Stretch the Imagination

I am a long time fan of Stretch. My oldest child graduated from the school in 2014 and is now thriving in first grade at one of the city’s top private schools. My second child is in his third and final year at Stretch, and my youngest is in his first year. All three are extremely different children with his own individual strengths and weaknesses and I’ve been blown away by how Stretch has been a wonderful place for each of them.
The teachers are talented, thoughtful and nurturing. They really get to know your child, and I’ve been tremendously impressed with their feedback and observations. Michelle (the founder) and Whitney (the co-​director) are also incredible. They also spend a lot of time in the classroom and really get to know each of the children at the school. I have never heard of another preschool (with over 110 students enrolled) in which the head of school actually spends hours each week teaching the students, getting to know them, and collaborating with the teachers on how to address challenges and bring new stimulus into the environment. It is a Reggio inspired program, and each year the school sends teachers to study in Italy where Reggio began.
The community is also extremely close-​knit. Many of our closest friends are families we have met over the years from Stretch. There are many school wide events as well as events for each class to come together as a community. There are also many different types of opportunities for parents to volunteer.
Stretch’s Natural Classroom program is also a leader in outdoor teaching in San Francisco. It was one of the first preschools to spend time in the Presidio, and the connection my children have discovered with nature is amazing as city kids. Each class spends a full day in the Presidio each week, year round. The teachers are trained by some of the country’s most well respected nature experts. The deep learning for the children is incredible — just a few weeks ago we were at the Museum of Natural History in NYC and my four year old was able to identify every hawk in that exhibit on his own.
Stretch is a truly special place, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. We are grateful to have our children there and look forward to more years to come.

My son graduated from Stretch in 2015 after three full years in the program and I can admit to being pretty skeptical of this specific preschool approach when we first joined. While everyone was very nice, I wasn’t sure how the «play-​based» curriculum and «natural classroom» were going to prepare my son for the rigors of the top private schools. I wondered when/​where he was going to learn his letter, numbers, and key elements I heard were so important by the time they hit 5yrs old.
Sometimes it is great to be wrong. Not only did my son come out of Stretch with exceptional tangible skills, he never once thought of school as a chore. He loved the teachers and activities all three years. Now that he is at Town School for Boys, he is competing with boys from the top programs and excelling. Five of his classmates at Stretch are also at Town with him so combine that with the fact that most of the families were admitted to their top Kindergarten choice and its clear that Michelle and the Stretch team are doing something right.
We loved our time there and I transitioned from someone who was a bit of a skeptic to a true believer in what the administrators and teachers at Stretch are doing. Couldn’t be happier with the results.

I cannot say enough about Stretch the Imagination. It has been and continues to be such a wonderful place for my children. My son graduated last year after three magical years and is now thriving in a great kindergarten. My 2.5 year old daughter started in the youngest class in September and we are amazed at the growth we have seen in her in these short months. As a parent and an educator, I could not be happier with the program at Stretch.
The program is play based and Reggio inspired and has an amazing outdoor program called the Natural Classroom. When it is age appropriate the children spend one day each week exploring the Presidio. They learn about the trees and birds, and become so comfortable playing and learning outdoors. Our whole family benefitted from my son’s Natural Classroom experience and we can’t wait for our daughter to begin her own Natural Classroom experience soon.
The play based program is not only fun and enriching for the children, but it gives the teachers a chance to closely watch their student’s interests emerge and evolve, so that they can carefully plan the amazing projects that they do in the classrooms with the children’s unique interests in mind.
During my son’s final year at Stretch the children in his class became concerned about the California drought and began studying our water system. They began drawing and labeling maps of where our water comes from, coming up with and writing about water saving activities and so much more. They compiled questions and wrote to rangers at Hetch Hetchy. His final year of preschool ended with a three day, whole family field trip to Hetch Hetchy planned by parents and teachers. Amazing.
Over his three years, my son got to know and love many of the teachers at Stretch. Stretch has hired warm, experienced, well educated teachers who stay true to the philosophies of the school. I am consistently amazed at how well each teacher knows my children and how they understand the individual needs of each of my very different children.
Stretch was great in helping us navigate through the kindergarten application process. We are so happy with the school that we chose and are so thankful for the help we got along the way from our Stretch teachers and directors as well as other parents from the Stretch community.
Through the Stretch community we have found wonderful friends. The community is strong and has become stronger during our time there. Parents get together often for Mom’s Nights and Dad’s Nights and other events both organized and more casual.
Our experience has been so good. We look forward to our next few years there!

We have had a similar experience to an earlier poster, and our conclusion is that this school may work for some, but is not a good fit for all types of children. It was not a good fit for us. There are plenty of families who are very happy with their experience of the school, as you can see in the other reviews, so clearly this school works for some. But when you are considering preschool for your child, it is useful to be aware of those who have had positive experiences as well as those who have not, so that you can make an informed decision based on the information you have about the school, and what you know about your child’s personality and character. If I had known earlier what I know now, I would have pulled my child out of the school earlier, which is why I am posting this review.
All our child’s teachers were new to the school and fairly young. They were undoubtedly loving and caring, but, contrary to an earlier post, we felt that they seemed to struggle when dealing with children who were ‘different’ and who did not conform (and there seemed to be a few in our class). The teachers we had also did not seem to be able to easily adopt different ways of teaching/​interacting when dealing with these types of children.
The program is play-​based, but unlike many other play-​based programs, there is a lot of structure and there are a lot of transitions. There is also a lot of time when children are expected to listen and obey the teachers. Admittedly some of the rigidness, such as the enforced transitions, are due to logistics. For example, they have one small outside space for the whole school and, at the morning drop-​off, our class had just 10 minutes to play outside before heading inside to make space for drop-​off for the next class. Not surprisingly, our very active child really struggled to go indoors and to sit still at circle time after playing outside for such a short time. Also, despite what is indicated on the website, there was a 9 month gap between the eldest and youngest in our class (our child was one of the youngest).
in short:
Positives:
— Weekly outside classroom for children aged 3+. Great opportunity for urban children to be exposed to nature
— Good record in getting children into well-​known private schools
— Some very good teachers
— Reggio-​inspired
— Good for social, vocal, outgoing children
— Good child/​teacher ratios (better in the 2s program than in the older classes. They drop a teacher in the older programs)
Negatives
— Some newer inexperienced teachers
— Not a good for ‘different’ children — children who excel and/​or who are ‘different’ in any way (in our experience)
— Not good for academically advanced children (the teachers hadn’t figured out that our child could read)
— Not able to deal with any developmental differences. In this regard, they talk the talk but in our experience at least, they DO NOT walk the walk
— Not good for ‘visual learners’ — lots of words used, at least in our case
— Not good for children who need to move around a lot. There is a lot of sitting down (except on natural classroom days)
— High, non-​refundable fees. You start paying in the May before starting school. So, if this school does not work out for your child, you can’t pull out mid-​year, without forfeiting a good chunk of the yearly fees. And no, you don’t get a refund if you find another child to fill the spot

We are finishing up our first year as part of Stretch, with my son in the 2 year old Willows class, and couldn’t be more impressed by all aspects of this amazing program and community. Stretch is truly a haven for young children to explore, learn through experience and play, and develop lasting relationships. I can’t believe how much our experience at Stretch has positively impacted our family after just the first year!
When we were looking at preschools (a daunting process in the city), what was most important to us was to find a place for our very active and outgoing son to have the space and freedom to grow, challenge his creativity, develop his sense of self and relationships to the world and others, and develop appropriate boundaries. Stretch, for me, is the best possible place for all of this to occur. Immediately when we walked in for the tour, I felt a sense of comfort (the physical space feels very familiar, as it is like most SF victorians) and inspiration with all of the open-​ended and nature-​based play spaces set up around me. After learning more about Stretch and founder/​director Michelle’s approach to early childhood education, I was certain this was the perfect place for our family.
Our experience this year has only grown my appreciation for Stretch. Last week, we attended the annual teacher presentations at which every teacher in the school presents their learnings and observations from the past year (and how this has impacted their teaching and personal lives) to the parent community. The amount of thought that goes into each teacher’s approach and reflection is inspiring — constantly empowering children (i.e. 2 months spent allowing 2 years olds figure out where ice goes after «disappearing» in the water table utilizing sensory experiments, or celebrating the confidence of more risk-​averse children as they jump off logs in the Presidio or in the school backyard). Stretch teachers truly practice the approach of the school and are masters at handling and bringing out the best in ALL types of children.
I have seen first hand how much my son has grown and developed this year, thanks in large part to his amazing teachers and the program at Stretch. He has gone from initial hesitation (this was his first drop off experience) to quickly squealing with delight and running as fast as he can through the gate every morning. His relationships to others have grown tremendously — learning the boundaries of physical interactions, using his words and for the most part seamlessly sharing with others. I think in part due to the way that they balance physical play outside and free play inside with sensory materials, blocks, art, etc., my son has really learned to focus and be entertained by all sorts of activities, and is now much more independent and focused in his play at home. We have also met and developed great friendships already with a host of amazing and like-​minded parents and families, with my son talking constantly about his adventures with friends. At Stretch I feel that he is learning HOW to learn as opposed to being taught, finding his own special community and absolutely loving school. Our experience at Stretch couldn’t make me any happier!

We currently have two children at Stretch (our son is in his first year, and our daughter is in her third – she’s graduating in June), and we are so glad to be part of the Stretch community. Stretch inspires children to learn organically through a project-​based curriculum (inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy), and encourages them to explore, discover, and communicate. It’s an urban school that does a tremendous job exposing children to nature through its Natural Classroom program – children spend one day per week exploring in the Presidio, where they hike (and cover a lot of ground!), climb, examine, build, and observe. The director and teachers are also very thoughtful about using natural materials in the classroom, and encouraging respect for the environment. And one of the pre-​K classes this year has created a spectacular garden (with kale, radishes, fava beans, carrots, and more) in the Stretch backyard. In addition to being a great place for kids to grow as learners and nature-​lovers, Stretch has been very helpful with the kindergarten process. All the graduating kids are going on to wonderful schools, and Michelle (the director) was a responsive and supportive partner throughout everything. We highly recommend Stretch to anyone looking for a play-​based program with a healthy dose of nature and caring, committed teachers.

Our family has had a wonderful experience at Stretch the Imagination. My son started when he was just under three and he is completing his second year at Stretch. We recommend the program without reservation and look forward to sending our younger son there.
I have been genuinely impressed with the teachers at Stretch. They are smart, thoughtful and knowledgeable about child development. I feel like they genuinely care about my son. They are very committed to creating a sense of community among the children and identify and celebrate each child’s strengths. Through reading the teachers’ weekly journals and observing them when I have volunteered in the classroom, I have gained valuable insights that I believe have made me a better parent.
I feel like the school has provided invaluable support to my child and family from the very beginning. When he first started attending Stretch, my son had a very difficult time with drop off. The school’s director, Michelle, checked in with me almost daily and created a plan which included assigning a teacher who spent time bonding with my son and greeted him at the gate every morning, singing and offering a guitar so my son could join in. It was painful to leave my crying son but I saw that he calmed down and started to play and laugh as soon as I left (I peeked through the fence!) and both my son and I quickly learned to trust the teachers.
I was a bit surprised to read another reviewer’s comment about Stretch not knowing how to work with children who are different. My son is one of those kids. I have always felt like the teachers have not only accepted my son in all his quirkiness, but also really celebrate what makes him special. Recently, the teachers did approach me with their observations when they felt like we should seek an evaluation to get a better sense of how we could help my son in areas where he struggles. I was impressed with how well the teachers know my son and how much they care about him. We had somebody come in and observe my son at school and she was also very impressed with Stretch. While she told me that we may have a difficult time finding an elementary school that will be a good fit, she felt that Stretch was a great place for him now.
I saw that there were also complaints about Stretch’s outdoor space. I will admit that I was worried about that after touring the school, too. I spoke with a friend whose very active son had attended Stretch and she explained that while the yard is small, Stretch uses it almost like an art installation that is constantly changing and that her son never got bored there. I have found that to be true. Every day there are different, fascinating things out in the yard to play with. Some days there are pipes attached to the side of the building so the kids can pour water through them and see where it ends up. There are colorful tubes and ball runs on other days. There are large wooden boats or herds of dinosaurs or boxes of costumes or a gravel pit with construction equipment. After Christmas, a forest appears and the children play hide and seek in it. Hamilton Park is two blocks away and my son’s class often goes there to play games the grass or even have picnics on nice days. After a couple of years at Stretch, the small yard isn’t something that concerns me at all.
Stretch is a truly special place and I am so grateful that I have an opportunity to send my children there.

As our time is winding down at Stretch the Imagination (our son started Stretch at 2, and will be graduating pre-​K at 5.5!) had to put in writing how incredible the school and experience has been for our family.
Stretch’s foundation is Reggio Emilia, project based child directed where our teachers build projects around the student’s interests vs. topics, «lessons» etc pushed down without any thought. Children feel a sense of ownership in their projects and become mini-​experts. For example, last year, when considering a class pet, this project included – field research at Crissy Field studying the habitat of hermit crabs, interviewing a Vet at Pets Unlimited, consulting the library for research on owning pets, interviewing a hermit crab owner (incl letter writing), and when it was time to bring this pet into the classroom, committees were formed – welcoming committee, habitat committee, etc. It was an incredible process throughout. I was present on voting day – children submitted names for the crab, petitioned, wrote ballots, and voted. Democracy 101, learned at age 4! I mention this because rather than a teacher dropping a pet into a classroom without rhyme or reason, it was an exciting exploration for many months.
Stretch has a foundation in nature that you’ll find nowhere else – at age 3, kids spend one full day in the natural classroom, 4 hours every Monday at 5 years old. This time allows our urban kid to unwind, run free, physically get into nature and see all the beauty that the Presidio offers.
Our favorite program at Stretch is Explorers, a before school activity. This year, students are studying Chinese culture in SF. Twice a week, a handful of students plus 2 teachers meet up at Lafayette Park and map their course. Adventures are via Muni and include: deeply exploring Chinatown (tea tasting, talking to shop owners, a long study on Chinese New Year and astrological signs), interviewing locals about the Foo Dogs at the Bush/​Grant gate (which led to designing paper mache near life size foo dogs back at school), learning Chinese Calligraphy, simple language words, and many mornings spent at Asian Art Museum. Explorers has been absolutely incredible in instilling confidence in our son, a sense of wonder, interest and compassion for others and trust in his ability to maneuver SF so easily with his teachers!
On the note of teachers, there are no words to adequately express how wonderful Stretch’s teachers are… I am especially grateful for how accessible both our school director, assistant director and teachers are – always available, welcome open doors, so well versed on early childhood ed. Stretch is a warm, loving school and a happy one! everyone is so happy!
Lastly, this is San Francisco where «the Kindergarten process» is a topic from the get-​go and how lucky we were to have Michelle and Ned Lawton’s guidance thru this time. As parents, we were prepped far in advance to ease any concerns about the process. Our son is beyond prepared for Kindergarten, we were fortunate to have multiple choices at amazing private schools (as did our entire class!) and a supportive Stretch team behind us to make the experience a positive one.
I will happily advocate for Stretch the Imagination long past the time our son graduates this June. Please feel free to message me with any questions.
Thanks Stretch for the last 4 years!

My daughter is about to complete her second year at Stretch and my youngest daughter is going to start in the fall. I have so many great things to say about the school, it’s hard to know where to start.
The teachers are all amazing. Our daughter has been taught by several of the teachers and we have been impressed by all of them. I can’t believe how well they know and understand children generally and each child individually. This fall, I was amazed with the 8 page evaluation we got before our parent/​teacher conference. It was so detailed and thoughtful. I was astonished they knew my child so well and cared about her so much after only a couple of months of teaching her. Also, each week, we get a journal discussing what the children are learning and they tend to mention something special about each child in every journal. It’s great to read these and see how much thought the teachers put into teaching our kids. In fact, one of the reasons I love spending time volunteering in the classroom is because I learn so much from the teachers. I wish I could spend more time watching how they handle some very difficult situations and also how they make learning so much fun for the kids.
The Director Michelle and the Assistant Director Whitney are also amazing! They both truly care so much about each student and parent. Every time I have a question, I get a response immediately. My questions are always happily answered. Both Michelle and Whitney are happy to chat and help in any way they can, regarding anything I’ve ever needed help with. I look to them as a resource when I’m having any type of parental issues, from potty training to temper tantrums. They have so much knowledge about young children and I feel lucky to have them in my corner when I need help. I feel like we are all working together to help my daughter grow and learn.
I love the outdoor space at Stretch. We can go to the playground whenever we want, but at Stretch, the outdoor space is a blank canvas for the teachers and children to create all sorts of fun adventures and learning. Our daughter started at 2.5 and has always been physically cautious. She learned to jump with confidence off all different size tree logs the teachers put out on some days, she learned to balance on other wooden play structures they put out on other days. I’ve watched her to yoga outside, play with water tables, run and jump through obstacle courses she, her friends and her teachers create. The possibilities in the outdoor space are endless. The space allows the teachers and students to be imaginative and creative.
One of my favorite things about Stretch is the Natural Classroom. Once your child is old enough, they will spend one day a week in the Presidio. This has been an amazing experience for our daughter. I love the fact that she can connect with nature and learn so much outside the typical classroom with her peers and teachers. Given that we live in the City and don’t have a yard, it is so important to us that our children receive all of the benefits of learning in nature and feel so lucky our daughter has been given the opportunity to do this as part of her preschool education.
Another amazing thing about Stretch is Teacher Barb! Teacher Barb is a music teacher from Blue Bear School of Music and she has been teaching our kids music since they were born. She is a wonderful music teacher and we’re so lucky our kids continue to have her as their music teacher in school.
Lastly, the parent community is also great! We have many events over the year where people have an opportunity to get to know each other. And, each class has many of their own events over the year. I’ve met some great friends over the last couple of years!
I could go on more, but the main thing is that Stretch is truly a magical and special place for children. I feel our daughter is leaning more that just academics, she is learning to be a thoughtful, kind, creative and grounded person. I constantly feel inspired by the program and so lucky that our children get to benefit from such an amazing school!

I am glad to see all the positive reviews, our experience was much different though.
The teachers are loving and caring! However, they do not have the necessary experience needed to deal with «excelling», «different», or «behind» children. All teachers have a degree.
If your child has a «problem», they will not tell you because «this is not something they do».
The school is play based, but in my opinion still too structured. Because it is an «alternative» preschool, major Holidays are not celebrated (no art projects, etc.) and Halloween became a «no school day».
They have a small outside area with a small planter box; weather permitting they will put out a water table. Once a week children go to the Presidio for Natural Classroom.
It is difficult to socialize with other parents during drop-​off/​pick-​up due to parking space. This also makes it hard to connect with other parents during that time, unless you walk of course or park in the area.
I know they have been voted «Winner — Best Preschool 2013» by Red Tricycle, but I would not recommend this preschool.

My daughter loves the mommy and me class. Their new building is beautiful and the back play area is an oasis with fun natural toys. The class focuses on exploration with her peers. It is the perfect step for my daughter to begin learning about her friends through a play based group.

Stretch the imagination is a fantastic program. They have an AMAZING group of teachers who are nurturing, energetic, creative, and thoughtful. Classes are small, no more than 10 or 12 and each child is nurtured according to his/​her unique personality. My son is very bright, but cautious and I was worried about separation anxiety. He has blossomed into a very independent 3 year old. They now have an impressive play-​based preschool and pre-​k program that brings out the best in each child through cultivating imagination, problem-​solving, teamwork, and friendship (they are no longer only a twos program). If you want a intimate, nurturing and creative preschool and pre-​k program, check them out ASAP (before the news completely gets out). We feel very fortunate to have found this wonderful program.

This is THE place to send little ones before preschool and older ones for exposure to art, yoga and creativity. My two boys LOVE coming here. The teachers and content truly engage the kids and encourage them to expand and explore their horizons. I was so sad when we moved to Marin — the commute on a daily basis proved too much for me. Camps in the summer ROCK and now that they are coming to Corte Madera, we are thrilled. Well worth every penny!

Our 4 year old loves it. Creative, warm and competent teachers combined with a beautiful space for kids make Stretch an ideal drop off program. There is a real sense of community owner Michelle and Manager Sage have created that goes well beyond just taking a class. Our son calls it school because he gets the same kind of attention and nuturing that he gets at his preschool. Stretch teachers make every effort to make this a smooth transition for the kids and are great about keeping parents in the loop about how their child is doing in the program. A really wonderful opportunity for your little one.

Perfect, all around A+
Great place to start before pre-​school.
Teachers are great, location is perfect