Merryhill Preschool

Christine failed to communicate with me and in result put my daughter in danger. Instead of contacting me she decided to make a decision that wasn't hers to make. She should have followed protocol instead of letting her personal judgment cloud her job description which doesn't include her personal opinions. Christine called me today to act as if she wanted to apologize but instead called to debate about whose fault it was that my daughter was put in a messed up situation as a result of her personal judgment. I'm shocked that she would call to tell me its not her fault but my fault that my daughter was not protected. I wish my daughter never attended this school.

After being here from the Toddler Room through the Beginner Room and now to the Intermediate Room, I give a five-star endorsement of Merryhill Danbrook. Teachers The teachers here are awesome. They are bright and positive all the time. I've never seen anyone with an off-day. They are excited to receive your child in the mornings and even after long days, they are happy to help the kids pack up and go. In the Toddler Room, they have daily forms that keeps track of their schedule: when they ate, when they drank, when they peed, when they pooped. It's extremely detailed. In the Beginner and Intermediate rooms, they write a one-pager on what the class learned, whether they played outside. From time to time, there'll be happy "Merry-grams" when your kid was extra special that day. And as with daycare, there are times when they issue "Ouch Reports" for when your kid (inevitably) gets hurt. Security Safety was my top priority. And the fact that the structure is brick with a heavy self-shutting door behind a number-pad is a huge plus. Every family gets a different number and the door unlocks only if you dial in your PIN. The place is surrounded by green fences and the principal has TV monitors for the several cameras on the premises. Learning Merryhill Danbrook is the Harvard of North Natomas pre-schools. They sing songs... they read books. They teach kids how to clean up. They do potty-training the way you want to do it. They get kids to nap. They get kids to be friends. They get kids to not be afraid of things. And most surprisingly, they get kids to communicate. For example, my kid is great at telling me when I've offended her and tells me I ought to "Say [I'm] sorry." They hand out these 3-page report cards in the Beginner Room evaluating their skill level and write 1 paragraph notes on the overall observations that aren't captured by their "grades." Merryhill takes learning more seriously than I thought possible for kids that young. Of course, all this curriculum comes at a cost. Once-per-month... usually on a day that coincides with a holiday... there will be a day where they don't have school so teachers can prepare. The trade-off is a fair given all the work they put in. Administration Christine is still the principal and she still runs a tight-ship. She's a straight-shooter who is flexible. For fundraising, they run school events and parents' night outs and what-not. I think the school is administered very well. The Cost The price tag seemed quite high at first. But when you breakdown their hours, it's quite reasonable. They open from 6:30am to 6:00pm. I generally get my kid there at 8:30 and pick her up at 5:00 = 8.5 hours. They charge $67/day (the rate varies depending on the age of your child), and that comes out to less than $8/hr to watch, teach and care for my kid. If you can swing it, and if North Natomas isn't out of your way for a morning commute... and you want your kids to go to the best preschool in the area, then you owe it to yourself to consider Merryhill Danbrook.

My son has been at this school for about 1 year. He loves it, my husband and I do too! The Links to Learning Curriculum is amazing. The school also offers a Spanish language program for children and it works! My son comes home saying Spanish words all the time. The food served is good --our only request is that it would be great if they served breakfast too! The teachers and management are nice and seem well-educated. Overall 4 stars as I feel there is always room for improvement.

My son has been at the school since he was 3 months old, and he is now 11 months old. This will be my first experience with a daycare center environment so I was a very nervous mom at first. The principal helped to build up my confidence and thoroughly addressed all my concerns. The food program is excellent, the majority is home cooked and I even love the cook, she is like a grandma to all the kids there. Now I drop off my child and I feel confident he is well cared for. His main caregiver is like a grandma to him as well. They change my son's diaper every 2 hours, feed him when he is hungry, give him naps, play with him and as a baby, there's even a curriculum for him. Each month I get a folder chalked full of adorable art (for sure keepsakes) they do with the babies, pictures they took of the babies doing art projects, and a report on how they are doing developmentally. The teachers in the infant room are so kind, experienced, and loving. I just love all of them. And then teachers from other classes will come in to relieve the teachers for their breaks in the infant room and I have not a complaint about any of them. Lastly, the principal is wonderful. Easy to talk to, approachable on any concern, really a great manager of the school!

Dedicated Teachers + Links to Learning Curriculum = Nurtured, well-rounded children at Merryhill. My older son has been at Merryhill for 3 years now and my youngest son is currently in the Infant room and we could not be happier. Every single teacher that my sons have had have given 100% of themselves to getting to know my children, understand their needs, nurture their personalities, and help them grow. In the infant room, the teachers are so attentive and loving to my youngest son - I love the fact that he gets so excited to see his teacher when I drop him off. Despite the chaos that a room of babies can create, the teachers are calming forces and I have the utmost confidence that his needs are being met. My older son started in the Infant room and is now in the Intermediate Room. At each stage, he has formed strong, lasting connections to his teachers due in no small part to their ability to understand who he is and help nurture him. The school's Links to Learning Curriculum has been amazing - it focuses on developing appropriate skills for children as they grow. For example, my 3 year old is currently learning how to identify words that rhyme, practicing tracing letters, recognizes his name in print, is starting to learn how to do simple math, and comes home with a new set of words in Spanish each month. They also spend plenty of time learning how to play with their friends. I have been repeatedly impressed by how much time the teachers spend outside of class trying to come up with new ways to get these children excited to learn - their dedication and their passion for their jobs is apparent. The vast majority of teachers at the school are parents (or grandparents in some cases) themselves, and ALL of the teachers definitely have a knack for early childhood development.