Parent Testimonials



      Thought you might be interested in hearing how C is doing in kindergarten. She had a really great first week. It was exhausting (long days and lots of physical activity) but it seems like she handled that better than many of the others.

She found a little friend who is in the K1 class (pre-K or 4 yr old K) so she has a friend for the playground - that was her biggest worry. She's doing quite well in the classes. The homework they send is really quite simple for her - connect the dots, tracing, coloring etc.

The best news of all is that she got a courtesy award badge her very first week for holding the door for all her little classmates. She got to wear it all day and her picture is now up on their award board. She almost got a second one for giving her ball to a boy on the playground to resolve a dispute between him and a girl about another ball. The whole school is very impressed with her maturity and thoughtfulness. I guarantee she would not be this well developed if it weren't for you guys.

She misses the kids place but she's very happy at her new school and is excited to stay there.

Hope all is well with you!

~Mother of Corte Madera Graduate

I was thrilled to see a profile of our favorite preschool on the Marin Mommies website. All of my three kids attended The Kid's Place. My two older once have since graduated, but my youngest one is still there (a proud Whale (Pre-K) room student)

My youngest one (now 4 years old) was the only one who started in the infant room. The infant room teachers are wonderful, very caring and communicate extremely well with parents. I was very comfortable leaving my baby girl in their hands. The teachers do amazing activities with the little ones, and peeking in from the Whale room, I could see my daughter being quite happy and entertained.

The toddler room is wonderful, too. Both my girls spent their toddler years there, and they enjoyed every minute of it. The kids get to do a lot of artwork in that room, receive an introduction to circle time and still have lots of time for free play. J, one of the teachers in the toddler room, has been there for years, and my kids are still friends with her, looking very much forward to the occasional babysitting night with "teacher J".

Here is a summary of the pros and cons in general:
Pro: all the teachers and both directors communicate very well with parents. Environment is very caring. High flexibility in terms of drop-off & pick-up time. Great art project and enrichment classes (some free, like the weekly music class). Great themed "big" projects in the Dolphin (=Preschool class) and Whale room (theatre, going green, architecture, just to name a few). Little teacher turn around, most teachers have been there for many years. Students leave the Whale room well prepared for Kindergarten (applied to both my son, now a 4th grader, and my older daughter, now a 2nd grader). The teachers respect each individual child with his or her special needs, and help them integrate into the group. All my kids found lasting friends at The Kids Place, and so did we parents. We really liked the balance between free play and learning in a playful environment.

Cons: I had a hard time coming up with anything. Possibly the weakest room is (or was) the Dolphin room, which is a very tough age-group (potty training and terrible-two temper tantrums can wear out anyone, I guess), but with the recent addition of two wonderful new teachers, things have really improved. My daughter has been in class with both of them and adores them. So may be that does not really count towards the cons.

~Mother of three Corte Madera Graduates

I have been a Kids Place parent for 6 years. It was wonderful to keep our older child at one school since she was a baby and move from room to room as she grew up. The size is nice - big enough to be interesting and small enough so that I knew every teacher and most children on a first name basis. The small size also allows parents to work with staff and the directors to address any issues that may arise. I felt my children were loved, respected and my needs as a busy working parent were met.

My 5 year old has excelled at Kindergarten this year and more than one parent asked me where she went to pre-school because they were so surprised about how well prepared she was for school. The extracurricular activities are also hard to beat - Soccerkids, Karate, dance and music and lots and lots of Art. I have not found a school that offers so many activities.

Sadly, the infant program is being phased out and I have been researching other schools for my 13 month old. After visiting various in-home settings and traditional pre-schools in southern Marin, I have to say I would still select Kids Place again. You child would be lucky to attend this school.

~Mother of Corte Madera Graduate and infant prior to infant room closure

My daughter attended Kids’ Place for four years from 2003 through 2007. She had a wonderful experience there. The teachers were kind and loving. They did many age-appropriate creative activities with the children from science projects to art projects to theater. They also taught wonderful social skills like respecting one’s classmates and resolving conflict as well as good every day manners (we still talk about the “common courtesies” that my daughter learned there). My daughter was extremely happy there and left full of confidence and ready to excel in kindergarten. When my son needed a child care center in 2008, I did not hesitate to enroll him at Kids’ Place. He has had a very similar experience to my daughter.

I think one of the reasons that the environment at Kids’ Place is so amazing is that the director and the owner are passionate about making Kids’ Place the wonderful center that is. They both truly love children and are continually striving to create a place where children can learn and thrive. They work long hours to ensure that every child’s needs are met and that the staff are well educated in the curriculum and happy in their work. As a result, there has been very little staff turnover. I could not recommend Kids’ Place more highly for someone looking for child care.

~Mother of a Corte Madera Graduate and a San Anselmo student

Our daughter is attending this school and we have had the best experience as new parents. They have helped us by putting her on a schedule, have encouraged her crawling and even know the little nuances that we are aware of. Recently, our little girl has been very clingy with me, but she is the same way with her head teacher. To me, this shows that there is a lot of trust and love. I have also noticed that some of the parents have the teachers babysit their children on the week-ends as well... thus it seems that other parents share my in site.

~Mother of former Corte Madera student

I have had my children at The Kids Place for the past 5 years - two Kids Place graduates and one currently enrolled. Our family loves this school! The activities are great - lots of art - and the kids graduate well-prepared for Kindergarten. The teachers are really wonderful and the school fosters a really strong parent community. The school hosts lots of events for families so you get to know all the other parents & kids well. We have made some of our best friends at The Kids Place. It is definitely more down-to-earth than a lot of other preschools, mostly working parents rather than the SAHM scene.

~Mother of two Corte Madera Graduates and a current Corte Madera student

My son's been going to The Kids Place for two years now.  He started as a "Dolphin" and has grown into a "Whale".  My parameters when searching were that it be within the Corte Madera area and be open from 7:30 to 5:30 so I could make it to work on time.  Only a couple of places fit the bill, and I'm very pleased he ended up at TKP.

One of my favorite things about this school is the pointers on manners.  My son may be a great bike rider and reader and Lego-er, but I never got around to "no elbows on the table" and "wait for your friends to finish eating before you ask to be excused"...things that I must admit, I had not been adhering to!

So now my kid reminds me of something for a change, which empowers him, and meanwhile, he's coming home from TKP asking about keystones (from their architecture project) and telling me he wishes he could go to school on his "day off" because it's Face-Paint Friday and he could get his face painted like a truck.

I have had great luck communicating with the directors via email.  The directors are busy with their own classrooms, and the office is just a space for the billing/business side.  Not an excuse, just a different approach that lets them spend more time on the school side and charge less on the parents' side

~Mother of Corte Madera Graduate

My 11 month old has been going to Kids Place for about 6 months now and I think the school is wonderful. Before Kids Place, I had him at a small day care, which I wasn't thrilled with. The Kids Place infant room is spacious, with separate sleeping area, eating area, and a big play area. My test for the quality of a day care is the "unannounced visit" - I've made a few. When my son was not sleeping or eating, he has been playing with other infants or the teachers. He was always engaged in some activity, which is comforting. I've visited in the middle of infant art projects, which are hysterical to watch - I'm glad they are responsible for cleanup..  I like the Kids Place: the teachers are great, the place is clean, and the parents are friendly.   Other parents who have their kids here - from infants to preschoolers - are happy with the care and education their kids receive.  If you need infant care or a preschool, definitely check Kids Place out. ~Mother of Corte Madera infant prior to infant room closure

Great staff and creative day to day activities. nice community of familes as well!!! my daughter has been attending Kidsplace for 2.5 years and loves it!

~Mother of Corte Madera student

This school has been perfect for my children. The teachers are so warm and loving and creative. There are new exciting activities going on every day and my children have learned so much over the years. The teachers incorporate letters and numbers in thematic projects so the kids are always interested and having fun while learning. The school also has lots of parent events and does a lot to create community with the families. They also totally redid all the classrooms about a year ago and they are all really fun and great environments for the kids.

~Mother of a Corte Madera Graduate and a current Corte Madera student

I wanted to take a moment to tell you what a wonderful treat it was to receive Mother's Day gifts from the gals in the infant room. They "assisted" G in making me a cute foot painting. They also put together an adorable frame, painted, with a photo of me and G, and labeled the frame with her name in white letters. And last week they gave me a photo framed in green construction paper showing G making the painting with her feet. I showed all three to my husband, and we both agreed, these are treasures! It excites us to know that so much fun is taking place in the infant room.

~Mother of Corte Madera infant prior to infant room closure

We want to thank you all for how you've enriched C and S's lives, and have made great efforts to teach them so much about art, reading, math, play, and mutual respect in the last year and a half at the school. 

  Our sons will miss all of their friends and teachers, and will fondly remember all of the fun projects.  

~Mother of Corte Madera Graduates

A is a happier child since she enrolled at her school. She loves to attend, loves her friends and is excited for every new day to begin.

~Mother of Corte Madera Graduate

Our family loves your school and all the teachers. They are excited to go every morning and happy when I pick them up. To me as a parent that is the true test of everything. My husband and I have a challenging situation with their age differences, so, I appreciate all the advice and positive reinforcement we get through your school. C has developed leaps and bounds within the last couple of months, that is entirely thru teachers N and B working so well with her. J, whom we call “Mr. Contrarian”, seems to be his most agreeable around teacher R. She is a great influence in his daily life. I just want to tell you to keep up the good work and we appreciate everything your staff has done for our children. Thank you!

~Mother of two Corte Madera Graduates

Yesterday we had the Teacher-Parent conference at Neil Cummins and we are very happy with what Mr. S, A’s teacher, told us about him. Mr. S praised A, his knowledge and the qualities he brings to the classroom. He said he knows so many things and that he is amazing. Since we think that you, his teachers at the Kids’ Place, had a major contribution and impact on his development. We would like to thank you once again for your effort and commitment. You did a really good job and we are grateful.

A is happy in school. He likes it and enjoys it most of the time. His new passion (he has got a new one) is … flies. We have some plants which have bugs and we can’t do anything because they are A’s new pets. He calls them “my little flies” and imagines so many things about them and makes so many drawings with them (sound familiar?!?) I know he misses you and we miss you too. He asks, “Mom, will I ever go back to Kids” Place?”

Thank you all.
Sincerely yours,

~Mother of Corte Madera Graduate