The Children's Workshop Oakland - Oakland, California

tana cieciora

Children's Workshop Oakland has been an absolutely wonderful experience for our family! From day one, the staff showed incredible care and attentiveness, making both my son and us feel welcomed and supported. Their thoughtful approach to early childhood education created a nurturing and stimulating environment where my son truly thrived.

The teachers go above and beyond to understand each child's unique needs and interests, fostering a love of learning and curiosity. My son came home every day excited to share what he had learned and eager to return the next morning. The activities are creative, engaging, and developmentally appropriate, striking a perfect balance between play and learning.

What stands out most is the warmth and dedication of the staff. They genuinely care about each child and prioritize open communication with families. It’s clear that they take great pride in creating a safe, inclusive, and joyful space where children can grow both academically and emotionally.

I cannot recommend Children’s Workshop Oakland highly enough. It’s a place where children are celebrated for who they are, and families feel like part of a close-knit community. We are so grateful for the positive impact they’ve had on our son’s early years!

Colin Dentel-Post

Our son graduated from CWO earlier this year after 3 wonderful years here. We felt so lucky to be able to send him to such a warm, nurturing, thoughtful, and creative environment. Jessica and the teaching staff are fabulous and the increasing complexity and ambition of the student-led project work is awesome to watch as the kids get older. Truly a place where kids' ideas and growth are centered.

Gregory Sherman

I can’t say enough good things about Children’s Workshop Oakland! My kids absolutely loved their time there.

The teachers are amazing. They’re so kind and really know how to keep the kids engaged. My daughter, especially, loved all the art projects and playing with her friends.

Even during the pandemic, when public schools were all online, CWO was great. They set up special classes for older siblings, which was a lifesaver for us. My son had a blast and learned a lot, even though it was all virtual.

The owner, Jessica, is incredibly capable, hands on, and works tirelessly to hire excellent teachers, communicate with parents, and make sure all students are feeling supported and thriving.

If you’re looking for a preschool in Oakland, I highly recommend checking out Children’s Workshop Oakland. It’s a fantastic place for kids to learn, grow, and have fun.

seung yen hong

My first son graduated CWO this year and my 2nd son started this year. I love all teachers here. Many teachers have been with CWO for a long time. They are super experienced and very approachable, providing support for first time parents who are dealing with challenging toddlerhood. My kids both love CWO. All projects are play based, kids learn to be independent and create their own projects, etc. I also love the parents community here. We do playdates, birthday parties, and random meetups outside school too.

Yakov Barton

Our toddler absolutely LOVES this school! Every day, he’s excited to go, and he comes home brimming with new words and ideas. We were genuinely impressed at the recent back-to-school night for parents, where the level of meticulous attention to detail and passion for teaching was evident in every aspect. Both of our son’s teachers, Lisa and Sarah, along with the director, Jessica, are incredibly dedicated to their work. It’s hard to imagine a better environment for our child to learn, grow, and thrive. We feel so fortunate to have found such a nurturing and inspiring preschool!

Emily Timberlake

Just wanted to take a moment to post this rave review of Children's Workshop Oakland. I cannot imagine a more perfect daycare/preeschool for my 2YO. She started in August 2024 after about a year and a half of nanny share. If any parents are on the fence about transitioning from nanny to preschool, let me just say, this was the best decision we could have made. We loved our nanny but our toddler is benefitting so much from the social interactions with other kids. If we take too long in the morning, she gets impatient--"I want to go to school!" CWO is one of those magical places where I know my child is safe, loved, and nurtured. The communication is flawless, the kids engage in meaningful play based activities. She is learning so many new words, colors, shapes, animals. Literally every day she comes home with a new interest. This school is pricier than some but worth every penny. They are fed nutritious meals and snacks (I DON'T HAVE TO PACK LUNCH BOXES ANYMORE OMG) and we are updated every week with a long, thorough, adorable newsletter with tons and tons of photos, elaborating on what they do every day. The teachers are so kind and loving and the student to teacher ratio is insanely good. I really cannot recommend CWO more highly. Joining their community was the best decision we could have made for our family. I'm thrilled our daughter gets to go to CWO until kindergarten!

Jen Cronan Corley

Our two sons attended CWO from 2020 to 2024. We are incredibly grateful for their experiences there -- we can't imagine a better pre-school environment for our family. The staff is highly educated, passionate about their work, and professional; but even more importantly, they are kind, playful, and a pleasure to interact with (for the parents and the kids!). We love the physical spaces -- fun classrooms with great play materials, incredible/often-used outdoor spaces, a well-appointed school kitchen, lovely gardens, chicken coops, and so much more. The community, including the staff and the parents, is very welcoming. We're sad to be leaving CWO due to a move out of the area, but we highly recommend it to anyone looking for a high quality pre-school committed to developing the whole child.

Eliza Strauss

Very disappointed in our experience sending our kid here. Two parents both longtime Oakland educators pulled our kid due to lack of emotional and physical safety, discriminatory school policies, and dismissal of raising concerns with the owner/director. Very happy with our decision to remove our child from this setting.