WELCOME TO TAMALPAIS PRESCHOOL!

For our youngest children (must be 2 by the first day of school in August)

The Creek Room has a special playground area outside designed just for their capabilities and needs.  The teachers focus on the basics: sharing and taking turns, following directions and participating in activities, developing small and large motor skills, etc. These are the building blocks for independence, social confidence, classroom behavior, and pre-academic skills. The teachers also follow a play-based curriculum where they provide age-appropriate toys and educational materials to teach the children about the world and school as they play.

Our classroom for primarily older 2-year olds and young 3-year olds (as of September) 

The Ocean and Garden classrooms are two spacious rooms with very similar curriculum goals: Independence, Social, Classroom, and Pre-Academic Skills. They function as independent classrooms, but they work similarly. Each class has their indoor space, with a dramatic play area, art room for creative expression and skill building, a library that includes our large collection of children's books, tables for cognitive small-motor tasks and sensory exploration, as well a large area for block building. The classrooms share a large playground with a tire swing, sandbox and mud kitchen, large play structure, an outdoor playhouse, a center area with movable parts, a large bike road, and an area with an awning for art, dramatic play, and building materials. The Ocean and Garden Rooms also use our Outdoor Science Lab daily. The science lab was designed for messy science and sensory activities. It includes natural materials and child safe tools they can use for busy work

A 5-day program for older 3-year olds and some young 4-year olds (as of September) 

The Ocean and Garden classrooms are two spacious rooms with very similar curriculum goals: Independence, Social, Classroom, and Pre-Academic Skills. They function as independent classrooms, but they work similarly. Each class has their indoor space, with a dramatic play area, art room for creative expression and skill building, a library that includes our large collection of children's books, tables for cognitive small-motor tasks and sensory exploration, as well a large area for block building. The classrooms share a large playground with a tire swing, sandbox and mud kitchen, large play structure, an outdoor playhouse, a center area with movable parts, a large bike road, and an area with an awning for art, dramatic play, and building materials. The Ocean and Garden Rooms also use our Outdoor Science Lab daily. The science lab was designed for messy science and sensory activities. It includes natural materials and child safe tools they can use for busy work.

Our Extended Hours include a Morning and Afternoon Program designed for children registered at our preschool who need a longer preschool day

Morning Care is from 8-9am and it is a drop-in program. Families can show up early any day without a reservation to drop off their child at school. This is a mixed-age group.

After Care is divided into two blocks: 1-3pm and 3-5pm. A reservation is required for After Care, and the hours are usually reserved for the entire school year. Families can pick and choose their afternoon schedule by the day and blocks needed. We accommodate the schedule provided by families during registration time, and a waitlist is created after all reservations are confirmed, as we tend to fill up after registration. The first block of After Care is separated between the Creek students and the Ocean and Garden students. This first block includes a rest area where children rest with quiet activities but don’t always sleep. It also has a nap area where children mostly sleep. Families can choose what area their children should be assigned to depending on their sleep habits and needs. The second block of After Care includes an afternoon snack, plus afternoon enrichment activities and games.

Our classrooms and playgrounds are full of hands-on learning materials and designed to enhance children's social, emotional, cognitive and physical development

We have several playgrounds designed for age-appropriate activities. One of the playgrounds is a large-motor space with a play structure, sandbox, and building materials, while the smaller yard is an outside classroom and transition area for outdoor creative projects. 

We love hosting a variety of special enrichment guests and events throughout the year, to provide unique, memorable experiences for the children

In recent years, these have included the Lizard Lady, Perry the Magician, the Insect Lab, Music Time, Jamaroo, puppet theater shows, soccer/recess games, yoga, and more.