In-Depth Preschool Ratings and Reviews for:

• All Cities
• Austin Preschools
• Berkeley & Oakland Preschools
• Boston Preschools
• Chicago Preschools
• Dallas Area Preschools
• Los Angeles (West LA) Preschools
• Los Angeles (San Gabriel Valley) Preschools
• NYC & Brooklyn Preschools
• San Diego North County Preschools
• San Francisco Preschools
• San Jose Preschools
• Seattle Preschools

San Francisco, CA
Baby Steps

Parents at this school would recommend this school to other parents.

Review this preschool

neighborhood: Lakeside ·  Telephone: (415) 661-6124

• Summary
• General Info
• School Philosophy
  & Day-in-the-Life
• Curriculum &
  Teaching Approach
• Quality of
  Teaching
• Home/School
  Connection
• Discipline,
  Health & Safety
• Ages, Schedule
  & Tuition
• Application &
  Admissions

General Approach to Learning

	Play-based
	Play-based with some structure
	Predominantly teacher-led instruction
	Montessori
	Waldorf
	Co-op
	Reggio-Emilia

source:

Director's Comments

Emergent curriculum design is child-directed learning. Teachers act as facilitatiors to learning guiding and encouraging children to investigate their questions and to expand on that learning to insure that each student leaves with the tools they will need to learn in school and the confidence to know that they can think and reason.

Social Skills & Work Habits

OVERALL RATING (4.0)
This school has increased my child's:
Ability to listen and follow directions
Ability to sit still for longer periods of time
Ability to be a part of a group of children
Self-sufficiency and independence
Awareness of others’ feelings
Cooperation with other children

source:

Curriculum and Teaching Approach

	PLAY-BASED	PLAY-BASED WITH SOME STRUCTURE	MOSTLY TEACHER LED	NOT FORMALLY IN CURRICULUM	CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT
Language					Yes
Oral language	-		-	-
Nursery rhymes, poems, songs	-	-		-
Storybook reading	-		-	-
Emerging literacy skills	-	-		-
Cognitive Development
Math and number sense	-	-		-	Yes
Time & space	-		-	-	Yes
Sci. reasoning/physical world	-		-	-	Yes
Music	-		-	-	Yes
Visual arts	-		-	-	Yes
Physical activity	-		-	-	Yes
Other subjects taught	nature study, animal science, enviornmental science.

source:

Director's Comments

Learning is supposed to be fun and we do all we can to make it entertaining by keeping it fresh and new with each project we begin. No two groups of children are alike and since 1992 no two projects have been alike. We've rescued rabbits, planted vegetable gardens and written letters to the president. Learning how to think is more important than learning how to memorize. The children at Baby Steps are encouraged to ask questions and use resources.

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
I like the fact that the program is both child directed and teacher encouraged. The teachers are "coaches" and they are skilled at getting the children to choose activities that just so happen to be developing skills they will need in elementary school.

Parent #2
I really like the balance of teacher-led and free play at Baby Steps. The kids feel independent and confident in making their choices, but there is some structure.