Welcome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family focused, inclusive, play based, individualized preschool & childcare for children from 3 months to 5 yrs,  at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in the Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley.

  • We are open 7:45-5:30
  • Our core day is 7 hours, families can choose to add time in 30 min increments, up to a 9.5 hour day, scheduled to a specific daily schedule

You can still add your family to our interest list, but we are not doing tours unless we contact you to offer you a space.  We understand your desire to tour, but tours are disruptive to the children who are here, and we receive far more requests to tour than we can accommodate. 

There is a $100 fee for tours (payable in advance by Zelle, cash or check).     If you are offered a space, tour and enroll the fee will be credited towards your $600 enrollment fee. If you do not enroll, the fee is not refundable.  This seems to be the best way to manage the time and expense of touring, without changing to charging an application fee to be on the waiting list.

If you would like to be added to our interest list, please send us an email or see here

As of 11/13/25 we have 2  preschool spaces that are available immediately

No Baby or Wobbly space available till after May 2026 if any.

We believe that we have contacted everyone on the interest list who has a child the correct age for these spaces, if one of these spaces might work for you, please reach out for a tour.

Play based, Developmentally focused

St. John’s Childcare strives to provide the highest quality childcare in a unique setting where parents and teachers are partners together.    We specialize in the care of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from the age of three months to five years.  Our educated, caring teachers provide individualized care within a group setting.

We believe in providing a variety of experiences that encourage the young learner to explore and develop skills at their own pace, in a nurturing environment.  Our daily activities are developmentally appropriate and play-based and include fostering knowledge and high self-esteem, independence, and respect for others. We are an inclusive center & work with parents to ensure that all children are meeting their developmental milestones.

Kaia and Owen 2017Twice a year we have parent-teacher conferences where we use the Ages & Stages Developmental Questionnaire to take a closer look at each child’s strengths & needs in each developmental domain. When additional supports are needed we use consultative support from a team of developmental specialists, which may include an early interventionist, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist and/or a physical therapist – and when appropriate refer families on to their Regional Center or School District for more formal assessment & support.