Seeking pre-school with big outdoor component
We are starting to look for pre schools for my 19 month old son to start at when he's about 2 years old. We live in the Glenview area of Oakland. I was curious if anyone can recommend a pre school where kids have a lot of opportunity to be outdoors? My son has skin issues (eczema) and he does so much better outdoors. Thanks for any recommendations folks have.
Mar 2, 2023
Parent Replies
Inch By Inch in Temescal spends most of the day outdoors in a beautiful backyard! My daughter went there for two years and it was magical. There's a grassy area, a rock garden, vegetable garden, a playhouse, swings, and more. Lisa Fitch and the other teachers are all incredible, too.
Yellow House Playschool in Trestle Glen is mostly outdoors. Broadway Children’s School also is a heavy outdoor.
Check out Storybrook which would be pretty close to you. We toured it and were quite impressed. We initially looked into forest schools, but found that most of them only offered part time hours which wouldn't work for us. Storybrook is not a forest school, but they have a large outdoor space where the kids spend the vast majority of the day (eating, reading, playing) and only go inside for nap or if the weather is really poor. The director seemed very passionate and thoughtful. It is quite expensive and a little further from us than we'd like, but otherwise we would have loved to go there.
Check out Bernice & Joe's, which is off Edwards (off the 580). Pretty short drive from Glenview. Their outdoor space is awesome! My daughters loved it there. Happy to chat more about it if you like. Text me: 510.708.1972
~Mailisha
Hi There - You may want to check out Duck’s Nest on Telegraph or their Berkeley location, or perhaps Rice and Beans Forrest school in Oakland. Good Luck!
A note from BPN Moderators: One person recommended a forest school, so we just want to remind everyone that many of the local forest schools are not licensed, and BPN does not accept posts about unlicensed programs for children under five years old. For more info, see About Forest Schools & Other Unlicensed Programs for Ages 0-5.