I have toured 20+ preschools and this is definitely the best one. We decided to send my son there…read moreimmediately after touring. My son has stayed there for almost 3 years. Several highlights: 1. The cleanest school. I heard that it's common in preschools that one kid gets sick (e.g., flu), the whole class gets it. This has never happened in Discovery (amazing, right?). During this very special school year 2020-2021, there was no COVID case found in this school. 2. The teachers use Positive Discipline to educate kids. They even gave a lecture to parents about it! This is the only preschool that I know which truly does this... (Many teachers in other preschools do not even know Positive Discipline.) 3. This is a true Montessori school, but my son is doing great academically in terms of math, phonics etc. He is super happy every day there. Drawbacks of this school: The teachers focus too much on caring the kids that they may not reply to emails or phone calls quickly. If you are interested, please just walk to their door and talk to them. And this becomes dramatically different after your kid is enrolled: whenever you have any questions regarding to your kid's development, just give them a phone call and they usually respond within 1 day, giving you awesome suggestions (often following Positive Discipline). They just care too much about kids' education, rather than advertising... If you have any questions about this school, please do not hesitate to message me and I am more than happy to help.

Discovery is an excellent school. My both kids attended here (one is still there) and my daughter…read morewas reading Harry Potter in Kindergarten thanks to Bonnie and the other teachers at Discovery. It is Montessori style and has a very diverse student and teacher population, which we loved. While my kids are doing very well academically due to the school, it wasn't a very "academic" environment. They teach things in a fun way using Montessori and have plenty of enrichment activities - art, music, Mandarin, etc. We have recommended 5+ families to the school that have all loved it. We even know two families who left and then came back within a year after realizing this is the best preschool in the Bay Area!

We couldn't be more thrilled with our decision to move our daughter to this exceptional Montessori…read morepreschool. From the moment we stepped through the doors, we knew we had found something special. The school's approach to communication with children is truly remarkable. The teachers consistently demonstrate a level of respect and patience that is both refreshing and inspiring. It's clear that they view each child as deserving of kindness and understanding, and as unique individuals. One of the standout features of the school is its meticulously organized environment. The classrooms are thoughtfully arranged to promote independence, curiosity, and learning. It's a joy to see how this structured setting allows children to flourish and develop essential life skills. Also, the teachers here have been nothing short of amazing, and have been so kind to all of us. Perhaps the most telling sign of the school's success is the happiness of the children. The children are always smiling and engaged. Our daughter's enthusiasm for school has skyrocketed since joining a year and a half ago, and she quickly gained a confidence and independence that we did not see at the precious school. We were so impressed that we enrolled our younger child as well, and the results have been equally fantastic. Our little one now eagerly anticipates school each day.. seriously, she can't wait to go to school, no tears!

Both my daughters attended this preschool for 3 years. It is located in the beautiful Greenmeadow…read moreneighborhood in Palo Alto and is a great, nurturing environment with wonderful teachers. Both my girls absolutely thrived here and learned so much - they were both reading towards the end of their third year here, knew their numbers and counting and were even naming all the various countries in the map of South America! There is also a lot of focus on building social skills, grace and courtesy, and valuable life lessons like conflict resolution on the playground. Their 3 yrs here really prepared them for elementary school and helped them start kindergarten feeling very prepared and confident. The parent community has been wonderful as well with both our children and us having made many friends over the years. If you are looking for a Montessori preschool for your child I highly recommend this one.

A huge shoutout to Miss Ella and Miss Jahaira! You are the main reasons our daughter wants to keep…read moregoing to school (and returning for a new school year). Looking through our daughter's portfolio made our day, it shows how much you (and other teachers such as Miss Karen) have done for her. Thank you for introducing them to artists like Mondrian (so inspiring!), for your endless patience when she didn't want to nap, and for always being so open and honest with us about her development. It means the world to know she is in such caring, dedicated hands.

Ms. Zhang is an exceptional teacher and educator. She has shown tremendous patience, kindness, and…read moreprofessionalism while working with my child, who can be very energetic and strong-willed. She has been instrumental in helping him stay focused, build confidence, and develop important behavioral and learning skills. It's clear that she genuinely cares about her students and is dedicated to helping each child succeed. We are incredibly grateful for the positive impact she has had on our child and highly appreciate the support and guidance she provides in the classroom.

Amazing! Best Chinese school nearby…read more Our 4.5 years old son can only understand a little Chinese at the beginning, after first day's after school, he asked me to read some Chinese books at night, which is incredible and he never asked me to do that previously. We really like their "learn and play" project based language program, and they keep their classroom so clean and organized. So many activities ( cooking class, art, airplanes museum trip, etc). And we highly recommend families trying out.

Our daughter attended Sharmila Montessori from 2023 to 2026 and graduated recently. We are quite…read morehappy with the care and would recommend it to other families. The campus is well spaced, with three or four large mixed-age classrooms and two large playgrounds. The school focuses on social-emotional learning through mixed-age group play, teaching children to take care of their own needs (folding their blankets, cleaning up, looking after their belongings, etc., ), and art/creative learning. On a typical day, kids spend time reading books, doing fun activities with their teaches as well as outside play and often times singing or preparing for fun school events. Over the three years since we joined, Sharmila has grown this school through word of mouth and expanded her staff and school facilities. The student to teacher ratio is impressive (about 1:6) and kids get individual attention from their care-givers. Our daughter misses her teachers and the experience. Throughout the school year there were plenty of events for parents to take part in and to connect with other families. Whenever we needed help managing a challenge, Sharmila was always keen to work with us and accommodating. She has a good understanding of the individual nature of each kid and what would enable them to overcome a challenge. It is evident that Sharmila has years of experience and understanding in nurturing young children.

My son attended Sharmila Montessori for the last 2 years and recently graduated to TK. We had such…read morea great experience at the school and will truly miss Sharmila and the whole montessori family. I transferred my son from a nearby larger daycare where he would not strop crying for almost a month. I finally pulled him out and thankfullly found Sharmila. Teacher Linda provided such a warm environment he didn't cry from day one, it was such a relief. Sharmila, her husband, and all the teachers really go above and beyond to make sure the students have beautiful memories in their time there. I could not believe how much love and effort the whole staff put into their little first graduation. We felt so cared for and loved and will carry lots of treasured memories from his early years of life there. Thank you Sharmila and all the teachers and lovely family!

Our experience with this preschool was excellent. From the very first day, our son felt at home…read morethere, which gave us a huge sense of comfort and confidence. He genuinely loved going to school each day, and it was clear that the environment felt warm, safe, and welcoming to him. The staff was always friendly, caring, and attentive. Dinesh in particular is amazing. He brings so much wisdom and experience to his work with children and families. Beyond caring for the kids, he shared thoughtful guidance with us on parenting, including how to navigate sibling dynamics, which we found incredibly helpful. He has a very calming, grounding presence, and we especially appreciated that he was able to notice and point out things that were worth paying attention to. That combination of warmth, insight, and experience is rare. We're very grateful for the care and support our son received here, and we would wholeheartedly recommend this preschool to other families.

My son attended PAMS from age 2 to 3.5, and we had a truly wonderful experience there…read more He came home every week excited to show us all kinds of handmade projects like paper cows and snakes, drawings, shapes, and even letters he practiced writing. It was very special to watch his creativity and confidence grow over time. PAMS also organizes many fun events throughout the year, especially during the summer. Some of my son's favorites were the cooking classes, gymnastics, dance activities, and visits from fire trucks and police cars. The campus itself is warm, cheerful, and filled with things young kid naturally like, e.g sand boxes What stood out most to us was the kindness and care from the staff and teachers. They are incredibly warm and attentive with the children. Whenever we traveled for more than a couple of weeks, by the second week my son would start saying he missed his school, friends, and teachers. While PAMS is not the type of school that sends daily photo updates, they do keep thoughtful photo albums from school events and activities. Some of those photos are very meaningful to us, especially from when my son first joined the school. I still remember seeing a picture of his teacher holding his hand during a police car visit while he was adjusting to a much larger class than his previous daycare. Moments like that gave us a lot of reassurance as parents. We ultimately left only because we applied to the early learning center of an elementary school we were interested in, and to our surprise, our son was accepted. During that transition, Dinesh was also incredibly supportive and kindly helped by writing evaluation letters for us, which we truly appreciated. Otherwise, we likely would have stayed at PAMS through the kindergarten years. We are very grateful for the care, warmth, and joyful early childhood memories they gave our son.

Solid after school program. Mandarin education is their strong point and they give homework, then…read moreadminister quizzes and tests to measure progress - all things that were lacking when our kid was in Ohlone (after 2nd grade, she could not even write her name in Chinese correctly). Thanks to Acme, that deficit has been fixed and she is on track to be at grade level on Pinyin, Chinese character writing (including correct stroke sequence) and reading, and speech. I was not expecting much, just basic after school care when we enrolled but have been pleasantly surprised. If we had known earlier, we would have stayed with our local PAUSD elementary school and not gone to the Ohlone for their so-called Mandarin Immersion program. Note that the school has something of the feel of an expat institution (probably over 90% of the students have mainland Chinese parents). That's not necessarily a bad thing, just be aware that it is culturally homogenous.

My son has some after school and summer school here…read more Pros: 1. Super convenient location (Cubberly Community Center) with multiple places to park and pick up 2. Electives at after school. They offer piano, modeling, critical thinking, clay/sculpting, singing/dancing, tennis, chess, soccer. The electives are provided by an external company. Everyone has been trained that if a parent goes to pick up (say at the soccer field) and doesn't have the pickup tag from the front office then they can't release the child. 3. Bi-lingual English and mandarin. For kids who don't know the language there was a beginner class just learning the sounds and basic words 4. They have independent van drivers who go pick up the kids (they are paid separately from the school) from whatever elementary school and drop them off at ACME. 5. My son has fun - when they have cooking days he always wants to stay until the cooking part is done 6. There are parent teacher conferences so you can get a sense of how your child is doing 7. With the English homework (math, spelling), I can really get a sense of how my son is doing and where he needs help. Cons: 1. Sometimes the electives are during the Chinese part of class so the child will miss out on the lesson and fall behind 2. You emailed invoices but it's not always clear what they are for 3. It would be nice if they had a network of tutors who could be hired for additional fee to help children one on one 4. It can be hard to get into popular electives Bottom line: it's cost effective, it's convenient, and my son has fun

I'm writing this to warn other families about our experience at Casa dei Bambini. While some of the…read moreteachers are great (already left), the leadership and business ethics are beyond disappointing. 1. Lack of Transparency on School Sale The school is permanently closing/selling the site, but management kept us in the dark until it was almost too late. Because they didn't disclose this sooner, many families missed the window to find other high-quality school placements. It feels like they just wanted to keep our tuition locked in as long as possible while they negotiated a deal behind the scenes. 2. Dishonest Billing Practices This was the deal-breaker for us. After our kid transitioned to the Primary class, they continued to charge us the much higher Pre-primary rate. When we called them out, they flat-out refused to adjust it, citing a "policy" that isn't even in our signed contract. It's clear they only did this because we had already prepaid in full. Other families who didn't prepay had their rates adjusted--this kind of discriminatory billing is unprofessional and greedy. 3. Hygiene Concerns The facility isn't as clean as it should be. We've known several kids, including ours, who came home with unexplained red rashes. It raises some serious red flags about their daily sanitization and hygiene standards. 4. Hypocritical Leadership The director, Sandra, puts on a very "sweet" and "nurturing" facade in emails, but it's all about the money. She runs the school like a dictatorship and shuts down any parent concerns with threats of "libel" or debt collection. It's heartbreaking to see a school leader prioritize "proforma financials" and profit margins over the well-being and fair treatment of children and their families. Look elsewhere. Your child deserves a school led by people with actual integrity, not just a polished sales pitch. -------------------------------------------- I am updating this review to address the director's response, which attempts to use "legal frameworks" and "family circumstances" to deflect from unfair business practices. * The "Tuition Credit" Deception: The school claims they offered "future tuition credit" to resolve our dispute. This is a hollow gesture. Why would a family accept "credit" for a school that is being sold or closed? We requested a refund for the price difference after our child transitioned to the Primary class, but the school continued to charge us the significantly higher Pre-primary rate. * No Contractual Basis: The director cites "clearly written contracts", yet failed to point out any clause that justifies overcharging a family for a lower-cost class level simply because they prepaid in full. This "policy" was unilaterally imposed and not part of our signed agreement. * Lack of Transparency: While the director mentions "procedures" for communicating the school's sale, it is ethically wrong to actively collect non-refundable annual pre-payments from families while withholding the fact that the school location is being sold. * Hygiene Concerns: Attributing recurring red rashes solely to "playing in grass" is dismissive when multiple children are affected. Parents deserve sanitization accountability, not excuses. True integrity is shown through fair financial treatment and transparency, not through polished emails or "future credits" for a closing business. I stand by my warning to other families: look elsewhere for a school that honors its agreements and its families.

The Casa dei Bambini program follows AMI Montessori standards which is hard to find in the…read morePeninsula. Our daughter joined the Palo Alto campus after a year at another high fidelity Montessori program. We found the guides and staff at CdB as wonderful in cultivating strong curiousity and learning skills with a firm and loving hand. I don't know what we would have done without it. In fact, I've recommended it to all of my friends who have a 1 year old. You won't have to worry at all about their school situation until they are 5 or 6 once they enter this program. We have started our daughter in elementary school, and it is also clear that the work is not the same level or as challenging for her in traditional elementary environments. We miss CdB and look forward to our daughter taking advantage of the summer school options to stay connected to the community.