GeoKids

GeoKids Early Childhood Development Center is a preschool in Menlo Park, CA, serving children ages 3 months to 5 1/2 years. The center is open from 8am to 6pm, Monday through Friday, year round, and holds a rating of 4.50 from families in the community.

GeoKids is a NAEYC-accredited cooperative preschool founded in 1987 by a group of parents who worked at the United States Geological Survey and the Stanford Research Institute campus. The program is nationally recognized and operates as a parent cooperative, with parents spending time in the classroom regularly alongside the educators. The teaching approach is play-based and emergent, shaped by the child care centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy and the work of educators and theorists including Magda Gerber, Maria Montessori, Lev Vygotsky, and Loris Malaguzzi. Curriculum centers on social-emotional problem solving, positive discipline focused on life skills and strong hearts, and exposure to literacy and numeracy in playful, meaningful contexts. The educators are described as reflective, caring, and imaginative lifelong learners, many holding a bachelor's degree in child development or a related field, with all certified in CPR and first aid and active in ongoing professional development. The center's stated values include community, interconnectedness, care, empowerment, joy, and multiple perspectives, with a stated goal of fostering lifelong joyful inquiry, courageous compassion, and thoughtful participation. GeoKids is currently enrolling for the 2025-2026 school year and can be reached at (650) 942-6560.

The center is located at 345 Middlefield Road, about 0.1 miles from the USGS Library along Middlefield Road, and roughly 0.2 miles from Saint Patrick's Seminary & University, the McKeon Memorial Library, and Menlo Park Fire District Station 1.

With nearly four decades serving Menlo Park families and an accredited play-based curriculum, GeoKids remains a longstanding option for early childhood education on the Mid-Peninsula.