Schools in Corte Madera, CA

“Our daughter (2.5) and son (7 months) are both at golden poppy with both our daughter and son starting in the baby room (kitten room) at 4 months old.

Overall, you can tell how much the teachers love and care about the kids. Communication with teachers and admins is also super easy with the mobile app.

The teachers use a mobile app called procare throughout the day to send photos and updates, which makes you feel like you are in the know on what’s happening. The app leaves no room for doubt on if your child is eating, napping, ect. (In the baby room this is especially important. It always put my mind at ease to know when our babies were drinking bottles and how many oz they were consuming.)

Miss Anita who runs the baby room is incredibly kind and friendly and helped get both babies on an eating and sleeping scheduling (which was a huge help to us at home.)

Miss Christina runs the toddler room and has been at GP for 20+ years. She does daily lessons and curriculum for the kids. She also does a cooking lesson every Tuesday, which my daughter loved and continued to want to do at home (examples, they made guacamole, muffins, fruit salad.)

My daughter recently moved up to the 2-3 year old room with Miss Annalee. Annalee has been SO SO helpful when it comes to potty training. She helped my daughter understand when she had to go to the bathroom and took her at a regular cadence to where Nora wasn’t having many accidents, even the first week. We couldn’t have done potty training without Annalee’s help.

Outside of normal school, golden poppy regularly hosts events for parents and kids, especially around the holidays. We had fun at the trunk or treating Halloween event, holiday concert, and Valentine’s Day party. My husband and I have made friends with many of the parents at school and have built a great community at GP.

Golden poppy is a great option for both infants, toddlers and preschoolers for the loving teachers and great community of kids and parents!”

“This has been the absolute best educational experience for our two kids. Both boys were set up for Kindergarten by learning the most important social and emotional skills. They entered Kindergarten able to socialize, problem solve independently and cooperatively, embrace friends’ differences and challenges with kindness and understanding while celebrating milestones and cheering each other on! The constant freedom to express themselves creatively leads to inventive and flexible thoughts. The outdoor play yard has the most amazing tools to create their own activities—the kids make their own obstacle courses, play on the swing, climb the trees, play in the playhouse or drawing on the picnic tables. I can’t believe all the different things they do each day in the play yard—the possibilities for exploration are endless. Every Friday is a Natural Classroom day spent outdoors exploring the beaches, climbing trees, finding crabs and hiking the hills at Richardson Bay Audubon Sanctuary in Tiburon. While increasing physical stamina, improving gross motor skills and teamwork it promotes early stewardship of the environment. The daily table activities hone fine motor skills. The daily circle time brings conversations and new ideas spring-boarding the basis for the large group projects they work on 2 times per year. Music is every Wednesday! They also offer enrichment classes in the aftercare program. My 3 year old was doing downward dog and tree pose from the Yoga aftercare class! There are several school wide events throughout the year promoting community. Some of my dearest friends have been made at this school. I can’t speak highly enough of Director Jacki Akins and the incredible team of highly skilled and dedicated educators she has carefully selected to guide the kids in a calm, nurturing environment. They work on potty training with you and your child, always meeting you where your child is, which, in a sea of Preschools expecting potty training to be fully completed by the day they turn age 3, was refreshing and reassuring. Their parental collaboration is impressive—always finding time to listen to any concerns you may have about your child’s development and helping to achieve any goals. Wonderful pictures are sent every week that make you feel a part of your child’s experience. I would look at them with my child— they would light up telling me about everything they did! There are many opportunities to spend the day with your child as well. This truly is a special place and I can’t imagine having sent my kids somewhere else. All the kids are so happy and are excited to go to school. On the weekends my children would say, “is it school today?” hoping they’d be able to go! What more can you ask for?! Kids who graduate from this school are happy, kind, thoughtful, independent, flexible, collaborative, creative, adventurous and brave! I wish we could stay at CMLC forever!”

“Educare is such a wonderful school. We had our son at a more strict, more well-known Montessori and it didn’t feel right (too sterile, no smiles!) — then we found Educare and my son has absolutely thrived here.

The teachers and staff blend a high degree of learning with fun, they host so many great events to learn about different cultures, and it’s a total bonus that the kids learn in both Spanish and English.

As we’re heading to kindergarten this fall, it’s clear that the Educare kids are extremely well prepared to enter kindergarten with confidence. And if you’re planning to be in the LCM public schools, it’s awesome for the kids to have so many familiar Educare kids at their elementary school.

I’m truly grateful that we found Educare and want to spread the word — they didn’t show up as prominently in my original search as some of the preschools with a more ‘elite’ reputation. But now that I’ve seen many friends go through many different pre-schools, I can say with confidence that Educare stands out for nurturing and preparing kids for kindergarten — socially, emotionally and academically. Moving my son to Educare is one of the best parenting decisions I’ve made.”

“My twins and I have had a wonderful experience at TCCP. The child-led learning via play, with much of it being outdoor, has allowed my kids to thrive in so many ways. It is a parent participation preschool so I got to see their experiences and growth weekly. I am a single, full time working mother of twins, and am grateful I was able to be a part of their early education. The director, teachers, and other parents helped my children learn to better communicate and problem-solve, which I believe will serve them well through their lifetime. It also was a learning opportunity for me. I have gained skills on how to best communicate with my own children. I feel very lucky my kids went there and that we will forever be a part of the TCCP community.”