My daughter has been attending pre-school at Ms. Gretchens since the beginning of the year and we…read morecould not be happier. She has made great progress in learning how different things work, cultures throughout the world, fine motor skills, interacting with others, gardening, and science. The montessori method has really worked for her education. Every few weeks the school focuses on a different continent. While learning about Africa, the students made African food, learned about African music, and the animals that are indiginous to Africa. Every day my daughter was excited to tell me something new about Africa. Now she knows all of her continents at the age of 3 which blows my mind. In addition to Ms. Gretchens great curriculum, there's a lot of learning about nature and outdoor play time. Ms. Gretchen has an excellent garden where the kids have planted tomatoes, eggplants, squash, basil, potatoes, sunflowers, and onions and the list keeps going on. Ms. Gretchen has a policy of following what the kids wnat to do and not forcing them to do and letting them learn as they go. First thing when my daughter arrives she usually wants to go play on the swing or look at the flowers or play on the jungle gym to which Ms. Gretchen always says, "Yes". I really cannot say what a wonderful experience it has been for my daughter to attend pre-school at Ms. Gretchens'. There is no doubt in my mind about what a nurturing environment my daughter is in.

I have observed Ms. Gretchen's school and it is a warm and friendly school that enables children to…read morediscover their interests and learn. I have known Gretchen for many years and I believe in her school! A patient and skilled teacher that gives each child enthusiasm to learn!

We can't recommend CCM enough. We have sent our son for PreK and Before/Aftercare. The owners are…read morehands-on and take the time to get to know each child and their needs. They have a well-rounded approach to teaching that includes manners while allowing the kids to have fun and make friends. Not only did he come out of PreK well prepared for Kindergarten, but he loved the teachers and staff at CCM.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the children's center of Monrovia to anyone. I worked there for…read moreseveral years and am still to this day messed up from my experience. I don't even know how to begin. I think I'll start with #1, verbal abuse from bosses. Almost every day I worked, I was verbally abused. The expectations were through the roof, and you were never good enough. No matter how hard you tried, how much work you did, you were never recognized and always criticized. They had a way of making you feel like the lowest piece of dirt on this planet, yet never thought the problem was them. For years I didn't recognize this as abuse, and worked myself to death trying to win their approval. It took me years to gain the courage to speak my mind of how much this affected me. I was watched by them 24/7 on the cameras, and every move I made was criticized. I was screamed at for giving a child a tissue to wipe their bottom when we were out of toilet paper. I had a broom ripped out of my hand and screamed at for not sweeping the floors "properly." On my last day, I was screamed at and demeaned in front of my entire class, because I didn't make the 4 year old children stand perfectly straight in a line while washing hands. I walked out the door and never looked back because I finally realized I didn't deserve to be treated this way. I had many other teachers who worked there contact me about how terrible they were treated during their time there as well. One teacher was extremely depressed and actually mentioned suicide to me at one point because of her treatment there (I have messages to prove this if anyone thinks this is a lie). They mentally affected many people with this treatment. The turnover rate is absolutely atrocious, and they don't realize it's because of them. #2, unrealistic expectations from the children. They were expected to sit criss cross apple sauce every morning without moving for a 45 minute circle, 3 year olds were expected to be writing multiple papers a day, standing in line perfectly straight with arms behind their back, and more. Children screamed at for not tracing papers properly. Kids were not allowed to be KIDS. When I went to my next school, I saw children doing fun activities on the carpet, playing together, having fun, and realized this is how it is supposed to be. I had constant anxiety everyday going into work, wondering what I would be yelled at for next. Once I was yelled at for leaving 5 minutes early and not sharpening pencils. Every time anything happened, it was a hunt to find out who did it so that person could be screamed at. And if you ever "talked back", YOU were out of line. I walked on eggshells, afraid everyday. You were expected to just be the punching bag every day. My mental health was at an all time low. Now years later, I still carry some habits I learned from them, but I've learned now just how toxic this place was. I am now absolutely flourishing at a new preschool where I've never once been yelled at or even so much as told I was doing anything wrong. I'm a fantastic teacher and I was never the problem. They were. I've had dozens of parents tell me I am an amazing teacher who's changed their child's life. I cannot recommend anyone to put themselves through what I went through. I didn't write this review to get attention, or to stop their business from being successful, I wrote it for my own peace of mind to finally speak up what was kept inside for so long. And to hopefully warn others of my experience. Thank you.

Bottom line: both our children have been at the Young School all the way until kindergarten, and we…read moreare grateful for their time there. This is a tricky review to write, because one needs to grade on a curve when evaluating childcare in our screwed up educational system. There have been periods of time where the Young School was a frustrating mess, mostly due to issues with staff retention. But... I've done the math and even though it feels like we're bleeding money with their tuition, I'm shocked that they're able to retain anyone for any length of time at all. Their margins must be razor thin. Childcare is just a necessarily expensive service, given the complete lack of subsidies for it. This must make retention an intractable, permanent issue. As we approach the end of our pre-kindergarten run, the most important things stand out: our kids have loved their teachers. They've learned a ton there. They formed potentially lifelong friendships with the other wonderful kiddos. My wife and I have formed friendships with the other parents. We have had lots of quibbles with the school over the years, but in the end, we're grateful for them.

The staff from teachers to director treat the children as their own. The children will flourish in…read moresuch a nourishing environment.

Little People's Place is celebrating 50 years in business. A family owned and operated business…read morethat takes pride in nurturing the children of Carroll County. Anyone that truly knows Little Peoples Place, the owners, and staff, knows the love and care that is given to the children and parents.

Our son went here for several years and we couldn't be happier with our experience at LPP. Mary…read moreBurke and Stephanie Boggs were great admins and we would highly recommend them. Thank you

My child started Primrose shortly after it opened and has been enrolled for 4 years. It has been a…read moregreat experience. Being new to motherhood, I've enjoyed building community here with other parents and watching out children grow together.

Primrose School - Ellicott City is simply amazing! My son truly loves his time at school and…read morelearns so much. He is always excited to share about circle time, sing songs, teach us rhyming words or the STEM activities he has learned. I feel confident that he will be ready for Kindergarten next year. The facility is new and beautiful, with an amazing chef in the kitchen. The owner and staff are beyond amazing. We are a family with a child and not just a head count to them. They care not only about the children, but us as parents as well. My only regret is that we didn't find this school sooner! Five stars to Primrose School - Ellicott City!

Overall: incredible experience, my son learned a lot, low turnover with teachers, well-staffed,…read morecalm atmosphere, excellent communication and organization, lots of fun and educational special classes and activities We spent a little over year at Goddard in Ellicott city 2 days a week and loved it so much. He spent time in the roosters and ponies classes. It's so clean, well staffed, decent staff retention, and I'm always wildly impressed with the behavior of the kids. My son has made a lot of adorable friendships. We've been obsessed with his teachers, especially Andrea, Kayla, Xhochilt, Mia, and Mackenzie. He's learned some Spanish, great classroom skills, and independence. Andrea has been there for 17 years which is so impressive to me. The communication with the admin is so fast and everyone always seems so chill. As someone who taught for 10 years, I find that to be incredible. That sense of peace really rubs off on the kids. They are a little pricier, but I think it's worth it. In the summer there is less consistency with the teachers because of vacations, but it is still well-staffed and they do so many events in the summer to make it extra special for the kids like tie dye, bubble shows, foam party, magicians, service dogs, bringing in reptiles, and musicians. On nice days they got outside 3 times a day. Their play areas are really nice. My son's favorite parts of the day were centers and playing in the sensory bins which changed daily. He came home with tons of art and meaningful knowledge about their weekly questions.

We love the Goddard School. Our daughter just completed the pre-K program and we are so amazed at…read morehow much she has learned and how prepared she is to join public school. She is ready for kindergarten. The staff and teachers are fantastic. We also love the safety. Could not recommend enough.

The child development program at Carroll community is fantastic. The director was my husband's…read morepreschool teacher over 30 years ago! The center is clean and welcoming. The staff and student teachers genuinely care about the children and their learning. They work hard to bring in outside speakers and programs and our favorite extra curricular is the spring pajama party! In the past 2 years I have seen my anxious 3 year old who SCREAMED when she was dropped off turn into this amazing 5 year old who loves every second she gets to spend in the classroom. We so appreciate all that the Carroll Community Child Development Center has done for and with our child over the past 2 school years! I'm not sure how this time flew by so fast, but it did! Our child has nothing but amazing stories of her school days and we so appreciate each and every person who played a role in preparing her for kindergarten.

Just an excellent learning environment. Our daughter just LOVES to go to school each day and has…read morereally thrived at Hilltop. Staff and teachers are truly dedicated to the children and really strive to keep the parents informed about their child's learning and progress. We plan to send all of our children there in the future and highly recommend it!

I can't imagine there's a better preschool in the Clarksville/Columbia area. Obviously every…read moreparent has their own list of "wants" and "needs" when shopping preschools - their own list of the features that are most important to them. Most importantly for my wife and I was to find a school where our 2-1/2 year-old would be happy, learn social skills, and would learn the fundamental skills needed to function in a classroom setting (preparation for kindergarten). It was also critical that we find a place where we would never feel guilty or apprehensive about dropping our kids off at school. We found all this and more at Hilltop. The most important things to note about Hilltop are... Small School - There are two classrooms and each one has a max of roughly 15 children. Small classes means lots of one-on-one interaction with the teachers, which any educator will tell you is extremely beneficial (especially for young children). Learning Activities - It is a school after all - so it's pretty important that they follow a really well-conceived philosophy and educational curriculum. Every day we receive notes from the teacher about what our child learned that day, sample assignments he worked on, etc. Low Staff Turnover - At other schools and daycares we've witnessed a constant churn of teacher turnover. The teachers at Hilltop have been there for years and are part of the fabric of the school. Family Atmosphere - So many families have their 2nd or 3rd children enrolled, so we've gotten to know each other and have formed great friendships. When I drop my son at Hilltop it feels like I'm leaving him with close friends/family. Credentials - Hilltop is accredited by the MD Board of Education and each teacher and staff member has all their MD creds (I'm not that familiar with all the credentials, so you'd have to check with them for more info on this). Secluded Location - While the school is right off Rt 108 in Clarksville (near the River Hill shopping center) it's also tucked away behind a Methodist church. Its location is nice for security reasons - and there's also something nice about being on a church campus. What more can I say? We are a Hilltop family and absolutely recommend this preschool to anyone trying to make the difficult decision of where to send your child for preschool.