Child's Play is truly a hidden gem. We're on our 2nd child growing up in this wonderful little…read morespace. There is a big focus on outside play and creative arts/crafts and cooking (pre-Covid) that our eldest son really enjoyed and thrived within to include weekly art and dance classes for the kids. The teachers really encourage independence and creativity within the confines of a group setting of children that really learn the important early lessons of respect and appreciation for one another. Our oldest son was wonderfully prepared and ahead of kids at the Kindergarten level entering pre-K and knew how to read/write his name, count and do simple math in this program that carved out a "K-class" for the older elementary school transitioning kids. Donna, Daniel, Laurel and Lindsey are wonderful teachers and I would HIGHLY recommend this program for any parent looking for well rounded loving learning environment for their little.

Our kid is 5 yrs. He has been at another preschool for nearly 2 yrs. In that time, we never…read morereceived any negative reports involving his behavior. We have never witnessed rage in our son. He also spent 3 days at Child's Play. In one of those days, our son wanted to go outside. He repeatedly asked but he was not permitted to step outside. His frustration grew and grew. According to Donna, he attacked a teacher at the school. I can only imagine the extreme frustration at that point. I feel that if someone or anyone had taken the time to explain or just sit with him that this would have never happened. Perhaps they were too busy?? Maybe they did not notice?? She also said he was on the spectrum?? It turns out that he was just low in English (he is bilingual) and is in fact, suffers from a bit of Einstein's Syndrome!! After a fun filled three days, we quickly got him out of there!

Thoughtful, educated staff that treat your child as one of their own. Lots of outdoor learning…read moreareas with well planned activities to promote child development. Very safe environment and staff are well trained to address all your child's needs. You should definitely contact this preschool and see for yourself why it's a 5 star choice.

Our two sons began their educational life at CDCC and have benefited greatly from the experience.read more

Danielle Monroy is the owner and director of Creative Care for Children, and she does an amazing…read morejob! Both of my children attended Danielle's, and both my kids loved it. Danielle has a wonderful focus on art and outside play - in the summer it is not unusual to see a handful of kids laughing and playing in the sprinklers in her gorgeous back yard. Her facility is amazing - a HUGE backyard with a Victorian wooden playhouse, lovely grass area, children friendly vegetable patch and flower garden, multiple climbing structures, and a paved bike path. Though technically she's a childcare and not a preschool, she still takes the time to teach the older children their basics. My son attended Danielle's until kindergarten, and I felt that he was well prepared for his first day of real school. Do yourself a favor and go check her out - you'll and your child will be happy you did!

We searched and searched to find the perfect preschool for our 2-year-old. We toured all the…read morehighest rated schools in SB and weren't excited about any of them. And then we found Danielle. We couldn't be happier! She's caring, attentive and it's abundantly clear that she adores the kids. It's not a standard school - it's out of her home, in a residential area. But, she has a fully equipped, expansive backyard where the kids run free and explore. Danielle has a master's degree in early childhood education and believes in the importance of outdoor learning. There are numerous daily art projects and most are nature based. Inside, there are wooden Montessori and Waldorf toys as well. I've also noticed that she spends a lot of one-on-one time - teaching and reading to the kids. We are so glad to have found this affordable, small little school where our daughter has thrived.

Our child spent some time here this summer during the closure of our home school. It was such a…read morewonderful experience! Even though Luca was here for a short time, the staff took the time to learn about him in advance so he was set up for success on day one. They went out of their way to accommodate his nutritional needs. He participated in a lot of fun activities and we got updates and pictures so we knew what he as up to which was both fun and reassuring. And he came home happy every day! If we lived in Santa Barbara we would feel lucky yo bring him here every day, and we cannot wait to come back. Thanks to Dominique, Diego, Dava, and Tamara!!!

Hope 4 Kids is an exceptional school and Teresa (program director) and Cherie (the head of school)…read morehave built something amazing in Santa Barbara. We had to spend three months in Santa Barbara in 2019 for family reasons, and wanted to take advantage of the time there to let our 19 month old get socialized in a pre-school. We live in LA, so naturally compared Hope 4 Kids to some of the places we've looked at in LA, like CEE, Christopher Robin, and numerous other really nice, 'fancy' pre-schools. Hope 4 Kids is nicer than them all, and provides an amazing foundation for kids to learn. The 'outdoor education project' approach of the school has led the school to build an incredible outdoor classroom, and the kids are always engaged and having fun while learning, mostly in the outdoors. Teresa's enthusiasm for this outdoor classroom initiative is contagious, and from the moment we were introduced to the school we were certain that it was a great choice for our son. The faculty/student ratio is really low, and every teacher and teacher's aide we met was highly engaged and held to a really high standard of care for the kids and professionalism. We love this school and were so sad to leave Santa Barbara and H4K. It's an amazing place. (please also note that we are not particularly religious - this school is affiliated with a church, but operates on basic human principles of a respect for others and the beautiful world around us)

While Starr King does offer full-time childcare, it's much more than a regular preschool. In this…read moremodel, you don't just drop your kid off in the morning and come back in the afternoon without knowing what happened. It works best for parents who are invested, curious and motivated to participate in the early childhood education process. So much of it is built on creating community for your family and your child. It's an incredibly unique experience that really believes in supporting the whole family for the benefit of the child. Just the campus alone is magical, there's a running creek, huge sandbox, gazebo, beautiful flowers, and vegetable gardens, and so much more just on the campus.

Our two older girls attended in the early 80s. We learned a lot and met a lot of diverse parents,…read morefrom state senators, pediatricians, and lawyers, to fishermen and housekeepers. What we learned there affected our child raising as well as now our grandchildren. What I like most was the free choice of kids to do the activities they were attracted to. It wasn't follow the directions activities or art, just here are some materials and experiment with them. My middle daughter was obviously an artist even at that age. She ended up going to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, worked for awhile afterward, then got an MFA at Yale (on her own merits, not a legacy) in sculpture and was named an artist to watch for 2015 by Modern Painter's magazine. She just completed a residency at Skowhegan, a 9 week prestigious artist residency in Maine (thousands apply, 65 are accepted). I don't know if it is still the same as we experienced, but it made a real difference for our family.

The Montecito Family YMCA is a beautiful and welcoming space that clearly has whole-person wellness…read moreas its top priority. I was staying near Montecito for a while and needed a place to work out. I'm usually a pretty hardcore gym person, but something about the Montecito's Y website was extremely attractive so I decided to give them a try. I was going to schedule a tour on the site but did not since I couldn't be certain of the time I'd be able to get there. The website was very inviting and said something like "...or just stop on by..." which I did, I was greeted so warmly, and so enthusiastically by the staff (John, along with 2 lovely ladies whose names I did not get) that it felt both unreal yet fully genuine at the same time. The facility, while housing modern equipment, feels like a throwback to a simpler time, with multiple workout areas, some partially outdoors (awesome!) and a great pool that's heated year-round. Every member I encountered offered a warm smile and a hello, and extra touches like a wide array of flowers for sale are wonderful. I was set to be in the area through the New Year for a job that unfortunately ended prematurely. Still, I'm so grateful to the team at the Montecito Family Y for inviting me in so beautifully when I visited, providing all the equipment I needed for a full workout, and for existing as a beacon of community at a time when our world needs it the most.

Love this location, the workers + lifeguards, and the pool. They all work hard to make sure you…read morehave a good experience. This review is solely for the male locker room. I don't know what the best solution is for this but it's a mess in terms of behavior. Nobody follows the sauna rules and brings in newspapers, headphones, food, and one guy even put his gross soaked workout clothes over the heater to dry! Just absolutely abhorrent, inconsiderate behavior. One man recently brought a huge glass bottle inside to drink with the other day, and a few of us were worried what would happen if it fell off the bench. We're all barefoot, after all. Sure enough we all heard an explosion and lots of loud cursing (classy) from the locker room later, and it turns out he dropped it and it shattered all over the changing area floor. A worker gave the man a broom but didn't say anything about why the guy brought a huge glass juice bottle out in the first place. I wouldn't feel safe bringing my kid here if they're so laid back about broken glass on the ground. Not sure what the point is of having a huge rule list taped on the sauna door is when nobody enforces it. People also take super loud phone calls as well despite the no cell-phone sign. Watch your feet if you're in the men's locker room, cause with the rubber mats with holes in them, there's no way they cleaned all the shards out unless they removed the mats and cleaned. And we can all tell from the wet mud stains in between the gaps whether or not this will ever happen...

We love Montessori school. Our son is been going there…read moresince 18th months old. Is been an amazing experience to see how he grow so happy and full of joy. Already have life skills as small as they are and learning the basic of Maria Montessori! Great teachers, great staff.

I can't say enough good things about MCS and the community it fosters. It was our lifeline during…read morethe covid pandemic. I can't work from home, so zoom school wasn't an option for us. We started with MCS for that reason (one of the few, if not only, schools offering in-person instruction and childcare). But we have stayed for elementary school because our experience was so wonderful. Not only are the teachers at MCS warm, caring, and nurturing, but they are incredibly communicative (as is the leadership/administration). If I have a question or concern, it is responded to almost immediately. Everything is very well organized and I can focus on work each day knowing that my son is happy, surrounded by friends, and growing in a nurturing environment. MCS has fostered my son's learning and confidence. He regularly works in class with children from other grades and has developed wonderful friendships across the ages. Assignments, homework, and projects are appropriately challenging. It's been awesome watching him grow and develop in this environment. I am not sure what we will do after sixth grade -- I just wish MCS continued through grade 12! - but this certainly is an incredible place for us now.

We are so lucky to have gotten in. From the first moment, our son and family felt welcomed, cared…read morefor, and comforted. Every single teacher is kind, generous, and thoughtful. Every day is full of new, surprising experiences, and simple fun. The leadership is similarly wonderful. If you're considering it, please visit. If you're not, please consider it.

Our little guy Christopher is completing his last day at Discoveries today. It's been the most…read moreincredible experience and our little guy has grown so much in the last couple years. He's made so many dear friends, he's learned so much and he's really developed as a human being. That's all because of Discoveries. The entire team at Discoveries is so committed to developing little ones in the most optimistic and thoughtful way possible. The facilities are so cute, a beautiful lil world for kids to explore, learn and most importantly laugh! Despite some of the needed changes during Covid, the entire team was so incredible at making the experience as natural as possible. I thank them for everything they've done for our son and I wholeheartedly recommend Discoveries.

Cute store The staff is really friendly, I found some great…read moredeals at this place. It's down town so parking can move tricky but worth paying for a garage near by.

Unity Shoppe is a thrift store located at the Random store location. It is cleaner, more organized,…read morebut you still can spot some merchandise left over from Random (frankly more interesting) and it has the Random vibes. Lots of merchandise, a tad of everything- clothes, home decor, very little media, accessories, decent prices, good customer service. Closed on Sundays!