2023 East Bay Preschool Guide

Small play-based preschool has been nurturing Berkeley children since 1938. BHNS features a low teacher-to-student ratio (max 1:7), teachers with 50+ years combined experience, extensive outside play time, and hands-on activities including music, art, science, exercise, and cooking.

At Berkeley Rose, your child nurtures imagination through free play, cooking, painting, sewing, puppet plays, stories, singing, rhymes, and movement, and provides a gentle, stress-free experience of school. Social skills develop through play. Parents' Press Winner of Best Small Preschool 2021 & 2022.

Care begins at 6 months old. Inspired by RIE® principals and the Educaring® Approach, Blue Leaf School believes in hearing children, valuing their feelings, and respecting their needs. Every child is unique, and they carefully observe and interact with students as individuals helping children feel secure, welcomed, confident, and autonomous.

Broadmoor is a play-based, parent-operated cooperative preschool offering classes for children ages 3-5. Students engage in age-appropriate exploration of science, math, art, music, cooking, games and outdoor play. Parents also participate in the co-op and attend parent education meetings on a variety of topics.

In a caring and playful environment, they help each child develop competency in the social, emotional, intellectual, and creative selves that make the whole child. They combine child-centered learning with parent enrichment, cultivating a committed community that offers families a bedrock of support, knowledge-sharing, and friendship.

CCC is a child-centered, play-based, parent-teacher cooperative with a strong anti-bias curriculum. Our award-winning teachers help young children value differences, engage socially and emotionally, and explore the natural world. Scholarships are available.

Curious Explorers Academy is a play-based preschool for 3 and 4-year-olds, located in Richmond. They promote an environment where children become independent, confident, lifelong learners with a strong sense of self.

The East Bay German International School is a dual-language immersion school offering preschool through high school programs. The early childhood program is based on early immersion principles, focuses on social-emotional skills, and uses free and guided play to teach and inspire.

Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley is a preschool-8th grade bilingual immersion school where students learn in French and English. Every day, students learn to speak, write, and think in two languages, becoming open-minded, adaptable learners who discover their best selves while respecting the differences of others.

EBI’s pe-kinder Spanish immersion program provides a nurturing learning environment where students explore their environment through play. Rooted in the International Baccalaureate (IB) with Reggio Emilia influences, our youngest students are engaged in learning and socio-emotional development.

The JCC East Bay’s award-winning Preschool is a play-based, child-centered, nurturing place for early learners. They provide a creative environment for children to create, invent, explore, and discover. The preschool is culturally Jewish and proudly welcomes families from all backgrounds.

KSS Immersion Schools specialize in Spanish language immersion programs for preschoolers through Kindergarten, ages 2-6 - in the San Francisco Bay Area including Albany, Oakland, San Jose, and Walnut Creek – giving students a leg up in their education and lives.

MCPC is a vibrant community of 29 families who celebrate both their differences and commonalities in a diverse, inclusive school. As the oldest cooperative preschool in Oakland (1933), MCPC emphasizes social-emotional learning through creative problem solving and conflict resolution — all while providing a joyous free-play preschool experience.

Montessori Family School's Early Childhood Program in Berkeley offers an authentic Montessori experience for 3 to 5-year-olds. MFS offers mixed-aged classrooms that encourage independence, a strong sense of community, and a love of learning. Available Monday to Friday from 8:30 am - 6 pm.

Located in Rockridge, Oakland, My Own Montessori serves children ages 2.8 to 5 years old. M.O.M. offers a special Pre-K/T-K program for children age 4 or older. Committed to the Montessori philosophy, the M.O.M. teachers nurture and encourage their student’s curiosity in a loving and caring environment where everyone feels “at home at school.”

Northern Light School's Preschool is a Montessori-based program classroom designed to develop a joy for learning and discovery. NLS is deeply committed to providing an empowering education for children from all backgrounds while creating an atmosphere where every child can excel as a learner, leader, and engaged human being.

Prospect Sierra’s transitional kindergarten is designed for four- and five-year-olds who are ready to learn by doing. The program is designed to help students to develop empathy, find joy in learning, and cultivate strong pre-academic skills.

Now accepting 3 and 4 year olds to the Pre-Kindergarten Prep and Pre-Kindergarten Programs. They are a fully licensed Pre-Kindergarten focused on the academics needed to more than prepare your child for Kindergarten.

Sequoia Nursery School is a non-profit cooperative preschool located in the beautiful park setting of the Sequoia Lodge in Oakland. A community of 30 families, a director, and a teacher, they foster a supportive, play-based environment for ages 3-5.

Shu Ren inspires students with a love of learning through an inquiry-based Mandarin immersion program that prepares students with the heart and mind to thrive in an evolving global society. The early childhood program enrolls begins at age 2. The school continues through grade 5.

The Berkeley School's multi-age Early Childhood classrooms incorporate the essence of Montessori and Reggio Emilia pedagogies to provide child-centered learning opportunities. The beautiful campus is a certified natural habitat and provides endless possibilities for open-ended exploration and experiential learning.

The Lake School is in its 41st year of serving the Oakland community, providing a play and project-based education for children ages 2 to 5. We see each child as a unique individual and allow for personal choice while emphasizing social behavior such as cooperation and respect for others and the environment.

TRIS provides students with a high-quality education in a multicultural environment designed to create compassionate, capable, confident, and creative individuals beginning at age two. TRIS's curriculum includes practical life, sensorial, language, literature, art, music, mathematics, and French/English or Spanish/English language immersion.

Wild Child is where a lifetime of creativity begins. They offer full-day preschool and transitional kindergarten programs which includes STEAM curriculum, music + movement, and nature exploration.