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July 2024 by Hannah McDonald
I couldn't imagine a better preschool for our children. Tracie, consistently creates fun, educational activities that make learning through play a joy. She goes above and beyond, often organizing special events like petting zoos, bubble machines, gardening in the vegetable garden, cooking, yoga, and music classes, along with hosting special activities around holidays. My 4-year-old daughter, who has been here for two years, often tells me, "Miss Tracie already taught me that!" Enrolling my 4-month-old son in the infant room with Emilie and Maritza was made easy knowing he would be in a loving and nurturing environment. I'm very happy to have found First Friends; we love it here.
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July 2023 by Rosita Schiller
I cannot stress how much we love this preschool. Our son is so happy there, he literally ran into a teacher’s arm an hour ago, after being gone from school for two days.The director and the staff treat the kids as if they were their own, and there are weekly classes and events such as yoga, drum lessons, bubble time, garden time and more. And that’s on top of the daily group check-in with every child, storytime, purposeful play, dance, free play ect.Breakfast and lunch is part of the monthly tuition, and it’s always a great variety.We are really sad that our son is about to start school, and had serious talks about letting him stay one more year, just because he loves it there so much. That should tell you something. We were seriously considering paying a full year of tuition to keep him in this school for an extra year, instead of free school at one of the most reputable schools in the neighborhood.All in all, we consider First Friends by the Sea family, and we will never forget our time together.If you’re looking for a place where you child will thrive and grow in a warm, engaging environment, then this is the school for you.
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July 2023 by D Holmes
First Friends By The Sea is a dream come true for our family. Director Tracie and Emilie have been with us since our daughter was six months old. To find a place that cares about your child as much as you do is a true blessing.Our daughter has learned life skills, caring for others, learning about cooking, making friends, and being a loving kid. I'm very sad our daughter’s time is almost over but know that they will always hold a special place in our hearts. I would recommend First Friends to anyone who is looking for a play-based caring environment full of love and happiness.
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July 2023 by Zack S.
Our son has been at FF for almost 4 years and thrived there. He is safe and loved and we are happy to see how much he learns through play there. My wife and I are so grateful to Tracie and Emily for taking such good care of our boy! And true to the namesake, he has made great friends by the sea!
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March 2023 by Joseph P.
Great childcare! I would recommend them to all my friends! They took care of my two girls like they were family.
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March 2022 by Dianna C.
This is an amazing gem of a school. My daughter absolutely loves it. They garden, Paint outdoors, do yoga, and all the teachers are so amazing. Tracie and Emily are so caring and excellent with children. It feels like you left your child with family. Highly recommend this school.
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March 2022 by Jessica Wiechec
Both of my boys have been going to First Friends for years and they love Tracie and Emily like family. They plan such great activities, like yoga, drum circle, gardening, and creative arts and crafts. I would recommend this daycare to anyone:)
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March 2022 by Carly Johann
Our children have found a home here and we couldn’t be happier with First Friends. Our daughter has gone for four years and our baby son has been going for a few months now. They truly love their teachers and the other kids. The activities the kids do throughout the day are so enriching and entertaining. They routinely do yoga, drum circle, gardening class, art, literacy and so much more. We are so glad that First Friends has been a part of our family and will continue to be until our baby goes to kindergarten!
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May 2021 by Jessica N.
Both of my boys have going to First Friends for years and love Tracie and Emily like family. They plan such great activities for all the kids, like gardening, yoga, drum circle and creative arts and crafts. I would recommend this place to anyone:)
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October 2018 by Jennifer G.
The hidden gem of Westchester! Tracie and the whole First Friends staff is so wonderful. I've had such a positive experience. My son loves attending and is always doing growth oriented activities like yoga, drum circle and garden harvesting.
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October 2018 by Eric C.
I had been on the waiting list for Beach Babies in El Segundo for approx 6 months and had my heart set on their polish and facility. I called almost every 2 weeks to see if a spot would open up, and would receive responses that I should call back in the following month. They never called to report a my status in line, or offered to call me if a spot opened up. As our maternity and paternity leave started to evaporate, my wife and I became more and more stressed and concerned about childcare. Fortunately for my family, my wife had put our daughter on the First Friends by the Sea waiting list when my daughter was born. On the final week of our leave, we received a call from Traci telling us that a spot had opened up. Initially, I had no intention of sending my first born daughter to some small family owned business, but all of this had changed within 2 minutes after meeting Traci. Traci and her daughter Emily have that "good person" vibe that is hard to describe unless you meet them (think people from Minnesota, but Traci and Emily are as Californian as they come). They seem to be very passionate about the kids and were able to answer all of our "first-time-parent" neurotic questions adequately ("What do you do if my kid falls down and hurts herself when the door is being blocked by a bear on fire"). Questions were probably not that ridiculous, but pretty close. Good person vibes are great; however, still do not mean anything to a parent who is inherently distrusting. Luckily there was the internet! I was curious why there was an opening if First Friends by the Sea was such a wonderful place. So I am embarrassed to admit that through several hours of digging around, I found that most of Traci's previous parents have left because they ended up moving out of the area, which is also the reason why my family and I also had to leave Traci's wonderful program. Even after all of that, it always feels weird to send your child to someone else's care for 8 hours a day, especially after talking to them for only a few days and doing a few hours of internet research. The exorbitant cost of living in Los Angeles really left us no choice but to follow our gut instinct and our background research. Traci had also helped allay any fears by requesting us drop off our daughter for a few hours and a few days before her official start date to ensure she gets acclimated to the teachers and other kids (all this for free!). Our daughter was 6 months when she first arrived at First Friends. She has definitely flourished under the care of Emily and Traci. They taught her how to do sign language, dance to certain songs (she surprised me one day when she started clapping to the song, "if you're happy and you know it clap your hands" when she was around 8 months), learn how to crawl, and learn how to walk. Traci would bring in many different types of activities: a music person, baby yoga, a person dressed up as an Easter bunny, and so on. These activities are usually extra costs at the bigger daycare facilities. We looked forward to Traci and Emily texting us candid pictures of our daughter so that we could feel a part of her development while we were languishing away at work. On our daughter's last day (2 days after her 1 year birthday), Emily could not hold back tears (sorry if this embarrasses her) which caused me to suddenly get flecks of dust in my eyes as well. Anyone could see the genuine love and care she had poured into our daughter and all the other kids. This is something that I do not believe can be provided by the larger daycare facilities that cycle through teachers. If anyone had seen the movie Swingers with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, Beach Babies (Michelle) eventually did call us back with an opening after we had forgotten about them and had settled in with our wonderful new daycare. We didn't even give it a second thought to not return their phone call. Thanks again Traci and Emily for doing such an amazing job taking care of our daughter!
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October 2017 by Dana M.
Tracie's home day care of First Friends By the Sea provides a wonderful, nurturing, and loving place for my 11 month old daughter. The kids are exposed to art, healthy food, natural activities, wood toys, and most important- love. Tracie's personality, patience, and kindness are so appreciated - she has allayed my worries about leaving my baby to go to work. I find my young daughter reaching out to Tracie in our first week there when I drop her off! Such a gem. Thank you, Tracie.
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April 2016 by Kelly B.
There aren't enough good things to say about Tracie! Her daughter, Emily, is homeschooled & helps out with the little ones. My son started around 9 months and instantly fell in love. Tracie & Emily are so caring & nurturing to all the kids. She provides a healthy breakfast & lunch. She takes the kids on trips to the local Farmers Market, to the neighborhood garden & has a huge backyard filled with fun activities. She makes a ton of her own food from their garden. My son loves it at First Friends by the Sea. We are moving to West Hills are devastated to pull him from such a loving environment. Tracie is reasonably priced & was so flexible with the transition into day care. She sends updates throughout the day, so I know how he's doing while I'm at work. So so so sad to leave! If you are looking for a loving, in-home day care, you'll want to check out First Friends by the Sea!
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October 2011 by Kanessa T.
I've known Tracie for years and my son has stayed with her. In fact, she is the ONLY person my husband and I trusted to leave our son with as an infant. I would recommend First Friends By the Sea and Tracie to any Mom or Dad looking to send their child to a fun, safe and wonderful day care setting in a home environment. She provides the kind of personal care every parent wants for their child when they can't be there themselves.
