The Children’s Cottage Cooperative Preschool

The Children’s Cottage Cooperative Preschool offers a play-based, parent-participation program where children take part in arts and crafts, music, role-play, stories, construction, sand and water play, and both individual and group times. The program includes enrichment activities and regular field trips, such as visits to a local fire station, post office, and police station, as well as a ride on the SMART Train. Children also join in special events like a Chinese New Year school day parade, a winter holidays family sing-along, an Earth Day celebration, a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and an Outdoor School week at China Camp State Park in May.

• Ages: 3–5 years old
• Schedule: Classes run Monday–Friday, 9am–2pm

The Children’s Cottage Cooperative Preschool is a nonprofit organization with an adult-child ratio of 1:5. The school holds an annual online auction fundraiser. CCC was founded in 1948, and since 1949 it has operated as a cooperative preschool offering a play-based education, with several relocations across Marin County over the past 70 years. The program’s mission is to instill a love of learning in children and help them develop essential life skills by honoring their thoughts and feelings, allowing them to practice problem-solving, and encouraging openness to the world around them so they learn to value themselves and others. As part of its community involvement, the school organizes monthly field trips for children to explore their community and encourages families to bring their own traditions and culture into the school community. The program also features Outdoor School at China Camp State Park for an entire week in May, where children explore and enjoy nature and get very muddy, and it celebrates various cultural traditions including Chinese New Year, winter holidays, Earth Day, and St. Patrick’s Day.

Last updated April 2, 2026.