PLAY Silver Lake

I hear so much talk about preschools in the area. It’s an overwhelming decision. Our daughter has been there for months now and she loves it. I’ve noticed her learning new things and couldn’t be happier. Shoutouts to the staff.

ON OUR 3RD YEAR at this school, and extremely happy with the results. After probably 500 hours we parents spent on PLAY property, we are writing a long overdue review. Honestly, twice every day for over two years now, my husband and I are known to hang around the classroom and playground for long periods of time.
We enrolled our daughter here when she was 2.5 and a very late talker. Gabriel the Director was so warm, positive and reassuring to us that she’d blossom here. Indeed she did, by the encouragement of her incredibly intelligent, good natured and reliable teachers. She spent a whole year with Ms Gaudy, and then a year with Ms Dianna and now has a lovely new teacher Ms Jennifer for the 4 – 5 yr old class. The teachers are all very educated, w/​4 yr degrees & preschool experience. We appreciate that the ratio could be a little better but this school has the highest requirements to be a lead teacher, so which is more important? A five star teacher or the ratio? For us, it’s having quality lead teachers. Not bodies in the room.
Look, no school is perfect, and no one hates those elbow-​rubbing schools more than we do, but this Montessori/​play based school really checks all the boxes for us:
1. Consistency has been key for our daughter and we’ve been really lucky in that respect (until this year when a teacher went on maternity and didn’t return, but overall, even our soon-​to-​be enrolled 2 yr old knows and loves the teachers and facility from consistency)
2. Educated, thoughtful teachers, dedicated to their years with our child (many of the teachers are gone by pick up time, when we’d like to hear about the day, but you can email them)
3. Clear academic syllabus, teachers email parents about weekly (such as our 4 yr old learning sight words and addition sentences, country/​animal/​career/​letter of the week)
4. Tons of school special events and activities (holiday performances, petting zoos, career visitors, parent BBQs, dress up days, all of these have been quite enjoyable for our family) but lots of closed paid days too… at least enrollment is super flexible, and you can alter your days and hours as needed usually
5. A nice new safe playground our daughter loves, good for active, physical kids (when it’s hot, the misters spray, when it’s unbearable they go inside with A/​C) and the parking/​drop off situation isn’t terrible
6. Large clearly divided Montessori style classrooms which the children understand (gong rings and they go to next area), the toys could be better, I will say, but to help that we’ve just donated from our pile at home
7. Children and their parents who we’ve bonded with over 2 yrs (I mean the bday parties are actually a pretty good time and we’ve made several friends)
8. Communication is healthy here, we definitely have had our share of time in the office (about bites received, classroom temporary relocation, teacher preferences, developmental worries & celebrations)
After a full on parent meeting with the Director last night about teacher replacement, this guy deserves some stars. I imagine running a preschool in this area is not easy. Gabriel tries hard, he listens, he explains. And it doesn’t hurt that he plays with the kids on the playground occasionally. That’s what we think anyway!

Yes, we were enrolled at PLAY and we do know Snoop because her child was at PLAY at the same time as us. Your reply is inaccurate and I can only guess how many of your replies on here contain the same amount of inaccuracies as ours.

First of all, I only went for a tour and made some observations.
I went for 11 am tour and greeted by super friendly gentelman, he gave me a tour of the classrooms, talked about the schedule and open enrollment and everything went really well. I told him that we were signing up and that was my intention.
Than we went to play area to exit and my daughter wasn’t leaving the yard and all the kids. This was during playtime I suppose because there was a lot of kids there. Gentelman said goodbye and I tried to get my daughter out.
The exit is located to sand yard and this is how honestly it went; there was 5 kids in that sand yard my child included. They were unsupervised. one took her jacket off and it was chilly, the other one was disturbed because her boot was off and she couldn’t find it and her friend was throwing sand on her face. I had to interfere and tell them not to raise showels and watch for eyes. Than sweet Asian kid came to me, crying his eyes out, his nose runny. He came to me because there was no adult on side. Than 2 teachers appeared (10 minutes later)
I told them that little girl lost her boot, they found her boot and made her put it on with sand in it. what should have been the appropriate response was cleaning her feet and her boot and helping her put it on.
Also for a kid crying his eyes out they just told me he misses his mom. What they should have done is talk to him, hug him and clean his beautiful face. Reassure him his mom will be there soon and this is temporary. Maybe they did that earlier that day but when I was there, they did nothing but stood there.
They sat on the ledge and made sure no kid got injured which is A plus service if the only developmental need was surviving.
They seem very uninvolved and if you are looking for a school that has people who are hands on and more involved in emotional level, they are not that.
Also I realized unintentionally I was keeping door ajar going into parking lot and no one said a word. I realized there was a second door to reach the parking lot but it’s still a chance they took that day. They didn’t say a word. again shows their involvement in the safety of the whole facility.
I read all the reviews initially and favored positive ones and although my child haven’t been involved in school, the very short amount of time I spent there, I really don’t think they provide kids what they need in this school.

We love PLAY!!! Can’t recommend it highly enough. We moved to the area about 2 years ago and looked all over for a preschool for our daughter and daycare for our younger son. We were thrilled to find PLAY and Gloria’s daycare for our son. Gloria is the matriarch of the Ross family and runs the daycare and Gabriel, her son, runs PLAY. We love both places. Our daughter just «graduated from PLAY» after spending two years there and our son just finished his first year at PLAY as well. Most other preschools in the area had ridiculous hours for working parents and seemed very inflexible. Additionally, moving from the midwest, I was struck by some of the straight up snobbery I encountered at other preschools when looking around. Not so at PLAY. From the start we were welcomed with open arms and my kids have been loving it every since. We came from a preschool in Wisconsin which was a strict Montessori and we are happy that there is a lot of that style of learning at PLAY. However, they are by no means rigid and the kids have a ton of room for self directed and creative play. The teachers are top notch and truly amazing. Gabriel is very involved and the kids absolutely adore him. He is incredibly responsive to parent input and in fact extended PLAY’s hours upon request and they are now open even longer! 7:30 am drop off is amazing for working parents like us. The best measure of how much our kids love it is that nearly every day it is an enormous struggle to get the kids to leave. They always beg to stay to play just a bit longer. Our daughter is now reading and doing math — completely on her own and instigated by her own interest which was fostered at PLAY. She will sit on her own and work on art work projects for hours and has a level of leadership and self confidence that we are so grateful for.
Finally, I have to comment on some of the negative reviews here. Please disregard them. We all know the circumstances of these situations and they are by no means accurately represented by the individuals writing the reviews.

We LOVE Play!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE! This is our daughters 2^nd year at PLAY, and our experience has been completely amazing!
Our daughter started out when she was a little over 2 in Miss Molly’s class, the Kiwi’s. What a delight Miss Molly is. Our daughter is a little shy whenever she in a new place, so I was a little nervous for her. But Miss Molly listened to my concerns and could tell that our daughter was hesitant. Miss Molly bent down and talked to our daughter, made her and I extremely comfortable. And literally held her hand into class. Miss Molly is so sweet, and loving, and attentive. A great teacher who truly cares. But most importantly our daughter LOVES Miss Molly and that is most important to us.
Moving onto this year, our daughter moved into the Avocado Classroom with Miss Bianka. Again, Amazing teacher. A truly wonderful caring teacher. Our daughter LOVES HER.
I hang around a lot at the school whenever I am there to pick up our daughter, and she never wants to leave. She wants to play with her friends, hang out with her teachers and show me things she did in class. She has made great friends at school. And we have become very friendly with a lot of the other parents. The teachers are always setting up activities outside school so that the kids can play together and the parents are able to get to know each other.
Also, the director Gabriel is extremely caring. understanding, and has worked with us whenever we have had certain needs…. Such as, having to drop our daughter off early, dietary restrictions, bee allergy … etc. I find Gabriel easy to talk with, compassionate and trustworthy. He truly cares about his school, his teachers and mostly the kids. All the teachers are just wonderful and I know that they really do care about my daughters well being as well as the other kids who attend PLAY.
This has been a great experience, and my husband and I feel very fortunate that our daughter is able to go to this wonderful school.

We love PLAY! We were part of the founding class of PLAY Silver Lake. My son went to play for two years. Gabriel is a truly talented child care provider and educator who has a true gift with children. I should know… Gabriel was also my daughter’s teacher at a home day care center even before PLAY opened its doors (6 years ago).
I really like how he employs Montessori-​based early childhood pedagogy without being dogmatic or rigid in his approach. Kids are free to play and use their imaginations at PLAY, but they are also prepared for elementary school. My son is in Kindergarten now and his teacher says he is above average in both reading and math thanks to his teacher Ms. Zhanna at PLAY.
I want to say this about PLAY too. There are few other schools in Silver Lake that have the kind of flexible childcare offered by PLAY. The doors open at 8:00 am and close at 5:30 or 6:00. PLAY has lots of after school enrichment classes like martial arts, gymnastics, dance and others. Working parents will also be happy to know that the school doesn’t ask for countless hours of volunteering or fundraising. Everything is included in the tuition. You won’t be required to plan a silent auction or annual fundraising event!
If you are looking for a pre-​school for your child, come by and check out the playground that Gabriel designed himself. There is no play-​structure in the entire city that will rival the one at PLAY!

Our child was one of the first students at PLAY Silverlake. He had nothing but the most loving, encouraging and wonderful experience that a parent could ask for. We stayed at PLAY for over two years – from his first day at preschool to his cap and gown graduation. For our family, we never considered any other school for the simple fact that our child was genuinely cared for and loved. They really KNEW who my child was, what he needed, what his strengths and weaknesses were, etc.
PLAY offers a play-​based, Montessori-​influenced education. Two of my older children went to straight Montessoris, and I knew that a full Montessori education would be too rigid for my son. PLAY offered the right amount of Montessori education without being overly didactic and «work”-centric. There was a ton of outdoor play, arts and crafts, and performances. We also participated in the enrichment classes in the afternoon; my son did Hip Hop, martial arts and gymnastics – classes I did not have the time to pick him up and shepherd him to, so I was grateful that they were offered on-​site.
There’s also a great hot lunch program that we took advantage of, and though my son has food allergies, the food service co. made amendments as long as I told them a few days ahead of time.
My son had Ms. Zhanna for several years. She was patient and caring, as a mother of young children herself. I appreciated her immensely. She alerted us with concerns that she had, and kept us regularly updated on his «academic» performance or any social/​behavioral stuff that needed tending to. She encouraged my son and brought out the best in him. Lots of hugs. A warm «hello» in the mornings.
Perhaps the best thing about PLAY was the community that it created. We have long lasting friendships with the parents from PLAY, even though our children are now at different elementary schools. My son’s «best friends» are all from PLAY. You get what you put in. It was an environment that was open to suggestions and expansion. Having had several children in many schools over the years, it’s easy to find flaws and complain about them at any school, but you have to choose to participate in creating the school, education and experience that you want for your child. PLAY was very receptive to that.
In reading some of the reviews, there are many five star reviews, and some one star reviews. In reading the one star reviews, you can tell that PLAY was just not the right school for THOSE families. Some parents and children have a hard time separating (I’ve witnessed this), some parents and children needed additional resources that the school could not provide. You cannot put that all on a school. My child from a very young age was more «aggressive,» but he was taught appropriate conflict resolution skills. I think unhappy families were definitely anomalies, but they were vocal. So I thought it was time for me to be vocal about how AMAZING our experience was, how great I think the director is (affectionate, fun, funny, diligent) and what a GREAT preschool PLAY is. We truly truly truly loved it and miss that real student-​teacher-​school connection A LOT.

It is important to note that the Director’s reply contains several correction statements, though it is not worth listing them all. I’ll only refer to the most egregious:
1. Our son was not expelled from any school prior to PLAY.
2. I’m not sure there are many four-​year-​olds who are even capable of malice. My son was/​is certainly not one of them.
3. THERE WERE NEVER ANY MEETING REGARDING MY SON’S «INTEREST» IN GIRLS.
There are other statements in the director’s response that are exaggeration or untrue, but

Our daughter has been attending PLAY for about a year. She has had a great experience there, as have we as parents. In fact, when it’s time to pick her up she often doesn’t want to leave because she is having fun.
She has had 2 different teachers (Ms. Bianka and Mrs. Molly), and absolutely adores both. They are dedicated and passionate teachers, and always have a smile. I cannot speak highly enough of them. The pride in the classrooms is evident as well. There are many types of learning centers with tons of uses for the imagination.
The staff is ready to listen whenever you need to communicate something, whether it be health related, clothing related, behavior, suggestions, questions, anything… and they communicate back with you.
Some other positive attributes include extra-​curricular classes (cooking, language, dance, etc), regular events where the parents come and mingle (kids’ shows, holidays, fund raisers), Saturday date nights where you can drop your child off for an evening «slumber party», and enjoy a dinner to yourself, weekly emails detailing the class activity and projects.
I think there are some reviews here that might be paint an inaccurate picture of the PLAY experience. Yes, all kids go through a period where it is hard to part with mom and dad in the morning. I’m not sure getting dressed will ever be easy! I understand some people can have a bad first impression with almost any person or any place, but to write a review based on a few days seems like a bit of a knee-​jerk reaction.
There it is! We are very happy and give PLAY an enthusiastic thumbs up!

Getting your child into pre-​school in Los Angeles can be an stressful, competitive and hoop-​filled process. Unless … you visit PLAY Silver Lake.
We are guilty … we did it all and in the process provided a valuable source of amusement to our friends and family in other parts of the country. Los Angeles is different we would say, you just don’t walk into a top rated school without attending pre-​pre-​school parent-​and-​me classes, writing thoughtful essays (seriously we wrote essays) and interviews during which you hope and pray your child doesn’t stick a finger in her nose.
Ultimately we were very fortunate, we were the proud parents of a little girl who was accepted at all the schools we applied … her future was now secure and success in life was guaranteed. With all our options in front of us we took a step back and reviewed the process. We were embarrassed. After all the hoops we jumped through the school that made us feel the most comfortable, had the best facilities and wonderful teachers was clearly PLAY … the very same school that made us jump through nary a hoop. In summary … don’t get caught up in the hype … just go to PLAY and save yourself the trouble.
When our daughter started (age 2+) she screamed her fool head off every morning. We always were told that minutes after we left she was fine and at the end of every day she was all smiles. Sitters would often tell us the same story, as soon as our car backed out of the driveway, she pulled it together and all was well. Still … the histrionics continued at drop off each morning. With an assist from her amazing teacher Ms. Molly we came up with a plan. Each day after walking her in, getting her lunch and coat into her cubby and a little bit of jungle gym time we would walk her over to Ms. Molly who would take her hand, sit her down and read a book, start a puzzle, etc., generally getting her into school mode. We worked this hand-​off into each day’s routine and it worked like a charm. Ms. Molly was the calming force my daughter needed to get settled into school.
Today … a year and a half later … my daughter hops out of the car at curbside drop off (tremendously convenient) and waives goodbye with a smile. She comes home every day knowing more than she did when she left that morning. We love it. We have met several other parents who are now great friends and kid #2 will unquestionably follow his big sister to PLAY.

My child has been attending PLAY now for almost a year. We moved here from the Bay Area and quickly needed to find a preschool for our daughter. We checked out a couple in the area and came across PLAY. Right from the start, we felt welcomed by the entire staff. Even the director was friendly and approachable. Rarely do you find a director who interacts with the kids. Every time I pick up my child, she tells me about the songs, letters, and numbers they are learning. It’s also nice to see the teachers playing outside with the kids. Her teacher ms. molly sends out a weekly email informing parents about what they will be covering in class that week, which is nice because we can talk about it some more at home.
There really is a sense of community at PLAY. It’s comforting to know that my child is learning and having fun in a caring environment. I am glad the transition from the Bay to LA has been an easy one, especially for my daughter, and I have PLAY to thank for that.
What matters to me is that she is happy and if its good enough for her, it’s good enough for me.

My daughter is 4 now and has attended PLAY before turning 3. She absolutely loves it there. I wanted to send her to a place where she could explore, play and learn to socialize with other kids in a safe, warm & nurturing environment. My expectations have been exceeded on all counts. The staff is outstanding — patient and encouraging in all manner of situations. I’ve been particularly impressed at how the teachers help kids resolve conflicts. She has ample time to play along with small group and individual activities. My favorite part is how excited my daughter is to go to school & how happy (and tired) she is when I pick her up.

Our family had a really bad experience here. We were one of the handful of «founding families» and left bitterly disappointed.
We left during the middle of a month in the middle of the school year extremely unhappy. I was told by the director that my child was «aggressive» and «everybody agreed» which was not at all the experience we’ve had anywhere else. Previous «parent teacher conferences» also conflicted with this assessment. Her lead teacher quit without notice just prior to this under mysterious circumstances. Our last conference with her gave the impression she saw our daughter as a willful child, yes but also a happy communicator who loves her friends. It was quite a shock that she left so suddenly.
For several weeks after her departure the classroom of 3 year old children had 12 students and only one teacher. It is the legal limit but not, in my opinion, advisable. The normal ratio is still on the higher side, particularly for schools at this price point. We ended up moving to a much less expensive school with far greater organization and staff and a classroom with a student — teacher ratio of 7 – 1.
Our child was immediately happy in her new school and when I asked about aggression there the staff questioned the idea anybody had ever felt it was a problem at all. Once settled and secure she herself reported feeling more comfortable. Ironically our child is a big verbal communicator so to hear she was hitting was troublesome for us. The response she received was worse.
The playground gets very hot in warmer months. It is a converted parking lot and there is no in ground plant space (though there are some raised beds). Even with the shade cloth there is little air movement in summer months. Several times I visited in hot weather to find the kids sweltering outside and no air conditioning on in the building.
Communication and sharing between parents seems actively discouraged. The curbside drop off does nothing to help. I was repeatedly warned not to speak to other parents about any issues I might have with anything to do with PLAY. After the incident which led to our departure (our daughter struck another child, it was the way it was handled which made us leave) I was called into a conference with the director and other parent and NOT the teacher. I cannot say enough about how unprofessional and inappropriate it was. It was also done ambush style as I was not notified who would be present in advance. I had assumed it would be myself and the teacher at the very least.
Many of the teachers were quite wonderful and the play structure itself is pretty impressive (although possibly unsafe for younger kids as the manufacturer indicates the height is appropriate for ages 5+). We wouldn’t have enrolled if there weren’t some positives. However, because the emotional well being of my child is my biggest priority I can only give one star. There are so many wonderful preschools in the area that would be better choices.
It is a shame that getting into preschool has become such a difficult and traumatic event. I hesitated before writing this review but I feel it is important to share, particularly as we had attended for over a year.

I have the highest regard for this preschool. Director/​Owner Gabriel is a first class teacher and director. I visit over 100 preschools/​elem schools/​high schools a year (I am publisher of the LA Private School Guide) and Play is definitely one of the schools I admire.
Director Gabriel shows some of the best customer service in the private school industry. I visit schools for my work and he was totally open to my request. He spent quite a bit of time with me sharing about his school. I had also visited his school a few years ago when it first opened.
Gabriel comes with a very good reputation. His mom runs Gloria’s daycare in Silver Lake and she has some of the best reviews from local moms.

I have to agree with the three other Unilocalers that gave this place a low review. I found the director to be very hard to talk to and am not surprised that he sued one of the parents. We had our child at the school for a few months and were not happy with how the school was run at all. There is more of an old school «punishment» philosophy than a «work with the kids» one and a mandatory nap that can be difficult for a lot of children. Also, the teacher to children ratio is very high making it hard for any «one on one» learning etc. In addition to this Hyperion is right there and I did not feel the gates/​doors were «safe» for such a fast street so close by. All and all I would look elsewhere for a better school for your child.

Enjoying breakfast and pajama day w the little ones today. This place is the best!

My husband and I, but most importantly my 3 year old, love love PLAY. When we arrive in the morning the teachers are happy and smiley and it’s the same when we come back at the end of the day to pick our son up.
There is the perfect balance between learning and Play with an emphasis on play which is exactly what a busy 3 year old should be doing a lot of.
Every Monday we receive an email from his teacher letting us know what the kids are learning that week which allows us to participate in the learning activities.
Their Director, Beebo (Gabriel) is amazing. He knows each of the kids. When I asked him about some of the interactions that my son was having with another student he knew exactly what I was talking about and put my mind at ease.
They offer plenty of extra-​curricular activities that my son takes part in, I think XMA is his favorite so far.
I am very happy that he is learning Spanish as well as art, science and learning about all the vegetables that are growing in their garden.
The play area is well shaded and there is a mister for extra hot days.
They offer hot lunches including vegetarian options.
After touring many fantastic preschools in the Silver Lake /​Atwater /​Los Feliz area, this is the one that stood out for us.
We couldn’t be happier!

PLAY is a neighborhood jewel. Our son, who is almost 3, has been going here for about a year. His days are filled with wonderful art projects, singing songs, learning about geography (Antarctica! Mexico! Ireland!), counting, ABCs, and playing on the large and shady playground (which is bordered by a vegetable garden from which the kids nibble kale, tomatoes, etc). Every month, they send home his collected art projects and he is SO PROUD to go through each one and tell me about it. Ms. Bianka, his teacher, does a fantastic job with arts and crafts – she is able to integrate the creative play of crafts with learning geography or counting or vocabulary words.
So many preschools are basically glorified daycare. Not PLAY. My son has absolutely learned a lot here – he counts things all the time now, and I catch him singing the songs he’s learned in class – and he also has a lot of fun with the balance bikes, the sandbox and the enormous climbing structure. It makes me very happy to have such a little gem in our neighborhood.

No no no no no.
I was dazzled by the look of this place, and took my gifted son out of Atwater Park Center to go to this place. That lasted 5 days until I realized how horrible this place was.
They have you sign in with a thumbprint and they charge you if you are late. They are inflexible and all about money.
The ratio is horrible. 8 kids to one teacher.
My son cried every day. Begged me not to leave him there.
So, on the last day, I stayed in the parking lot and watched my son in the playground. He was standing there, by himself, with no one coming up to him, no teachers, nothing, for 15 minutes. He looked so sad and miserable, I couldn’t help it… I marched in took him out and took him back to Atwater Park Center. That day they had a jumper and My son literally ran in and was laughing and everybody greeted him, all THREE teachers in his classroom of 8 kids, and it was like something out of a movie.
Yes to Atwater Park Center.
NO to PLAY. They totally suck.