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September 2023 by Marjorie McInerney
SFC is such a wonderful preschool! Ms Nadia and all the teachers a like an extended family while also incredibly professional. We are not a French speaking family and the school and other parents are very welcoming.The play based, emotional learning focused making preschool fun and also enriching was exactly what we were looking for, plus exposure to another language.We also loved that our children had the exposure to learn aboutand cultures and religions from all around the globe from their class mates. Our son looks at a map or globe and has real meaning as he describes where his classmates were from or traveled to.I am so so thankful we learned of this magical nurturing place!
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April 2023 by Valerie M.
I love this school: The staff at SFC Preschool is truly exceptional!!! They not only provide excellent care and attention to the children but also impart valuable life skills such as acceptance and social skills. The school offers an array of activities, including music, singing, cooking, gardening, and soccer, that are designed to align with French culture. The Christmas and graduation shows are events that should not be missed, as they showcase the children's talents and hard work.Enrolling my daughters in SFC has been one of the best decisions I have made for their education. Prior to joining, my oldest daughter had conversational French skills, while my youngest daughter knew only a few words. However, since they started attending SFC, they have made remarkable progress and are now close to being fluent in French. Furthermore, they have grown in independence and emotional intelligence, demonstrating compassion and managing their feelings in a healthy manner.SFC is much more than just a school that teaches French and French culture. It is a warm and welcoming community where children can develop their skills and interests while also learning from one another. I am grateful for the nurturing environment provided by SFC and would recommend it to any parent seeking a bilingual education for their child.
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March 2023 by Rachel Fu
We bumped into this school by pure luck two years ago and it has been undoubtedly one of the best decisions we made for our children. Don't be intimidated by the French immersion aspect of the school - it is for native and non-native speaker families (like us zero French at home) alike. Nadia the director of SFC runs this school with absolute passion and makes no concession on what she believes to be the best for the students. The school facilities remind me of a version of the Waldorf and where many hands-on projects are provided, such as cooking, crafting, planting and games. The pedagogy is for raising well-rounded children. We also really appreciate some of the French cultural elements such as having lunch served in chinaware for preschoolers and writing cursives for Kindergarten. Miss Zoe, the Kindergarten teacher in the afternoon English program is very attentive, caring and patient. For a class of 13 kids, she prepares customized curricula for kids at different levels of academic maturity. We deeply appreciate the education, nurturing and love from the team of teachers and staff to our child, and feel so proud to be part of the community of parents.
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March 2023 by Holly Atkinson
My son has been in the Papillons (3s and 4s class) since September 2022, and we are so pleased with our experience with the school.The teachers are excellent—I trust all of them absolutely to look out for the best for my kid, help him with his social skills, speaking French, and fun preschool activities. Each member of the Papillons team (Anne, Annie, Antoine, Marie-Helene, Moncef, Nadia) is so kind and great with kids. I believe SFCP&K uses a Waldorf-inspired approach that emphasizes social-emotional learning and creativity, and it has a really unpretentious and welcoming atmosphere. I have heard only good things about the Monarches class to which he will move to in the fall. My son’s communication skills have improved a lot—when he started, he probably understood some French thanks to his francophone father, but would not speak any French words. Then around Christmas I watched him exchange pleasantries in French with his holiday camp teacher. By March he was actually excited to chatter in French about a dream he had with his French-speaking grandparents on FaceTime, when before he would refuse to interact with them over the phone—SFC has opened up a whole new relationship with his grandparents!Other great features: SFC has an amazing teacher:child ratio — I believe there are typically three adults present in the class of ~12 kids. My son loves the “camps” that are often held during school holidays.-Community: there are many opportunities to socialize with teachers and other parents at gatherings.-Special activities: some months there is a weekly soccer class, music teachers every other week, lots of cooking (he brings home a little round of bread that he helped bake at school at least once a month), harvesting stuff from the school garden.-Location/conveniences: next to a lovely park with a playground, which is perfect for the warm-weather barbecues and playing after pick-up while waiting for traffic to die down. Pick up and drop off are very easy — there is a huge parking lot that is easy to get in and out of. I love that they provide an interesting variety of peanut-free foods for lunch (chicken nuggets, Korean beef, tofu curry, pesto pasta, etc.).
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March 2023 by Holly A.
My son has been in the Papillons (3s and 4s class) since September 2022, and we are so pleased with our experience with the school. The teachers are excellent--I trust all of them absolutely to look out for the best for my kid, help him with his social skills, speaking French, and fun preschool activities. Each member of the Papillons team (Anne, Annie, Antoine, Marie-Helene, Moncef, Nadia) is so kind and great with kids. I believe SFCP&K uses a Waldorf-inspired approach that emphasizes social-emotional learning and creativity, and it has a really unpretentious and welcoming atmosphere. I have heard only good things about the Monarches class to which he will move to in the fall. My son's communication skills have improved a lot--when he started, he probably understood some French thanks to his francophone father, but would not speak any French words. Then around Christmas I watched him exchange pleasantries in French with his holiday camp teacher. By March he was actually excited to chatter in French about a dream he had with his French-speaking grandparents on FaceTime, when before he would refuse to interact with them over the phone--SFC has opened up a whole new relationship with his grandparents! Other great features: SFC has an amazing teacher:child ratio -- I believe there are typically three adults present in the class of ~12 kids. My son loves the "camps" that are often held during school holidays.-Community: there are many opportunities to socialize with teachers and other parents at gatherings.-Special activities: some months there is a weekly soccer class, music teachers every other week, lots of cooking (he brings home a little round of bread that he helped bake at school at least once a month), harvesting stuff from the school garden. -Location/conveniences: next to a lovely park with a playground, which is perfect for the warm-weather barbecues and playing after pick-up while waiting for traffic to die down. Pick up and drop off are very easy -- there is a huge parking lot that is easy to get in and out of. I love that they provide an interesting variety of peanut-free foods for lunch (chicken nuggets, Korean beef, tofu curry, pesto pasta, etc.).
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March 2023 by Noa Tal Vaynberg
My two boys go to this school and we absolutely love it. Ms. Nadia and all of her teachers are so incredibly warm with the children and their families. They go above and beyond to create real community, and that is very special to us. 5/5 recommend!
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March 2023 by Lamiaa Mouhine
My daughter started last year and she absolutely loves it! The teachers are amazing.Nadia, the director is so welcoming And always available whenever we have questions.The best preschool in the area!!
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February 2023 by Natasha G.
SFCP has always treated us like family. We feel like we are part of a little french community/family where the kids are safe, well taken care of, and love to be there. My daughter started SFCP when she was 2.5 and has been there till Kindergarten. Every day she's excited to go to school and comes home with more and more skills. I am beyond impressed on how much she has learned there. They do cooking, art, exploring, science, singing & dancing, reading & writing, playing. The kids even put on fun shows for the families during Christmas and end of the year. There's so many fun events too, like trunk or treat during Halloween, field trips to pumpkin patches. The owner Nadia and all the teachers are the most carrying and loving group I have ever came across. They treat the kids like if they were their own. And take the time to connect with the kids and parents. I hope I can repay the school one day on how well they have taken care of us! I'd recommend them any day!
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July 2022 by Alice C.
We were visiting the Bay Area from Canada regarding some things to do. I was looking for a French/ francophone place for my daughter. We reached out to SFC preschool and enquired about a spot for our daughter. The director Miss Nadia was so welcoming , and she managed to get me a spot for her summer camp. We were so delighted, and she took her in right away. My daughter has been so happy. The teachers are fantastic and their curriculum is really well developed. Their classrooms are so appealing and very nurturing. You feel that you are dropping your child in a home style program. They have had many enrichment activities such as cooking week, cultural week and fun water week. The classrooms and the furniture are really up to date (wooden made) and the facility is always well maintained and clean. The staff is really well skilled, professional and know what the purpose of teaching young children. Miss Nadia and her teachers are experienced in social, emotional-development of the children. I highly recommend it to all my Canadian fellow. At the pick up time, my daughter is having so much fun that she doesn't even want to come home. Merci, thank you SFC for having us we felt lucky to find you.
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February 2022 by Neda S.
SFC is an outstanding school! Both of my girls are currently enrolled at SFC. They are thriving academically and socially. Most important of all they are extremely happy. Both of them run to their respective classrooms every single morning!! Nadia and her staff have found a way to teach and discipline children simultaneously while making them feel loved. SFC has welcomed us at the peak of Covid and we never want to leave. SFC is more than just a " great " preschool, it is a tight knit community always willing to help our family! The amount of love and special attention received by my girls at SFC is unparalleled.
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June 2021 by Romina C.
This preschool is more than an outstanding education center. Is a community of devoted educators (and committed parents) who have provided a warm, caring, playful and respectful environment for both of my kids. Highly recommend and thankful we had the opportunity to see our kids develop emotionally and academically at SFC for the last 4 years!
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June 2021 by Cyrille H.
We are very happy to have found this school at the right time. They are the cleanest daycare i've visited, Their curriculum is full of super fun activities allowing children to learn and grow without any pressure or anxiety. The culture is warm, festive and nurturing But what we love the most about this school, are the teachers , they are "kids fairies" with 20+ years of experience, very attentive, very knowledgeable and super helpful with amazing tips for the parents We are grateful to all the staff and especially Nadia the director for their continuous hard work and efforts!
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June 2021 by S.V. M.
Fantastic school with wonderful and caring educators. We do not speak French at home but my daughter has picked up so much of the language. Nadia, the director, even created a special curriculum at the request of some parents to offer special Arabic lessons. Nadia is simply superb; she's thoughtful, sharp, energetic, creative, caring, supportive - and just a wonderful person. The school is a tight knit community and probably the best kept secret in the area. This school is sought after with a long wait list and no need to advertise or focus on Yelp reviews to distinguish itself, so that why there are fewer reviews. However, after reading Mary M.'s ridiculous review about 'not getting a call back fast enough' I decided to leave a review for the algos. As a parent of children who actually attend the school, that review is nauseating and offensive to read given that we just pulled through a pandemic year where my kids have socially and academically thrived thanks to this school. We're good, Mary, thanks.
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May 2021 by Tacysay R.
Saratoga French Cultural Preschool has been wonderful for our son. The director and owner, Nadia, and the teachers in my son's class (Florence, Christine, Khadijah and Anna) take the time to tend to the children, teach and guide them, and all with loads of love. They followed strict protocols including on-site testing during Covid which made us feel comfortable enough to enroll our son during the pandemic. The school offers wonderful activities including cooking, gardening, music, and more. Our son is thriving at SFCP because of the dedicated staff, teachers, and curriculum offered there.
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May 2021 by David S.
We are really happy to have found this preschool. Not only do they have a great system to help kids do activities and learn, they also have a great system to immerse children in French so that it is a part of their lives. I highly recommend this school.
