Little Acorn Christian Preschool

My daughter started attending Little Acorn just a couple weeks ago and I cannot say enough good things about it. After my first visit, I knew instantly it’s where I wanted my daughter to go. Beth the Director was very patient and understanding. The place is clean, well kept, has lot’s of activities and toys for the little ones. My daughter entered the 2 year old class and Bertha and Ms. Virginia are wonderful. They both have so much patience and love for the children. I love that the classes are not over crowded and the children have a lot of one on one interaction. My daughter is very comfortable so far and has made such an easy transition. THANK YOU ALL LITTLE ACORN STAFF FOR EVERYTHING! I highly recommend Little Acorn!

My little one has been attending for the last 10 months and she LOVES it! She started just after she turned 2 and she has been growing with the group. She connects with the teachers and has been bonding with the different children in new ways every day. We recently moved further away, but she loves it so much, I am continuing to make the drive. I would call this a very warm, loving and nurturing environment and I am so happy we found LACP!

LACP is a wonderful hidden gem for age 2 to Pre-​K and we highly recommend it!
My son has been attending since he was 2 and he absolutely loves it. In fact, he often volunteers to show prospective parents around. We have since referred friends and neighbors there and they too love the school, educators and staffs at the LACP.
The school is run as a non-​profit organization, yet it provides a safe, loving and nurturing environments for little ones to grow, explore and learn through play. The teacher turn-​over rate is non-​existence, which in itself is a great testimonial, unlike other for-​profit daycare and preschool in the area.
Though this is a Christian preschool, the school embraces diversity and celebrates all cultures. Ms. Kim has been wonderful addition and she has been the driving force behind the many great changes. The school has also added on an education program director, Mr. Joe who has many years of experience under his belt despite his youthful look.

My 2.5 year old has been attending since Spring of 2014. She is very shy, and my husband and I wanted to put her in preschool to help her develop social skills. We chose Little Acorn over 2 closer preschools (a very large preschool just down the street, and a small home daycare) and very happy with our choice.
The teachers play with the kids when I see them outside. When my daughter wants to play alone outside, she’s free to do so, and when she wants company, there are always kids playing, and teachers facilitating good activities for them.
When we first started, the rooms were a bit old, but now they have been remodeled with a kid-​friendly bathroom and sinks conveniently located between 2 of the rooms.
The staff, especially the director, Miss Kim, really impressed us with their dedication to childhood development. They respect each child as an individual and really care about them. My husband and I are not Presbyterian, and it seems most of the teachers and students are not either. The school is very tolerant of diversity, and we like that the songs my daughter sings are about love etc.
They were amazing with my daughter’s transition to school, and she slowly went from crying when we left her, to now excited to go to school. Even our young son is excited about Little Acorn, though he doesn’t turn 2 until next year. Our daughter has great habits she learned from school, like putting her dishes in their place, waiting for everyone to sit before we start dinner, washing her hands, sharing food, and how to ask for things nicely. She also knows that during nap time, even if she doesn’t want to sleep, she will rest quietly, the way they do it at Little Acorn.
We’ve had questions for teachers about her eating and sleep habits, and they’ve always been ready to help us, and they’re helping us potty train our daughter too. We like the other parents, and that we are welcome to help out. It’s a big enough community for our daughter to really get develop her social skills, but small and caring enough that she always feel safe.

Little Acorn is great. Yes, it does have an older, more used look and feel than many of the shiny, new preschools in the area — but never judge a book by it’s cover! And the bathrooms have all been re-​done and the rooms painted!
I chose Little Acorn, because it is a small school with a close-​knit community, family-​like feel to it. It is not anonymous and impersonal like so many of the large chain preschools; all the teachers and the Director, Kim, know all the kids’ names and vice versa and kids socialise across all age groups. The ratios are great, the teachers always friendly and smiling, which equals very happy kids. The rooms are large and full of creative stations for the kids and there is a large outside play area. Kim has super ideas for the future of the school and there are regular community events to get everyone together.
My daughter has been there for 9 months and I have no hesitation in putting my younger daughter in next year. One of the best things is that it is play-​based learning. Don’t kids have the rest of their lives to sit around tables and learn maths and languages? Little Acorn gives children a chance to learn independently and creatively through play.
Lastly, don’t be put off by the fact that it is linked to the Church and you aren’t religious. I’m not religious and plenty of other families aren’t. The school teaches good morals and values, they say prayers before meals and go to Church to meet the super Pastor Tim on occasions like Easter and Christmas. Otherwise, religion is not pushed on you at all. It is simply a safe, loving and very caring place for kids that I can only recommend you go and see for yourself!

My son has been attending Little Acorn for a year and absolutely loves it!
The director, Kim, was incredibly helpful in showing the school, finding the best scheduling options for our family and integrating our son into the program. In the year that he’s been at the school, she’s headed up a remodel of the classrooms and bathrooms, worked to improve the curriculum and is building a true community feel among families, teachers and the school administration.
My son has made wonderful friends, loves his teachers, and loves going to school each day.
The tuition is very reasonable and many scheduling options are available. I would highly recommend the school!

I used to teach toddlers in a preschool in Palo Alto, and I am currently studying Child Development in the university. I looked at a lot of schools in the area to find the one for my 2.5 year old. Preschools in the Bay Area are not wonderful, and I only found two around our house that I was satisfied with, and I chose the Little Acorn because :
— A lot of teachers have been teaching in that school for a long time, like 10 – 15 years+; it is a good sign, teachers love it there, they don’t leave. Happy teachers=happy kids.
— The rooms are bright and big, the ratios are great.
— The toys. Those are not the plastic toys you find in any toy store. Toys are well chosen: a lot of natural materials to work with, a lot of sensory tables, lighted tables, water tables, books…
— The schedule. Adults and children follow a schedule, but the teachers follow the children more than the clock.
— Teachers interact with children instead of just watching them
— Curriculum. Teachers have time outside of watching the children time to prepare their curriculum, and it is great
— Huge playground, and there are a lot of toys outside and lots to do. There are blocks and other building materials, stumps, bikes, scooters, balls, cars, sand toys, water toys, even books. Feels like children don’t ever have to fight for toys :)
My daughter has been with me all those 2 years, and she only speaks Russian. I expected a hard transition to the preschool because of that and because she only goes there part time. Surprisingly, she stopped crying at the drop of after the first week if school, and she is excited to go there! I think it is amazing, and it is all thanks to the wonderful teachers and the atmosphere in that awesome school.
Every time we come, I just don’t want to leave! I want to stay and work there, but I have an infant to take care of, so maybe soon I’ll apply :)
Highly recommend to everyone!

My little girl goes to LACS since Oct for couple days a week. She’s from grandma and mommy’s care to preschool I was worried for her but she transitioned within month and she loves it there now. My girl is cuddly needs a lots of attention and she gets it there.
The youngest children room has only 4 children now they have limit of 10. Which is good for children. My daughter has been potty trained and teachers are willing to support that and work with us. Which is nice of them to do extra work for us. It’s something hard to find out there from other day care places.
I would highly recommend you to check it out if you’re in search of good day care place.

Our son has attended Little Acorn School when he was 2 yrs old in 2011. He loved the Little Acorn School and we did too. The main reason is the teachers. The same teachers were there since we started and they were all great.
Compared to other preschools we visited the price was more affordable, the flexibility of the schedule and making changes has been great, the facility is kept clean, the teaching staff doesn’t have high turnover.
There were recently a lot of improvements to the school such a new lunch program, a new snack menu, facility improvements (which are in progress), etc. These things will only make the Little Acorn School better.
There was a new director, Kim, taking this school in a new direction with all these improvements and so far I think it is the right direction. Especially since parent suggestions are encouraged.

As I mentioned in my previous review, our 1^st daughter has been at this school since she was 2. She is now in kindergarten — and it was a VERY smooth transition, socially and academically. We had such a great experience, we started our 2^nd child in the program as soon as she turned two, in 2013. We worked with the school through the police investigations. And, I am thrilled to hear that the case was fully cleared. In regards to Lisa B.‘s comment and link — the problem with media and papers is that they never ‘go back’ to report what happened at the end. It’s sad that a person and school’s reputation has been hurt by unfounded allegations.

Having just moved to Mountain View from Oklahoma, Little Acorn in September 2013, the school has been great at helping my 4 year old in transitioning. The school is a great community and the teachers provided love and support as well as the new administration.
The school administration allowed us to visit the school on numerous occasions and meet with teachers while we researched and learned about other pre-​schools in the area before deciding to enroll our daughter there. I’m glad we did.
Their curriculum is play based and they have provided much needed structure for my daughter. She loves all the teachers and comes home singing a new song every single day. One of the things I enjoy are the extra activities you can select including dance, Spanish and gymnastics. We walk to school or ride our bikes. Because they are a Christian school that is attached to a church they also offer a number of different community and family events. My favorites are the fall magic show, Christmas program and the trunk or treating event held in the parking lot.
Read more about Little Acorn on my blog’s review

In looking around at preschools on the Peninsula, I think that it’s my public duty to put the following news link regarding Little Acorn Preschool in this review that I just found in Google News.
I’m absolutely horrified by this article and I think that it should be in this review.

My son is attending Little Acorn for Preschool and is going to miss the friends and staff he has made. The staff, including Josefina (Director), are very friendly and easy to work with. You know the school is great when the staff has been on board for a very long time. At a recent preschool graduation ceremony I heard a couple teachers get 20+ year certificates and the majority got 10+ year certificates, This tells me that the teachers are happy and this shows in the kids. We will be recommending Little Acorn to anyone who ask us about Preschool’s in Mountain View.

I’m saddened to hear about the previous review but I cannot see how such a thing could have occured here. My son, who is now 10, went here for preschool and he still remembers all the good times he’s had here. My daughter is now attending LAS and has been for the last two years. The teachers here are very loving, most of them have been here for close to 20 years if not more. This school is far from «Money Hungry» and is in fact one of the least expensive schools around considering the area they’re in –believe me, I’ve done my research. If anything, they do a lot of fundraising activities to continue to keep the costs low for families in the bay area. LAS have been helping so many families throughout the years that I find it incredible that someone would even say that. As far as the teaching curriculum is concerned, they have different areas based on age group. When they feel your child is ready for the next step, then they bump them up to a different learning group based on what your child can handle. They are christian based so a lot of teaching also involves christian values. They do a lot of extra events that involve family participation including programs for Mother’s day, Father’s day and Christmas to name a few. Every once in a while, they bring in entertainment for the kids, free of cost to the families, such as clowns and magicians that the kids truly enjoy. It is very hard to find someone you can entrust the care of your kids to and this is why me and my husband sacrifice driving down here from Menlo park. I appreciate the work that Little Acorn school has been doing for all these years. They truly are a valuable part of the community and I cannot imagine having my kids elsewhere.

Awful experience through and through. One staff member in particular often used a raised voice (to put it mildly) and uttered profane remarks towards children on several occasions. After one inquiry about child’s status via telephone, the ‘director’ literally hung up on my call after she realised she was in the wrong and I questioned the school’s overall integrity. Would highly NOT recommend unless you are strapped for cash and are willing to let your child be miserable in a barely tolerable ‘learning’ environment. There were a few bright spots (e.g. other staff members) but not worth noting because there is no way we would ever return after the treatment received from the top down. In summary, seek elsewhere. There are plenty of options out there available.
Sidenote: Stating they are a «Non-​Profit Organization» does not mean «Not for Profit.» Very money hungry when you see through the ‘Christian School Theme’ front. The only plus they receive is it was relatively tidy, so I must agree with that point alone from previous Unilocaler.

My daughter started little acorn school at 2yrs, she is 3.5 yrs now. We absolutely love the school. My daughter has so much fun in the school that she always wants to go to school sometimes even on weekends. It is a great pre/​play school.