I do not recommend Teddy Bear Preschool. I have been trying to get in touch with the owner regarding a refund that is owed to me, but the director continues to ignore me. This has been going on since September. Poor customer service and no respect for their customers. read more

My son attended this preschool for 6 months and we had a FANTASTIC experience. The teachers & staff were very kind hearted, loving & helpful. This was my sons first preschool experience & he flourished at Teddy Bear Preschool. I highly recommend this preschool to anyone looking for a caring, warm & educational environment for their children. We love them very much!! read more

This place is amazing; a perfect combination of play, cooperation, teacher support, and learning! We've sent two girls through here and couldn't be happier, and many of our friends have sent their children here. Interestingly, our girls have been here from Nov 2014, including the time period of all of the bad reviews on this site. More on that later. The staff is ALWAYS warm and engaged, and genuinely cares about the kids. The yearly progress reports I've received on my children are amazingly detailed with pictures, examples of key learning steps, etc. I can't count how many mornings I've walked in to find multiple kids with separation anxiety being held by the teachers (which also helps get the parents out the door and on the way to work.) The school has several events throughout the year to make the kids feel special and keep the parents engaged. Speaking of engagement, I've had a great time staying and playing with my kids, and they encourage this. And, critically, Teddy Bear is committed to protecting the special place they've created. They don't tolerate inappropriate behavior from the kids; the couple of times I've seen an incident, the teachers responded immediately and gently corrected the children. And I've also been there long enough to witness the administration asking a family or two to leave because their children didn't fit with the Teddy Bear atmosphere. I'm sure one (or more) of the negative reviews on this site are from those parents. I can only say that both my wife and I have each seen one issue where I, personally, wouldn't have even given the child a second chance...but Teddy Bear continued to work with the family. I think they left eventually, which is great because I don't want my kids to be the victims of somebody else's consistently-misbehaving children. As far as comments on the staff's personality or interaction on the playground, I can only say that (for better or worse), for the last 4 years the Teddy Bear teachers have consistently known more about my life than I expected...because they listen to my girls and care about their activities both at school and at home. The teachers consistently have the most positive and cheery attitude, greet our children every time they walk in the door, and say bye when we leave. This has been a wonderful home for our two children, and we love ALL of the staff. I'm guessing the negative reviewers have an ax to grind; I would have hoped they would be more honest with themselves and everyone else. Based on our experience, this is the best preschool ever, we could not have IMAGINED a more perfect place. Also, given the number of friends we have in the area that continue to put subsequent siblings in Teddy Bear's care, I KNOW that we are in an amazing place. read more

Two of my children have/are attending Teddy Bear. I noticed that the same teachers from when my son was there years ago are still there so that tells you a lot about the way the school is managed. The teachers are loving and happy and treat the children like family. The programs make the children excited to learn and the children really enjoy the large outdoor play area. Both my children look forward to seeing the teachers when they go. read more

Kick out kids? that was very bad upset decision. Looks like this is not one case, I saw someone else post the comment about kick out kids, why do we do that for the small kid, is the school suppose to do some more when kids makes mistake? It's not just about business, right? Did you really care about how kids feels after you make suck of decision? Guide them please not just blame. I'm feels very upset. read more

Most everything was great about teddy bear. We stayed for 4 months. Circle time and the activities were great. I also liked how they did student of the week. Unfortunately, they don't know how to potty train children. My little one had been potty trained for 1.5 years in underwear and had 2 peepee accidents in her first 3 weeks. They put her in pull ups (which she had never worn!!) and insisted she wasn't potty trained. She started having accidents all the time and they unpotty trained her. They also would make her go to the bath room every 30 minutes so she stopped telling them when she had to go. We sat down and voiced our concerns to Karen, the director and she agreed the system wasn't working. We all decided to take her out of pull ups. I showed up the next day and she was back in pull ups. They said they were short staffed and couldn't work on potty. This is a very teacher centered school. Long story short I moved her preschools and she potty trained within the week at the new place. I have several friends that love this place, but their children aren't potty trained yet. read more

I unfortunately have to agree with Kim about this school. My first impressions were pretty good, but there was something that didn't sit right with us. We teach our kids a lot at home so we were seeking an environment that would help allow our to develop social emotional intelligence while interacting with others which we cannot provide at home. The staff seem to do more monitoring of the playground than they do interacting with the children on the playground. There is a lot of outside time at this school if your child attends full time. We had a very unfortunate experience where Mrs. Karen actually threatened to kick out our child because his behavior was inappropriate. I understand she has a business to run and they must have pressure to only admit "good children" into their school. But doens't every child make a mistake, test the limits? She actually made my son feel like he was a bad child. I've taught preschool before. And I would never ever take her approach with a parent. We did not appreciate her style of collaboration, it was more like, I'm the boss and I can kick you out at any time. With both parents working full time, I felt like I was a bother to HER work day! Really sad for me because it hurts to know so many parents will send their kids to a place that doens't really care about them. Breaks my heart actually. I write this for you, other parents, particularly military families like me who need dependable daycare quickly. Consider the early childhood lab schools at MPC. Maybe your child is already perfect, then this is the school for him or her. Good luck. read more

BEST preschool in the area by far. We toured every single other preschool facility from PG-Marina and this school has continued to surpass our expectations. Every child is treated as an individual and the teachers truly care for each. The lessons are wonderful and appropriate for each child and the teachers are flexible with regard to different children's needs and abilities. Can't say enough good things. Our child had never even had a babysitter prior to attending which had us worried about her attachment issues. To this day she has never gone without a hug or high five when needed at school. read more

I had an initial review but I am updating it. I want to mention that I researched the Preschool and at the time they had no state infractions whereas other schools in the area did. My daughter was learning to count/add/subtract, abcs, and other early education aspects from the school (way ahead of her age so we knew she was "Learning"). I think the teachers are kind and loving - Michelle, Kathy, Connie and Ashne. My daughter loved Grandma Jana, the owner, but she's not there full time. My daughter began to have trouble with another older girl who was picking on her and punched her in the stomach (we addressed it with the Director, Karen). Shortly after this incident we moved and then our daughter told us she was called "monster" by a group of girls on the playground and excluded from play. From my daughter's social experience, I believe that the mixed ages at play are not beneficial and/or the school needs more teachers to oversee children's play interactions during play. Kids can be cruel, even at ages 3 to 5. She did not even want to go back to the school to say goodbye before we left and we are still dealing with her not wanting to go to school. Monterey region is limited in full time childcare options so my recommendation is to research thoroughly. TeddyBear was the best daycare of those we visited and called in the area but I had to downgrade the rating because what occurred. read more

I researched preschool/child care programs for both of my children and was very excited when I found Teddy Bear preschool for my 2 year old to go to while I worked a few mornings a week. It was his first exposure to a school environment. The teachers there are wonderful and I can tell they know what they are talking about in terms of Early Childhood education and child development. Unfortunately the school is way over enrolled and therefore the teachers seem to have to more "manage" the children then actually interact and teach them. Of course this is what I saw at drop off and pick up times so the in between times may have been different. I did not like finding my child in the sand box building with a few other children and no one watching them...no one interacting with them. The director is what deterred me away in the end. She is the most unfriendly person I have ever met in child care. As a person who is with small children each day, many of which have never been to school, she should have been much more friendly to both the parents and the children. She was very inflexible. If you are looking for a flexible child care/preschool this is not the place for you. They do not even allow for you to be a few minutes late picking up. This school "looks" good with great materials and a child friendly environment but I am not sure it is the best care and education for our children. read more