Happy Times Nursery School

I am very grateful to Happy Times for helping our daughter transition into their school in the middle of a school year! Our move into San Francisco was not easy, but the teachers helped her adjust and make new friends! Furthermore, the families we met through this school has also made this city feel like home to us. The sense of community is amazing, and has helped our family to thrive here. Lastly, I feel that the school played a big role for getting our daughter into St. Cecilia. Thanks HT!

Happy Times is an amazing gem of a school. The teachers knew my daughter (and all the kids) so well and every child felt loved and supported. The play-​based curriculum is just what I wanted, with the perfect amount of unstructured playtime and organized activity. The pre-​K year prepared her for kindergarten really well without altering that play-​based environment where kids can explore and be creative. She loved school, and I knew she was in fabulous hands. (Plus I loved that I could stop by anytime.) The two classrooms were were in (Rainbow for age 3 – 4, Starlight for age 4 – 5) gave her just what she needed at each age level, and between the experience of the teachers and the kind of families this school attracts, in addition to the affordability and flexibility, it’s just such a wonderful place. An awesome community too. I miss the families now that we’ve all moved on to different schools!
Speaking of, the teachers in the pre-​K classroom helped guide us through the kindergarten application process and helped us find (and get into) the right school for our daughter. We wouldn’t have landed where we are without them for sure. They do such a great job of matching children to the kind of school where they’re most likely to thrive. Love, love this place.

We love this school! Both our girls went through here and they loved it too. The teaching staff is wonderful and warm with kids. They know the kids and know how to make transitions work even when your little one is crying. The kids learn and are ready for kindergarten. One of the best parts of the day is the 40 minutes of free play. All the different age-​level classrooms interact and kids are free to just play, do an art project, ride their bike, do a science project, etc. I would and have recommended this preschool to other people. We couldn’t have asked for a better place to send our kids.

I sent both of my kids to Happy Times (total of 6 years) and it was the best experience for them and for us. The teachers were awesome — engaging, attentive and fun. The pre-​K was top notch and set them up for success in Kindergarten. We have great pre-​school memories!.

We have been very pleased with Happy Times. My daughter went in a little reluctant and now she looks forward to going to school. She will be starting kindergarten in August and is very well prepared and ready to learn! Happy Times makes school fun for the kids. They do yoga, music, dance, arts and crafts (which my daughter LOVES). They also celebrate all the holidays with parties, and have theme days like pajama day, safety day, etc. She has learned to listen to the teachers and interact with other classmates. There are three teachers in her classroom and therefore she gets the attention that she needs. Thank you Happy Times for making my daughter’s first school experience an enjoyable and memorable one!

We are very happy with Happy Times preschool. Great atmosphere, a lot of individual attention. Our daughter, brought up in Russian culture, joined preschool in September 2013 with very poor English. She’s almost fluent today. Most important is that she was treated equally, and feels very comfortable with teachers and kids.

This preschool has been around for 50 years! That really says something in SF. My daughter is in her second year at Happy Times, and we all love it. The teachers are amazing, the curriculum is developmentally appropriate and my daughter is very well prepared for kindergarten. She loves going to school everyday and has the best time while learning. The size of their space is quite large, especially considering the city. They have three classrooms, the largest being the pre-​k since it usually has about 25 kids for 3 teachers. They have a covered ball and bike area, a sand area and a lower yard for those not raining or too foggy days. Some of the teachers there had kids go thru Happy Times too. It is a wonderful, fun, caring, learning environment and I am thankful to have found such a great place.