My family loves Merryhill Preschool in Davis! We started our child in the infant nursery when he…read morewas 4 months and we've been very happy with the experience. Ms. Diana is an excellent communicator and has been especially helpful in making us feel comfortable leaving our son in the infant room. As first-time parents, we've really appreciated her guidance and thoughtful suggestions to help him adjust.

We love Merryhill! My son is turning two soon and has been at Merryhill since he was about 5 months…read moreold. I had a lot of anxiety as a new mom when he first started but the teachers were so wonderful and he loves school! Ms. Li is absolutely wonderful. She has been "with us" since he started and we are eternally grateful for her calm and helpful presence. She truly cares about the kids and it is apparent she loves her job. The activities and arts and crafts seem to be the perfect blend of fun and learning. The school itself is clean, organized, and welcoming, and the the principal, Ms. Alexis is very communicative. Highly recommend!

I highly recommend this place. Although pricey, it is worth every penny. Those 1 and 2-star reviews…read morebelow are not consistent with the care my child has received in the last 5 months. They staff is all professional, knowledgeable, and attentive too all of the infants' needs. I've spent many lunches there visiting my little one and they do a fantastic job. There are no crock pots used to heat baby bottles. They use official bottle warmers. They are very systematic and have a lot of policies in place to ensure that children are attended to and are provided the best care. They have fun seasonal events and fundraisers. Their payment system is online and they utilize the tadpoles app which provides me instant updates and pictures of my child throughout the day. It's fun to see the activities they do with them. We even get art projects that my 6-month old has done. It's a pure joy to take my child there and my wife and I have every intention of keeping her enrolled there as long as possible.

It's hard for me to rate this place because there are so many factors. I give it two starts for…read morethese reasons: 1. Staff turnover. In the seven months that my child has been in the toddler room, two teachers moved to a different room, one teacher quit, another retired, they hired one who they allowed to move out of the toddler room into another room, and they hired another. Not to mention that there are so many RANDOM resource teachers that your child doesn't have the opportunity to form any sort of relationship with an adult. These caregivers need to be more permanent because it cause anxiety in these children. Daycare needs to be a safe, stable environment....this isn't happening in the toddler room. 2. Biting. This makes sense considering the aforementioned problem. There is a little boy who I've witnessed bite twice and know that he has bitten more than three times now who is STILL there. How are parents supposed to feel about leaving their children in a room where there is a child who is biting. There have to be consequences.... 3. Accounting. The accounting system is awful because only one person knows how to access the information....give me a break. That is not how admin should be ran. One person shouldn't have to handle everything like that, especially when she is not the director. 4. Crappy Nutrition: fish sticks, hash browns, canned fruit, cream cheese....among other abhorrent thoughts for food. Not a single child in the world deserves to be fed crap. For the amount of money that this place rakes in from us parents, they could have the decency to feed our children fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. 5. No curriculum. Okay they are one-two years old, but don't cite a program if you aren't actually doing it. 6. So MUCH CRYING: If this was a high quality daycare as it claims to be, these children wouldn't be crying all day (not just the toddler room). I watched a little boy bang his head against the door, screaming and it took over ten minutes for a teacher to respond. The Pros: 1. The staff that are there consistently are wonderful, but they cannot sail the ship alone. 2. Proximity to everything. IT is in a decent location. 3. The older children seem to have a great time, but the youngest of the kids are not having a stellar experience. 4. Decent hours. In all, I don't feel that my child is taking anything away from this place. If I could switch, I would, but unfortunately I do not have the time (at this moment) to look for another place. Daycare is very expensive in Davis and sadly, much of it is in East or South Davis, which for many parents is very out of the way.

When we first moved to Davis, we assumed our kids would go to one of the great public schools here…read more-- that was part of why we chose this area. After the first few months, with 27-30 kids in our son's class, we observed that it was hard for him to get individual attention, and during our first parent-teacher conference, it felt like his teacher didn't really know him. A friend mentioned Peregrine, and at first we weren't sure -- especially because of the tuition. But when we visited, the campus immediately stood out. There were tree forts, gardens planted by students, zip lines, hay bales, and ample space to run. It just felt alive. Our son absolutely loves it there. Every morning he sprints onto the playground before we can even say goodbye. The teachers know him -- really know him. Within the first two weeks, they even noticed he was having trouble pronouncing certain words and suggested we check with our pediatrician about a speech evaluation. That early attention made such a difference. We've also been amazed by how intentional the academics are. He has one-on-one reading time twice a week, small group literacy sessions, and a class library full of graphic novels like Dog Man and Zita the Space Girl that keep him excited about reading. His progress has been incredible. He learns outside -- rain or shine -- with teachers who guide gardening, cooking, ceramics, and project-based lessons. The school celebrates different cultures through music, food, and dance, and the meals are cooked right on site and actually healthy. What stands out most is how much the teachers care. They communicate proactively, notice social dynamics, and address things right away. It's clear that he's seen, supported, and surrounded by people who genuinely care about his growth. After his first week there we received a detailed assessment of his reading and math levels with handwritten notes explaining areas of improvement and where we can help him further. This sort of detailed individual feedback really showed how they truly took the time to get to know our son. We also really appreciate the weekly class emails we get from his teachers. They summarize what the kids learned that week in reading, math, and other subjects -- along with photos and little anecdotes. It's such a thoughtful touch, and it makes us feel connected to what's happening in the classroom day to day. In addition the teachers are always accessible before and after class for us to discuss concerns and questions that arise. As the more financially cautious one in our family, I wasn't sure how we'd feel about private school -- but seeing how happy and curious he is now, it truly feels worth it. Watching him grow, ask questions, and grow his love of learning has been such a gift. One thing we've learned is there's no one-size-fits-all when it comes to school. Davis has so many great options -- I'm just glad we found one that fits our son so well. We ended up enrolling our daughter there at the preschool as well!

This is our forth year at the Peregrine school: my daughter started at 3 years old in their…read morepreschool and now she is in their elementary school. I wanted to share our experience from this most recent school year. The school's full-day kindergarten program has small student-to-teacher ratios, a nurturing environment, a terrific teaching team, and an immersive project-based curriculum. My daughter was in a classroom of 12 children and three teachers. Two of the teachers swapped places depending on the subjects that were taught that day, so there were always two teachers with the kids. The school created a trilingual program where the kindergarteners were learning a bit of Spanish and Mandarin in addition to having the core curriculum in English. What I particularly appreciate about the language component is how the teachers wove in cultural literacy into their lessons along with language instruction. There are many things that set apart this kindergarten program from others. Six hours of daily programming allows teachers to create a rich experience filled with language arts, math, science, gardening, cooking, music, and movement. The program allows you to drop off your kid at 8:30 am and pick them up by 3:15 pm with before and after school care available to those who need it; instruction takes place between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm. Children are served healthy, nutritious, and well-balanced meals that are prepared on site and given at snack time and lunch. The food is so good that my child begged me to get a recipe from the school chef for a "lentil dish that is better than candy." The school's acre of gardens and play space allows the children to learn and play while being surrounded by beautiful nature. Kindergarteners spend at least an hour outside each day. Additionally, the school has three teacher specialists who work with the students weekly in the areas of gardening/cooking, music, and movement. The incredible food program coupled with the gardening lessons exposed my child to lots of new food that she was resistant to try before. My daughter particularly enjoys the kale and peas she gets to eat straight from the school garden. This past year the class got to go on five field trips to visit the Davis food co-op, a farm in West Sac, and attend three events at the Mondavi center. (This does not include many smaller trips to the playgrounds and parks near the school.) The Peregrine school also arranges for performances around Chinese New Year and other holidays on the school site. Towards the end of the school year, as part of their science unit, the class got to watch caterpillars hatch out of eggs and transform into butterflies. Children also witnessed the entire lifecycle of silkworms ending with moths laying eggs. I feel lucky to have this kindergarten program available in our town and I wanted to share our experience in case this may be a good fit for other families in this group. The Peregrine school offers instruction at all elementary grade levels through sixth grade in case you have an older child and you are interested in their program.

Our child attended pre-k here and we were pleased with the experience. As a family new to town, we…read morefound the Redbud community to be very welcoming. I especially appreciated the family book that was put together that helped us to visualize the kids, their families, and their interests. The care was calm and loving and I think my child progressed significantly in his ability to understand himself and his place in the world, to make friends, and to develop independence in meeting his needs.

Reasons we decided on Redbud at the beginning: 1)…read moreAtmosphere! Relaxed, friendly, focused kids when we visited 2) Teacher retention. The teachers are there for the long term, which told us they liked their jobs and felt supported at this school. 3) Montessori (actual). Everyone we knew who had worked in the early childhood space recommended this method and suggested verifying that core teachers/administrators have actual Montessori training, as there is no particular regulation on branding. They do. 4) Full day program. Reasons we're glad we chose Redbud as we move on to 1st grade: - Expert teachers. We had so few problems, but every one we had was solved by asking the teachers' advice. The staff at Redbud really know kids. - Safe, welcoming, and caring community. Our child started out quiet and soon felt completely comfortable being himself in every way. This was particularly evident in the Kinder year, which made us especially glad we stayed for that burst of confidence and imagination. He also learned to be a good helper to others. - Seemingly limitless individualized learning. Our child was able to build on his skills and interests at his own pace throughout his time there. His teachers knew exactly where he was and what he was working on. No matter how far he went with something, they somehow found a way to support him when he wanted to go farther. - Beautiful natural setting. We loved the location but didn't figure this into our initial decision -- on reflection, it was such a joy to visit that spot twice a day, and watch the seasons, and have so many beautiful memories playing amongst the trees. We were SO lucky to have this school available to us for our child's early years! It is an absolute gem, and a testament to the hard work, love, and dedication of its amazing staff.

We've been at Peregrine School since 2021. We enrolled both of our children as soon as they were…read moreold enough. I thought it would be hard to go back to work and put my young children in daycare, but they were both so happy. I felt great knowing that they were having an amazing time at school. My older child comes home most days with layers of paint on his shirt and sunscreen on his arms, and we love it. The kids spend so much time outside, and the teachers are always setting up awesome activities for them. The play yards and the classrooms are beautiful. It's been an awesome introduction to school for the whole family.

My daughter has been in the Peregrine West El Nido (toddler) program for over a year. She…read moreabsolutely loves all her teachers. I have not seen teacher turnover since enrolled, which is a good sign. Their outdoor area is awesome. I love that they teach the kids about gardening and let them have lots of outside time, digging in the sand and dirt, getting messy and exploring, building their immune system and just being kids. Learning about growing food and tasting peas off the vine. It's such an enriching environment and my daughter has learned so much and developed her language skills (English and Spanish!) and vocabulary about bugs and colors and all that, as well as motor skills and social skills. I like that we get reports about her development and digital picture albums and blogs, it helps us feel involved. I see so many pictures of my girl painting and playing with water and making crafts and dancing! Right now due to COVID, they are being very careful with all adults and older kids wearing masks and sanitization and temperature checks every day. We also get updates about if anyone is testing and the results (anonymously). We toured lots of places before deciding on Peregrine West and will stay here as we love it. A major major benefit is the made from scratch balanced meals they give to the kids every day. It's nice to not need to worry about packing lunches and snacks. The teachers tell me if my kid tries veggies all the time. All I can say is they take good care of my daughter and I highly recommend!

I cannot say enough good things about Millennium CDC in Dixon. Our son is in Butterflies and he is…read morethriving and doing so well. The teachers are the sweetest, they really care about the kids and what they do and they have a great program with lots of outside play time and educational curriculum as well as fun activities. The center and the program are definitely a preschool and not just a daycare. Vicki and the rest of the staff are all so caring, loving and professional. They truly love what they do and treat everyone with respect. They have handled staffing challenges as well as they can (and anyone can in this weird environment) and I have no complaints about it. The facility is amazing, clean and has lots of fun indoor and outdoor activities for the kids. They do a lot of fun, special days (pajama day, Dr. Seuss week, etc) and have a great communication system for the parents. I would absolutely recommend Millennium for any age child and I have always been someone who scrutinizes and does my due diligence on a program before we decide to send out child there.

I would give MCDC more stars if I could. My husband and I were really nervous sending our two year…read moreold to his first school outside of the home and it was the best decision we could have made from him. It is such a safe, loving and educational environment. All of the teachers are so wonderful. They have made such a positive difference in our son's development. They really care and each child. Our son looks forward to going to school every single day because of how great the program is. I would highly recommend to any family.

My child has been at this school since he could barely walk. Now almost 5 years old, we deeply…read morecherish this school and community. We have found committed parents that share our ideals and we are excited to continue long-term friendships with, we have learned SO much about child development and how to support our child, and grown as a family through this family education experience. What a school.

We enrolled my son at 3 and he has been thriving here! Our second son has now joined him after…read moretagging along with me for my monthly volunteer days and loving it. The play-based outdoor curriculum and amazing Teacher Michelle have been invaluable resources for us. She has extensive knowledge in early childhood education and ideas for everything parenting related. We've made amazing friends through the community and love watching our children grow here.

My children attended Alphabet Soup Childcare from infant room until they were ready for…read moreKindergarten. The core staff turnover at the facility is very low as many of the teachers at all levels have been there for at least 5 years and watched my daughters grow from babies to kindergarteners. My children light-up when they see them outside the classroom. The infant room was great and full of very caring staff. They were able to get my difficult child sleeping longer than 20-minute increments while also following all safe sleep practices. We had one child in the infant room during the peak of the pandemic and the director adeptly balanced the strict stay home requirements at the time with the needs of parents, many of who were essential workers who could not stay home. The toddler room has a wonderful staff member who has been there as long as my children have. They are a joy, teach the toddlers all kinds of skills, and create a fun and interactive learning environment. They also assisted with potty training if the child showed interest, but they never pressured. They and the director worked with us and provided assistance and redirections when one child had a biting issue to ensure it resolved and wasn't an issue, rather than taking the easy route and kicking her out. For preschool the student-teacher ratio is low and the curriculum is excellent. My child went in to kindergarten knowing way more than what was required for shapes, numbers, some math, all her letters and sounds, some reading, using scissors, etc. The staff knew how to work with and adjust for both my children's personalities. I would absolutely recommend Alphabet Soup as an option to anyone looking for caring full-time childcare and/or preschool education.

Thank you ladies for taking great care of my daughter and helping her learn & grow. She says each…read moreand every one of you are her favorite. I appreciate you all very much!!