Holding Hands Preschool
Oakland, CA
To see Department of Social Services records on this facility, click on its DSS Facility License # below.
At Holding Hands, Children learn Actively with Hands-On Experiences, Problem Solving and Creativity. Our curriculum is designed to meet the needs and talents of our children and we sustain the sparkle as they work towards mastery.
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.We love Holding Hands so so so much. The teachers are so thoughtful and kind, and clearly put their hearts into their work. We have never had any issues whatsoever and feel total trust in their care of our daughter. Because of the smaller class size, each kid really gets individualized attention and nurturing. Our kiddo has thrived there and we wish she could stay there forever. I highly highly recommend Holding Hands!
Words cannot express how much we love Holding Hands. Our son started at Holding Hands during Covid. We switched from a prestigious and popular preschool in the East Bay. We couldn’t be happier with the move to Holding Hands. I find it hard to believe that more people don’t know about it as it truly is one of the most special schools I have ever experienced. Every child who attends is taught kindness, confidence, and creative thinking. It is a perfect balance between fun, play, friendship, discipline, and intellectual development.
Holding Hands is located in a home, yet you would never know it. The school is beautifully decorated, and the backyard is delightful. In the backyard, there is an herb and vegetable garden, hens, and a great playground with swings, climbing structures, slides, and a sandbox. The kids participate in gardening, cooking, art, music, Spanish, science, and, from what I am told, epic dance parties. Each week has a theme around letters from the alphabet or topics like “eyes”. For example, the week they learn about eyes, even the snacks are made to look like an eye. And the art projects that are made daily are beautiful - we are always amazed by what our son creates.
The school has been complexly safe during Covid and there have been no issues. There are only 14 kids in the class from ages three to five years old. Most importantly, our son is always happy, loves going to school, and is healthy. He truly has never had a bad day at Holding Hands.
Feel free to contact me with any questions. You can also contact the Holding Hands Director, Judith, at (510) 290-7641 or judith [at] hhpreschool.org (judith[at]hhpreschool[dot]org).
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Oct 2011
I'm looking for some recent reviews of Holding Hands Preschool in Oakland. Thanks! Searching
We love Holding Hands Preschool. Our daughter is in her second year there, and honestly, we couldn't be happier! Overall, we feel Holding Hands is preparing our daughter wonderfully to move into Kindergarten, not only intellectually, but equally -- if not more important at this point -- socially and emotionally. She's able to navigate a huge variety of social, emotional and intellectual situations now as a result of being with Holding Hands for her first year and now into her second.
Judith as the director is very organized, creative and a pleasure to be around. Very kind and patient with the children (and parents!). All of the teachers are wonderfully patient and kind and the kids love them.
We were searching for a small school with a very high teacher to student ratio, preferably in a ''home'' environment with a wonderful ''backyard'' style outdoor space. There are 15 kids total (never 15 all on the same day though due to part-time students) and 4 teachers. We wanted a high quality environment with respect to the learning environment (equipment, toys, art supplies, etc.) We wanted some structure yet play based. Judith incorporates the best of all the different types of learning approaches into the school. The moment we met Judith (the director) and toured the school we fell in love. Each day has a comfortable (and dependable) structure or '''rhythm'' for the children with art, cooking, gardening, art appreciation, science, dance and movement, language (Korean right now). Also a part of the environment is learning letters and numbers, how to write their name (or ''mommy'', etc.)....and let me give an example of the ''play'' part of learning for learning to write... the kids don't simply sit at a table with a pencil and paper learning to write their name, it rather just simply is a part of their day by putting their name on art projects, etc. with the help of the teacher on hand. Over time, they learn it! And, like magic, they learn their ABC's and 123's in the same manner...just by doing puzzles, and other toys or by having each letter be the ''theme'' for the week. Speaking of themes, each week has a different one ranging from animals, letter, events, etc. My daughter's favorite theme day from last year was ''P'' week with a pizza and pajama day!
The outdoor space is lovely with two wooden play structures, a slide, tire swing, child sized tables and chairs, sandbox, chicken coop, garden (which the children tend and harvest) many fruit trees and flowers...it's wonderful. The art projects the kids do on a daily basis are beautiful. The art supplies are abundant and well maintained, the toys and puzzles are all very high quality. The classroom decor is as though an interior designer did it, very creative and nice to look at...it changes often. She'll always have photos up of the kids, too. The parents plan field trips for the kids, a few every year. Judith and the teachers plan several ''parent'' breakfasts and even a ''parents night out'' and ''day out''. They have full-time and part-time available, and when my second baby was born we were able to drop our daughter off for additional days as needed...she was very accommodating during this transition in our family. Obviously, I could go on! All the kids are very happy there, my daughter loves the teachers. Feel free to contact me for more information. Jennifer
May 2008
I would love to hear a review of Holding Hands preschool from a current family whose child attends preschool there. My son is too young this year, but my older child will be attending Aurora, right across the street, so I am interested in seeing whether Holding Hands would be a good fit for us. Anything you can tell me about the school's director and teachers, philosophy, and what the daily routine is like would be great. Thanks so much.
Holding Hands Preschool is moving! Their new location will be off Highway 13 (Lincoln ave exit) behind Head Royce. For more information on Holding Hands Preschool you can check out their website: hhpreschool.org. Good Luck
Feb 2006
I would like to know if anybody have any experience (pros and cons)they have had at Holding Hands preschool in Oakland. I am impressed with the School Director's achievements/school philosophy and I'm planning to put my daughter there this coming September. Thanks. Excited Mom
W e love Holding Hands preschool. Our 4 year old daughter is incredibly happy there. Judith is dynamic and loving. The other part time teachers are great too. The kids are constantly doing wonderful projects. I know how engaged our daughter is by the non-stop conversation at dinner about how she spent her day. I am happy to report that our only problem was that she wouldn't leave at the end of the day because she was having too much fun! Please feel free to contact me with more questions I'd be happy to help. Judith the director has my phone number. Lynne
Oct 2005
We are considering Holding Hands preschool in Oakland for our 4yo daughter and would appreciate any feedback. Thanks. Andrew
My son has been going to Holding Hands since their opening (Sept 7, 2005) and I have nothing but great things to say about the school and primarily the director/teacher, Judith Rawner. She is great and her philosophy is tailored to fit all children's different needs. She is always available to answer questions and concerns. My son absolutely loves her and has made great improvement since he started. The school is very charming and has a beautiful backyard. The staff she has now is equally great. Carol is very nice and do a lot of projects with the kids and Tamara does gardening with them. She is now looking for another teacher to add to her staff. I would be happy to answer any questions you still might have. Silvia
No responses received.