Peregrine School - South (Sa)

I have been actively involved in the Peregrine program for ten years, and it is the best program you can find. Peregrine is a wholistic, 7:30 am till 5:30 pm program for kids from 6 months (Yes - they have an infant program!!) to 6th grade. Classes end at 3pm, but they have lots of after school enrichment programs like cooking classes, Chinese, pottery, or even just after-care till 5:30 pm. Peregrine follows the Reggio Emilia approach to learning which is theme based and tries to involve the individual interests of the children into their learning. They emphasize hands-on, project based learning that yields amazing results. I remember coming to pick up my child when she was three years old and they had built a tripod out of PVC with a Dixie cup hanging from the center on a string. In that cup was paint and a hole in the bottom of the cup, and my daughter was swinging it back and forth, making a painting, but also learning about pendulum action. Peregrine has two campuses, one in West Davis and one in South. Both campuses are amazing, but the South campus is by far bigger and that is the only campus to offer elementary. The staff and kids and garden committee and volunteers have done an amazing job building out the sites and the gardens. Peregrine south has a stage and frequently hosts events in this beautiful space. The outdoor areas are amazing, and the Peregrine philosophy is that kids spend a lot of time outdoors. They even have a zip line in the back yard! The school frequently sponsors field trips to places like Mondavi, the campus Bee exhibit, and has annual overnight trips for elementary kids to places like Yosemite or Nature Bridge. Most students matriculate from Peregrine to Davinci and continue their success there. I encourage you to check it out.

This is our forth year at the Peregrine school: my daughter started at 3 years old in their preschool and now she is in their elementary school. I wanted to share our experience from this most recent school year. The school's full-day kindergarten program has small student-to-teacher ratios, a nurturing environment, a terrific teaching team, and an immersive project-based curriculum. My daughter was in a classroom of 12 children and three teachers. Two of the teachers swapped places depending on the subjects that were taught that day, so there were always two teachers with the kids. The school created a trilingual program where the kindergarteners were learning a bit of Spanish and Mandarin in addition to having the core curriculum in English. What I particularly appreciate about the language component is how the teachers wove in cultural literacy into their lessons along with language instruction. There are many things that set apart this kindergarten program from others. Six hours of daily programming allows teachers to create a rich experience filled with language arts, math, science, gardening, cooking, music, and movement. The program allows you to drop off your kid at 8:30 am and pick them up by 3:15 pm with before and after school care available to those who need it; instruction takes place between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm. Children are served healthy, nutritious, and well-balanced meals that are prepared on site and given at snack time and lunch. The food is so good that my child begged me to get a recipe from the school chef for a "lentil dish that is better than candy." The school's acre of gardens and play space allows the children to learn and play while being surrounded by beautiful nature. Kindergarteners spend at least an hour outside each day. Additionally, the school has three teacher specialists who work with the students weekly in the areas of gardening/cooking, music, and movement. The incredible food program coupled with the gardening lessons exposed my child to lots of new food that she was resistant to try before. My daughter particularly enjoys the kale and peas she gets to eat straight from the school garden. This past year the class got to go on five field trips to visit the Davis food co-op, a farm in West Sac, and attend three events at the Mondavi center. (This does not include many smaller trips to the playgrounds and parks near the school.) The Peregrine school also arranges for performances around Chinese New Year and other holidays on the school site. Towards the end of the school year, as part of their science unit, the class got to watch caterpillars hatch out of eggs and transform into butterflies. Children also witnessed the entire lifecycle of silkworms ending with moths laying eggs. I feel lucky to have this kindergarten program available in our town and I wanted to share our experience in case this may be a good fit for other families in this group. The Peregrine school offers instruction at all elementary grade levels through sixth grade in case you have an older child and you are interested in their program.

As Thanksgiving approaches our family has been feeling very grateful about how much our son has grown in these past few years and we wanted to share a bit about our experience at Peregrine School. When we first moved to Davis, we assumed our kids would go to one of the great public schools here — that was part of why we chose this area. After the first few months, with 27-30 kids in our son's class, we observed that it was hard for him to get individual attention, and during our first parent-teacher conference, it felt like his teacher didn’t really know him. A friend mentioned Peregrine, and at first we weren’t sure — especially because of the tuition. But when we visited, the campus immediately stood out. There were tree forts, gardens planted by students, zip lines, hay bales, and ample space to run. It just felt alive. Our son absolutely loves it there. Every morning he sprints onto the playground before we can even say goodbye. The teachers know him — really know him. Within the first two weeks, they even noticed he was having trouble pronouncing certain words and suggested we check with our pediatrician about a speech evaluation. That early attention made such a difference. We’ve also been amazed by how intentional the academics are. He has one-on-one reading time twice a week, small group literacy sessions, and a class library full of graphic novels like Dog Man and Zita the Space Girl that keep him excited about reading. His progress has been incredible. He learns outside — rain or shine — with teachers who guide gardening, cooking, ceramics, and project-based lessons. The school celebrates different cultures through music, food, and dance, and the meals are cooked right on site and actually healthy. What stands out most is how much the teachers care. They communicate proactively, notice social dynamics, and address things right away. It’s clear that he’s seen, supported, and surrounded by people who genuinely care about his growth. After his first week there we received a detailed assessment of his reading and math levels with handwritten notes explaining areas of improvement and where we can help him further. This sort of detailed individual feedback really showed how they truly took the time to get to know our son. We also really appreciate the weekly class emails we get from his teachers. They summarize what the kids learned that week in reading, math, and other subjects — along with photos and little anecdotes. It’s such a thoughtful touch, and it makes us feel connected to what’s happening in the classroom day to day. In addition the teachers are always accessible before and after class for us to discuss concerns and questions that arise. As the more financially cautious one in our family, I wasn’t sure how we’d feel about private school — but seeing how happy and curious he is now, it truly feels worth it. Watching him grow, ask questions, and grow his love of learning has been such a gift. One thing we’ve learned is there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to school. Davis has so many great options — I’m just glad we found one that fits our son so well. We ended up enrolling our daughter there as well!

We can’t say enough good things about Peregrine! It has truly been a gift to our family. Our child started here as a 1 year old, and it quickly became clear that the environment was full of play, curiosity, and purposeful enrichment even at such a young age. In our time with the Pinguinos class, we have watched our baby blossom into a confident little toddler thanks to the expertise and care of the teachers and school philosophy. First, the teachers are incredibly caring and lead with play in such a thoughtful, intentional way. They create a nurturing, joyful space where kids can explore, grow, and be themselves. One of our favorite aspects is how much time the children spend outdoors - our child especially loves digging into the class’ functional garden! We’ve also been so impressed by the emphasis on culture and development, even in the younger class. Our child has been introduced to languages, art, and holidays that aren’t always a part of our own family’s traditions, and that have helped him build confidence and curiosity outside of school. Whether it is grandparents day or hosting a dragon dance for the lunar new year, our child is consistently getting thoughtful, real world enrichment that is honestly beyond of what we imagined when we first started searching for daycare. As first-time parents, we also want to highlight that we’ve learned so much from the incredible teachers in the penguinos classroom. Our child brings home skills - like handling big feelings and asking for help instead of jumping right into risky play - that make parenting easier for us, too. We are deeply pleased with the Peregrine community and look forward to being a part of it as our child grows.

We are so grateful we found Peregrine School. It feels like an extension of our home, family, and values, and our kids are so happy there. We’ve been impressed by the fresh, chef prepared food-it saves us so much time (and guilt). The teachers and administrators are caring, knowledgeable, and approachable, and the sprawling campus is an outdoor loving kids' paradise! We were specifically looking for a school with smaller teacher-student ratios, that was developmentally appropriate and respected play but was also academically engaging and challenging. It all sounded great when we toured and we crossed our fingers they really "walk the walk" of their mission and philosophy. Two years later we can say-they really do! Our kids are thriving!