I feel like a better parent for sending my toddler, Lily, to this daycare because she gets…read moreexperiences I can't or won't create for her at home; she gets to flex her independence; and she hears respectful language and stories every day.
Every day there is a new exploration activity -- for example, picking up pretend bug figures in the sensory table, painting, or looking through prisms outside in the playground. She gets to play with beautiful, open-ended toys with emphasis on natural elements -- whereas at her previous daycare they had mostly big-box-brand plastic toys. You can tell a lot of thought went into selecting the toys -- the soft dolls even have different skin colors represented. There are no screens except for the teachers uploading photos and videos to share with parents via the HiMama app.
I call this daycare a lot of nicknames -- "Disneyland", "school" (because it's way more than just day care), and "Lily's World" because she sits at Lily-sized Montessori-style furniture (vs dangling from a kidney bean high-chair table she had at her previous daycare), practices feeding herself, and steps up to the sink to wash her hands.
The way the teachers talk to her is respectful -- acknowledging her feelings and helping her work through her moments of frustration. They read her stories and talk to her sweetly. Lily runs to hug them when she arrives at daycare.
The class (the under-2 crowd) actually plays together. I know it's not developmentally expected, but the tots giggle, and share, and hug good bye.
Also, Lily eats better food at daycare than at home since the kids' food is catered by Milk Crate. Vegetarian noodle bowl, Soft pretzel with housemade ranch, Made-from-scratch blueberry muffin?!
by sending Lily to this daycare I feel way, way less guilty about her eating air fryer chicken nuggets watching hours of The Wiggles at home. I also don't feel pressure to do the instagram sensory tables, art projects, and play kitchen set ups at home because she does this almost every day at school. To sum it all up, these teachers are doing an amazing job, and they create exceptional value for our daycare dollar. She won't remember these days, but these teachers are shaping her to be kind, confident, and independent, and we are the lucky ones for that.
Mom of Lily, 17 months old