Small Size Big Mind

Great school with amazing, warm and caring teachers! Couldn’t be happier as its the perfect combination of play and academic learning. Most important to me, my daughter loves it!

My 4 year old daughter and 20 month old son both go to Small Size Big Mind (SSBM) and are both thriving. My daughter is in the Pre-​K class and is learning how to recognize letters and write her name as well as a little bit of Spanish. Once week an art teacher comes and does special projects with her class. SSBM has a great outdoor space and the kids spend a lot time on the playground, writing trikes, running around, or playing house. Previously my daughter was in the Transition room, which was also wonderful. The teachers are very warm, loving, creative, and fun.
My son is in the infant room and loves his teachers and routine. The teachers are very loving and attentive. Every week Mr. Andrew comes and plays guitar and sings for all of the classes and my son is very musical because of that exposure from an early age. The director Laurence is also available to meet with parents when needed and is very communicative. When I moved to Alameda I toured about 15 different types of care situations and am really happy with the quality at SSBM.

Our son went to SSBM for roughly 4 years and it was a great experience through the entire journey. We plan to stay connected to the school and teachers for years to come.

Still great. She’s in the Transition Room now and we (and she) are still very happy with SSBM.

I just had a very strange, frustrating and disappointing phone conversation with the center director. After reading all the great reviews this school has, I decided to inquire more information and hopefully to go for a tour of the facility. I called three days in a roll, the phone was never answered. I left VMs each time and I did get call back on the same day but no message on the 1^st day, and on the 2^nd day I got VM and the assistant told me she had left me a VM with ALL the information the day before. The assistant also mentioned that the director would be on site the following day. So I called again the following day (which is today) and finally got her to call me back. She volunteered NO school information to me. She chuckled when I asked the questions of if it was a co-​op school and if her school offered sibling discount. I did end up finding out some information about the school by asking her one question at a time, ie what is your school’s hour, tuition rate, teacher/​student ratio, how many classes per age group (still unclear to me at this time) etc. I told her that I was so excited when she called me back and I was left a feeling of she did not care if I applied at all for my twins. She never offered me to come for a tour of the facility. Trying to get information out of her was like pulling teeth. She did tell me that parents put in applications for their children 1 – 2 years ahead. I find this shocking. There are plenty of great preschools in Alameda. Why would one put their kids on this school’s wait list when nobody ever answers the phone and the center director is so condescending and does not seem to be onsite. I gave her my feedback and I don’t think it made any difference. I have 4 boys and I am looking for preschool for my youngest twins. I have never had a phone or in person encounter like this. Guess we are not applying.

This is the only school in Alameda we considered based on a friend’s referral. We’re so glad we did and you will too. The teachers are all very nice and caring of every child. Your kids are in great hands at SSBM.

Our little girl has been going to SSBM for over a year, and she is in the transition room. She loves school, the kids, and her teachers especially. They seem to do lots of fun activities — music, art projects, nature walks. I myself am very fond of the teachers and find them to be very responsive and attentive. What I personally care about most is that my child feels loved and cared for, and I feel that is definitely the case. Whenever I have special instructions regarding my child, they are always followed. I can say that I have never seen anything that has made me concerned about the safety or welfare of the children. The teachers and kids all seem happy to me. I personally do not have a lot of interaction with the director, but when I do she has never been rude, and I’ve always felt that if I needed to talk to her, she would be available. I am friendly with a number of the parents, and the other parents also seem happy with the school. The school organizes planned extracurricular activities that allow getting to know other parents. For example, last summer we did the Crown Beach Sand Castle Contest (and came in 3^rd place by the way). My daughter never attended the baby room but I know other parents who do currently or did and I have heard wonderful comments about the teachers there as well. My daughter likes to say hi to the babies and the baby teachers seem very sweet and know my daughter’s name and are very friendly to her. I’m not sure about all the recent negative comments — I’ve never experienced or heard of anything like this. We went to many schools before deciding on this one, and it was the one I had the best «feeling» about. My experience since then has confirmed that we made the right choice. Overall, I am very happy with the school and would definitely recommend it to my friends and others.

My daughter has been going to SSBM since February and we couldn’t be happier. She had a difficult transition from nanny to day care and the teachers were and continue to be so caring and helpful. My husband and I did quite a bit of research before deciding on a day care. We visited at least 5 other places both business type day cares and in home day cares and we definitely liked SSBM the best of all.
What we like:
— The rooms are cheery and clean.
— The teachers are very warm and friendly. They seem to really care about the kids which makes it much easier leaving your child there.
— The children are presented with a variety of activities including art and music. (My 21 month old daughter came home the other day singing, «No more monkeys jumping bed» and we have never sung that at home. I was impressed with her recall and that she had put so many words together… She is also always coming home with a variety of art projects.)
— The animals they have throughout the school are great. My daughter loves to say hello to the frogs and reptiles in the entry way and was super intrigued when the geckos were shedding their skin.
— The location is really nice, backing right up to the water.
— The large outdoor play area has lots of space to run as well as a nice play structure. Also, the infant room has it’s own outside enclosed area.
The only negative thing that I thought of when I initially visited is that there is really no grass for the kids to run/​play on. But to be honest, I haven’t given it much though since my daughter has been there.

My child has been going there since last year. This review is only for the transition room.
Why we like it:
–my child really likes the teachers and made new friends.
–my child enjoys the music time and other fun activities, the small pets (in the classroom and main lobby area), and play structure and large outdoor area for running around
–open at 7, closes at 6
You do need to pack breakfast and lunch, as only snacks are provided. More than once I lost an item from the lunch box (ice pack, utensils, tupperware) — sometimes it is returned, and sometimes it is lost. I’d recommend labeling items with the child’s name and not packing anything that can’t be lost. It’s bound to happen in a room with 20+ kids.
I think the structure has also helped my child to follow rules (a little bit more for a toddler) and get a lot of energy out.