Hill & Dale Family Learning Center

A wonderful, supportive preschool for infants and toddlers. Their "Discovery Center" is a mile away for 3-5 year olds. Highly recommend.

After over a year and a half and now two kids at Hill & Dale, I continue to be absolutely enamored with this school, its values, the community and the kind of people my children are becoming with Hill & Dale's guidance. My first child graduated from the infant room this summer and is now part of the toddler program. My second child is now in the infant room.

My kids have very strong wills. My older child is 2 and sometimes it is terrible. But Hill & Dale has taught her how to communicate her feelings in positive, productive ways, even when she does not get what she wants. At home she accepts limits, with minimal resistance, because Hill & Dale has taught her that limits keep her safe and happy. Hill & Dale has taught her empathy; if my husband stubs his toe or her baby sister cries, she comes over to give them love and ask if they are ok. She is on her way to being toilet trained because the school follows routines she now knows well and makes toileting a positive activity. She eats her vegetables! And that is entirely due to the creative, diverse and healthful nutrition program designed and run by the center's staff nutritionist.

My toddler loves her school. Her friends are dynamic, active, bold kids whom I expect she will remain connected with for years to come. Their parents are like-minded professionals who value education and their families. And the teachers and administrators are loving, caring, creative and dedicated early childhood educators who make Hill & Dale the truly special community that it is.

Finally, as I experienced with my older daughter, my infant is happy, healthy, loved and stimulated in the infant program at Hill & Dale. It may sound unbelievable, but the infant room teachers develop and execute curriculum for the babies. For example, they expose them to new textures and materials by allowing them to explore these in different ways. They instill in them a love of music, books, numbers and language. And they nurture in the infants strong social connections and self-reliance.

If you need full-time childcare for your child (7 am - 6 pm Monday-Friday) in the Santa Monica area, you and your child will get far more than just childcare from Hill & Dale. You will get a wonderful community of active, supportive parents, teachers and friends, and your child will benefit from a lifetime of confidence, curiosity, and strong, healthy relationships.

Beyond basic survival needs (little things like food, shelter, etc), bringing our kid to Hill & Dale is probably the best thing we could do for her. The teachers are wonderful, loving and caring - our whole family is lucky to have them in our lives. The teachers are fantastic resources for things big and small (e.g., we probably still wouldn't know we had to wash our kids ears and we see how independent play can lead to confident, considerate people). The school is warm and welcoming - it always seems like everyone (kids, teachers, parents) are having fun and happy to be there.

My son has been going to Hill & Dale since he was about 7 or 8 months old (almost 4 at time of review). It has been the perfect place for him. The teachers are very caring and supportive and he has learned a lot there. While he certainly has learned his ABCs, numbers, colors, etc, what I'm happiest about is the emphasis they have on teaching the social skills necessary to be a good person. I'm extremely satisfied with H&D and more importantly he likes going there.

This is a wonderful preschool! H&D has two campuses. The Learning Center is an infant and toddler program while the Discovery Center is a preschool. My daughter is currently at the preschool and she has so much fun everyday. The teachers are caring and the hot, healthy meals are terrific!