Fremont Parents' Nursery School

Yvonne Wildig

4 months ago · ★ 5

My son was 2,5 years old when he started at FPNS. He was so clingy, he wanted to be held all of the time. When you tried to put him onto the floor, his legs would rise up, so as not to touch the floor and when that was inevitable, he would attach himself to my leg. I am so grateful I found FPNS. I was new to Fremont and not working. He was only there for 7 months, but those 7 months were transformative. They focus on play and fun. Exactly what little people need to explore the world and build confidence. The teachers are incredibly skilled and knowledgeable. They truly care about each child and bringing out the best in each of them. More so than any other toddler school we have been to. They spend time on educating parents how to handle situations and will go out of their way to help, no matter what. They instil a positive attitude that creates a wonderful and nurturing environment for all. I was suddenly part of a precious little community where people helped each other and were all genuinely respectful. Slowly over time, my son became more confident and I started sitting in the carpark for a few minutes each time he was there. We slowly increased this. I would keep him updated and let him know I was right outside. It was such a joy at being able to leave him alone for 3 hours whilst I could do admin in my car. Hard to believe, but it happened. I was supported throughout this journey. Sadly we had to leave California and I was worried that the area we were moving to in Michigan had no co-op parent style schools. I explained this to my son and was pleasantly surprised when he was OK with his new preschool. No tears on drop off, he went off to play and he was fine all the way until I picked him up. I never dreamed that was possible. I honestly don't think that would have been possible if it weren't for the amazing care we received at FPNS. Even now, nearly a year later, I am still in touch with some of the parents. It is an absolutely wonderful community and if you are able to spend the time there, I would very highly recommend taking your child there clingy or not.

Amy H

2 years ago · ★ 5

We had dreams for how our kid’s preschool environment and years would look like but as he turned preschool age and we started touring preschools in the area, our dreams were crushed. Until we found FPNS. This was exactly everything we were looking for. This is a very play-based school with plenty of opportunity to be creative, get messy and learn to socialize in a much less structured setting, which we believe is right for preschool age. Our kid has grown so much in many ways since going to FPNS. Of course this comes with strong parent participation. We loved the idea of having parents be part of the system on a daily basis at the school. It meant a lot of transparency, low adult to kid ratio and having the children build confidence interacting with more adults. It also meant you could share the experience with your kid on some days, observe them and support them during these early transition years. Teachers and staff are also great, open to input and the school in general is quite inclusive. So fortunate we live close to this school.

Crista Alvey

5 years ago · ★ 5

We love FPNS! The teachers are very warm and attentive of every child. When we were attending in person we liked that the kids got to decide what activities they were interested in. My son loved spending time outside at the sandbox and play equipment. And I enjoyed getting to see how the class is run. Since moving to distance learning, we've been consistently impressed by the teacher's online classes and take home activities. You can tell they put a lot of time and care into everything. 😊

Alex Lau

2 years ago · ★ 5

My child has been going to FPNS for over a year. Initially, I didn't know what to think about the coop environment - parents are involved in helping to plan activities for their children, monitor and engage in play, and help out in a variety of ways. This is the type of place where (if your schedule allows), the amount of time and effort you put in directly correlates with the quality of the overall school. To be clear, this school is not a well-funded private school. The parents who are passionate and invested in their children's growth and in the growth of an environment that fosters collaborative free play are the ones who stand to benefit. A year in and my child has prospered in so many ways. Building confidence in physical play, social interaction, dealing with difficult situations - all of these are possible because of the FPNS environment and model. I firmly believe that the FPNS philosophy is one that builds all the right "soft skills" for children to succeed in the near term and long term.

Alexandra Tataru

2 years ago · ★ 5

My son has been attending FPNS for about a year and a half. When we first signed up I was looking for an easy introduction for him into a school setting. FPNS stood out - other programs were showing me how their kids learned to sit and color worksheets, FPNS was showing me a very free and supported environment where kids spent most of their time outside, got to make their own choices and learn freely with opportunities to get messy, learn to cook, build, and so much more. I had never heard of the co-op model before finding this school - having parents be such a strong part of the program was a new idea. Both my husband and I work so I wasn't sure if we could make the time commitment work. BUT I wanted to try. I also was excited to meet other parents with same age kids The school was flexible and offered options to meet the parent commitments. For a while my mom and I traded off supervision days once a week, and later I transitioned to the working parents program and took on jobs that could be done outside of the work week. It's amazing to see how this little village comes together to create a supportive and inclusive environment for our kids I've seen some of the other bad reviews - I think the co-op model is not right for many folks. If you're looking for a place to drop your kid off and pick them up at the end of the day - this is not it. The hours are short and the time commitment is high. If you're looking for a program where you work alongside other parents and the INCREDIBLE teaching staff to build a wonderful early childhood experience for your kids - look no further My kid went from being extremely shy and not wanting to talk to other kids at the park, not wanting me to leave him at school, to making new friends almost every time we go out. He's super confident in his body and likes to play hard, go fast, climb high. When I drop him off now he doesn't even look back - he's so excited to play with his friends. He gets exposed to such a wide range of activities - they cook snacks - cutting and mixing, bike, get messy with paint, water, bubbles, make leaf piles and jump in them, build forts, play with sensory materials, dance to music... The teachers encourage the kids to problem solve, to work together when they face a problem and to navigate issues when challenges arise We highly recommend FPNS, and I'm excited for my next kid to come when she's old enough!