My daughter absolutely loves Puddle Jumpers Workshop and talks about the kids there all the time. She also loves the other parents and runs up to them and gives them big hugs, which just makes me so happy. The space (located at the Polish Club in the Mission) is charming and huge, and there are a bunch of local parks that the kids go to twice a day. There are music classes, garden days (where they play with water, mud, magnifying glass, learn about bugs and sample fruit - we have a plot in the local community garden), art classes and a variety of play-based sensory activities... including making and baking food! The two teachers are both incredibly talented, experienced and knowledgeable about how to work with children, keep activities varied and fun, empower the kids to resolve conflicts, foster autonomy and mutual aid. The teachers are also and great at communicating with parents. Were so lucky to have them!Its a parent-run co-op (the oldest in SF), so it does require a time commitment. My husband and I both work full time, but were fortunate enough to have some flexibility and we each work shifts at the daycare depending on who is less busy. Kids grow up so damn fast and soon my baby will be off to school, so Im really grateful to have this time where I can see what she gets up to all day and get to know her social life. Its also enriching to be part of a community of like-minded parents with kids the same age. We can exchange ideas, experiences and support each other inside and out of the co-op. It feels very old-school San Francisco, which I love, but is also very new-school in some practical ways (we all communicate together via Slack).The co-op is only from 18 months to 3 years old and stops admitting kids at 2 years because it is a significant time commitment, both in terms of learning the ropes, and then training other new parents as kids age-out and are replaced by new families. Drop-off is from 9 to 9:30 and pickup is at 4:30 because parents need to clean up the space. Kids usually come back from the park after cleanup at 5. So it definitely doesnt give you a full 8 hour working day on days where youre not on shift. Parents shifts are usually half days. There are also administrative jobs that you have to do as part of running the coop as well as a monthly meeting. Its a time commitment, but if youre able to swing it, its really incredible fun and rewarding.

Ours son currently goes to PJW and he loves it. It is a great community. The teachers are amazing! He has a lot of fun. We do garden visits, music class, park visits two times every day, reading time, field trips; such a fun play-based environment!Parents provide lunch every day, relying on organic ingredients whenever possible. This is a great opportunity to let the kids taste a diversity of foods.

We were welcomed into Puddle Jumpers Workshop four months ago. What a wonderful child care co-op with a delightful community of teachers, parents and kiddos. Each family contributes some time toward managing the cooperative and the duties are divided up so that its not overwhelming on any individual family.The age limits requirements for the kiddos are 18 months to 3 years old. Our little one started at 18 months and it feels like he developed so much faster because he was able to see and learn from the other tots along with the teachers and parents. All of a sudden, he was coming home singing or humming new songs and saying words that we haven’t taught him.It has also been a great learning experience for us. As first time parents, we are learning on the go and its great to be able to ask another parent how they handle certain situations (instead of looking things up on youtube as usual).Last but not least is the the tuition. The tuition is very affordable.

My daughter currently attends Puddle Jumpers and she loves it! She started when she was 19 months and it has been super good for her social and verbal skills. Its such a fun school. The go out to local playgrounds in the Mission twice a day and have music, movement and garden activities as well. Being a co-op, its completely run by the parents, which can be a lot of work, but its definitely worth it for our family to be able to be involved and watch our daughter grow in her first school.

My son attends puddle jumpers workshop. I love that I can be involved in his preschool and know exactly what goes on. His speech has significantly increased since starting and he’s always exhausted after a day there! Kids can attend 2-4 days a week and parents work at the coop 25% of the time that the kids are there.