Portola

The best daycare experience we could ever ask for! Our daughter was at this daycare for more than two years, starting at 6 months, and it truly became her second home. What made it so special was Pyrena. She is honestly the best caregiver we’ve ever met — caring, knowledgeable, and always learning something new. You can tell she loves what she does. She also trains the staff, so everyone there is kind, calm, and amazing with kids.

From talking to other parents, I’ve realized how rare this is. There are very few daycares where caregivers treat your child like their own, and that’s exactly how Pyrena treated ours. The bond they built made it really hard to leave. Nothing we’ve seen since even comes close.

She also planned so many activities for every age — sensory play, early learning, motor skills, group time, independent time. Our daughter grew so much socially, physically, and intellectually because of those daily routines.

One thing I loved was how much time the kids spent outside. Our daughter has always been calmer and happier outdoors, and Pyrena understood that. The outdoor time alone made such a difference for her.

And I have to mention the food. The meals and snacks were always fresh, healthy, and homemade. Pyrena cooked real food with fresh produce every day, including a lot of Chinese dishes. Because of that, our daughter eats everything now and isn’t picky at all — she actually loves Chinese food!

It’s a rare thing to feel completely at peace leaving your baby somewhere, but that’s how we felt every single day. We’re incredibly grateful for the start our daughter got here. If you’re lucky enough to get a spot, take it.

Pyrena and her team have provided both of our children the most exceptional care and love for the past 5 years. They treat the kids like their own, with love, respect and gentle discipline. They also invite families throughout the year for special events making all of us feel like one big family. We only wish our kids could stay longer and we really can't recommend this day care enough!

We highly recommend Modern Education Family Childcare Portola. Our daughter was here from age 2 to 3 and our son spent a summer here when he was 4.5 years old. We had experience with several other daycares while we were finding the right fit for our son and Modern Education has been by far the best. Some of the things we love about Modern Education are:

• Pyrena and Oscar are great communicators, giving us run downs on what the kids are learning and fun things they did and the pictures they share a highlight of our days. When our daughter was having some trouble with hitting they let us know in a non-judgemental way and we felt like partners working with them to help her through that behavior. • Our kids love it. They talk about how much they like Oscar, Pyrena, and teacher Bing-Bing all the time. It is clear they feel safe and happy at this school. • The school organizes great activities like meeting chickens and ducks at the school or fieldtrips to the library for story time. They also have great lesson plans everyday with developmentally appropriate activities like mixing food coloring to learn about the colors.

Modern Education Family Childcare (Portola) is exceptional in early education. The owners, Pyrena and Oscar, have created an educational environment that blends modern education with the warmth and comfort of a family-oriented environment. It resonates deeply with my family. They have profoundly impacted our son and, by extension, our entire family.

Our journey with Modern Education Family Childcare began in late 2021 when the challenges of COVID-19 still lingered. From our very first visit, Pyrena's depth of knowledge and innate warmth were immediately apparent. She possesses a remarkable ability to recognize and respect the individuality of each child, fostering trust and comfort. Our son, who had become increasingly withdrawn due to extended periods spent indoors during lockdowns, found himself in a relaxing and empowering environment.

Pyrena gave loving and detailed observations of our son at the end of each day, offering us invaluable insights into our son's progress and experiences. It was amazing to witness his evolution from a shy, introverted child to a confident, extroverted individual who thrived in social settings and excelled in group activities. Pyrena, Oscar, and their team are committed to helping every child bloom. We can see it clearly as day in how much our son and his friends have grown.

Beyond the exceptional educational framework, Pyrena and Oscar built a super cool, welcoming community that feels more like a big, happy family. They hold fun parties for most of the big holidays, both US and Chinese ones, making sure everyone feels included and celebrated. They show up at every child's birthday party, which is pretty sweet. It's like having this extended family where my son gets super excited to drop by now and then, just to hang out with his old buddies. It's the kind of place where everyone knows your name, and you're always glad you came.

Reflecting on our experience, I wholeheartedly endorse Modern Education Family Childcare (Portola) to any family seeking early education for their kid. Pyrena, Oscar, and their team's work offers children a solid foundation for their personal development and lifelong learning.

Our family had the privilege of sending our daughter to Modern Education Family Childcare, lovingly run by Pyrena and Oscar, for two wonderful years. What truly stands out about Modern Education Family Childcare is Pyrena's exceptional dedication and expertise in child development. Her passion for educating young minds is evident in every aspect of the daycare. She possesses a rare gift for connecting with children, helping them feel secure and valued, and fostering their growth and curiosity.

Over the course of those two years, we had the privilege of witnessing our daughter transform into a confident, eager learner who embraced her role as a contributing member of the daycare community. She was very shy and apprehensive about attending daycare for the first time (as were we!) but we saw that she was met with with true kindness and love. Pyrena's brilliance as an educator and communicator cannot be overstated. She consistently kept us informed about our daughter's progress and experiences, ensuring that we were always well-informed and connected to her daily adventures.

We are filled with gratitude for the profound impact Modern Education Family Childcare had on our daughter's life. Pyrena, Oscar, and their incredible team have set the bar exceptionally high for what a childcare facility can be. At home, our daughter would rave about the delicious (and healthy) food that was prepared at the school, and talk about how much she loved playing with Oscar, who our daughter proclaims to be her favorite person! Our daughter has given the best review and compliment in stating that when she grows up, "she wants to be a teacher and a mom, just like Pyrena!

Being first-time parents, we struggled to understand which daycare to choose for our son. When we met Pyrena & Oscar, we felt an immediate connection and trust that they’d be able to take care of the kid. Pyrena is a very knowledgeable person, a patient teacher, and a wonderful human.

Our kid started going to Modern Education when he turned 10 months old. Since it was during the peak of COVID-19 in 2021, Pyrena and other teachers took extraordinary precautions to have a safe environment for the kids. The family daycare is clean, spacious, and a great outdoor space. The kids indeed feel they are home at daycare, too.

Pyrena would always carefully monitor kids’ growth milestones and share with us in minute detail. This was very helpful for us to feel safe as first-time parents. Each day was photographed and shared with us so as not to miss any beautiful moments.

Teacher Yiyi Grace is caring, and the kids connect with her pretty well. She nurtured and helped our kid get out of his comfort zone. Teacher Oscar is entertaining and keeps the kids engaged in a humorous way. Teacher Gina has a warm smile in welcoming families with a bright Good Morning and always has something to say about your kid that makes you smile at the end of the day.

Our kid would always come home and discuss the fun experiences that day. Pyrena taught our kid the art of sharing and taking turns for toys with other friends. They always found ways to engage the kids with various activities, including art, butterflies, picnic walks, yoga, grocery shopping, water activities, growing plants, and many more. Pyrena & Oscar never missed teaching the kids about culture and celebrating other cultural festivities. This was often accompanied by reading them books about the same and making some artwork accordingly.

Training the kids to be independent eaters, potty practice, and grow as responsible adults was always something that we got from Pyrena & Oscar. We highly recommend Portola Modern Education Family Childcare. Our kid will miss the love and warmth of all his dear teachers and friends <3

Sending our children to this daycare was hands down the best decision we’ve made for them so far. We sent both of our daughters here and could not have imagined a more loving, nurturing environment. The program itself is based on experiential/play-based learning and is also Cantonese immersion so the children are constantly learning new concepts and skills. The program format is also smaller with a great child-teacher ratio that enables as much individual attention as needed while also giving your kids the opportunity to socialize and learn how to be with other kids (including peers, younger kids, and older kids). That socialization is also great for developing new positive habits like learning to walk or using the potty!

Finally the staff themselves are truly incredible. Both of our daughters had a strong connection with every staff member there, which speaks to the level of care and attention provided. Oscar and Pyrena (the lead administrators) are especially amazing. They are highly responsive to texts, provide real-time updates on your kids when needed, can tailor care based on needs (e.g., addressing allergies or physical therapy), and always take the time to debrief each parent on how their kids’ days went at the end of every day. There is also a great app they use for providing updates throughout the day. More than that though they consistently went above and beyond - providing extra warm clothes on days where the temperature dipped, extra bibs when the kids spit up more than usual, and extra attention when going through major transitions like the arrival of a new sibling or moving to a new house. You could not ask for a better partner in your child’s learning development. I can’t say how instrumental they were in helping us both as new parents with our first born and experienced parents with our second. This is truly a special place.

Sending our kids to Pyrena was one of the best decisions we made for our childcare needs. Both of my girls were happy to go everyday. Our eldest would speak constantly about how much fun she had with the staff and other children. We got regular updates on the mood, sleep/eat progress and any other big transitions/milestones. I had no problems trusting that Pyrena, YiYi Grace, Gina and Oscar had the best interests for our girls and would provide a nurturing and fun environment for all of the kids.

I highly recommend checking out this daycare! The main draws were the staff, individualized attention, play-based approach/outside time, great communication, hours of operation and how happy all of the children seem at both drop off and pickup!

Our son attended Modern Education for 14 months and thrived! Pyrena, Oscar, YiYi and all of the teachers at Modern Education were so kind, attentive, and thoughtful. With their care and patient teaching, our son learned so much and most importantly, was SO happy while he was there. He always wanted to stay longer at school (after a full day!) and made friends that we know he'll have for a long time. Also, they provided delicious, organic meals for him, taught him about nature and art, had plenty of outdoor time and most importantly, taught him important social emotional skills that he'll keep with him for the rest of his life. We're grateful to Pyrena and all of the teachers at Modern Education and will miss them!

Pyrena and the staff at Modern Education are extremely friendly, kind, and thoughtful. We were so grateful to have our LO at this daycare. Our son had a positive experience and truly blossomed. They created a safe and comforting environment for him. ME is a small, in-home facility that has a Montessori/Reggio Emilia emphasis. The facility is spacious with a large outdoor area for the children to explore and learn. Pyrena and her team truly go above and beyond to accommodate the children, and encourage curiosity by organizing fun projects, activities, and celebrations. It was a plus to have my son bring home his little art projects to share with us. We toured many facilities and what stood out about ME is it’s professional, yet friendly, warm, loving, and nurturing setting. In addition, ME took COVID precautious seriously and ensured they followed all safety protocols. Pryena is also very communicative, assuring, and attentive. She provided daily updates and was always quick to respond to questions and concerns. We can’t speak highly enough about ME and felt that Pryena and her team provided a genuinely positive experience for our son.

I highly recommend Modern Education Family Daycare, Portola. Pyrena, who runs the daycare, is warm, friendly, and truly loves working with kids. They are meticulous about safety standards around COVID and the daycare has a large indoor and outdoor space. What stands out about the daycare is that the teachers really love the children and embrace them as whole human beings with a child-centered approach. They also organize and run many fun activities like celebrating birthdays and graduations, day trips to McLaren park, planting and harvesting vegetables, music, and doing a wide range of arts and crafts. Finding someone to trust your children with is not easy, but Pyrena allayed our concerns and made our child feel loved and welcomed. The school is also very communicative and very quick to respond to any questions and concerns. We wholeheartedly trust Pyrena, and we've sent our first son there since he was 8 months old and will be sending our second son there too when he's old enough. We are so happy to have Pyrena in our life and sad that our first child is graduating soon!

We couldn’t have wished for a better daycare for our daughter. Pyrena and her team are the most caring, gentle and thoughtful people, always going the extra mile for the well-being of the children. They are extremely attentive to the needs of each child and always try to accommodate the child and the family. We were nervous to send our daughter to daycare given her severe food allergy, but Pyrena was able to reassure us and put a system in place which has prevented any incident. On several occasions, she even prepared special meals so that our daughter could eat with the other children. The daycare itself is clean, safe and spacious and the children have plenty of games and activities to keep them happy and stimulated. Every single day, our daughter would wake up excited to go to daycare, and came back home with a big smile on her face. Our daughter is now starting PreK and we are so sad to have to leave this wonderful little family. We couldn’t recommend them enough!