Gulu Gulu Preschool and Afterschool Program

My daughter attended Gulu Gulu in 2014, a different location than where they are located now. I would describe it as a safe environment with warm caretakers, but not one that is not heavy on structure or any sort of curriculum (even a play-​based one). It was a vibrant and at-​times-​topsyturvy daycare, but after years of being a SAHM and feeling very burnt-​out from long days with no breaks from the kids, I was really grateful to have Gulu Gulu in my life.

Our kids have so much fun at Gulu Gulu! Our son, who is now 4 (and has been attending since he was 20 months) has learned to write his name and is working on basic math and science concepts – he will be well prepared for kindergarten! Our daughter is 18 months and loves the teachers there. Our experience has been very positive. The kids have fun and teacher Karen has been very accommodating to my on call work schedule.

Great teachers, hands-​on interaction with the kids, and combines play and learning, to make learning fun. My son attended from about 2 years till he started kindergarten, and he loved the teachers and playmates he interacted with there. The environment is kid-​friendly and cozy, with an at-​home feeling as opposed to the more institutionalized child-​care centers. The cost is reasonable as well. I would highly recommend!

After moving to milpitas, finding a preschool for my son was something that worried me the most. I am happy that we found Gulu Gulu which is the best place he can be at. Teacher Karen, teacher Pam Pam and all other teachers here are so loving and caring, you can really figure that out from your kid! Even the very first day my son was extremely happy and now he says ‘i want to go to Gulu gulu for lot lot lotttt many days’ :)
Within a week teacher Karen understands the behavior, likes and dislikes of each child and works towards achieving the goals in a way that each kid will like. Its not just a daycare for my son, its his ‘second home’ as he says. Before his kindergarten started teacher karen made sure that he is ready for it by teaching him the alphabets, numbers, phonics, writing, painting. i was really surprised to see my ‘not so patient’ son completing a workbook. all these happened within 3months. She really knows how to encourage each kid and make them independent.
her summer program was awesome too. they had lots of activities each week out of which my son loved the Great America camp, swimming classes, music and photography camp. we were amazed to see how she and other teachers helped kids to learn songs within 5days of the music camp. they conducted a recital and photography exhibition at the end of these camps too.
Now my son goes to their after school program. School has a van so they go pickup the kids on time from their school and bring to their learning academy. He really likes it there too. sometimes i have seen him keeping his small art works or his toys in his backpack saying, ‘this is for teacher karen!’ I can’t say how thankful i am to all the teachers of Gulu gulu.
Here goes the well deserved 5 stars :)

Karen was very nice, welcoming and professional. I can see how this would be a good after school option since they have a van they drive around to pick up kids from nearby schools but I went to tour for the infant/​toddler part of her ‘preschool’. My son is almost a year but I toured Karen’s daycare when he was about 8 months old. The infant part of the daycare is not impressive and honestly, coming from a parent, not safe for a curious crawling explorer.
Toys were all over the floor, bigger kids running around screaming, there was a infant there but she was being held the whole time by another worker when I was visiting (which I’m ok with but I would still like my son to have the option of crawling/​walking/​playing with age appropriate toys). There is a ‘nursery’ at the end of the hall that had cardboard boxes stacked almost to the ceiling. There was a rocking chair and 1 crib. There was also a floor length lamp with an exposed wire that could easily come crashing down.
The kitchen counter was not even visible because it was covered in water bottles and dishes.
It was a particularly hot day so the back door was opened. The backyard is fenced off and only allowing kids to go as far as the patio extends. In the patio had old toys covered in cobwebs, a old pack n’ play filled with empty cardboard boxes, and paint cans.
I’m just shocked with the 5 star review. That’s it. maybe for older kids but definitely not for a baby.

My girl had been going to gulu for 3 years.
She said this all the time «Karen is the best daycare I ever had, I want to be with her until I’m 12»
Teachers at gulu are all wonderful, Karen always come up with all kind of fun activities to keep kids busy and enjoyed. My girl doesn’t even want to go China for the summer, all she want is to stay with Karen.

Our son had been going to Gulu Gulu for 2-​years (since 2011) and about 3-​weeks back we moved out of Milpitas and had to put him in a different school closer to where we live. Gulu Gulu was our Son’s 1^st day care /​pre-​school and where he had a lot of fun and learning. Karen and her team are amazing and were able to groom our son to be more comfortable, work and play with his friends, circle time, rhymes, drawing, painting and all that. They were so patient and accommodating that our son loved to go there everyday. Even during our move couple of Karen’s teachers made time to work with him during the weekend while we were getting things done with the move. We will miss Karen’s homebased pre-​school a lot and our son’s friends out there… Change is constant however will always be Thankful for all the good things Karen and team did for our son. Thank you very much!

This review is long overdue. My daughter was Karen’s first student about 3 years ago and went there for a week as her only child. My daughter is very shy and would always cry whenever we dropped her off somewhere, but it was such a great sign that the first day we dropped her off, she just walked right in and started playing! I knew from the first conversation that Karen was competent, caring, and passionate about what she does.
Three years later, and a ton of kids later, my daughter still loves Gulu Gulu. She still goes for after school program and just today she said, «Teacher Karen is so nice, she is nicer than God.» LOL, that’s a pretty high standard.
I was intentional about finding a place that she felt loved and cared for as the focus vs. super academic (just a personal preference). Even so, my daughter learned all her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, writing her name, addition and subtraction and would come home excited to do her «homework.» (Karen did not give out homework but instilled a love of learning). She also got help w/​potty training there.
Thank you Karen and Gulu Gulu!

Karen is the Best! She will teach your child everything they need to know to prepare them for kindergarden. She also offers an afterschool program where she picks your child up from school. My son has been going to Gulu Gulu for 1 year now and we are so happy to have met Karen. She has flexible hours. Do yourself and child a favor and give Karen a call.