Wee Li'l People Preschool

Oakland, CA

No longer in business

To see Department of Social Services records on this facility, click on its DSS Facility License # below.

Type:
Preschool,
Afterschool Care
DSS Facility License #
Owner:
Leticia Pinn
510-433-0288
info [at] weelilpeople.com
Location:
Oakland
94610
Lake Merritt on Alma St.
Maximum Capacity:
30
Language(s) Spoken:
English
Additional Services & Features:
K-5 afterschool available
Editors' Notes:
  • Nov 2022: This preschool's license number is no longer active so BPN assumes it has closed.
  • After School Program: License # 013411694 (capacity=24)

Parent Q&A

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  • Advise on Wee Li'l People Preschool

    Jun 25, 2021
    1 reply

    I was looking into WLP but couldn't find any current reviews on the school. I would love to hear from current families attending school. I have active twin boys that are super smart and bright but they are having trouble transitioning into preschool and wonder if this school will be patient or nurturing to their needs.

    We have had our daughter at Wee Li'l People for a year and a half (she will be going to kindergarten in August). It is a great neighborhood school and is very play-based. We have been really impressed with the academic portion of the school and really see our daughter gaining a great foundation in reading and math more so than I would have expected at her age. The staff is very outgoing and caring. Unfortunately with the pandemic, we have been unable to experience a lot of the day to day activities and internal workings of the school, but the staff is always very communicative. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

Parent Reviews

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After looking at several schools in our price range with the hours we needed, we have our daughter in WLP for the following reasons:

-Low rate-For 3 full days we pay $725. They have various pricing models. And do half days too.
-Convenient Hours. It's actually hard to find a place that fits a regular work schedule!
-Convenient location.
-Community. I visited an open house before enrolling her. All the parents were super nice. Just regular working people. Like us.
-Exposure to Spanish-It's random vocab & action words gleaned from songs & meal time.
-Meals & snacks provided. I sometimes smh at certain food choices they make, but we are so happy with her emotional & social development that it far outweighs my issues with the food. Plus, it is priceless to NOT have to make her breakfast or pack a lunch on these days.
-Group Dynamics & Structure-A lot of fancier schools I saw touted themselves as play based, & showed me their stations & various areas. Upon further questioning I realized they were very unstructured. That doesn't work for my shy kid. She won't participate unless she is made to. Then she has a ball! WLP has a lot of activities that are done in groups. It's been cool to see how my only child has learned teamwork & really enjoys
group activities now. They even offer soccer class during the summer, which she loved.
-Group Size-There are 2 classes. They split them up into 2-3s & 4-5s, but there are times when they are all
together. I like that, as when she goes to Kinder, she'll be in big classes too. I think my shy quiet girl needs to get used to that dynamic now.
-"Academics"- I say it in quotes because there's only so much you can do with 2 yr olds, & actually during academic time each kid gets work appropriate to their abilities. So they may be sitting at a table doing totally different activities. She started at 3 yrs old. Coming from a small in-home daycare. She now can write her name, & other letters with help, recognizes most letters on sight. Knows her colors, numbers, various Spanish words, & shapes. Basic stuff. The 2-3 class mainly focuses on social skills & really basic things, like sitting for circle time. Once she gets into the 4-5 class it will be a whole different ball game as they really try to prep the kids for Kindergarten as best they can.

Nice Surprises
-Older Elementary kids in before & after care, & summer- These kids are the Rainbow Rockets. I used to think this was weird, but after attending a field trip, I was super impressed with the role of leadership bestowed upon the older kids. The little ones look up to them, & the teachers expect the Rainbow Rockets to be leaders for the little guys, in various ways. These older kids were more responsible than many elementary schoolers of the same age. I think it is because of this dynamic & expectation of leadership. My kid talks about Rainbow Rockets all the time. Helping her tie her shoes, or other things.

Cultural Sensitivity- We're a mixed race family. I thought this would be an issue in a school that has a majority of Black families. In fact I asked the director about this during the interview process. She was very forth right in her answer, saying they actually make it a point to talk about differences as Black people also come in all shades & stigmas are created early on. Differences are pointed out to kids, but it is also stressed that diversity & differences is what makes WLP fun. The other day my kid happily observed that my eyes were slanted. I've never used that word around her, but was glad she had the vocabulary nonetheless. This idea of celebrating variety is refreshing for me as I did not grow up in an environment that did that.

-Loving teachers & kids- My kid is the one who cries every day at drop off until the parent leaves, then stops. She gets plenty of hugs from the teachers & kids alike. I'm beginning to wonder if she cries for the cuddles!

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Archived Q&A and Reviews


June 2009

Re: Full-time preschools for less than $1000/month?
Hi there! I have an excellent school for you to check out. Wee Lil People, which is right near Park blvd. I found this school when I sat on the thesis commitee of the creator and owner of the school. Her dream was to provide a school that offered excellent education and affordability. The school offers academics along with Spanish and performing arts. They have 4-5 big performances a year celebrating cinco de mayo to Christmas. The school is run by very strong intelligent black women who will love your child as their own. My son left after kindergarten and was reading, writing and doing mathmatics at 1-2nd grade levels along with having a good basic level understanding of Spanish. The school is underneath a church and doesn't have all the fancy bells n whistles but it makes up for it in love, education and culture. Good Luck diversewc



July 2008

Re: Preschool where my son won't be the token black kid
Wee Lil People Preschool in Oakland on Alma St. (near Lake Merritt) is fabulous. I have one son that goes there now and one son that graduated from there a few years ago. It's predominately African American and the staff is great with kids. The kids learn Spanish everyday and they have an exceptional academic program. We love it and highly recommend it. Their phone number is (510) 433-0288. Good Luck. Marlene