The Learning Tree

This is a great school and the best compared to other school we attended. All teachers are great. All I want is that my kid is happy there. Both my daughter and son attend this school. And I strongly recommend this school. My 4 stars are because be careful not to touch their pet peeve. Even though I still send my son there because the teachers are truly nice and I won’t worry they gonna treat my son baddly. No one is perfect and no school is perfect. Just choose the one truly care about our kids. A lot of teachers are working there for a very long time and that is good for kids so that they don’t need to continuely adapt to new teachers.

This review is long overdue but I just had to share my thoughts about how wonderful this preschool is! My son graduated from Pre-​K this last June and had attended The Learning Tree for over a year. I absolutely loved this school. His teachers in the Tiger room were all so fun, loving, caring and hard-​working. Every day we arrived, they all greeted us with smiles and were genuinely friendly. You know how sometimes teachers keep their distance with us parents and tend to always be somewhat defensive, assuming we are going to hover or excessively worry? Not my son’s teachers! They were happy to tell me about how my son was doing and if he was having struggles, they gently gave me suggestions and never made anything a big deal. My son loved going to school from Day 1. There was never a day that he complained about going to school (as opposed to how he is now in Kindergarten, even though he does have awesome teachers :(He loved playing in their beautiful, large playground. He made friends easily and always felt like he belonged (I think its because of the open-​hearted atmosphere the school created). My 2-​year-​old daughter also loved coming to drop her big brother off… she always wanted to stay! The school always went ALL OUT for holidays, celebrations and especially for the graduation. The teachers put their hearts and tons of energy, no doubt in creating wonderful parties and ceremonies. Each child was made to feel special and treated with respect and encouraged to be confident in who they are. I highly recommend The Learning Tree if you want your child to learn and play in a friendly, fun environment. My son learned everything he needed to prepare for Kindergarten and is even a little beyond what his class is doing right now in Kindergarten.
We miss his teachers dearly and we hope to go visit them soon!
Give this school a try and you won’t be disappointed.
Angela (Cody & Chloe) Topcu

No longer in pre-​school but the kids still love coming back to say hi. Thanks everyone at The Learning Tree, couldn’t have done it without you!

My child doesn’t go to this preschool. I have only visited this preschool. My impression of this preschool is, this is a play based preschool. The kids spend most of the time playing. The building is old and outdated. Most of the teachers are pretty warm and cheerful, except for the super skinny teacher in her fifties. She is in the two year old program. When we first walked into the room with one other teacher, she just sits there with no facial expression. She doesn’t look at the kids, just sit there and does her own thing. Obviously she doesn’t like kids. The kids are playing by themselves, she has this attitude of dont bother me. Then later, we visited the room again with the principle. She is still sitting there does her own things, as soon as she saw the principle walks in, she stood up and start playing with the kids and put up a fake smile. I would my trust my kid with her. The principle is super nice.

My daughter was at a different preschool/​daycare for about a year when something bad happened and I was forced to remove her from it. I was panicked trying to find a good preschool in such a short time but was so lucky to have found The Learning Tree. My daughter is very attached to me so leaving her at any preschool is difficult to say the least. But the staff at The Learning Tree made it so much easier. They would hold her and let her wave goodbye to me from the window. They made it fun and distracted her enough to make the seperation go as smoothly as possible. She has grown to really love her teachers and always tells me «I like my new preschool. I didn’t like my old preschool» Everyday she comes home with art projects that they have done and «homework» to do later. I catch her in her playroom at home reading to her baby dolls and having circle time. She tells them that she is the teacher and acts out things from her day at school.
I also love that they embrace traditional holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas etc) but they teach the children about other cultures celebrations as well.
They have taught my daughter to be more independent. Sometimes I sneak in to her class and watch her for a few minutes before I pick her up. She is always having so much fun and playing with all of her friends. I honestly couldn’t be happier with The Learning Tree. The staff is amazing and caring. I can call anytime of the day and someone answers. Plus I can show up anytime and stay for however long I want. (Not that I do, but I love that they encourage parents to call and visit anytime). I completely trust all of the teachers and it has been such a relief to not have to worry about my daughter while I’m at work.
Sadly though, next week will be our last week at The Learning Tree. I received a new job in a different city and will have to put her into a different preschool. That was the hardest part about accepting this new job. It still makes me very sad to have to take my daughter out of the school that she loves and that I love as well. If for any reason I find myself back in Fremont though, The Learning Tree will be the first phone call I make.

My son is about to end his 2-​year stint at The Learning Tree, which makes me really sad. He has made friends here, and everyone just loves this school. My husband and I are thinking of having more children, and no question, they will all be attending The Learning Tree. This is the kind if place wherein you drop off your child and you don’t have to worry about anything. Zero worries! They make hot meals on-​site, everyone is friendly and most of the teachers have been there for decades! No annoying teachers, and everyone has a great attitude. One of the best decisions I have ever made is sending my son here. Too bad he will be starting Kindergarten in a month. I guess that is life — we all need to move on. This was certainly a great start for him. I doubt if any of the preschools around here have the same great mix of learning and play.

Today was my son’s last day at Learning Tree. Over the last two years the dedicated staff of Learning Tree have been trusted partners in raising, teaching, and caring for my son during the days. I can’t thank them enough, but I sure can give them a well-​deserved five-​star review.
My wife and our two boys moved to Fremont in 2010, and I only had a short time to find a daycare/​preschool for my then 3-​year-​old. I live closer to Kindercare, but they were extremely expensive and very pushy to get us to sign up. I was nearly at my wit’s end when we discovered Learning Tree and met Jenna at the front office.
The staff at Learning Tree are amazing, caring, and dedicated. Like another reviewer wrote, they have very little caregiver turnover. The vast majority of the present staff were there when we started. My son started in the Panda room and moved up to the Tiger room once he was potty-​trained. The daily program gave my son time to interact with other children and play at their excellent outdoor playground, but also gave him nap time, reading time, arts and crafts projects, and even took care of meals and snacks. My son also has Celiac disease, so he cannot have any foods containing wheat. The entire staff were very willing to learn all about my son’s special dietary needs, and we brought in special gluten-​free snacks and foods for him that they staff served to him.
My older son goes to Warwick Elementary which is very close by, which made it extremely easy to get both my boys to their school and preschool in the morning. The things they have at Learning Tree are so fun and interesting that when my older boy goes with me to pick up his brother, he spends time working puzzles or playing in the playground.
To the staff of Learning Tree: Thank you all so much for the care and attention you’ve given my son over the last two years. Words just don’t do justice to how grateful I am for Learning Tree.
You guys rock.

I just wanted to update now that my youngest daughter has been here for about 4 months. Learning Tree continues to be a wonderful and warm preschool for our family. The teacher longevity is impressive (most places have new teachers every other year or more often), and a testament to both the teachers’ commitment to this community and the management’s commitment to them.
Also, one of my minor issues before was the food so I’m glad to see that they have healthier food options now, with no more juice being served and more fresh fruits.
My now three year old LOVES her new school. I had her in the expensive NAEYC accredited school on the Peninsula since she was an infant and couldn’t wait to move her over to LT when she finally was potty-​trained a few months ago. I truly believe she’s thrived more here at LT. She is adored by the older kids (2 year olds start in the Teddy Room but get some outdoor play time with the older 3 and 4 year old Panda and Tiger room kids). She loves being the center of attention with the older kids and insists on going to the Tiger Room every afternoon when I pick her up to say goodbye to the Tiger teachers and friends. The older kids almost always come up to give her a big hug (even the boys!) and when she arrives in the morning, you can hear a chorus of, «Hi T — -! Hi T — !» as they excitedly greet her. Note that the really early birds are all in one room (I think between 7 and 8 am?) and then they split off into the age-​appropriate rooms and vice versa in the evening.
In response to the other parent who complained about LT not being academic, this is PRECISELY why I chose Learning Tree. Go to Challenger or some other school if you want lots of worksheets and rote memorization. I truly believe (as do child development experts and NAEYC) that play-​based learning is critical for young children. They can learn «book smarts» later.
My eldest who is now 6 was VERY prepared for kindergarten and I credit some of that to her inherent desire to learn (she’s an eager student). Much credit must also be given to the Learning Tree teachers who were great about working on her social skills, problem-​solving skills, fine motor skills, etc. I believe Teacher Donetta also did an evaluation before she entered the 4 year olds’ Tiger Room and an exit evaluation as well. I was 100% confident, as were her Tiger Room teachers, that my eldest would thrive in kindergarten and she did.
My daughter may not have been one of those 3 year olds who can read, but she is plenty smart and per her kindergarten teacher last year, she was «one of the leaders in the class.» As many adults know, success is not just about being book-​smart. You need to combine book-​smarts with emotional intelligence (aka «street-​smarts»). I think her preparation at Learning Tree was outstanding and am thrilled that my 3 year old is now there and happily learning a lot from Teachers Preeti, Marco, Rose, Carol, Donetta, Shannon, and the floater teachers whom I know less well.

Pros:
2 year old Teddy room sold us. Preeti is sooooo good with the kids, they love her. She’s very nurturing and treats them as her own.
Big playyard
The staff.
you can call or stay with your child however long you want, very open
Cons:
academically/​curriculum lacking
Being that this was my first child, I had separation anxiety when sending her to school. she started when she was 2.5 years old. Pretti made us feel at ease. However, as she got older, I paid more attention to what she was and wasn’t learning. The only way you can tell what’s being taught on a daily basis is to ask the teacher or see what your child has brought home. Even then, you still don’t know if that was done that day or the next.
If they had a calendar or something that advises what the kids are learning and what activities they’re doing on a daily basis, I would give this school five stars. A good example would be little mud puddles. They also have webcams so you can watch your child throughout the day.
If it weren’t for me worrying about preparing her for kindergarten, I wouldn’t hesitate keeping her here. Stuff they’re doing in the 4 year old room is what they should be doing NOW as a 3 year old.

My daughter was cared for by her grandmother until she was 2 and we felt she should start getting a more structured educational environment.
We did a on site visit to 10 different schools on the Peninsula around Palo Alto and Menlo Park where we worked and 10 different schools in the Tri-​city area from Hayward, Fremont, Union City, and Newark. We liked one school in Menlo Park that had a huge outdoor play area in a wooded setting run by ex-​hippies who encouraged creative fun play but it was expensive.
So it came down to a Montessori school in Hayward near Castro Valley and The Learning Tree.
The Montessori school was very small, around only 15 – 20 students. The philosophy to encourage learning was interesting and would work for our daughter but the school was a bit too far away for us.
The Learning Tree was perfect. It was close by, the rate was more affordable, but even if it wasn’t it was rated by us as one of the best choice. The place had large class rooms, large safe enclosed outdoor play area, a lot of qualified and quality staff all trained in CPR and first aid, educated, very good with children and background checked.
The Director, Gerry told us that their philosophy was to teach and guide the children to learn respect for each other and adults, how to positively socialize and interact and play. They believed that a child who learns to behave and act socially acceptably will be able to learn academically well and become a better well adjusted adult who gets along with others easily and develop self confidence.
They teach all necessary academics your child needs and they gage it throughout the year. Director Gerry did say to us that if we were looking for a school that specialized strictly in academics we should look elsewhere as there are many schools like that like Challenger. We weren’t interested in high pressured, high achiever type schools so we were glad to hear this.
My daughter loved it there so much it was hard sometimes to get her to leave when we picked her up. She made lots of good friends there that invited her over for play dates and she had over for the same too. I
I witnessed how they encourage 2 kids who weren’t getting along to use their mouths and talk and communicate their thoughts, telling them to talk and say what was bothering them about each other and tell how it made them feel. It was good as they learned not to use fists or insults but rather spoke out instead. I also watched as the children learned many songs and dances and positive play, art and crafts, clean up after themselves, clear the table etc.
It must all work as my daughter was in symphonic honor band, is now 18 – 19 with a 3.8 GPA, never into drugs, alcohol, or gangs and is a sophomore at Seattle University.

The teachers at the Learning Tree are wonderful. They are warm in an authentic way, not in «this is my job» way. And their warmness doesn’t get in the way of them being very solid and directive in assuring safety and structure. My kids had some behavioral challanges when they were struggling after a tough divorce and it was hard on the teachers but they did everything they could to help my twins through that time and now the kids are pretty settled and love Teacher Shannon, and Donetta, and Carol. (they wanted to invite them to their birthday party). :)
Highly recommend this place. They don’t shut down all the time for long periods like so many other preschools and their price is reasonable.

This school was not a good choice for nice kids. When we moved from Menlo Park to Ardenwood, we sent my daughter to learning tree for convenience. My kid was new to the class and bullied by bigger kids many times. Overall, teachers could not create a friendly environment for well behaved kids. The atmosphere was aggressive, and many kids were very rude. My kid went to three different daycare or preschools. The first one to two weeks was her typical adjustment period. I pulled my kid out from Learning tree after trying very hard for three weeks. I knew I made the right decision. Unlike other schools, she could not easily make new friends; she was not happy, and she was often scared.

i am a teacher so i was very picky looking for a good preschool for my son. i looked at various places, and this was definitely the best place i saw at an affordable price.
the teachers care about the kids and are not constantly changing. there are many preschools that have a revolving door and kids really need consistency. they work hard and create many updated bulletin boards that show what the kids are learning. circle time was my son’s favorite time because he loves reading and singing songs!
the food menu is great! they create and cook healthy meals from scratch and provide snacks for the kids. not many places provide food anymore.
the play yard is huge and provides lots of room for running around. they have play ground equipment, a sand box, bikes, basketball court, grass, play houses… and it’s all gated in.
the only thing lacking is a video monitoring system. i visited a few preschools that had a video camera pointed at the front door and exits. i knew the adults were good at keeping the kids safe here, but it would be reassuring to know that there’s a monitoring system in place, just in case!
my son learned so much here and was allowed the freedom to just be a kid! they are well balanced, and allow time for learning AND playing AND fun. we are bringing our other son here soon.

My 3 year old daughter started coming here March 2010 and she absolutely loves it. They provide a healthy meal and a fun and safe environment for the children. They do lots of activities such as art, music, reading, alphabets, etc. The teachers are wonderful and caring. I checked out other preschools in Fremont before I finally decided on The Learning Tree. Not only was it closer to our home but it was by far the cleanest and they had a better curriculum than the other 3 schools that I checked out. We are very happy with The Learning Tree.

We moved to Fremont from SF and looked for a good preschool for our 4 year old. After alot of internet research, and phone calls, we found The Learning Tree.
I love this school. The teachers are very involved with the children, divided in groups and classes. In the afternoon, I found Teacher Donetta playing lovely music for the kids to dance to. They read to the kids; teaching math, writing, geography and teach good social graces. They offer a healthy meal, snack schedule and nap time.
They’re located along Paseo Padre Parkway, if you’re travelling east, you have to make a u-​turn into the school. The playground is huge, lots of sand, scooters, toys and is safely fenced off from the parking lot. There are always teachers supervising play.
I highly recommend The Learning Tree for any parent who is searching for a school that will help their child make new friends and will be given good guidance.
The teachers encourage parents to drop in if they’d like to check on their child and on the first few days, they allowed me to sit and help my son in transition. He came from a smaller preschool and this was a good interim toward kindergarten. He’s graduating now, so sadly we will be saying farewell in the Fall.