My grandson started his first experience with school at Morning Song last year. It has been a…read morewonderful opportunity for him to learn how to socialize with other children and learn in such a creative environment. I totally recommend this preschool!

Morning Song School and Linda, who runs it, are a godsend for our family. There truly are no words…read moreto describe how happy we are to have found it. It is such a warm, welcoming place and a perfect environment for our little one to thrive. The very first time we dropped our four-year-old off, we didn't even get a chance to give him a hug or say goodbye. He ran right in with a quick "bye!" We knew from the moment we met Linda and saw the place that this was something special, and it continues to be just that. We couldn't recommend it highly enough. Run, don't walk! Morning Song is an absolute gift.

Our son started in the youngest Nitzanim class at the San Rafael JCC preschool. We enrolled him at…read more18mos because he was more than ready! Loved the philosophy, teachers, program, school yard and couldn't have been more pleased. Our daughter started in the Nevatim class at the Tiburon JCC preschool. Every teacher was exceptional with their lesson plans, emergent curriculum and their emphasis on engaging children with their critical thinking skills. That may mean an idea is pulled and developed from the interest of the class and explored more in depth for weeks/months if the interest is still high! The teachers created a warm, nurturing, supportive and engaging environment. Their outdoor learning classroom is incredible! It feels very rural and is beyond special. How often can your child say that it's okay to jump in the mud at school in my boots, we can rinse our boots off ourselves and hear the birds and see the deer on their walk to class? Our son joined his older sister at the Tiburon JCC the following year and both stayed until their graduation / end of year siyum celebrations with Etzim. We are not Jewish but loved the emphasis on the different values that were introduced: kehilah (community), tikkun olam (healing the world) etc. Our children and our family are better having had this preschool experience. I encourage you to book a tour and see for yourself.

we LOVE the jcc tiburon! this was our daughter's second year and our son's first. the teachers are…read moreamazing - so caring, thoughtful and creative. the projects they spearhead and the ways in which they encourage the kids' creativity are incredible. i just feel so lucky to be part of the community and have my kids educated and nurtured by such a thoughtful group of people. as a parent it's also been a wonderful place to meet people! we moved to marin ~1.5 years ago and i feel like i've been here for years. the campus is such a warm welcoming place - it's truly the best!

Mill Valley Nursery School was such an amazing experience for our family. We sent both of our kids…read morethere and not only did the school make us better, more informed parents, but we made some amazing friends as well. It's a very special community. Once your kids get into elementary school, you realize how removed you are from their education, but at MVNS you get to be a part of it. I will forever cherish that time. I highly recommend this preschool!

Been here for almost a year now with our 4 year old Henry and we love it. The grounds are fun, well…read morekept, imaginative, creative, and safe. Teacher Miranda is so solid with there research, experience, and demeanor. The community has been amazing and a true village. Chickens roaming, Pirate Ship looming, and learning happening constantly with the play based curriculum. Would recommend MVNS co op to anyone and their children. Being able to be part of my child's early education and days is invaluable. Danson Drummer Father of Henry(4) @ MVNS

This is the best preschool, and we highly recommend it. Solange is a loving, well-trained,…read morereliable, and experienced caregiver. It is so important for children to be cared for in a loving manner, and to have easy access to a large yard where they can safely learn about nature and about gardening. Solange is also a great cook! Our child loves Solange!

We've been sending our 3.5 year old to Solange's preschool for nearly 2 years now and her younger…read moresister will be joining her soon. Solange creates such a warm environment for learning. Her students love her dearly. She has a montessori teaching credentials and decades of experience teaching preschool. Her curriculum includes advanced concepts like seasons, holidays, countries, gardening and cooking. Solange also has a beautiful indoor/outdoor space with so much light and fresh air. She uses her extensive garden to teach the children about caring for plants, about patience and long term gratification. In true Montessori tradition, Solange also supports their growth and self sufficiency in areas like hygiene, dressing, cleaning, and other fine motor/coordination skills like cutting, tracing, and pasting. Interpersonal skills abound at Solange's. I find my daughter asking me how my heart feels, meaning she's interested I understanding my feelings. She coaches herself to take a breath when upset, and recounts appropriate behavior in group situations 'we don't push our friends'. Overall, we are so glad we found such an incredible teacher for our two girls during these formative years. Please consider sending your child to Solange's Montessori Preschool. Our daughters would like to meet your kiddos!

We ADORE Mighty Bambinis! Our son (4) currently attends and is thriving in this fun-loving,…read morenature-centered program. We've seen his curiosity and joy come alive and every day he looks forward to going to school. Evelyn and her team are incredibly thoughtful about every aspect of the program, focusing on child-led play and social and emotional development support. The teacher to child ratio (1:5) is the best I've seen in Marin and it really shows. 10+ stars if I could!

Mighty Bambinis is completely amazing. Such attentive, skilled, and caring teachers, great…read morelocation, wonderful opportunity for kids to be outside, and perfect, ever changing curriculum responsive to interests of kids. Highly recommended for all kids but especially a great choice for parents considering a TK alternative as there is an academic component but in such a fun way. Evelyn the director is such a wealth of knowledge not just about preschoolers but families in general. Also a great choice for families looking for a bit more community rather than just drop and go. We really enjoyed the camping and family days.

Two of my children went and are going to Tamalpais Preschool for the last three years. Most of the…read moreteachers have been there for more than 10 years. The teachers are very nurturing to the 2 year olds when they start the program. The program grows with the child over the school year. My son was well prepared for Kindergarten this year. They also have a large playground. There is an easy drop and go system so you don't even have to get out of your car at drop off and pick up. Marcela the director is hands on a will personally get to know and take care of you child and their needs. I can not say enough about this school it is a MV bargain for what you get in return.

Just looked and found NO reviews so I am happy to be the first!…read moreTam Preschool is awesome! Warm and nurturing teachers, creative environment, and best of all, a huge outdoor space that part of even stays open on rainy days!

I am a current family at Kumara and I must say I am more pleased with our decision to put our son…read morehere every week. This is truly a magical place! The teachers continue to impress me with the curriculum and the way they handle the children. I have never found a preschool that allows the children to be so hands on. If you have the type of child who likes to experience life, learn new things and have fun this is the school for you. I read the other review and I disagree completely. Siblings are more then welcome there, teachers are very happy and the school is very community oriented. In fact I just enjoyed attending the schools first annual Harvest Festival where all of the children sold things they harvested from the school garden. There was live music, games food and fun. Everyone was invited, friends, family and alumni! I hang out at Kumara for about an hour during pick up time almost every day, I see older former siblings hanging out as well as parents and younger almost students. There was a bit of teacher turn over last year, and there is a new school director however, I am not sure the turn over had any thing to due with the new director. I am sure it was due to life circumstances changing. Like teachers moving away, a sabbatical, a marriage and a career change. In fact one of our new teachers is a very experienced former teacher and the other two are a blessing to have! The one thing I agree on is If you have doubts about this school ask current parents how they feel, I think you would be pleased.

Kumara is such a blessing to working parents. The Kumara community feels like family. it's a truly…read moremagical place.

Our daughter has attended Old Firehouse for just over a year now and we couldn't be happier. Her…read moreteacher leads the class in project learning with student input throughout. They focus on creating a close connection between student and teacher; my daughter has had the same teacher for her entire time at OFS and will continue to until she "steps-up" to kindergarten. Can't wait for my youngest to join her sister there in the fall.

Old Firehouse School has been an amazing experience for our family. Our son started here a year ago…read morefor his final year of preschool, and we wish he had been there the whole time. His teacher is incredibly patient, loving, smart, inquisitive, and he gently pushes the kids to question the world around them. He develops their autonomy, and most importantly, in my opionion, builds the foundation of life-long learning by making kids love learning. Our son's love of art, in particular, has blossomed under both the lead teacher and the amazing support teachers' guidance. There are so many types of learning happening each and every day in their class, and I get the sense that the same is happening in the younger classes as well. The parent teacher conference was almost an hour long masterclass in learning about social-emotional and academic development. The school administration is very responsive and clear in their communication. We can't recommend it highly enough!!!!

We feel incredibly lucky to have found LPJ's San Rafael campus for our 2-year-old daughter. It is a…read morebeautiful preschool, and our daughter is absolutely thriving here. We started in October, so she joined after the beginning of the school year, but she adjusted so quickly. Now, after about seven months, she literally runs into school giggling to see her friends at drop-off. She is also speaking French at home, which has been such a surprise for us. Her teacher, Ms. Florine, is fantastic, warm, engaged, and clearly wonderful with the children. The owner, Ambi, is also incredibly kind and thoughtful, and you can feel how much care has gone into creating this program. One of the things we love most is how many special activities the children have each week. Mondays are cooking, which my daughter LOVES. Tuesdays are music with a special instructor, Wednesdays are ballet/dance, Thursdays are Gym Bus, and Fridays are sports with Coach April. The weekly themes are also so sweet and engaging. Last week, they learned about caterpillars turning into butterflies, and their art projects tied into that theme. The campus itself is truly beautiful. It is on gorgeous land with so much open, sunny outdoor space for the kids to play. There are horses, turkeys, rabbits, and other wildlife, and the children even get to feed and play with bunnies on campus. The school building is also lovely and very well-kept. If you are considering a preschool in Marin, I highly recommend visiting LPJ San Rafael. It is such a special place, and from speaking with other parents, many of us feel grateful to have found it for our children.

We have only the most amazing things to say about LPJ, Ambi the director/owner and the teaching…read morestaff, and we are truly grateful for the time our son spent there. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in a French immersion preschool program (but also totally fine for non-French speaking parents). Some thoughts: - The teachers are excellent, highly qualified, warm and consistent - There is enriching special extra programming throughout the week (gym bus, music, dance, cooking, art) to broaden kids' horizons. This is on top of the regular curriculum taught throughout the year. - The class sizes were great - small enough to feel like the teachers could give our son dedicated attention if/when he needed it and big enough so that he had a good number of friends to play with. - The communication between the school and parents was always transparent and warm, and we got plenty of updates on how our son was doing. Ambi and her team are very well organised. It's always a nerve wracking thing to entrust other people with your kids, especially when it's your first, but we always just felt so comfortable with LPJ. You can tell how much the staff care about the littles, and how much the kids learn and grow when they're there. For reference, our son attended LPJ for two years - first as a part time/half day kiddo in the Piaf (age 2) class, and then full time in the Hiboux (age 3) class. Thank you LPJ for the amazing community you've built and for creating such a wonderful place for littles.

If I could give Terra Mandarin more stars, I would!…read more We feel so incredibly blessed to have this hidden gem in our lives. Our 3-year-old daughter joined last year (in Terra Mandarin's founding year). We initially toured when we saw a flyer for a Mandarin-immersion preschool in Marin (Marin's only!). We loved the idea of giving our daughter the opportunity to learn a foreign language while she's young and language acquisition comes so easily. We were excited about the implications of foreign language learning for cultural understanding, global citizenship, brain development (bilingual kids do better in math & reading, have better executive functioning, and Mandarin-speaking kids are even more likely to have perfect pitch) and all the other benefits of being bilingual. When we toured, we were impressed by Terra Mandarin's complete language-immersion model (we have signed up for Mandarin programs previously that ended up being taught partially or primarily in English, and maxed out at numbers, colors, and animals). Our preschooler was able to learn Mandarin very quickly in this immersion environment! But we have been most impressed by the warmth and care of the incredible teachers. Jessica, Yufan and Tian have been so attentive and loving. They are just absolutely kind and lovely individuals. And they are fun and genuinely enjoy playing with the children. They take the time to observe and get to know each child very well. During parent teacher conference they gave my husband and I a multi-page report on every aspect of our daughter's development, including not only language and academics but social-emotional, kinesthetic, and artistic. Then they spent half an hour answering our questions and telling us detailed stories about our daughter's interactions in class, with her teachers and peers. Our daughter has been thriving with the child-centered Reggio Emilia model. The children guide the learning. In the last few months, the children chose to study bunnies (the school bunny, Nutter, moved to the preschool classroom for several weeks, and the students were responsible for observing and learning about Nutter, letting him out every morning to play in the yard, and feeding him); doctors (two of the children have parents who are doctors, and they came to class to teach the children and coordinate role plays and projects); firemen (another classroom father is a fireman, and the children took a fun trip to the fire station); and insects (the children raised caterpillars and watched them turn into butterflies). The classroom is a clean, lovely, well-organized space with lots of windows. The classroom environment is calm and happy (thanks to small class size and careful preparation and observation by the teachers). Each student feels special, seen and cared-for. Our only complaint is that our daughter will be aging out in a year. :(

Terra's Pre-K has been such a gift for our family. The teachers are incredibly talented--they truly…read morehold the space and thoughtfully curate each child's experience. They balance play, project work, language immersion, and earth education in a way that meets kids right where they are. The community is warm and connected. Terra has matured in all the right ways over the years and still carries the creativity and flexibility of a forward-thinking program. It's a place where kids grow in confidence, curiosity, and joy.