San Mateo Parents' Nursery School

San Mateo Parents' Nursery School includes activities such as Toddler Play Dates, Show & Tell, Musical Chairs, and Hands-On Special Activities. Children take part in Music and Movement opportunities that include parades, as well as Fine Motor and Early Print Opportunities and Conflict Resolution & Problem Solving. The program also offers Bay Trail Explorers weekly field study hikes that include walking out to the San Francisco Bay Trail, climbing over driftwood, balancing along the shoreline, and observation and sketching in personal trail journals.

• Ages: 1–5 years old
• Schedule: Open 8:30am–5:00pm with visiting hours and tours available 9:30am–10:30am

Since 1948, parents and children have been sharing the joy of learning together at San Mateo Parents' Nursery School (SMPNS). The program describes itself as a flexible play-based co-op for children 2 up to 6 years old and as a child-centered, play-oriented preschool program for children from two through five years old, with Toddler Play Dates for children from 15 to 24 months. Mixed ages are included so children can grow together and learn from each other, and class pets are part of the setting so children can learn empathy and caregiving. Bay Trail Explorers is SMPNS's signature outdoor education program for children turning four and five, is rooted in the Reggio Emilia approach to inquiry-based learning, treats the natural world as a co-teacher, and includes weekly field study with learning objectives, observation journals, and classroom follow-up; every Explorer keeps a personal trail journal, and Bay Trail Explorers is the program children graduate into when they turn four. The program is led by highly-qualified, certified teachers and lists Facility #410505801. Visitors are instructed that parking is limited to a few spaces reserved for teachers in front of the school and that they should park on Monte Diablo and enter through the garden gate beside the Bay Trail entrance.

Last updated June 21, 2026.