Home Away From Home Playschool

My husband and I are moving to the area and we have two lovely children. I was calling around Pleasant Hill to see what people offer and I was trying to find the best fit for my children. When I called, Lisa answered the phone. I told her my situation and she said word for word «I have no spots, this is a waste of time». I proceeded to tell her I had questions to ask and if I could find out more information on the facility, and potentially be put on the wait list. She again said «we have no spots I’m wasting your time». Such a shame… Turning away potential future clients, I was really looking forward to having a positive experience with this as she has such great reviews. Seems like no one ever told her first impressions are ever lasting impressions. My children will never attend this school.

We came to Lisa after having trouble in a couple other care centers. My son has extreme ADHD and finding a place that understood him was a challenge. Lisa and her family became like family to me. We always had very open communication and I was given a lot of support once trying to figure out school assistance when he started kindergarten.
She picked up my child from school And I always felt like he had been in good care. She is very very clean and planned for a days worth of activities for the kids. When you schedule a tour, you will see that she is a supportive and fun place for your child to grow and learn and feel loved. We had been here for about 2.5 years! :)
Thanks Lisa for loving us and always making us feel at home. Give everyone a hug for me!

I have an MA in Early Care Education and Administration and have worked for over a decade in developing and coordinating countywide early childhood program quality improvement services that enhance the quality of care for children 0 – 5 years of age. As an early childhood specialist, I have extensive experience with diverse models of technical assistance and quality improvement efforts that account for diversity in early childhood education I am currently working as an ECE consultant to provide instructional coaching support to preschool teachers and evaluate early care child care programs using nationally accepted valid and reliable assessment tools that measure child care quality and teacher competencies.
It is with this professional background, knowledge and skillset that I state: Lisa Cool is an asset to the field of Early Childhood and Education.
Lisa Cool is an effective educator, conscientious and successfully implements developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education. In examining her work as teacher, it is clear that she effectively applies early learning theories while making learning fun and engaging for her students. In my observations, I saw Lisa engage in activities with the children that were interactive and individualized to reach children at all developmental levels. There is much evidence in her teacher-​child interactions that she is aware of every child’s strengths, challenges, and their interests. She uses this knowledge to individualize activities to promote children’s growth in a developmentally supportive learning environment.
I have consistently observed Lisa providing intentional support to facilitate children’s learning and understanding. Her activities and teaching strategies encourage children to problem solve, enhance their thinking, reasoning, build their knowledge of the world and encourage persistence, attention and motivation. She also engages children in meaningful conversations through open-​ended questions, back and forth exchange, and extension/​elaboration of students’ responses. And in so doing, she provides children the opportunities to use language they know and modeled for them more complex language so that their vocabulary and language skills expands.
Lisa Cool demonstrates excellent professional skills. Her relentless pursuit of results through high quality teaching demonstrates not only her passion for education bur her dedication to high quality care for children.

When my son attended Home Away From Home Playschool he had severe diet restrictions and a feeding tube. He was on a prescribed formula and many medications that had to be given through his feeding tube port multiple times a day. Lisa and her team took care of my son like he was their own and took every precaution to ensure his safety and well being. This was after my son attended two daycare’s that told me that they could not handle taking care of my son due to his diet restrictions and medical needs.
Lisa is always looking for ways to give advice or help others with questions or suggestions. She has a great program that teaches the children skills they will need in school and a wonderful backyard with tons of toys for all ages. There is a webcam so parents can check on their kiddos while at work. Lisa and her staff are so loving and really care about you and your child. They made me feel so comfortable and my son loved it there.
Lisa is constantly working to better herself, her family and the people around her. She puts everything she has into everything she does including taking care of the children. So you always know that your children will be safe and happy at her daycare.
It is always hard as a parent to leave your children with strangers and trust that you child will be happy and safe while you are away. I have had bad situations with both of my children so I was very careful and visited many daycare facilities prior to placing my son in Daycare. Lisa’s Daycare is by far the best Day Care I am aware of. I was always comfortable that my son was safe and happy while he was there. Most times he did not want to go when it was time to pick him up as he was having so much fun playing. That is a good feeling as a mother. Much better than when you show up and your child starts crying and running towards you because they can’t wait to get out of there.
If I could rate more than 5 stars I would.

My daughter has been in Lisa’s care since she was 9 months old, she is now 19 months and I am so grateful I was able to find Lisa. We had a different home based daycare all set up and ready to go, deposit, days scheduled the whole shebang. The night before my daughter was to be starting her first day the daycare contacted me and told me that they were at capacity and could not take her in. Needless to say, I was pretty upset, I sat on the phone for three hours calling every home daycare I could find within a five mile radius hoping for an infant opening. I found two. With Lisa, I think the stars aligned. Her youngest and my daughter are only a few weeks apart in age and she holds family as near and dear as I do. Lisa took my daughter in with hardly any fair warning because of how much in a pinch I was in and I am so eternally grateful.
It was definitely a rough start, my little one is very much independent and a bit of a loner sometimes. It took a while for her to warm up to all the kids and interaction since our home is so small and quiet by comparison. Lisa and Natalie have been, patient, kind and so understanding. The time and love they put into all of the little kiddos is awe inspiring. Not only have my husband and I agreed that our LO will be here for a very long time but also, there is probably no better fit for her either. Lisa is not only a mother and daycare provider but she is also my go to for any questions or concerns that I may have of my own. She is constantly bettering herself through education and always progressing. My family is so fortunate that we have someone that is truly a beautiful and loving person.

My daughter has some special needs and Lisa has went above and beyond to provide an environment that is constantly allowing my daughter to thrive, grow and realize her own success.
My daughter will be turning four in December of this year, when she started attending Home Away From Home she barley spoke, had extreme social anxiety, emotional crying outbursts and extreme sensitivity in response to the reaction of other children. She has an outstanding vocabulary, her social anxiety still exists although it’s so much better then it was and she really embraces the children, Lisa and Natalie. Slowly but surely her crying outbursts are not as frequent as they used to be and she will always be sensitive in response to others children or adults. That’s just who she is as a person. Overall, the difference in my daughter is astonishing and amazing! This would not of happened without lovely children a fantastic teacher (Lisa) and fantastic teacher’s assistant (Natalie). These lovely ladies truly care for the well being of EVERY single child they care for. Lisa is in constant contact with me regarding my daughter. I get pictures of her on a daily basis and that warms my heart. I can text, call or email her at any time and she responds immediately. My daughter would go to school 7 days a week if she could.
My main concern was I didn’t want her to start Preschool until she could speak well enough to tell me how her day was. I can truly say as a Mama Bear that would do anything in this world for her Cub, all that changed after I met Lisa and came to see her amazing Preschool. I did not worry that her speaking skills were not up to par as far as much as I wanted them to be, in my heart I knew Lisa would be her voice and Lisa has. I gladly enrolled my daughter that next week. My daughter is excelling and speaking, counting and singing. Mind you, she was very limited in her vocabulary when she first started with Lisa.
My daughter has started engaging with other toddlers her age and in the beginning that was very difficult for my daughter due to feeling overly stimulated. My daughter could only draw a straight line and now she draws circles. My daughter has grown so much as an individual and little person that it brightens up our life (my husband and I)! Lisa is working with me in many different areas and ways in order to continue to develop my daughters skills in every aspect.
Lisa truly is one of a kind, it’s hard to find trustworthy people that you can trust with your children. She’s an advocate for children and that shines through when you meet her. I almost didn’t want to write this review because I want her all to myself but how selfish would that be for all the other mothers out there like me, looking for the perfect place for your child and you just simply can’t find it, well if you visit this school I’m pretty sure you just did!
Lisa puts her life into this school and into all her children and what I respect about her most, she’s constantly learning and continuing her education, which is huge! It takes a special person to be a full time wife, mom, child care provider and go to school, Lisa amazes me! We consider Lisa and her family, family!

We have tried several of the Reggio Emilia schools in the Walnut Creek and Lafayette area and we found that while they could talk the philosophy of nurturing a child, their high student ratio and high turnover meant that our son was not able to get the one on one attention that kids need to grow. Under Lisa and her staff’s care he has made leaps in his development. It is clear that her almost seven years of experience and her commitment to expanding her knowledge has contributed to our son doing so well. She even provides food for the kids at no extra charge. Our son now looks forward to going to school!

My son, who just turned 3, has been at Home Away From Home since he was 10 months old. We are very happy with the care he receives from Lisa and her team! Lisa has a huge heart and truly cares about all of the kids. She has helped us through many different stages, transitioning from a bottle to a cup, starting solid foods, potty training, etc. She is loving and nurturing, but also firm enough to keep the kids in line, and she focuses on learning and developing their skills. She does tons of different art projects, music, science experiments, and sensory play with the children every day. She also has a huge yard with a play structure, play houses, and lots of toys. The kids even help her in the garden! Sometimes she even has special visitors like a travelling petting zoo and a librarian from the local library. Lisa serves nutritious meals and even has a professional caterer come in a few times a week to cook healthy lunches like chicken nuggets from scratch and homemade pizza. My son is very happy and has made lots of great friends at day care. I never worry about my son when he’s in Lisa’s care. She’s a very responsible and trustworthy caregiver. I highly recommend Home Away From Home!