A bilingual preschool for ages 2 to 5
Manzanita is a bilingual preschool in Watsonville with three rooms. Guides speak Spanish and English with the children every day, and families, grandparents too, are welcome at the table in either language.
Programs
2-year-olds
Spanish songs in the morning, English talk at snack
3-year-olds
Spanish circle, English story, both at the table
4-year-olds
English and Spanish centers, a Spanish read-aloud to close
Every day holds both languages. Morning circle is in Spanish, story hour is in English, and the table, the yard and pickup use whichever language a child brings.
Sample programs.
Gallery
Arrivals, stories in two languages and the work of small hands.
Sample photos.
The team
Twelve adults work at Manzanita: a director, two guides in each room, two assistants, a cook and two people in the office. Three of them are here.
Director
Yaneth leads Manzanita and answers the phone most mornings, in Spanish or English. She grew up in Watsonville speaking Spanish at home and English at school, and she is the person to ask about a tour.
Lead guide, Luna room, Spanish side
Metzli leads the Spanish half of the Luna room: the morning circle, the songs and the first counting games. She speaks English with families who prefer it.
Lead guide, Estrella room, English side
Jazel leads the English half of the Estrella room and reads the afternoon story. She speaks Spanish with the children's families at the door.
Dates
Tours run on weekday mornings and applications are open all year. New children start in late August or in January.
Weekday mornings, all year
A tour takes about an hour, while the rooms are working. Yaneth and the guides speak Spanish and English with families; tell us which you prefer.
Book a tourAll year
The form takes a few minutes. We take applications in every month and keep a waitlist by room.
May
A Saturday morning with the three rooms open, a guide in each and a table of snacks. Children are welcome.
A few weeks after you apply
By phone and email, with a place or a spot on the waitlist.
Late August or January
New children start with a short first visit alongside a parent.
Late December and a week in July
We share the full list of closures at the start of the school year.
Sample dates.
Safety and license
Licensed by California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division
Child care center license · CA License # 000000Verify
1 adult to 6 children
2-year-olds
Group size: 12
1 adult to 12 children
3-year-olds
Group size: 24
1 adult to 12 children
4-year-olds
Group size: 24
Group size
Up to 24 children
with 2 adults
Capacity
60
Ages 2 years to 5 years
A guide meets every child at the door, in Spanish and in English, and signs them in. At pickup a child leaves only with the people on your list, and we ask for ID until we know you.
Tell us about allergies at the tour and we ask for the details privately once you enroll. Our cook posts the snack menu in both languages, and we ask families not to send nuts.
A child with a fever or a contagious illness stays home. If a child gets ill at school, we call you right away and a guide stays close until you arrive.
After lunch the youngest children rest on their own cot with a guide in the room. Children who don't sleep look at books or play quietly.
We practice fire and earthquake drills and count heads whenever children move between the rooms and the yard.
Ask us about child care assistance
Sample details.
From families
“The tour was unhurried. Yaneth switched between Spanish and English without making a point of it, and we left knowing how a day goes.”
“The weekly note comes in both languages, so my mother and I read the same page and talk about it at dinner.”
“We were nervous about the waitlist. Yaneth told us plainly where we stood and when we would hear, and that honesty is why we signed.”
Sample reviews.
Questions
Tell us about your child and the schedule you hope for. We reply within one working day, in Spanish or English.