The infant room was fine but the Preschool teacher was very condescending toward these little…read morebabes. Very little professionalism or knowledge of the Developmental phases of the 3 year old child. Left lasting scars.

This is a school where children love to learn for the love of learning, not because they have to…read moreknow something for a test. The students learn that grace and courtesy are just as important as their math facts. The students are inquisitive and respectful. The faculty are dedicated, supportive and enthusiastic. My children have been attending Cornerstone since they were 3 years old. They are now 9 and 11. Their knowledge of the world and their academics are very strong. I am always impressed by their level of maturity and respect for others and their environment. Cornerstone has shaped them to be strong, positive children.

At first we were so happy to have our son attend Cornerstone as a full time student in their…read moreToddler-house program with 10 other students. (It was his first school ever- He is only 2 yrs old.) Then suddenly in January their teachers informed us that they would not be able to keep him as a full time student the following year. We have two children and my husband and I are both professionals with strict schedules. It was a shock to suddenly be told that our child could only be a student from 8:30 to 11:30am. When we asked them why, they said he would not take naps. Strange, both our children nap regularly EVERYDAY. I was able to talk to the some of the other parents who have children in the same class as my son. A few of them mentioned that their kids also do not nap, but their children WERE attending full time next year. It turns out these families have have other siblings attending Cornerstone. That made us feel that the school was exhibiting some bias against our child. We had heard very little communication from the school during his first 6 months, just mostly generic daily comms, but suddenly we began getting communications 2-3x per week detailing complaints such as our son stepping on bugs, playing with sticks too much or even chewing his food with his mouth open, really?! He was only 2! This continued for weeks which made us feel bullied. This school makes up a lot of stories to cover up their own lies that they tell to parents. The toddler teachers and the Head of school, Lee-Ann are very judgmental. Once the She finds out that you are asking questions about the teachers, some of which are not certified, or questioning their "curriculum", She will make sure that you and your child will have a terrible year filled with multiple early dismissals which cause you to scramble for babysitting coverage or take personal time. Since we been there, the Toddler House class size has dropped by over a third. Do your research, this school has had a lot of issues with the Board of Education and has had multiple lawsuits filed against them, all in the public record. The upper school has a good reputation but their Toddler House leaves a lot to be desired. The reason for my review is to help parents really ask the RIGHT questions before going into this school. Good luck to anyone who is considering entering their child into the Toddler-House.

the teachers have worked very hard with my daughter to provide a pre-K environment where she feels…read moresafe, feels in control of things affecting her, and has fun.

From the owner: We are the only early childhood program in Exeter NH nationally accredited by NAEYC. We provide…read morehigh quality early childhood care while maintaining school hours of 6:30-5:30, with an open door policy, to accommodate families busy schedules. Our educational programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners are based upon NAEYC's best practices and are aligned with NH Department of Education's Early Learning Standards. Our preschool students transition to kindergarten with the foundation they need for their academic success, some as early readers. Approximately 95% of our kindergartners leave our program as successful early readers. We track each child's overall developmental progress by building a portfolio for each child over a course the year, infants through kindergarten. The portfolios contain samples of the child's work, documentation of developmental accomplishments, photographs, and activity documentation explaining the objectives of an activity with the child's participation in it. These portfolios create a story of the child's experience in the classroom and validate the child's work within the classroom.

Our three year old daughter has been at Seacoast Community School for almost a year now. We have…read moreseen nothing but good things. The teachers, the staff, the facilities have all been excellent. We're looking forward to her continued progress through the kindergarten prep program later this year, and intend that she will continue at SCS through the start of kindergarten. A great place and a great school.

From the owner: Seacoast Community School has been a leader in nurturing care and educational programs for all…read morechildren in the area since our founding in 1967. Our mission is: To provide nurturing care and exceptional education for all children of the Seacoast. We offer quality early learning for children age 8 weeks to 12 years. Our program consists of nationally accredited early childhood classrooms for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, as well as an inclusive half-day preschool program in collaboration with Little Harbour school. We also offer a quality after school program (PEAK) located at multiple elementary schools in Portsmouth and Greenland, NH. In addition, we offer a Summer PEAK program which is a full day summer camp for kids K-5.

I brought my son here, teachers are very good. My son had transformed from a problem child to a…read moreexample child. They have a lot of activities and brings crafts home . Would definitely recommend.

Our daughter has been at De Colores for a little over a year now, and the school has been a…read moreterrific fit for us. The teachers are a warm-hearted and talented bunch who genuinely love children; the teachers are all originally from Latin America and together create a wonderfully rich, multi-cultural environment for the children to learn in. The ages of the children range from about 2-6, and they are all together for the majority of the school-day so they have the experience of being with children of different ages. I love De Colores because I feel it's a school where kids can be kids--they get messy doing lots of great art projects and they get dirty running around in the school's wonderful yard out back. I feel very grateful to have found a school where I can drop my daughter off and feel complete confidence in the care she'll be receiving.

My two girls have been going to De Colores Children's Center for 1 1/2 years and we can't imagine…read morehaving them any place else. The teachers are amazing with the kids- warm and caring, allowing the kids to be themselves. I feel so comfortable dropping them off knowing they will learn and play in a wonderful, art-filled environment during times I can't be with them. The school has great indoor and outdoor play spaces although the kids spend as much time outside as the weather permits. The teachers are incredibly interesting people, with diverse and backgrounds that add to the fabric of the school. I feel so lucky to have found De Colores, for both myself and my children.

I toured this facility in December and everyone seemed nice and the one teacher I met in the infant…read moreroom seemed great. I was very excited that Heather had just started, coming from the Waldorf school and looking to add more nature and a garden to the center. It took a little bit for them to get back to me at first and things seemed a little disorganized but the director had just started the week before I toured, so I didn't think too much of it. We signed our son up for the infant room a few weeks later and then had about a month and a half before we were due to start. I called two weeks before our start date to try to meet the second infant room teacher that wasn't there either time I came in. At that point I was informed that there was a new head teacher. They almost wouldn't schedule me at all to come in to meet either of them before our start date. They suggested I could meet the teachers when I dropped him off on my first day back. When I said I would feel more comfortable coming in before that, they begrudgingly set up a time for us to come in. When I showed up they said they would have to reschedule, but since they scheduled me on the Friday before we were due to start, and they didn't want to reschedule me for that day, they said I could come in for 10 minutes (after lying and saying all of the babies were napping so I couldn't come in because the teachers both go on break during nap time?). I met the new teacher and while she was nice, she didn't seem very experienced or comfortable with infants. She mentioned that the other teacher was so great with infants because if she couldn't figure out why one was crying she would try to offer them to eat and if they didn't want to eat they must be hungry. I was shocked that the "head teacher" of the infant room would need to be told that. The overall vibe of the room and how they were caring for the infants made me uncomfortable and they said they were going to have to "kick us out" because a few kids were getting hungry (waiting until they were melting down before warming up a bottle) I understand you can't continue to talk, but shouldn't a parent be allowed to be in the room as much as they would like and see how the teachers interact with the kids? They didn't even say hi to my son when he woke up- it was all very unsettling. This, coupled with the fact that at enrollment I was assured they would allow use of cloth diapers, lead me to withdraw my son from their center. They then had the audacity to say that since I hadn't given a 2 week notice, they would want to charge me for another 2 weeks of tuition on top of the enrollment fee and first week tuition deposit. All this, despite the fact that they did not give us any notice that they would be changing staff and when I tried to come in to schedule to meet the new staff, they put me off until the last possible time. They also lied about it being a NH state law that cloth diapers are not allowed. I have since been told that several other teachers have left and the business manager made sure to tell me that with her 45 years of working in childcare, she knows that they have a great facility and that the new head teacher is well educated and great, which is more than she could say for the old head teacher. I asked if she was saying that she wouldn't have sent her own child there under the old head teacher. Her reply was, "well I would have been OK with it... but I can't say more." So that was great that they said how amazing that teacher was and how much she had done for the infant room program during my tour and then proceed to tell me that they wouldn't have been comfortable sending their own family there. They told many lies, and overall seemed very sneaky with tour times. I understand that you're not going to always have a picture of perfection in a room with 7 infants and only two adults, but the fact that they make you leave is concerning. It sounds like there is suddenly a lot of turnover and it is extremely concerning that they are not honest with what is going on. I would much prefer the knowledge that they are making changes and it is a busy time than to be lied to to cover up whatever. I would stay far away from this place!

I have two boys that are currently enrolled at Nurture and Nature full time. My oldest is in the…read morepreschool room and has been enrolled since he was 11 weeks old. My youngest is in the infant room and has also been enrolled since he was 11 weeks old. Being a full time working mom is difficult, but Nurture and Nature has made it much easier for my family and I to balance our life away from home. I wouldn't trust my kids in full time care anywhere else. When I was pregnant with my first, we toured many centers. The feeling I got touring N&N was much different than how I felt touring other centers in the area. These teachers truly care about the children. The teachers in the infant room are so nurturing and caring. My little man's face lights up when he sees Miss Jess each morning. My oldest boy is super sensitive and has a hard time being away from his Mommy. The toddler and preschool teachers work with my son to ensure a smooth transition to school on days when he misses me most. He loves to be outdoors and the children spend lots of time enjoying nature. Nature walks and water play in the playground are the highlights of his day. The culture at the center has helped establish a feeling of community. I have become friends with many of the other parents at the center, and I believe our kids will be continue to be friends throughout the years. Parent involvement is significant. Many parents dedicate lots of hours to the center, whether it be on the board of directors, fall/spring cleanup, monthly pantry contributions, or small odd jobs here and there. You can tell how much parents of the children at the center value the community here. There's been some leadership change over the past few years, but our current Director, Jennifer Blackwood, seems to be the perfect fit to continue to foster our great culture here at N&N.