The little library is organized by Alameda Library. It has mostly children's & young adult books,…read moreabout a dozen. On the front is written "Tome Uno, Deje Uno"- "Take one, Leave One". Reads (from local library): "Brown Enough" by Christopher Rivas-basically personal life stories.: -lived in Queens, Dominican father. Colombian mom. Didn't speak Spanish, didn't identify as "brown" -pursuing American Dream, accrued $250,000+ in student debts. Unable to find jobs in theater, acting. *no roles for anyone like him, Puerto Ricans yes. -gravitated to white women who were "trophies", switched when he found he was also a trophy. -"faking it till he could make it" without losing identity. -upset when outrage occurred when a nonwhite was considered for 007 role. Wasn't role model Dominican? -started learning Spanish, began celebrating his heritage. Found "brown" acting roles. Started a podcast..pursued a P.h.D...... Note: Hispanic Heritage Month: 9/15-10/15.

So we haven't officially started yet, but I am beyond impressed with Woodroe Woods already!! I…read morenever write reviews but I was compelled to write this because of the exceptional service I've already received. I visited 5 other preschools before landing here. I was looking for a place with experienced, loving teachers and I felt comfortable the moment I walked in. Unlike other places I visited, the teachers here are 100% engaged with the kids (playing on the floor, sitting in the tiny chairs doing a craft, talking to kids on the playground, etc). I was also looking for a place that allowed a lot of physical activity as I feel that is super important for the developing brain. This place has a huge yard where the kids can run around, ride bikes, play in the sand, etc. On top of that, the office staff and director genuinely love children and understand all the fears of a parent sending their kid to preschool for the first time. When I took a tour, I was amazed at how the students ran up to hug the director and she knew them each by name!! The staff are super accessible and have let met visit 3 times with my daughter so she is familiar with her teacher and the environment. Even though I know she will probably still cry the first few days, I can tell she's going to thrive here!! Besides the atmosphere, experience, and quality of care these people provide, I am also impressed with the different schedules they offer! When I was searching online, a lot of places had set days for 2 or 3 year olds and would often make you pay the full 5 days even if you only wanted 3! This place is ideal if you have a part-time or per diem job because they offer a variety of different schedules for part or full days. This place has been a God-send already. Looking forward to hearing about my daughter's fun adventures here! UPDATE - 10 stars!!! Yes, this place has proven to be exceptional. My daughter did cry at first but now loves it. I've seen her totally come out of her shy shell and she's learned to make friends and become more adventurous. I'm amazed by the crafts she comes home with and even though this is not "academic" based she is learning plenty of life skills which I think are more important at this age. She knows the seasons, days of the week, spelling, simple math, patterns, etc all through play, crafts, reading, and fun activities! The teachers continually prove to be flexible, caring, and enthusiastic. A few perks I didn't think of before is that it's on a large campus so on rainy days they have access to a big multi-purpose room so they can still run around! They also only use their own subs (which are mostly retired teachers from Woodroe Woods or veteran parents) so even the subs are familiar to the kids! The staff here are tight-knit and supportive... they never appear burnt out or apathetic like I've seen at other places. This is a slam dunk!!

Amazing large classrooms with light filled rooms. Large play yard with swing, slide but not much…read moreshade. All but one teacher we had were decent and kids stations are fun, creative and play based which we appreciated. However, little to no communication channel between teachers and parents, sub standard old school discipline used when kids misbehave, very outdated shame based (office visits, labeling them as "if you do one more bad thing", separating kids), defensive attitude when problems arise from head of school, and teachers. In particular try to stay away from Teacher Masami's class as she is well known to be very strict and just mean.

This review is for the "Room to Bloom" location in East Oakland: 8711 MacArthur Blvd, Portable B…read more Oakland, CA 94601. This is a wonderful and inclusive playgroup that is held Mon / Weds / Friday mornings from 9:30 - noon. Arrive early to get a spot in line - we got there at 9:20 am for a 9:30 start and had no problem. The teachers are wonderful and welcoming, especially Alicia! They have super cool toddler toys and games, art tables, and tons of books, and there is circle time, reading time, snack time, and outside time. The teachers engage with the kids and the kids engage with each other. The program is very affordable, with sliding scale-tuition based on your household income... for one parent and one child it runs from about $5 - $15 per day. They also offer great resources for the community such as dental checkups for the kids, a dance class, drumming, and Field Trips. My 2 year old loved it and we will definitely be back!

This play groups good from kids age 0 to 5. It's free which is awesome. On Tuesday and Thursday…read morethey have a group that supports development. They are open Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 11:30 am. All for the staff are great and make the kids feel comfortable.

Always a good time at the downtown street party. These parties happen every summer June through…read moreAugust on the third Thursday of each month. That's how I remember the third Thursday downtown street party.

The cars were BEAUTIFUL!!!! And I'm honestly not even a "car person". Old ones, fast ones, low…read moreones- I really appreciate the passion that people put into these beauties. The cars and their owners get 5 stars!!!!! The event itself: more like 3 stars. Every single food booth had a LOOOONG line. I'm not one to wait in long lines for food. So, nothing to report on food booths today. Except the lines were LOOOOONG. Parking was difficult. There are 2 main parking garages. Both free. Both full. We were eventually able to find street parking a few blocks away near the BART station. Lots of people. Hard to maneuver at certain choke points. I think the booths were a little to close together. They had blocked off a whole other block that wasn't used- why not?? I think that would have helped create a little more elbow room. And the food lines need to be directed better. People couldn't walk down the street to see the other booths. They had lots of music. : bands, DJ. Activities for kids, dancing, salsa, pony rides.

Adj: natural educational and discovery place of learning…read more Very close to the Hayward Rose Garden. We came here after we had visited the rose garden and wanted to see if this is a good place to recommend to others with kids. It's a great, smaller, but still very cool nature center. Lots of rescued animals, mostly birds, to include corvids, eagles, owls, hawks, song birds, and vultures. There's are some reptiles outdoors too, but most of them are in the "house" that's also part of this nature center. I actually found the indoors section more fascinating as there were so many kinds of reptiles and bugs in there, but the outdoors cages where the birds live are also interesting, although some of the birds are so big and kind of intimidating looking to me, maybe I'm just not really into big birds. Overall, a very cool place to visit, it's free, open regularly (check hours before going though), and a great educational experience for children, so an excellent nature center to bring kids to for seeing the rehabilitation and daily lives of animals and other creatures in action.

A small, but interesting nature center in Hayward, CA, similar to the Lindsay Wildlife Experience…read morein Walnut Creek, but this one is quite a bit smaller and more "wild" in that it's basically all outdoors. The animals we saw that were rescued, rehabilitated, and now permanently residing here were mostly birds, with some reptiles and bugs thrown in. We actually didn't interact with any staff while we were here in the early afternoon, but we did see a couple of them working. It's more of a self-tour type of place it seems, rather than a guided tour experience, so we just walked around and looked at the different kinds of animals. We saw several hawks, a few owls, some ducks and chickens, and then we went into this building the size of a small house which houses the reptiles and bugs. We saw snakes, lizards, and a few bugs. My kids got a kick out of seeing all the wild animals. It's also nice that they take in injured wild animals and rehabilitate them so they can live out their lives there or maybe they go to other nature centers or zoos if the opportunities come up, rather than end up not surviving in the wild. All in all, this nature center was pretty cool for a casual short visit and it's free so the price was right, a good way to spend some time in the "wilderness."

Taking my little girl to primeros pasitos was one of the best decisions I've made for my daughter…read more Ms Nelva believes in elements of Montessori teaching by making them independent, hands on and growing at their pace but what I love is also that if she sees growth she encourages it! She feeds them ACTUAL healthy clean food, organic fruit, breakfast and lunch. It's really clean and well kept, she teaches them manners and love and affection which is what they still need while mommy is at work! My daughter was 1.5 when I took her by the time she was 3ish she was ready to start pre school. She could write her name, knew shapes and colors in English AND Spanish and started reading. Fast forward she is 6 and all 3 teachers she's had have complimented how prepared she was- all thanks to Nelva and Dora. Now she is at a private school where part of the admissions process was to test in and she received a scholarship to #2 ranked school in the state. I thank Nelva for this, she prepared her, saw her curiosity to learn and encouraged it. If and when we grow our family- this is where our next baby is going to. I trust Nelva with my most adored treasure.

Our 2 daughters have been going to Primeros Pasitos with Mrs. Nelva since 2018…read more Mrs. Nelva is a wonderful caretaker and teacher. She loves all her students and works hard to teach them the necessary things for kindergarten. Her school is always clean and organized and she feeds the kid nutritious homemade meals for breakfast and lunch, as well as snacks. My kids love going to school and I know they are well taken care of. I would highly recommend her and the school.

Want a gym to train and no one is there, this is the place. There are programs for kids but other…read morethan that just a very affordable and easy process

I worked at this company for almost a year as a volunteer then intern. The time I spent working…read morewith the children and staff members was wonderful. The staff members are friendly and inviting, it is basically like a family when you work there. The children there were also very friendly and easy to work with. They say when love what you do it isn't work and that's how you will feel if you work here. The services they offer here are great for the children, there is always a variety to what the children get to experience every day. I co-lead a very informative and interactive cooking/nutritional class and the children loved it. I know that if your children need something to do after school or during the summer the time then you should enroll them in the EOBA-(East Oakland Boxing Association).

It made my day today to learn about Tricia's Memory Cafe. A warm cafe atmosphere she created…read moreinside a San Leandro church where caregivers can bring their loved ones for a complimentary warm cup of coffee or tea and shared conversation. Thank you Tricia for creating this lovely space making a loving difference for those facing this challenge.

It is great to know that there is a place to support those with Alzheimer's Dementia and their…read morecaregivers. Too often, we lack patience and neglect those affected, not realizing that they are still in need of socialization. Sadly, I witnessed this with my own mom. Having a local café with friendly faces that understands the challenges those with dementia and their caregivers face is a breath of fresh air. The founder, Tricia is such a sweet and warm person. Bless her heart for supporting this community and increasing awareness on Alzheimer's Dementia.