Best Preschool in Santa Monica, CA
Three Hours Outside,
Every Day
Lower Ratios Than
State-mandated Ratios
Over 15 Years Of Experience.
Beginnings Learning Center has been teaching kids to be curious, kind, and ready for kindergarten. Serving children ages 18 months to 5 years, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am–5:30 pm.
Best Preschool in Santa Monica, CA
Three Hours Outside, Every Day
Lower Ratios Than
State-mandated Ratios
Over 15 Years Of Experience.
Beginnings Learning Center has been teaching kids to be curious, kind, and ready for kindergarten. Serving children ages 18 months to 5 years, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am–5:30 pm.
Play-Based Early Learning With More Outdoor Time, Lower Ratios & More Individual Attention
Why Families Stay With Us For Years
Michelle Raz founded Beginnings Learning Center in Santa Monica in November 2008. A mother of three with a degree in Child Psychology and Early Childhood Education, she built the center around a simple commitment to thoughtful, hands-on early childhood education.
That’s meant something real for how we operate: our teachers tend to stay for years rather than months, our younger classrooms have significantly lower child-to-teacher ratios, sometimes as low as half what the state requires, and your child will spend three hours outside getting fresh air every day.
Get The Beginnings Parent Pack!
We put together a straightforward pack covering real classroom ratios, a sample daily schedule, what meals and enrichment actually look like week to week, and everything useful to know before you walk through the door for a tour.
What We Believe About Early Childhood
North Hollywood joined the Beginnings family in 2018, followed by Van Nuys in 2020. Both were built on the same foundation as our original Santa Monica center.
We believe children learn best through play, curiosity, and hands-on experiences. That’s why our classrooms feature dedicated learning stations for language, math, science, blocks, music, art, sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and dramatic play.
We prepare children for kindergarten by building more than academic skills. We help them develop confidence, independence, emotional awareness, and the social skills they need to thrive.
What Your Child's Day
Actually Looks Like
Here's a small sample of some of the great things your child can enjoy when they join our preschool...
Three Hours Outside,
Every Day
Rain or shine, outdoor time is part of the curriculum, supporting the large-muscle and gross-motor development that classroom time alone can't offer.
Lower Ratios Than State-mandated Ratios
Our child-to-teacher ratios are significantly lower for younger age groups, even half of what the state requires, giving your child more focused attention, care, and guidance throughout the day.
Meals Made Fresh, On-Site, Every Day
Breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack, cooked in-house, nut-free, with real fruit and vegetables on the table.
A Weekly Music Program, Included
Each class gets a structured half-hour of music each week, built to develop language, rhythm, and coordination together.
Enrichment Classes Kids Look Forward To
For a small additional fee, children can join creative movement & dance, gymnastics, soccer and/or karate.
Field Trips That Leave The Building
Trips to the corner grocery store, the post office, and a pumpkin patch every fall, plus visitors like firefighters and magicians throughout the year.
What To Look For In A Preschool
Choosing childcare is a big decision, and it helps to know what questions are worth asking. We put together a short, honest guide covering staff turnover, real ratios, what "curriculum" means in practice, and the security questions worth raising on any tour, ours included.
Here’s What Our Happy
Parents Have To Say
We LOVE our parents and carers and we're so proud to share some of their thoughts with you…
How We Keep Your
Child Safe
Access Control: Our electronic entry system tracks who's authorized to pick up your child, logs arrival and departure times automatically, and keeps medical and emergency information instantly available to staff.
Cameras and On-Site Cleaning: Security cameras cover the building throughout the day, and dedicated cleaning staff work on-site, keeping classrooms clean while children are in them.
Here’s What Our Team Have To Say
We LOVE our team and carers and we're so proud to share some of their thoughts with you…
Come See It For Yourself
The best way to know if Beginnings is right for your child is to walk into one of our classrooms and see a normal day happen. We run tours daily at our Santa Monica location daily.