Hands On Fun Preschool & Infant Center

I had mixed feelings while my daughter attended Hands on Fun in the infant room. Here are my thoughts:
Pros:
–my daughter was well taken care of
–the toys were cleaned regularly
–there were lots of age appropriate toys in good condition for each of the rooms
–the hours were great for working parents who have long days, open 6am-​6pm
–they were very conscientious of the student: teacher ratios
–the teachers themselves really seemed to love the kids
Cons:
–it is a small house with lots of kids, which means it can get really loud and often felt crowded
–the owner constantly asked for additional payments and gave sob stories about how hard things were financially (payment is required weekly, but she often asked parents if we could pay for future weeks in advance to help her meet her payments)
–the teachers were constantly getting scolded by the owner in front of children and parents
–there seemed to be a lot of drama amongst the staff, and although the main teachers were stable, there were a lot of new faces rotating in as subs/​support staff
–they are a bit pricey for what you get.
Ultimately we decided to leave for a school closer to home and my daughter and I are both so much happier at our new location. As far as knowing my daughter would be ok and well-​looked after, this place was fine, but as far as having an overall positive experience for baby and parent, I would say keep looking.

I searched for a decent daycare center for my daughter since moving to the Los Angeles area when she was only a year old (she is now close to 3 years old). I tried home daycare centers and even high priced Preschools in Manhattan Beach! I am telling you all that glitters is NOT GOLD! After several horrible experiences one after the other and finally having a terrible experience and filing a complaint with the city against a prestigious and popular Preschool in Manhattan Beach I found Dawn and Hands on Fun Preschool and Infant Center. Many of the preschools that boosted about having organic milk, providing diapers and had brand new centers also cared more about money than the well-​being of my child. I can not tell you how many things I love about Dawn and Hands on Fun. This review could go on forever but I will highlight the things that made me trust her with my daughter for almost a year now, I wish I would have found her sooner:
She is open 24/​7, YES! I don’t have to worry that I can’t stay late at work if I have a project to work on, after-​all I need daycare BECAUSE I am a working mother! Dawn is always there on weekends and late nights in case I want to have a date night or I am working late. All the other centers I visited closed at 6pm (no exceptions, and they charged by the minute after that!) some even closed at 5pm and I work until 6pm so there was no way I could afford to make that happen since I would be late everyday and be charged extra.
Her prices are more than competitive. I have been all around and taken tours of about 15 different preschools from Manhattan Beach to Long beach to all the way in Palos Verdes and I can tell you that most of these places are WAY over priced. You get more than what you pay for at Hands on Fun.
My daughter is always in good hands. Dawn not only has a license for taking care of preschool aged children but she has an additional license to care for infants. She makes sure her teachers have the appropriate licenses for the children they are caring for. I have witnessed her caring for infants and I can tell you that she makes sure that they get just as much love and supervision as they would at home, sometimes more.
My daughter’s personality has changed for the BETTER. My daughter loves school. She learns SO MUCH! She is speaking so well and has been since attending Hands on Fun. She has been forming complete sentences for months now and she’s always coming home with a bigger and bigger vocabulary. She has made so many friends at Hands on Fun and she knows them all by name. It is always hard for them to be separated from you at first but after only a few weeks my daughter was telling me how much she loved Dawn, Gloryanne and Vianca. She comes home singing songs that have everyone’s name in them which makes me realize that the teachers are using songs and games to introduce every child and to join them together in a loving community. The teachers hug my daughter and calm her down even better than I can sometimes when I drop her off and she’s having a bad day.
Only healthy foods are served. They provide healthy snacks throughout the day and breakfast in the morning. This is SO important. The last place my daughter was attending fed her donuts, cookies and lollipops and she was only two! It was outrageous. Dawn makes sure that only healthy foods like fruit, milk, cheese etc are served to the children. She prohibits candy, chocolate and foods high sugar/​fats being served or brought into the center. I am so glad she has this rule because as a busy parent I can forget to pack a healthy lunch for my daughter but her rules remind me to be better at making sure I teach my daughter good eating habits early on.
Great communication. Dawn will reach out to me via text or phone call to let me know how my daughter is doing or to remind me about an event or money due. I am so glad that she is up to date with modern technology because we are all so busy these days that I can’t always rely on speaking with Dawn in person about my daughter’s well being. Dawn is also available to talk about ANY issues that you may have. No one is perfect and there will always be things that can be improved upon. Dawn is open to listening and she also does her best to correct any issues that arise. I have only had one issue while my daughter has been attending and it was resolved the very same week. Dawn is not afraid to fire teachers who do not conform to the standards of care she expects. I have witnessed this and I am thankful that Dawn cares more about the quality of care she provides rather than «just running a business.»
Lot’s of things to play with! Hands on Fun always has new toys and art supplies for the kids to play with. There is a wonderful, large, fun outdoor area equipped with slides and climbing structures, grassy areas, sidewalks that are filled with chalk drawings, a cement tunnel that kids crawl through, picnic tables and even a separate fenced in area for smaller kids.

So, my son has been going here for a while now and has grown very fond of being there. The teachers there are awesome. He loves them all. He has learned a lot from them, from different songs, his alphabet, counting to 15.
With that intro, you would think I would put 5 stars. Well, here’s why I did not. On several occasions, we were asked if we can pay 2 weeks worth of daycare because Ms. Dawn was possibly going to miss the mortgage on the house. This was because there were many kids that had grown up and left or they had moved too far to be watched by this daycare. What really set me off was that today (a Friday) once picking up my son, we found out that she decided to have the school closed for MLK observance (Monday). We have asked her a number of times in advanced and she had said that they would be open and my fiancée and I would not have to worry about taking a day off. Well, now I have to see if my boss would be able to accommodate for her lack of common sense on how the parents need to have advanced notice if they were going to be closed.
We are now looking for another daycare because we do not need to have this fire drill each time a holiday that is not celebrated nation wide is coming around.
So, please if you are fine with being able to accommodate for last minute closures, go ahead and check this place out because the teachers are great. Just beware of how Ms. Dawn works.

I know my daughter is in good hands when I bring her here. The teachers are kind and loving. Dawn is wonderful! My daugther is well taken care of and has a wonderful learning experience while she’s here! They paint pictures, sing songs, learn the alphabet and numbers and so much more. If you are looking for a great daycare this is it! My boss referred me to this daycare and I am SO GLAD she did.
The teachers are so patient with my daugther. My daugther is going through the terrible twos big time and hates taking a nap! So the afternoon teacher rocks her and soothes her to sleep and if she still doesn’t want to sleep she has my daugther play quietly with the toys… so wonderful!!!
The outdoor area is like a playground wonderland for the children! There are slides, a tunnel for them to walk and ride tricycles through and lots of grass area to play in. Way more space than the at-​home daycare she was at.
It’s also great because they are open 24 hours! I could not find a traditional daycare open during my work hours and luckily Dawn has such flexible hours for such a good price!
Definitely recommend this daycare!

Dawn and her team are incredible. They took in my 1 and 2 year old boys and kept them together as brothers. Dawn takes incredible care with all the children and is extremely hands on with all the care and love you would want from a child care center. I was worried about leaving my babies as they had a nanny full time. The first day there, they were fed well, they slept all night AND she potty trained them from day one.
Dawn has the patience of a saint, she greets with a smile and takes the children as if they are her own.
This is an incredible place, the carers are all beautiful with the children and I would recommend this place to anyone.
The kids play all day, have a set schedule and I noticed at home, they are MUCH more calm. They want to go to see the other kids, they LOVE it.
Great place! Really outstanding care. 10 stars from me!
Kellie Johnson
Mother of Dash and Max

If I could give them no stars I would. The teachers are volunteers from a local high school and college that have no experience working with children. They seemed flustered every time I walked in there. The owner is in a room with like 5 – 6 babies and sometimes a helper and even she seems annoyed. The girls barely speak english! They sent me notes home that I couldnt understand they were written so poorly, and in crayon. Then, the owner has the nerve to ask me to pay ahead of time. We pay on a weekly basis. She wanted me to pay 2 months in advance! Every week she was hounding for payment before it was late. What a nightmare. One kid got his front teeth knocked out while not being properly supervised. Dont take your children there. Its overpriced and the care is absolutely horrible.

We’re no longer with Hands on Fun since moving back to Culver City, but I’m finally getting around to this post. We had our daughter in the infant program from when she was four months old. Sure most of you can understand how difficult it is for new parents to leave their newborns with strangers; but we always had peace of mind at Hands on Fun. We also REALLY appreciated their extended hours. So hard to find day care that is convenient for two working parents.
Thanks Dawn, for taking such great care of our little girl. She misses you all!

Do yourselves a favor and READ THE FILTERED REVIEWS for an accurate rating of this wonderful preschool. The rating below does not match the wonderful care that is provided here. Yes, they have a few teens from SCROC come assist the teachers a few hours a week and they are WONDERFUL with the kids and of course fully screened before they are allowed to volunteer. And the tooth comment is not accurate at all. That child still attends here and his parents LOVE THIS PRESCHOOL.
Here is my original review:
As a new mom it is very difficult to think about someone else caring for your infant all day. We looked at several infant centers in the area and this was our pick. I have an early childhood/​teaching background so I knew what I was looking for.
My 5 month old daughter has been in the infant program for two months now and is doing fantastic. Ms Dawn, Miss Maria and the other girls take very good care of her and are happy to see her in the morning. I know when I leave her she is in good hands. Sometimes I drop in on my lunch hour or pick her up early and my daughter is always engaged in an activity or in someone’s arms. We are really glad we found Hands On Fun.