Great Beginnings Inc

DO NOT BRING YOUR CHILD HERE!!! I’m extremely disappointed Miriam Stocking, the owner of this preschool and how she handles children with disabilities. My son attended this school and he has severe speech problems making it very difficult to understand him which causes him to be frustrated easily so he acted out. He began biting this one particular little boy out of his frustration. When I would ask my son why he is biting this one kid my son said it was because the boy was hurting him. The owner would call me every time that he would bite and I told her that if she would put my son in «time out» a few minutes then he would stop biting. Long story short she told me that she «doesn’t do time outs» and that she doesn’t discipline children for bad behavior. She told me that my 4 year old child needed to see a shrink and she kicked him out of the school. She did nothing to help my child except break his heart because he doesn’t understand why he can’t see his friends anymore. He keeps saying «Mommy I miss my friends at school!!» She did my child a great disservice and I’m just praying that he doesn’t suffer any long term psychological issues as a result of being kicked out of preschool. Instead of working with me to try to solve the problem she just kicked him out. He only just turned 4 years old and he’s absolutely heartbroken! Update: A month after my son was kicked out for defending himself against a bully, the kid who bullied my son hurt 3 kids in one day, but it was only my son who was kicked out.

I had ample anxiety when the time came to find a preschool for my daughter. I brought my mother in law with me to our first visit. As a previous preschool teacher, I felt comfortable with her feedback and assessment. GB was the first on our preschool «tour». We planned a Friday morning visit and after just an hour, left with a fantastic feeling that this was the place for our daughter.
Our daughter has been with GB for 7 months. The school is a fantastic place. The children learn through experience and enjoy a lot of outdoor play time. The school celebrates holidays in new ways — valentines day to learn about the heart, Halloween to learn about skeletons.
Overall our daughter is ecstatic at this school and has grown leaps and bounds in just a short time. I would recommend this school to anyone. We feel fortunate for finding this gem.
**this school has been operating for over 30 years. I was surprised to find out that others knew of GB when they’ve asked what school my daughter is in. GB has established a favorable reputation for themselves based on happy families.

We love this school and the teachers here. My favorite thing about the school is how they make the most of holidays and seasons to expose the children to different thoughts and ideas. For example, at Halloween, they explored Bats, bones and skeletons, and plant cycles and cooking with pumpkin carving. At Valentines day they explored hearts, blood and basic anatomy. At Christmas and Hanukkah they explored stars and the solar system, and also the water cycle. I feel this school has helped make my child, and us by proxy, more thoughtful and observant, seeing wonder and beauty in the everyday things and events around us.
Marion is so caring and passionate about what she does and has the teachers truly engaged and inspired. Everyday they are digging in the dirt, playing in the yard, riding bikes, checking in on the numerous plants, animals and experiments going on. They are reading, building, creating and exploring every chance they get. We are so lucky to have found this gem of a school right in our neighborhood and would not hesitate to encourage anyone looking for a preschool to go here.

Candice’s review is spot on!
Great Beginnings is like going back in time to my childhood. It’s a small preschool with an exceptional staff of four which includes Marian Stocking, the founder and owner. The teachers truly care about the children and appear to love what they do, which is invaluable. My daughter loved this school from day one. She is constantly learning whether she realizes it or not. Science, anatomy, history… it’s all taught in a fun, hands on environment.
GB is also flexible with the schedules of busy parents.
We have been very happy here and feel blessed to have found this preschool.

Great Beginnings Preschool is in a converted private home (non residential) with a converted garage in back which has been made into a classroom in addition to the classroom space in the regular part of the home. It sounds weird but it’s actually very nicely done. The garage classroom is the 2 – 3 year old space complete with preschooler-​sized bathroom and sink, while the older children meet in the main house. The school has a large play yard with climbing equipment, sand box, toys and lot of room to run around. It’s a great space.
The website for Great Beginnings is really impressive. The black and white photography draws you in and makes you want to see more of the school. The text sounds well thought-​out and the Director’s background as an LA Zoo docent was intriguing.
At first glance the school looks really cluttered. There is stuff EVERYWHERE. It’s not particularly clean either as the floors looked like they could use a good sweeping. I wouldn’t say it was dirty — just in need of some attention. Upon closer inspection, however the things that were lying around were wonderful. Science books and diagrams, figures of various birds and animals. Frog life cycle figures next to a nice fish tank filled with chubby, happy looking gold fish. The front window had an impressive display of these types of things and reminded me of a shelf or display one would see in a natural history museum. We were really digging all of the science and nature stuff in the room.
Walking out into the large backyard the chicken coop and bunny hutch were immediately to our left. There was adequate shade provided for the animals and they looked well-​cared for. There are lovely little vegetable and a native plant gardens in the yard where students grow veggies for the bunny and grow milkweed for the butterflies. These plants are clearly thriving as I saw caterpillars on the leaves. The students study the life cycles of butterflies here too which is wonderful.
Marian, the Director is wonderful, warm and kind. Her experience at the LA Zoo and her research in Borneo with orangutans are impressive! She is a sweet lady who really knows her stuff and has a clear passion for animals and the natural world. A kindred spirit! But it’s unclear how much of that passion trickles down to the students. Does the curriculum reflect this interest? Are the students at this school learning more about nature than preschoolers at other schools? And how much access do they have to those cool diagrams, and books, and figures displayed at the front of the school? Do the teachers share this enthusiasm? We noticed lots of wonderful books but they were all up high on a shelf as if to keep the kids from reading them. I could see some evidence of nature in the day-​to-​day but not as much as one would think in this environment.
If I were in charge of marketing/​programming at Great Beginnings Preschool it would market itself as a «Science Preschool» and do a much better job of telling prospective parents how all of the stuff they see actually makes it into the curriculum and benefits their child. As far as I heard there was no other philosophy in place (waldorf, reggio, montessori etc.) so for the parents who like these kinds of labels this would be a smart move. Parents would also see evidence of children making science discoveries and learning about the natural world around them. There is so much potential here, and children are naturally inquisitive and naturally want to learn about animals, plants, and natural systems. Increasing the language on the tour and in the materials that support and illustrate this kind of learning taking place would make this school a must-​attend for many parents.

Great Beginnings is an amazing school. I am a teacher myself and so I am very critical when it comes to a good learning environment. First, they teach the kids so many great basic fundamentals through hands on learning. They have tons of manipulatives that allow the kids to learn math, science and reading through play. They always discipline with dignity and show the kids to reflect on their actions with out just a punitive response to making a bad choice. They make every holiday a learning experience through art, stories, play and celebration (not just a junk food party). You will not be frustrated (as I was at another preschool), by the overabundance of junk food at every birthday and party. The kids can not even bring chips, cookies or any other junk food in their lunch. The director has a great love for nature and all living things. The school has chickens, rabbits, turtles, and fish. There is always a table set up with the animal of study where the kids can touch bones, look at books and other interesting manipulatives relating to the animals of study. Play time is real play. The kids run, climb, bike, and create great imagination lands with all the great construction toys. If you are a conscious person who cares about a great education and positive environment for your child Great Beginnings is for you. I really appreciate the diversity of families at Great Beginnings and feel like we are all one big Great Beginnings family as Marian (the school director) is always welcoming and inclusive. I couldn’t ask for more in a school.

There are not enough words for how wonderful Great Beginnings is! It is a small pre-​school which I love and the children’s parents in my daughter’s class went there 30 years ago. The love and nurturing will forever be with my child. Kids get to be kids and learn through play. The teachers are wonderful and genuinely care (they have all been there 16 years plus).
After having my daughter enrolled there for a year I look back and realize how much they have been there for us. As a working mom it’s hard to be away from your child so much but I trust them completely and watch how much she has learned and grown. Today we received a note in the mail from the class because my daughter has been out sick all week. It’s really the little things that are the big things.