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Home | The Marin Preschool Guide | Golden Poppy Preschool

Golden Poppy Preschool

Ages: Birth to 6 years

Open hours: 7:00 am to 6:00 pm

* Year-round program

Golden Poppy Preschool and Infant Center
50 El Camino Drive
Corte Madera, CA 94925

Comments

Golden Poppy

My oldest son, now in 4th grade, attended Golden Poppy.

I chose this preschool after extensive research and we had a fabulous year. The environment was structured but fun and I credit Golden Poppy with the wonderful handwriting my son developed. Miss Elizabeth spent time daily on letter formation and it was time well spent. The "graduation" ceremony and party was memorable and the school environment was warm and comfortable. I would recommend Golden Poppy without hesitation to anyone searching for a happy preschool experience.

golden poppy

I am interested in hearing more about the day in the life of a Golden Poppy child? I am relocating from SF to Corte Madera and my sons have been in very small daycare/preschool environments (12 kids), Reggio-inspired, very individualized and I've just loved the programs here. I am very nervous about the bigger environment of a place like Golden Poppy and also wonder how they really will spend their days? What's music like? What kind of art do they do? Specifically, did you like the 2 year old program and why? And/or do you know the specific teachers of the 2s? Thanks!

Golden Poppy

I am considering this program for my 18-month old and was curious whether you enrolled in Golden Poppy and what has your experience been like? Thanks!

Big school

We looked at this school a while back and it was pretty nice. It seems to have a good reputation. It's in a residential area and has a nice play area nextdoor. The teachers seemed very helpful.

The best baby room

The school has the best infant room. The teachers are fabulous there. I dont think you can ever find a better infrant placement than this one. The room is extremely clean, and the teachers are friendly, and they do love your little ones.

From there, the rooms get worse and worse for couple years. There are quite a few teachers cold / rude/ unprofessional.

Then they get better to the last couple rooms. We went thru all rooms for my older one, and some for my younger one. The academic is strong here. Anyway, my older one is well prepared for kindergarten. Of course, the school starts train your kids in a kindergarten way when they are about 2.

No special attachment between teacher and kids. The kids are treated like students.

The student body are not diversified at all. Most kids are from good families.

Golden Poppy is Wonderful!

I'm compelled to make a comment here, becuase i'm so shocked at the less than positive comments about GP. I have two children, both of who have been with GP since they were 3 months old. My husband and I both work and have had day care here 3 x per week for almost 5 years now. I did originally find the office and orientation experience a bit 'cold', but once we were with the care providers we were delighted.
I agree with the comments on the Infant (Kitten) room - they are wonderful, warm, attentive and I always felt that my babies were safe and WELL taken care of. As they grew and 'graduated' to the subsequent rooms it was an adjustment each time, but we always settled in well. Some of the classrooms are large, but i have NEVER felt like my children were forgotten or left as a "number". Each teacher knows my kids intimately, all the quirks, etc. They really do care and I am grateful to have found a SAFE, STABLE, EXPERIENCED, and inviting place for my kids to be when they are not home. They do art constantly, they sing and learn wonderful songs - even in Spanish many times, take nature walks, go on field trips, they know all of their little buddies - even in the other rooms - it's a community of kids and even great parents.
My oldest will be going to kindergarten next fall and we are terribly sad to leave the GP community. Our oldest has really thrived there and we feel great about how much we are prepared for the next big step!

Agree

Our son has picked up a large amount of baby sign and has learned a few Spanish words. The music on Thursdays is great and we have had numerous art projects to bring home. I am thankful for having such a wonderful place for my son.

Great

My son started here about four months ago. After dealing with a terrible experience at our last pre-school, we were happy to find GP. The teachers have worked with our child (who can be very difficult). Our son has progressed in a great manner here. He is now happy to go to pre-school and loves playing with his friends. I disagree with some of the negative post here; as the director has been more than willing to work with us in every way possible. I have enjoyed having a pre-school that was professional and met my sons needs. I would recommend GP, especially if you have a child that is a little tougher than most.

Golden Poppy: A terrific community AND school

We moved to Marin a year ago, bought our first house, panicked, recovered from arrival of second child, panicked, girded ourselves for an insane "find a preschool" race of the sort we'd dealt with in San Francisco, panicked, and then -- MIRACLE -- we found Golden Poppy. To be specific, we first found Jeanine Schock, the school's director/hostess/den-mother. Jeanine has that quality I associate with emergency room nurses: endearing and unflappable. Nothing is a problem she can't calmly resolve. She's seen it all -- flus, bee-stings, potty-training reversals, kid tantrums, parent tantrums -- and keeps coming back, smiling and often amused, to face it the next day. I can't think of a job I'm less qualified for, and so, thank my stars, daily, for a fearless leader like Jeanine. I give her credit for the quality of the teaching staff, the equanimity of that staff, the tenor of the programming (diverse but coordinated), and, perhaps, most importantly, the sense that Golden Poppy is a community of families. She keeps an eye us -- as families: Do we need to order an extra hot lunch this week cuz Dad will be traveling? How is Kid2 transitioning in the Cub room? Would you mind talking to Suzie XYZ about that surgery your kid had, because her kids needs it now and she's really concerned? I have seen Jeanine and many Golden Poppy teachers at private parties outside of school; they're part of the community they've created and treated as such. It's really quite an amazing place. No, you won't find state-of-the-art equipment here or fancy digs; the value here is in the people. And shouldn't it be?

We love Golden Poppy for our boys

Both of our boys attend Golden Poppy and have done so since they were less than a year old. Starting in the Kitten room with our son's favorite teacher Margaret, both of our boys felt loved from day one. A sigh of relief for any working mom. Aahhhh...I simply can't say enough about the school and it's wonderful staff. Both Gail and Jeanine, the school's directors, have been more than patient, understanding and incredibly flexible with our sometimes difficult work schedules. Thank you, thank you! And if you're considering Golden Poppy for your little ones, it is my opinion you simply couldn't make a better choice. Hooray for Golden Poppy! ~ Shelley Cahan

Love Golden Poppy

Enrolling our little princess in daycare was very hard and emotional for us. I did a lot of research, checked out several preschools in southern Marin but Golden Poppy felt like the right place to leave our child while my husband and I worked. And our decision to place her in Golden Poppy was the best decision we made for daycare. The first day I had to leave her I cried like a baby the moment I walked out the door. My little girl was sad and didn't want me to leave. My heart ached. I sat in the parking lot and within 15 minutes received a call from the director informing me that my little girl was doing fine and was settling in just fine. It was reassuring. From that day forward, she was excited about going to school. She blossomed into such a smart and wonderful little girl and I am just amazed at how much she learned from Golden Poppy. The teachers were excellent and genuinely cared for her. I always felt she was safe and in good hands. I highly recommend Golden Poppy and thank them endlessly for all they have done.