Cedar Hill BiLingual School

Attentive, detail-oriented, dedicated teachers and educators, with a lot of love for the kids. We are lucky to have the team at Cedar Hill care for our child.

Our child spent 3 months at CHBS in the pre-K class this past summer prior to the start of Kindergarten. Our child was very happy and would have liked to stay longer. We as parents were also very impressed with their organization and structured approach to childcare. Communication was very clear also. We wanted an experience that would bring our child a Japanese experience while maintaining a somewhat balanced way that mixes American styles. It seemed that it was probably about 50-70% Japanese (spoken language, cultural experiences, general teaching style), which suited our child perfectly. We feel very grateful for the positive experience our child enjoyed and highly recommend CHBS to families seeking a high quality daycare with great attention to detail.

Very caring staff who primarily use Japanese as the language to communicate with children and families—what we were looking for!!! They keep them busy—crafts, sensory play, music, outdoor activities, field trips, books. Someone on staff is also very artsy so their displays and art are quite beautiful. They seem very observant of our daughter and we have a good communicative relationship with them. Our daughter loves it there! Another review 2.5 years later.... Our daughter went here from when she was 2.5 to 5 (she just graduated)! I am an educator myself and I've never met such a caring group of teachers. My daughter loved every one of them. All of my daughter's teachers have been there since the founding of the school--so very little turnover. That tells you about the kind of community they've created there. The teachers go out of their way to be communicative (they write a daily journal to parents), make meaningful activities for them (sometimes, I can't believe the artwork that comes home with her--they get messy with kids in a great way--toddlers take off their shoes and paint, they bring snow in to play with, and experiment with bubbles, baking soda/vinegar, dirt, etc.), but miraculously, she comes home clean. And they really care for children's feelings and well being (they give extensive written reports about your kid's growth). As educators, we appreciate the variety of educational materials they offer to children (their school has a Japanese language library where kids and borrow books and take them home), they have lots of educational toys to entertain them, they regularly go the park and not only let the kids run around and play, but plan for things like sledding when there's snow, and they do field trips (like to Beaver Brook or the fire station). In terms of language, this school is a wonderful school to learn Japanese for this age group. The teachers actually communicate with each other in Japanese (not true of all bilingual schools!), mainly speak to the children in Japanese (they are immersed), and surround them with cultural events (they celebrate all kinds of Japanese holidays, plus even have introduced the kids to tea ceremony), and activities like origami and calligraphy. This was the immersion we were looking for. Our kiddo only recently learned English through speaking with her friends. As I said before, they are also wonderful with establishing community. They have multiple events during the year for families, and special events. For example, they have family picnics during the summer, family breakfasts, and have also hosted artists on the weekend (additional event!) for the entire family. The graduation is also quite a production for a preschool (they rent out a church) and kids feel so special to be celebrated. Kids also are always invited to the teachers' choir performance, which is another event that our kids looks forward to. We are getting ready to send our son to the school as well, and are excited for his experiences there. Lastly, I'll say that finding this school when we did was a so lucky. We specifically wanted a Japanese bilingual school (we drive more than 20 minutes each way to bring our kids there). Our daughter actually started at another more established Japanese bilingual school and had a terrible experience there (huge turnover of teachers within a short time period, and they had issues with classroom management). Cedar Hill opened just around the time that we wanted to change schools.

UPDATED October 2025: We continue to love this school! Our oldest daughter, who was among the first graduates, has excelled at her current school, the German International School Boston, after graduating from Cedar Hill. This school prepared her in every way a parent could hope for—intellectually, emotionally, and socially. She was taught to be empathetic, curious, respectful, hardworking, and so much more. Her current teachers often commend her not only for her academic performance but also for how helpful and caring she is—values that Cedar Hill instilled in her. We are so happy and grateful that she was able to attend this school. She is now fluent in English, Japanese, and German, and conversational in Spanish. I truly believe Cedar Hill sparked her love of learning and languages and played a crucial role in promoting her neuroplasticity. Currently, our two-year-old son attends Cedar Hill, and he has thrived remarkably in the ten months since he started. His language skills, independence, and confidence have grown tremendously, and it’s been such a joy to watch him develop new abilities and friendships each week. He loves going to school every time and is excited to see his teachers and friends. We cannot say enough good things about Cedar Hill—it has been an extraordinary place for both of our children. Highly recommended! [Posted in 2022] Amazing teachers and care at this new and cozy school in Belmont. Our daughter loved attending the school from day one! She even told me I could go back home because she wanted to stay, when I came to pick her up! You get a personalized account of her day in a notebook everyday, which is not only so thoughtful and special, but something that she will surely love to look at and read when she gets older. Her day is filled with activities, outside play time, and close interaction with her peers and teachers. We highly recommend the school for anyone interested in a challenging and nurturing bilingual (English and Japanese) environment.