Parent's Reviews
from www.yelp.com:
"I did observations and interviews at a dozen preschools and daycare centers before we settled on Piccolo Nido for our daughter. We were really impressed with Dain Stoll's talent, experience, enthusiasm for children, and sound educational philosophy. Since our daughter started we've been absolutely thrilled with how she's been doing. She's happy to go to daycare each day, she interacts well with the other kids, and she's made good progress with her developmental milestones. We were amazed that a ten-month-old could actually do painting! Dain is very loving, peaceful and compassionate, and she watches the children to draw out their individual interests. Since the daycare is still small, we're also glad that our daughter has had a virus-free transition." (by Gigi L., parent)
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from www.yelp.com:
"Dain is amazing. We love taking our son to Piccolo Nido because we know that he is cared for there in an enriching and caring environment. The kids are constantly engaged in fun, enriching activities; they take daily walks to the park, read stories, sing, and get the opportunity to play with different types of musical instruments. My son loves going there. There are endless compliments I could give to Piccolo Nido, but ultimately, I am grateful to have a place I can leave my son during the day and have total confidence in the quality of care he will receive." (by Ken B., parent)
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from www.yelp.com:
Dain and Ruth are awesome! We've been taking our daughter here for almost two years, since she was six months old. She absolutely loves it, and so do we. I love that they play musical instruments (piano, bells, xylophone, drums) and do fun art activities everyday. They're great about schooling too, which honestly, I didn't give much though to, since our daughter is/was so young. I had no idea a two year old could learn letters and phonics and numbers as well as my daughter has - I'm truly blown away.
They're all just really sweet, great people as well. We've got another child on the way, and I'm really glad we found them, as we'll be needing their services for many years to come! (by Tomek P., parent)
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from www.angieslist.com:
"My daughter was at Piccolo Nido from about 9 months old till 2.5 years old when we moved to a different city. This is a small daycare so she got a lot of individual attention and really bonded with Dain and the other kids and helpers. Dain follows the Reggio Emilio method of having kids work on creative arts projects that they initiate themselves. She also spends time with them doing active things in the yard or across the road in the park, and she does a lot of music with them (she's a very good pianist and singer). They also do reading, pre-writing activities (holding a pencil, singing phonics) and other activities. I am very happy that we had our daughter at Piccolo Nido!
There are a number of things I especially appreciate:
Firstly, Dain's house is very light and welcoming, and there is an atmosphere of transparency. Parents get to see what the kids are doing when they pick up the kids, and there seems to be a sense of family among the families who have kids there.
Secondly, Dain is very qualified and experienced with kids. She is musically gifted and combines that talent with her training in Reggio Emilio (an Italian creative arts method), and other ideas she's come across. Some of her materials look rather Montessori-esque (wooden, kid-sized equipment and jobs that kids can work on that build independence) and she also uses some phonics technique (can't remember what it's called), plus early childhood music development (developed by the composers, Kodaly and Orff).
She's very gentle and playful in how she presents all this stuff to the kids so it comes across as just a lot of fun but is actually well thought through and helps them with their development in multiple areas at once. Dain is also a mother, and is a font of help if we ask her advice on other things.
Her materials are absolutely outstanding. For example, when the kids play music they use the Yamaha grand piano, a toddler-sized xylophone (stainless steel and tuned to a pentatonic scale), Montessori-style bells (very tuneful), and high quality drums and percussion. No mindless banging on plastic, out-of-tune instruments! Sometimes I'd arrive and they were playing with Dain on the piano and a bunch of 1-, 2- and 4-year olds on the other instruments and it sounded amazing. Likewise, when she's teaching phonics, she has some large wooden objects that form the shapes of different letters and the kids do songs and dances for each of letter.
Finally, Dain creates a family atmosphere. All the kids love her and she helps them to treat each other with love and respect. I was passing through Pleasanton recently and took my daughter back to visit Dain and the other kids because she enjoyed her time there so much. When it came time to leave, my daughter started crying and said she wanted to stay there and kept giving Dain hugs! It was very moving." (by Steve L., parent)
Piccolo News
"World-Class Sculptures on Show at Village Theatre"
Duddley Diaz's art has been featured in international media, but what makes it close to home is the exhibit at a nearby historic site, the Village Theatre Gallery in Danville. His sculptures "Preacher in Blue" painted cedarwood, and smaller pieces "messengers 1,2,3,4, and 5" are featured in the invitational exhibit. Come and see the art show! See photos and read review from Danville Patch.
"Twisted-Chiseled-Fired" art exhibit in Danville
The city of Danville, CA, invited Duddley Diaz in a sculpture exhibit "Twisted - Chiseled - Fired" which runs from July 29 - September 4 at the Village Theatre Art Gallery. "The diverse sculptures in this ambitious, contemporary sculpture exhibition, Twisted-Chiseled-Fired, combines the unique artist's personal concerns with content, the creative process, technical ability, traditional stone, clay, steel, metal, wire, multi-media and for some, an amazing, playful sense of humor." Read more from the City of Danville website.
The city of Danville, CA, invited Duddley Diaz in a sculpture exhibit "Twisted - Chiseled - Fired" which runs from July 29 - September 4 at the Village Theatre Art Gallery. "The diverse sculptures in this ambitious, contemporary sculpture exhibition, Twisted-Chiseled-Fired, combines the unique artist's personal concerns with content, the creative process, technical ability, traditional stone, clay, steel, metal, wire, multi-media and for some, an amazing, playful sense of humor." Read more from the City of Danville website.