San Francisco, CA
Stepping Stones Preschool

Parents' Comments

Parent #1
This school has everything most parents want: caring and warm teachers, strong academics, and a safe and secure environment.

Parent #2
My daughter started at Stepping Stones 3 months ago, so I don't necessarily have a full perspective yet! However, overall, I've been very pleased with Stepping Stones.

I think the real testament to Stepping Stones is the kids themselves. Walk into the school at any time - they all seem happy and engaged in whatever they are doing. They are also really great kids - within days of starting at Stepping Stones, 3 year olds classmates were wandering over at the neighborhood playgrounds to say hello to my daughter and introduce themselves to me. I noticed that knowing names and saying hello is one of the little skills that the school really emphasizes - so I think the school deserves some of the credit for the impressive out-of-school behavior I have witnessed.

At the very beginning, I was a little surprised by the teacher feedback - they expect alot from the kids, even those that are just barely two! However, the crazy thing is that - they get it! I was incredibly surprised at the rate at which my daughter suddenly developed real world skills - like walking down the block without stopping every two seconds, picking up a spoon and eating something neatly and promptly, etc. Little things - but boy do they make a big difference.

Parent #3
This school has wonderful teachers!
I however, found their way of disciplining the children to be over bearing and very harsh. They expect the children to fit into a very specific mold and my son really struggled with this.
Additionally they had a very hard time dealing with my speech delayed son(although they reassured me they could work with him if i hired an aide). They rarely communicated with me what was going on with him so when we sat down at parent/teachers conference we were shocked at how bad it was going..
I will say the few times i complained to the director, she handled it with much grace and tried to resolve whatever issues I had. But at the end of the day, not the right choice for us.
There is very little parent cohesion because everyone is working and too busy to hang out.

Parent #4
This preschool will absolutely prepare your child for kindergarten and life. It is fantastic. It is like a little, safe haven where you know that your child is happy, learning to her/his absolute potential, and learning to respect both self and others. By far, the best preschool in SF.

Parent #5
The academic program has structure, but is not overly structured or severe in its approach, enabling children at all developmental levels to interact in a beneficial way.

Montessori? Waldorf? Play-based?

What school type is right for your child? Is one model better than another? What does the research say?

View an example from the Savvy Source guide to learn more.

Make sand at home! Half the fun is creating, and half is playing with the material. Mix all listed ingredients together in a plastic bin, and then give your child small containers, shovels, funnels so that they can dump and fill. Toy cars and bulldozers are also a lot of fun.

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