came to school to pick up my daughter and she was standing alone screaming. Now, I'll be the first to admit that she's a little dramatic. So I shrugged and grabbed her hand to lead her away. She crippled over in pain and clearly couldn't put any pressure on her foot. That's when I started to panic. I picked her up and raced her to the car where I took off her shoes to see what the problem was. The problem was her foot had been shoved into the shoe to the point where her baby toe had been folded at a 90-degree angle and broken. The toe was pinched right where it connects with the rest of the foot, cutting off circulation and turning blue. I was terrified she would lose the toe. After rushing her to a doctor and finding out her toe was in fact broken, we spent weeks splinting it until it was healed. We spoke to the school to find out their side of the story. At that point, there was a 70% chance that I would pull her out of the school after slowly looking at other daycare options. There was also a 30% chance that we would stay. It all depended on what the school told us. The school said they would view camera footage (I didn't know there were cameras!) and let us know what happened. They got back to us several days later. They said that her toe hadn't been broken. They said there was no sign of anyone coming near her prior to her crying. They said the reason she had been crying was that a father had come to pick up his kid and they cited the aforementioned male stranger anxiety. (That anxiety had finally gone away 3-months before her toe was broken, by the way.) Yes, despite the fact that we had medical proof that her toe was in fact broken and that I had seen that the cause of the broken toe was her toe being caught on something on a shoe that had been put on at the school by someone other than her parents, Cole opted to completely deny the fact that her toe was broken. That was their only response to our inquiry. At least they let us pull our daughter out of daycare the same day they came back with their "findings" (despite their rule of 30-day notice). They even paid us back for her last month of lunch that we had prepaid. Maybe they are just really generous to upset parents. I think it's more likely that they knew they had broken her toe and just wanted to hush us up and get us out of there.

Our daughter is now 1 year old! Today!! And she's been at the Cole Academy for 9 months now…read more Wanted to updated my review and say that Cole Academy has been awesome. Miss Qiara and Miss Aida are so wonderful with our daughter, they truly are a big part of our daughter's life and I'm so thankful for them. Infant Room A is where it's at baby!! We are so happy with it that we just got a tattoo on our daughter back that says "INFANT ROOM A FOREVAH" as a reminder for the rest of her life. (I kid I kid) The director Miss Cassandra and associate director Miss Sara are also great. All the staff we encounter know our daughter's name and say hi to her whenever they see her. The days that Cole Academy are closed (which isn't often) line up with our company holidays so we almost never have to take off work either. We are very happy with Cole academy and I think it's an excellent value.

My son has attended the green preschool Kailua for almost a year and it has been such a wonderful…read moreexperience. We really wanted a peaceful, creative, and compassionate environment for him to be part of and the green preschool is it. The children all are so very happy and everyone recognizes what a special place our school is. The kids are taught Hawaiian songs, how to sew, paint, serve others, be inclusive, express themselves, and appreciate our beautiful island. All the children are so wonderful to each other and they are so kind to each other. They also work on numbers and letters - it really is the best little school and anyone would be lucky to part of it!

The Green Preschool in Kailua is a hidden gem and it has been life changing for my daughter…read more As a parent, this school checks all of the boxes for me: small class sizes for more teacher student attention, a calming environment, flexible options for pick up, schedules accounting for fewer days per week, fabulous field trips, and an incredible teaching methodology. Aunty Pualani fosters creativity and a love of our natural environment and yet teaches important life skills with painting, baking, sewing, planting, and so much more. My daughter truly thrives here. In the last three months since enrolling, I've seen her gain confidence, become so helpful at home and with her little brother, and learn so much. She's always singing and repeating stories from school and her math skills have improved dramatically since enrolling! The school also provides organic and delicious snacks every day. There is a licensed therapy dog on site that mostly just naps but knows when he's needed and has comforted my daughter on more than one occasion. She adores him and I trust him implicitly. Most importantly, my daughter leaves school with a smile on her face, she's never overstimulated, and she's always eager to go back the next day. So many preschools that I looked into had long hours, little flexibility, large class sizes, and even larger wait lists. Do yourself and your child a favor and try The Green Preschool in Kailua. You won't regret it.

I was recommended this place by Sakura Psychological services to assist in helping my son with his…read moredyslexia and ADHD. Long story short I would save your money and for another place. They recommended my son go to a 11 week tutoring session before going into their reading and writing program during the summer. They said he would have a hard time if he just went to their summer program . Half way into the tutoring session they said my son was done with his sessions and didn't need any more tutoring. That left me with only 5 sessions and no refund for the other 5. When picking him up and dropping him off during the tutoring session I noticed that their facility was uncomfortably hot and there was a lot of construction going on. With this place being a Multi-sensory center I can't imagine being able to help a child with ADHD with people coming in and out, loud construction noises, and unbearable heat. Their summer program is also a joke, there is only one teacher for numerous kids of different ages. I signed my son up for only for reading and writing, but they taught him math instead. Once the summer program was completed they tried to sell me more sessions saying he needed more help! This place is just a business to make money rather than helping children with learning disorders.

Kosasa Academy was an indescribable help for our family! My daughter spent three summers and two…read moreyears at Kosasa Academy and went from being a discouraged and frustrated kid who couldn't read or spell despite our best efforts, into a confident reader, speller and public speaker! She loved her teachers and loved getting ready for school every day. What more could you ask for? I feel indebted to Mrs. Kosasa and the other teachers for what they invested into my daughter. She learned in leaps and bounds under their care. They really care so much for their students, meet them where they are at, encourage them, and give them the tools to succeed. I highly recommend Kosasa Academy!

I have an extremely biased view, but let me quickly and sweetly explain why: EVERYONE CARES…read more The staff has been stacked with teachers that are not only qualified but also extremely dedicated and creative. The current principal, Mr. No, is also an intelligent man that has taken the helm and leading the school towards an even brighter future. On top of the wonderful staff, the community is also driven to make sure that the school, and each other, support one another to help each other grow. A school that takes pride in their activities, and pushes students to excel and grow individually. Parents, your search is over. This is the school to put your children in.