Home Sweet Home Preschool

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Oct 2007

My son graduated from Home Sweet Home preschool in Alameda. He has successfully transitioned to Kindergarten and his experience at Home Sweet Home really made him ready for the big kid school! My son attended Home Sweet Home Aug 2004 - Aug 2007. Although I am biased I have to say he is smart, eager to learn, very social, and considerate and respectful of others. I would like to take all the credit BUT being that he is at school full-time for 3 years it is obvious that Home Sweet Home helped to create the wonderful human he is today. Here are a few of the things that I really liked about Home Sweet Home:

- Reggio Emila inspired curriculum
- Great Staff that is loving, and provide extra attention to any children that need it
when transitioning to pre-school
- Wonderful garden and outside play area
- Always adding to the school
- Strong community of involved parents, staff, etc
- Amazing youth mentors who come into the classroom daily
- Great ratio of kid to adult
- Provide healthy snacks and teach children about healthy nutrition
- diapers are fine - kids can potty train at own pace * they let my son use cloth
diapers which was a big plus!
- year round and hours that are great 7:30am-6pm
- same vacations as local Alameda schools (which is ideal if you have an older
sibling in the local elementary school)
- Kandra Rivers is currently the Director of the school and Rose Stevens the head
teacher

Sept 2007

Re: Preschool w/ an ''Unconditional Parenting'' approach
While my child only just started there, I think Home Sweet Home in Alameda fits the bill (take children from 2 to 5). The unconditional parenting book is one of my favorites & one of the teachers at Home Sweet Home reccomended another book - Playful Parenting - which is sort of along the lines of unconditional parenting. Time outs are virtually unheard of, its all about building community & working stuff out. They follow the Reggio Emilio (not sure of spelling?) approach. good luck

July 2007

Wondering if there are any current families at Home Sweet Home preschool in Alameda? Any & all feedback welcome, especially families that have been there with the current director, Kandra Rivers. thanks

My daughter has been at HSH for almost 2 years. She started under the direction of Nick and weathered the change in leadership to Kandra. The transition was smooth and we are as happy now as we were when we first enrolled our daughter at this play-based preschool. We plan on enrolling our second daughter (2-1/2 yr old) this fall and look forward to having both girls there for a year before the oldest goes to kindergarten.

The administrative side of the school could be a little more organized and sometimes calls to the office are not returned promptly. But with that said, I could not be happier with what goes on in the classroom. The philosophy at Home Sweet Home is inspired by Reggio Emilia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia). The community of parents is excellent and friendly. If you are looking for a Montessori school, this place is not for you, but if you are looking for an environment that allows children to explore and discover their own passions then HSH is a great place. Happy at HSH

Oct 2005

Re: Alameda preschools: NON Montessori
For the person looking for a pre-school in Alameda for next fall. You mentioned that your kids currently attend a emilio reggio-inspired pre-school. Alameda has one of those too. It's called Home Sweet Home and is located in the west end of alameda on the former naval air station (now called alameda point) My son attended the school for over 2 years and thrived there. The Director of the program is Nick Challed and the phone number is 748-4316. It's an amazing school and has built a community that I am still active in. christa

Jan 2005

Re: Looking for an Alameda preschool
There is a fantastic pre-school called Home Sweet Home in Alameda. It's located out on the former Naval Air station. My son ''graduated'' from there last august and is thriving in k- gardten now. Their teachers are fantastic and the school has lots of indoor and outdoor space. They have a wonderful approach to learning and letting the kids play and respect eachother. The school is a community for the families that send their kids there and I am still involved as a board member for its parent organization even though my son is no longer enrolled there. Nick Challad is the director of the program (748-4316) and one of the teachers there. I looked at many preschools in Alameda and once I spent time at Home Sweet Home no other schools compared. Best of luck to you in your search! Alamedan

Sept 2004

Re: Preschool in Alameda or Downtown Oakland
My son just ''graduated'' from Home Sweet Home pre-school in Alameda and was well prepared for k-garten. Home Sweet Home is located at Alameda Point, the former alameda naval air station. I toured many schools in alameda prior to choosing Home Sweet Home. The teachers there are fantastic and the ratio is low (1 to 7). This ratio is enhanced by youth from the charter high school next door that work/intern in the pre-school. Sometimes when I picked up my son there were three youth reading books with him or playing with him outside. The pre-school has a lot of space, especially outside. It also has a large area that is outside but under a patio roof.

The school at first seems a little bit more expensive then some of the other schools on the island for 2 - 5 year olds but there are no hidden fees or extra $ for extra weeks off or fixing up the place fees. It is a non-profit organization and they work hard to earn competetive grants from the County that require extensive applications and evaluation to receive.

I especially enjoyed their focus on continuous improvement, staff development, and the sense of community they work hard to establish and nurture. They offer parenting workshops to Home Sweet Home parents and to the community as well. It is definitely less structured than Alameda's Montesorri schools but the kids are ready for k-garten, they enjoy lots of play time, and learn how to treat each other with respect and affection. My son thrived at Home Sweet Home and I highly recommend it to other families. Christa