Little Ducklings Day School, Berkeley | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Highlights of Little Ducklings:
Great language & social skills development, lots of art, music, and good introduction to early academic activities, in a caring environment with a family atmosphere. Little Ducklings’ preferred age range is 20months to 5 yrs.

Details:
Patricia Hernandez-Tijero (Paty) has years of experience in children’s preschool programs, and she’s now in her second year of running her own school. She and Jaime are enthusiastic about improving their school rooms and outdoor space, which started out great and are now even better.

My daughter started attending Little Ducklings with Paty in summer 2018 at 2 years, 2 months old. Prior to this she had only been in the care of immediate family, mostly me, and she was (and still is) very attached. My child quickly developed an affection for Paty and Jaime, settling in comfortably with them and her new friends. Paty also supported her potty-training seamlessly.

Paty is wonderfully kind and patient with her students. She, and her husband Jaime, take genuine interest in what the children are communicating and what they like to do. When addressing challenging behavior, she uses a very firm but calm voice, talks about how the behavior affects other people (and/or personal safety), and then demonstrates to the child what she is asking of them. Paty’s husband Jaime is warm, caring and funny. He often cooks tasty snacks and prepares daily fruit platters for the kids. My daughter adores Paty’s daughter Ana (who is away at college, but visits on breaks).

My daughter has learned quite a bit of Spanish language with Paty & Jaime, and now moves through our home life singing and counting in Spanish. She is so eager to tell them about things she did over the weekend, or while outside of school. My daughter has a deep affection for Paty and Jaime, so do I and my husband. We moved at the end of July, but will definitely stay in touch and go back to visit.

It is my pleasure to recommend Patricia (Paty) Hernandez’s preschool, Little Ducklings Family Day School. Not only is Paty passionate about teaching young children through play and discovery, she is also trustworthy, knowledgeable about child development, and she cares deeply about children’s well-being.

My family has known Paty since 2012 when she was my older son’s preschool teacher. Paty and my son quickly formed a strong bond and we recognized that Paty would be in our lives beyond our older son’s preschool years. For two years, she also provided afterschool care for him. It seemed like every time I picked up my older son after work, he would tell me about a wonderful adventure they went on – from attending programs at the library to touring Berkeley by bus. Paty embraced my older son’s active spirit with enthusiasm and love. My son’s face would light up when she asked for a full-body “squeezie hug” when saying goodbye.

Paty is so trustworthy that she cared for my older son when I was in the hospital giving birth to my younger son. I have never worried about my children’s safety when she has cared for them. As Paty prepared to start her own preschool, I know her primary concern was ensuring the house was a safe place to learn and play.

I wholeheartedly recommend Paty as a preschool teacher and I am excited she has started her own daycare.  Caring for and teaching young children is truly Paty’s passion.