FAQs
Got Questions? We’ve Got Tiny Answers (and Big Ones Too!)
We know sending your little one to preschool comes with lots of curiosity — just like them! Whether you’re wondering about naps, snacks, or why glitter is suddenly everywhere, our FAQ has you covered. Let’s make this adventure feel easy, exciting, and maybe even a little sparkly.
We accept children starting at 4 months old, with new enrollment typically closing around 2.5 years. Once enrolled, children usually remain in our care until 3.5 to 4 years of age.
Yes, we are a large licensed home-based daycare in California, licensed for up to 14 children. However, we intentionally keep our group small—typically 7 to 8 children—for a more personalized, nurturing environment.
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Faculty license number: 197494842
Our hours are 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. We offer late pickup until 5:30 PM for an additional monthly fee. A $1 per minute fee applies for pickups after 5:00 PM without prior arrangement.
We do not offer early drop-off at this time. Late pickup is available until 5:30 PM with an added monthly fee. Please ask about availability.
We provide healthy, organic snacks in the morning and afternoon. Parents are asked to pack a nutritious lunch for their child each day.
Yes, we provide potty training support for enrolled children. An additional monthly fee applies for this service.
Tuition fees are shared during our FaceTime consultation, along with space availability, program details, and policies.
We follow a four-step process to ensure a great fit for both the family and our program:
- Initial phone call – A short call to answer general questions.
- FaceTime consultation – A 30–45 minute conversation where we go over program structure, ask and answer questions, and learn more about your family’s needs.
- References – We provide 2–3 references from current or past families so you can learn about their experience.
- In-person visit – You and your child visit our space, meet me in person, and go over final questions. If we mutually decide to move forward, a deposit is made to hold the spot and we plan a 1 to 1.5 month transition period.
Although licensed for 14 children, we choose to care for only 6 to 7 children to create a calm, attentive, and secure environment.
We follow a child-led, play-based approach inspired by Reggio Emilia and Montessori principles. Our focus is on creativity, sensory exploration, and emotional development.
EXCELLENTVerified Both of our boys attended Sandbox for almost 3 years. When you finally find amazing care, it's hard to let go! They both love Piah and her daycare really feels like an extension of home. The small program is really intimate allowing each child to have lots of love and individual attention and makes transitioning to something outside of home so much easier. Piah curates adorable art projects, includes exposure to Spanish and French, music classes, cooking and cultural activities. She posts tons of photos to a private instagram page, so you can see what they are doing every day. The space is beautiful, immaculately clean, and filled with amazing wood toys. The boy's language, love of learning, and sense of self have grown exponentially while under Piah's care. Our boys have found such a beautiful community in those we have met here as well. Piah plans fun get togethers around LA and even child free nights out so parents can actually get to know each other. The friends both our boys and we have made have been such a wonderful part of daycare that we never expected. Sandbox is such a gem and if you find an open spot, we highly recommend to join!Verified Our family could not have dreamed of a more magical nursery for our little one and we can confidently say that there is no place like Sandbox! Piah and her team cultivate a warm and nurturing environment that truly becomes an extension of the home. The intimate size of the program allows for each child to be deeply known and loved, and for the children to form close bonds with one another. The laughter, tiny voiced conversations and unprompted hugs shared between the little ones are the sweetest sights and sounds to witness. The space is immaculately clean, open and airy with natural materials intentionally designed to foster creativity. Learning is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, encouraging collaborative play often incorporating visual arts such as painting and sculpting. Food and culture are also an integral part of the program, where children are able to try different fruits, vegetables, and prep ingredients for cooking and baking. Food is even beautifully integrated in the art they create! They learn and sing in English, Spanish and French languages. And are immersed in an eclectic array of music throughout their activities (including post-nap dance parties!), and Piah invites an amazing music teacher to expose the children to instruments ranging from guitars to African drums. Throughout the warm summer months, water play and sensory activities keep the little ones cool and highly engaged. Everything Piah programs is creative, curated and elevated. During our time at Sandbox, our son's whole being has exploded! His language development and social/emotional awareness never ceases to amaze us. We are floored when he can articulate the request for space when he needs it, or when he voluntarily helps a friend clean up enthusiastically saying "teamwork!" He has grown to be so open, confident and thoughtful. We cannot thank Piah and her team enough for showering our son with a warm, nurturing home, and sparking in him a love for collaborative learning. Sandbox Nursery has set the most beautiful foundation! We are eternally grateful for the love, creativity and community that they have poured into our child and entire family!!Verified If you're looking for quality care, Piah's nursery is the perfect place for your family. My son has been here for nearly 2 years, since he was 18 months old. I was so anxious to send my child off to be taken care of but Piah and her team really reassured me. We took steps to ease him in by creating play dates in the lead up to his official start date. We picked him up every time he was really upset during the transition so that being at sandbox was a positive environment always. My son has a peanut allergy and they have taken the utmost care in making sure this was never an issue. Even going as far as asking us if something looked like peanut butter in the lunchbox that *we* packed, the attention to detail is unmatched. I wanted a place that would match my home setting, and her Reggio based daycare is exactly that. The space is cute and cozy with mainly all wooden toys. They do a lot of water play during the summer. And the space is always clean! My son even cleans up his toys at home, a routine that sandbox has taught him. They teach Spanish, French and English. He was able to count to 15 in Spanish at just over two years of age, and can sing French songs fluently. The dynamic curriculum really enabled him to flourish and we've noticed the biggest difference in his development since sending him here. We get updates by text but also through a private instagram where only caregivers are given permission to follow. Sandbox uploads photos daily to show what the kids are up to. She also hosts parent (kid free) nights where she provides food and drinks and enables the parents to connect and mingle. The community we gained through sending our son here has been priceless and so valuable since we don't have family in LA. They go above and beyond to create the most fun environment. I'll forever be grateful to Piah and her team for creating such a safe, playful and nurturing space for our son. It truly is one of LA's best kept secrets.Verified Our daughter has been at Sandbox nursery for over two years and every day, my husband and I pinch ourselves because we can't believe we are so lucky to have Piah and her amazing daycare in our lives. The environment Piah creates for the children is the perfect combination of creativity, exploration, learning, love and safety. Everything from the toys she selects to the crafts and games she thinks up for the children are unique, engaging and educational. On top of that, the space itself is set up beautifully, is always clean and is always calm which is something to say for a place filled with little people all day. It is all a testament to Piah's gift and experience in caring for and understanding children. We've seen our daughter grow in her time there and are amazed at the social/emotional skills that just naturally occur at Sandbox. The love Piah shows the children and the foundation of care she provides is setting them up for so much success and for that we will be forever grateful. We are going to be so sad when it's time to leave so we are soaking up and appreciating every minute left of our daughter's happy time there!Verified If you don't read this entire review, the TL;DR is that I'm a big fan of Sandbox Nursery. I recommend anyone who can find an opening there to take it! This place is such a gem, and you don't want to miss out. I researched a lot of daycares before I decided on Sandbox (which was recommended to me by a trusted friend), and none of the other options checked all the boxes Sandbox had. When I first started inquiring, one thing really stood out to me that I didn't see other schools do: they offered reference calls so I could hear from other Sandbox parents. I felt a lot of trust in that process, and it made me trust the daycare. To this day, they live up to everything I heard about them in the reference calls. I'm so glad my family chose this place. It feels like a second family and a second home. My child's development leaped after he joined this daycare. He has learned a lot about the world around him, playing with others, sharing, language and self-expression, following rules, sticking to routines, and more. He eats all his food while he's there even though he's a picky eater at home. Sandbox Nursery provides a great balance of creative, exploratory, stimulating, sensory, and free-play activities. The teachers have such tender love for the kids. I'm free of worry all day while my child is there because I know they're taking great care of him and keeping him safe, fed, and happy. And all the kids are always so joyful and exuberant when we come by for pick up, so I know they're just having a wonderful time. Located in a quiet, very safe neighborhood, the daycare has a great aesthetic. It has a nice yard with lots of shaded areas, a play kitchen, sandbox, deck with a mini climbing ramp, large water table that comes out during the summer. The place is impeccable. Everything is so clean, well-thought-out, and wooden. No screens anywhere, shoes off inside, a predictable schedule and routine. They have a good sick policy to avoid illnesses spreading. During the hotter days, the kids get to play outside with water, which they all really love. My child really enjoys the monthly music teacher, who is so delightful. There's an abundance of fun and creative activities the kids engage in, and my child looks forward to going every day. He talks about his teachers and friends when he doesn't see them. It's just a lovely community all around.Verified We joined Sandbox Nursery last September when our twins were 2.5yo and we feel so lucky we did! We moved to LA due to a job relocation and was looking remotely for a daycare, luckily someone online recommended Sandbox, and only by seeing the photos I fall in love :) Piah was truly amazing from our first conversation, you could feel how professional she is, she did above and beyond to get to know our family before our move from NY. She scheduled with us multiple video calls to see the kids, play with them, and read books, she talked with us about what is important for us, our expectations, what the kids like and dislike. Eventually, when we moved to LA we and the kids felt they already know the place and Piah, that was amazing and we so appreciate it. Also, the transition into the daycare was very smooth and with respect to the kids, after a week we could feel very comfortable having them there for a full day. Sandbox Nursery is a beautiful place, everything there is built or bought thoughtfully. It's always so clean and organized, all the play areas and toys are in great condition quality. The kids are having so much fun and learning a lot, and we are grateful we found someone we can trust and help us raise our kids. Piah really cares about the kids and the entire atmosphere she created there is magical. If there is an open spot at Sandbox Nursery, don't hesitate!Verified I don't know what my family would do without Sandbox Nursery! My 19 month old daughter has been going here since she was 6 months old and absolutely loves her days at Sandbox. The transition to daycare was very scary for us new parents but Piah made sure it was a very smooth process. From day one, we have felt extremely comfortable leaving our daughter with Piah and her team. Not only do they treat the children with such kindness and patience but they create developmentally appropriate activities for them to do throughout the day. We really appreciate knowing that our daughter is in a safe place to be cared for as well as learn. It's exactly the environment we want for our daughter and so aesthetically pleasing (bonus!)- wood toys, soft colors, great music, endless outdoor activities! As far as the pandemic goes, Piah and her team have been very vigilant in keeping everyone safe. I couldn't ask for a more responsible caregiver throughout this tough time. Sandbox is truly a dream and we're so grateful for Piah and her team :)Verified My daughter has been to Sandbox Nursery for more than year by now and she absolutely loves it! Piah and the team adore children and they created very safe and fun place for them. Place is always sparkling clean and very organized. Piah is always thinking creative play and also adding new fun (and stylish) toys also. During this hard pandemic time, they implemented a great steps to keep them safe and also always well communicated and super transparent. For me, safety and how they care about children was very important part. Piah takes multiple steps to make sure her environment is safe and their love for children is amazing.Verified Sandbox Nursery is an amazing daycare. We looked at 10 schools/daycares and Sandbox was by far our favorite. It's clean, organized, and kid-centered. It's clear that Piah and her team adore the children and are so thoughtful about the way their days are structured. Our son has been going there for just under a year and he absolutely loves it. He loves going to "school"; like, for real. Piah is very communicative, loving and thoughtful. The team provides a kid-centered environment for play-based learning and socializing. They balance warmth, fun, and learning with clear boundaries and strong communication with the kiddos. They're attentive and supportive of each child's individuality, quirks and strengths. We absolutely love it there and will be so sad to leave when our son moves on to pre-school.Verified Piah does a fantastic job at creating a safe, nurturing and creative space for children. Our 2 year-old daughter loves being there and Piah just has a very natural way with communicating with children. The children are constantly engaged with creative crafting, songs, reading, etc. Not to mention the yummy organic treats and lunches!!! Can't recommend Sandbox Nursery enough.