"A La Vanille" is a French Immersion preschool serving the San Francsico Bay Area. The philosophy is easy: Children acquire French naturally through total immersion in a small preschool setting. The environment is culturally rich, yet balanced with a fun and stimulating curriculum. This is a non-academic approach to absorbing language as it leans on the natural process of learning through osmosis. Children participate in games, music time, art and tactile projects. There is also daily music time and interactive verbal games, all with a "no pressure" atmosphere. Children are not required or demanded to respond in any language. They are surrounded by French naturally, and their brains do the work of laying down the pathway to bi- or multilingualism. Parents are encouraged to ask their enrolled children what they did in preschool today as opposed to asking what they learned in French.

"A La Vanille" enrolls children of any language or cultural background and we are proud of our diverse family. A percentage of our students are French speaking, some are being introduced to the language for the first time and there are many in between. We are happy to serve as a feeder school for the Bay Area private French schools. Children enrolling in kindergaten in an all English school may attend ALV's weekly after school French Club in order to maintain, and build on, what they've acquired in preschool.