Berkeley Hills Nursery School

We’re so happy we chose BHNS for our son. The nurturing atmosphere, thanks to the amazing teachers Kathleen and Nisha, makes the school feel like a peaceful retreat in the hills. Our son looks forward to going every day, and we’ve been amazed by how quickly he’s grown socially and verbally. The play-based learning really supports his curiosity. We couldn’t be happier with the experience .

I'm SO happy we chose BHNS for our son. We visited a handful of other nursery schools in the area that were all lovely, but none of them felt quite as warm and calming as BHNS. Mostly that's because of how loving the teachers Kathleen and Nisha are, but it's also because the school itself feels like a cozy little tree house tucked away in the hills. The kids have access to lots of safe outdoor space where they can explore, which I love. The school is play-based and the kids encouraged to follow their natural curiosity through hands-on experiences like art projects, music lessons, circle time, building, storytelling, and just generally tinkering around, asking questions and learning about their environment. I was a little nervous at first sending my toddler to school for the first time but even within the first week he didn't want to go home at the end of the day. He RUNS out the door every morning because he's so excited to see "Kaff-leen" and Nisha and all his classmates. I was also blown away by how quickly his social and verbal skills skyrocketed after starting school. That's been so cool to see and just cemented to me what an excellent decision this was. I wish every kid had the opportunity to go to school at a place like BHNS!

My two kids have absolutely loved the years they spent at BHNS. All the teachers are deeply effective, nurturing, and invested. They cultivate a tight-knit classroom and family community. I'm grateful to have this gem in Berkeley and I would highly recommend BHNS.

My son thrives at Berkeley Hills Nursery School and we could not be happier! The teachers and the director have 10 - 20+ years of experience. I trust them 100% as experts in their field to help nurture and develop my son. My son does well at this small school, with an intimate group of friends. Because of the low student to teacher ratio, the teachers are very familiar with my son as a unique individual. The director, Kathleen, is top-notch, easy to work with, and very involved with the kids. Kathleen makes our parent "tasks" easy: applying was free and simple, enrollment steps were clear, and daily communication is concise (made even easier through an app). I like that teachers lead activities for the whole group of kids. The play-based activities get my son moving and learning. For example, today the kiddos moved through an obstacle course that helped them with balance, and fine and gross motor skills. They also do art, yoga, and walks in the neighborhood. Lastly, we have a strong parent community, with adult and family social events. We are so happy to have found this gem in the hills!

Berkeley Hills has been the perfect place for our son. He was lucky enough to go for two years and enjoyed the love and learning from each of the groups of teachers. The school does an amazing job meeting kids where they are and fostering love, respect and independence. There are so many things both large and small that they think of to help the kids grow from toddlers to school age. For example, they even thought of having the older kids start to walk the path to class on their own the last few months to prepare for kindergarten. I researched many different kinds of programs for preschool and am so thankful we landed at Berkeley Hills because they perfectly blend the best of all methods. The kids play freely and hike but also learn the alphabet and the sound of letters. They do science experiments, take note of bugs and plants and spend time listening to stories. They even learned some Spanish and yoga. The updates and photos help to foster conversation about the day which has been amazing. They were so helpful through the various challenges that come with raising toddlers. They'd give suggestions on how to tackle typical toddler challenges or just be a patient ear when you needed someone to talk to. I have an endless list of amazing memories from our time at Berkeley Hills and couldn't recommend the program enough.