Hands On World

We loved our experience in Hands on World. Our son was there for 3 years. He is in 4^th grade now and sometimes mentions how he loved his preeschool and sometimes misses Hands on World because he has such great memories. He fondly remembers his teachers, friends, the fun activities, the wonderful art projects, and how he loved taking off his shoes in school. :) HOW has a relaxed but structured and engaged environment where children can thrive and bloom as unique beings. Multi-​language exposure was incredibly valuable as our son learned to communicate in more effective and creative ways while he learned 2 and even 3 languages all in a playful atmosphere through games, songs, astonishing art projects, drama, music, outside play, books, poems. Felicity and her team of teachers were warmhearted, caring and supportive of every kids needs and individuality. We had a wonderful welcoming experience as new family to the neighborhood and made long lasting friends. We love and highly recommend Hands on world.

We are the parents of two little girls who wake up every day excited to get to Hands on World. Our older daughter is in her second year at the school, and is becoming a young French and Spanish speaker, despite her anglophone parents. The staff not only entertain her, but each and every one of them know her by name and have on more than one occasion pulled us aside to let us know about her latest achievements.
Our younger daughter, who is in the twos program had a difficult adjustment period this fall. The teachers could not have been more nurturing and supportive of our sometimes unconsolable child. The teachers allowed parents to stay in the classroom week after week, until the children were comfortable. As one of these parents, we had a front seat to the caring and warmth that the teachers had for every individual student.
We chose Hands on World for our daughters after an extensive search of Brooklyn pre-​schools and we are very happy with our decision. Just this week, our 4 year old brought home a get well card from one of the teachers for our two year old who’d been out sick for the week.
We highly recommend Hands on World.

Each of my daughters spent 2 years at Hands on World (younger one is finishing this year). I can’t recommend this school highly enough. Absolutely fantastic.

I met this school by chance, i did some work for a client house on carroll gardens and i met their kids, both parents from England and the kids spoke perfect spanish, me spanish and italian background ask how come?
Answer? Hands on world.
I send my 4 year old there las year, 3 days italian, 2 days spanish, full time 9am to 3:30pm and then afterschool.
My son not only left the school speaking almost fluent spanish (my wife is american) but also italian! He can understand 100% and answer back, some times.
This school not only help him learn two languages but also made him the awesome little kid he is now!
He dance, he’s happy, he has more imagination than most his friends, loves books, loves acting, etc.
Bottom line, (got a 12year old girl, and him)
But «i will love to have more kids, just to send them there!
If you need references or want to meet me and my kid, feel free to email me at
Best!
Nicolas Pereira.

Our daughter went to Hands on World for two years and our son is starting there in the Fall. We were initially attracted to the school for the language immersion but quickly realized it had so much more to offer — a loving, nurturing environment with a focus on arts and creativity that is ideal for a child first entering a school environment. Hands on World offered us just the right balance of structure and creativity /​open play. An added bonus is the language exposure — for us it helped to reinforce the language spoken at home. Felicity was always available and helpful when we needed advice or guidance, and the teachers she has brought in to the school are really wonderful — warm, supportive and very creative. Our daughter loved her teachers, the activities, her classmates and was excited to go to school every day. She still talks about her experience there and asks to go back to visit when her little brother starts in the Fall.

Our daughter began going to Hands on World when she was two years old. She went there for two years, including for summer camp, and when she began she was very shy. Over the course of her time at HOW, we watched her thrive; she was in the Italian class absolutely loved her teachers and looked forward to school everyday. The language immersion is so wonderful for children that age, the environment is happy and warm, and the focus on art is such a perfect way for children just learning to talk to express themselves. We could not be happier that we chose to send her there, and we are now sending our son there in the fall.
I really don’t understand the negative review below. I never once saw a child being ignored while crying… the ratio of teachers to students is perfect so that if a child needs extra attention, they can get it! I found Felicity and all of the teachers at HOW to be genuinely caring and nurturing; there was a time last summer when I had to pick up my daughter because she was not feeling well, and when I arrived Felicity was sitting in the corner rocking her and soothing her, while the rest of the children were working on an art project with the teacher. It was extremely comforting to know my daughter was being so well cared for in my absence, and that Felicity took the time to give my daughter the one-​on-​one attention she needed.
Regarding the cost, we found it to be less expensive than most of our other options in the area; all it takes is a little research to find that out. HOW is not a daycare or a babysitting service, it’s a school where children learn and grow… and it is worth every penny!

I have 3 boys. My third is on his way to Hands on World, starting this September. My big boys have each spent at least 2 years at the school. If there is someone who can speak from experience about Hands on World, that would be me.
Before my first boy arrived at HOW, we had tried a couple of other preschools, which I will not mention here but were not ideal. What I liked about HOW immediately was the nurturing environment the kids were greeted with. Nurturing without being invasive, the kids were given their space to settle in at their own pace. I witnessed many many times teachers or staff displaying a tremendous amount of patience while dealing with children who had a hard time separating from their parents, crying for long stretches of time. These kids were held, talked to calmly, soothed and were always made to feel like it was ok to cry, no one was upset for that. Believe it or not, having witnessed this exact scene a few times over was very revealing to me. It told me my children were safe here. It allowed me to leave, wether they were crying or not, with the peace of mind that I never had before and that peace of mind MEANT EVERYTHING to me. Sure, it’s also great that they happen to be a language school! Frankly, that’s what got me there to begin with, being a francophone myself. But don’t expect too much on that front. The owner, Felicity, will even be fully honest about it. If your kids aren’t fully immersed in French at home (for example), don’t expect them to come out of hands on world speaking the language. HOW will expose them to your language of choice but they will let them be, so no child feels pressure at such a young and formative age to speak a language he or she is not comfortable with. Ultimately, it’s the right approach, in my opinion at least.
I can go on and on about other things I liked and appreciated about HOW (the creativity, field trips, class parties, parent teacher meetings, awesomely cool and so approachable teachers!). Is it expensive? Aren’t all quality preschools in NYC? It’s reasonably priced in comparison with others and trust me, I’ve done my research. This is not a big profit driven business and anyone who meets and talks with Felicity will get that.

Both my kids attended Hand On World and I would recommend it to anyone looking for pre-​school options. Class sizes and ratio of teachers to students were amazing. And the teachers were so creative and loving. I was so impressed with the quality of the artwork that they came home with. The kids were truly happy in this atmosphere!

Hands On World is a great pre-​school. We only have sweet memories of this place. The teachers were very sweet, the space clean and both our daughters were very happy to go there. As for the cost, like one of the reviews says, it is one of the best priced school in Brooklyn. To second that, I will even say that they have been more than flexible with the way we wanted our payments to be processed. I have been recommending the school over and over and will keep doing it.

Our four year old currently attends Hands on World and my five year old attended for three years. They love Hands on World and the teachers and individual attention they received are amazing. My five year old insists on going to pick up her sister so she can see her teachers. We are happy that are children have had an opportunity to have grown in such a positive learning, caring and nurturing environment.

We had a great experience at Hands on World. The small classes and creative programs were a great introduction to preschool for our bilingual kids.
Moreover, unlike the other emotional «wallet» review in broken English, we found it very affordable compared to other options in the area.
I would definitely recommend Hands on World.

Our Daughter is in her 3^rd and last year at Hands on the world, and it has been a great experience on all aspects as well as what we consider a very good preparation to Kindergarten. She is always happy to go to school and proud to share with us stories and accomplishments.
The teachers are all very friendly, attentive to the child needs, and are genuinely interested in their well being. They cuddle them when the kids are sad to see you leaving. Felicity would even offer to stay with her daughter once when my wife got stuck in traffic and showed up exceptionally late.
The school offers a lot of language options which allowed our daughter to navigate weekly through 3 languages, opening up to those cultures in the process.
Comparing the different private schools in the neighborhood, Hands on the world also remains pretty «competitive» when it comes to the annual cost.
We highly recommend the school for kids from all cultures