It is impossible to say enough wonderful things about Waltham Childcare Center. For the past 5…read moreyears, I have seen nothing but a staff of loving caregivers and brilliant teachers who are genuinely invested in every child's growth and happiness. The classroom space is organized, positive and always stimulates and enriches their learning; from the interactive reading of CAPS where students got to practice balancing hats on their heads, to the excitement of playing in the 'big gym' at the Boys and Girls club and of course, the creative art projects that involve him painting his hands to make imprints or making homemade slime or experimenting with the fizzy properties of baking soda! The staff is always engaging with students, checking-in, and making them feel heard and seen. Waltham Childcare Center is also dedicated to preparing their students for Kindergarten. My son, who will be 5-years-old this October, has made tremendous gains in his social-emotional learning, counting, letter identification and speech. As a teacher myself, their curriculum and learning instruction are outstanding and I have no doubts that my son will enter Kindergarten hitting every benchmark and then some. In fact, they are often able visit the library which has enabled my son to develop a love for books. Waltham Childcare Center is a rare gem and I am so grateful that they have been able to provide an amazing childcare experience for both my children. I highly recommend them to any parent-you will not be disappointed and neither will your child.

My son has attended this childcare center for over a year, and the entire team provides a…read moresupportive environment with age-appropriate learning, an emphasis on manners, and guidance on how to be a good friend. They follow a consistent schedule, which has made coming to school a joy for him and has given me peace of mind as a parent going to work knowing he is in a safe, caring place.

I'm not sure why more daycares aren't rated on websites. When I was pregnant with my first child,…read moreI found it really hard to research places and find independent information. Come on parents, let's do this! Anyway, we are currently at this center and are very happy here. The director, Alice, is a genuine, kind, accessible woman who runs a tight ship. It's a larger center with several infant and toddler rooms (3-5 of each depending on enrollment), 2 preschool classes, and also offers pre-K. It was recently NAEYC accredited. The center has a great playground that is divided by age and Bright Horizons as a company is always looking for ways to improve their students' education and experience. They recently started offering a way to pay for tuition online and the kids each have a journal that is updated each week with pictures and stories from their experiences. It's not cheap, but I think education is one of those things where you often get what you pay for.

When I first enrolled my child at this place, I was really happy with my decision. But as time went…read moreby, I started noticing some imperfections in the center. The odometer for learning and development, as well as odometer for a fun atmosphere, is strongly based on the teacher your child is with. There are a few super great teachers who really know what they are doing engaging the children and really making sure their eyes are on the kids. Sadly, a very big handful of them just stand stuck behind their teacher clipboard busy checking things off hardly paying attention to the little ones or just socializing with other teachers, which means, whose got their eyes on the kids?? When trouble erupts, guess what, no teacher is gonna know what happened or how it started. They'll just see the aftermath of when the situation already blew up. I know child care places generally have high staff turnovers, but this place tops it! When talking to my colleagues and neighbors, I realize my child's school has an extremely high turnover rate, which makes me wonder why. Honestly, most of the really great teachers are gone. Since its hard to find quality teachers, you end up with sub par ones. Don't get me wrong, overall the center is okay because of the Bright Horizons philosophy the programs set in place, the few solid teachers and enough hands on developmental toys for children to stay busy and engaged. But with the incoming teachers that are just "meh" an unorganized administrative office, a growing back up of kids waiting to go to their next classes, but can't because of major poor planning, its the reason why I gave a 3-star review. I was really close to giving it a 2-star review, but its not quite there yet. Hopefully it doesn't. Hopefully school smartens up and makes changes to improve. I am kind of on the look out for other child care centers and plan to transfer when I find the right fit. I know a few parents who have already started their search for new schools.

My son is starting his second year at Little Wagon. He is very happy there. We do not have any…read morebackground in Mandarin, but my son has learned so much in one year. He has learned greetings, counting to 15, the colors, and then also built upon other preschool skills - cutting, writing his name, English alphabet, etc. The teachers are very kind, hard working, and cater to my son's learning needs. Even though my son didn't attend over the summer, his teacher still consistently emailed us Mandarin activities/songs/shows to help my son practice. Some other benefits: very clean and colorful, long hours, catered lunch (for a fee), Amazing Athletes class, and outdoor/indoor play areas.

Nice to have an option for chinese school near the waltham area. My son enjoys the classes very…read moremuch and he is maintaining his fluency in Mandarin which is great. Teachers are very involved and tailor their approach to each student. Very nice hours makes it convenient for working parents.

I would definetly recommend this school. My daughter loves it there, it's her second year and…read morealways in a good mood when I pick her up. They do lots of activities even pony rides :)) i couldn't ask for any better learning experience and more dedicated teachers.

We can't say enough about the experience we had with our daughter at The Carousel School! The staff…read moreare so caring towards the children. The curriculum is engaging and well structured. The children learn while having fun and being exposed to many different topics. There are multiple enrichment programs that the school brings into the classroom-Tufts Travelling Trunk Show, Mr Derf's music class, Ms Stacey's dance and movement class, the traveling Barnyard Babies and an annual Field Day. There are visits by Santa and the Easter Bunny, with each student receiving their own photo from the visits. The Graduation ceremony is, by far, the most meaningful! No other preschool that we know of provides such a ceremony! It was wonderful! We can't wait for our younger daughter to attend Carousel School! We never looked at any other preschools-Carousel School is the more than we could have asked for!

It was one of the best decisions that we made for our daughter who was in russell between September…read more2018 and June 2019. Right when you enter the school, both you and your child feels welcomed and relaxed. Very friendly and caring teachers. Kids to teacher ration is 1/4 or 1/5, so there is an enormous amoung of attention and care per a child enrolled to this score. I wish that there would also be an afternoon option as the school runs from 845-1:45 (or 1230 if you want your kid to take a longer nap at home) But in case you can timewise afford a half-day school, I honestly believe that Russell is by far the best among all preschools in the Greater Boston area.

Russell Cooperative Preschool is such a lovely school for young minds to grow and wonder! We love…read morethe themed organic snack days prepared by the children, the "all-weather" outdoor play and the storytelling. The sunny and beautifully decorated classrooms immediately fostered our daughter's imagination. Our daughters growth and development has been gently supported and encouraged by all of the teachers. Russell has also provided us with a sense of community and parent involvement that we were seeking. Our daughter has bloomed into such a thoughtful and creative child! I strongly recommend to go and check it out and be pleasantly surprised as we were!

I honestly cant say enough great things about this place…read more The owner is amazing... she truly loves what she does and cares SO much. She is just the nicest person I have ever met. The school itself... pristine... locked/gated/beautiful grounds and play areas. The place is safe, the teachers are AMAZING... they care and they know what they are doing. The activities, learning plan, etc.... WOW! The families... the sense of unity in the various families who attend this school... WOW! I really cant express how amazing this place is. My daughter is learning so much from the curriculum and it is effortless. The encouragement, professional staff, cleanliness, lesson plans, overall environment... it just cant be matched. You want to be part of this place and it is well worth the money.

My son Jack is now in his second year at the Teddy Bear Club (he started when he was 2 years old)…read more It has been an amazing experience for him and our family. The teachers, the curriculum and the facility are positively amazing. I cannot say enough about how pleased we are with our experience. We live a decent distance away from the school and Jack's mom drives him from our home on the South Shore to Newton... To those of you from the area, I hope this points out just how great we think the school is, that we'd travel that far. We look forward to Jack's third year with the school next year!

We are so thrilled with our experience at CCL. Our son started at age 2 and will remain through…read morepre-K. This is our third experience with pre-schools in the Boston suburbs and CCL stands out for its excellent sense of community, curriculum, location, teachers and tradition of caring. We are so lucky to have this wonderful school in our Lexington community.

Its all about the kids and the teachers at CCL. My daughter has been going there since she was old…read moreenough to attend and to get out of one of the corporate daycares. I feel so strongly about how great this school is that I am also on the board, as it is a non-profit. They treat the teachers with the respect that they deserve and don't send them home without pay when the numbers are down for the day. If the numbers are down, our kids get more interaction with more teachers. Did I mention how great the teachers are! My daughter has thrived at CCL and loves going to "school" everyday. You do have to walk up stairs as the space is rented from the church, but that has actually taught my daughter stair safety at a very early age. I cannot recommend CCL highly enough. The space is a bit dated, but they have tons of toys for the kids and they love it, so don't let the space fool you, this place is great.

Our oldest son just finished his first year of preschool in the 3-day program at Belmont Coop. We…read moreabsolutely love the school. The director and the teachers are so engaged with the kids and its an incredibly warm and welcoming community. We originally visited the school when it was located in Cushing Square. The space was fun and interactive but the new space has really allowed the school to grow in both capacity and programming. It's bright and sunny with plenty of room for more creative play and planned activities. It has an adjacent playground as well as a nearby park for more lengthy outdoor activities. The school provides several special activities which our son loves. Habitat, the Mass Audubon education center, regularly visits his class and provides hands-on exposure to the local fauna. They are also regularly visited by Hugh Hanley, a local musician who leads an hour of song and story telling. These are particularly fun days to be a parent helper in the classroom. Since this was our first foray into school for our son, we are very glad we chose a coop program. It allows us to see our son in his school environment and better understand his development and how we can help shape his growth both at school and home. We also get to know and work with other parents and families in the area. The teachers provide regular feedback which is encouraging and helpful. We particularly love the director who is constantly in the rooms with each group of kids and consistently checks in with us. I would highly recommend this school to anyone but would strongly urge families to look into the program sooner rather than later as the school regularly has a wait list.

I agree with the previous reviewer - the leadership and teaching staff at this school are amazing…read more My twin boys had a wonderful year in the 3-day class as their first out-of-home experience, and we all loved it. Everyone on the teaching staff is extremely committed, detail-oriented, and caring. They are working really hard to create a fun, engaging environment, and to make sure that every child is included and enjoying the experience. The classroom is organized thoughtfully, with an impressive range of activities always available to the children plus daily curriculum plans that include developmentally appropriate and seasonal enrichment activities, and also the year's enrichment activities from outside visitors included theater, music, yoga, and art. There is always so much going on at this school, and yet it manages to feel comfortable and homelike for the kids. We have also really appreciated the co-op aspect of it, since we recently moved to the area from out-of-state. The school has a wonderful mix of families and they have all been very welcoming. This school feels like a close-knit family with teaching geniuses at the helm. I love it, the kids love it, and I can't believe we were lucky enough to find it.

We LOVE the Goddard School, Weston. Our daughter, who is in 3rd grade constantly tells us that it…read morewas her favorite school ever! Our son, just graduated from the school to start kindergarten. He was very nervous and sad to leave. Leaving this school was harder than the actual milestone of starting kindergarten at a new school. The facility is new (5 years old). We have been with them from the beginning. The inside of the school is clean, inviting, and is in a super convenient location. We can't say enough about the Staff and the Teachers. They are all so warm and loving. They honored all of my nervous "new Mom" requests, especially in the early days when I was so cautious about leaving my first child. The curriculum was age appropriate for each stage our children were in and prepared them well to start elementary school. The school was truly a blessing for us. When the ups and downs of life got crazy, the Goddard School was the one consistent and dependable factor. We are incredibly grateful for the love and support over the years as well as the lifelong friendships we developed with other parents, teachers, and faculty.

The owners are unprofessional, and seem to have no experience in dealing with kids. The…read moreenvironment is not friendly and safe for kids. Owner's children attend the school, and teachers and owners are biased toward their behavior in the class room. They are not receptive of any suggestions, but rather like to be defensive of their behavior. Complete let down. It is an example of unprofessional and inexperience owners running this school and misusing the Goddard School banner. I have great experience at Braintree, Goddard school but would never want my child to go to Weston-Goddard. Feel free to contact me for details. --------------------------- Please note timing of two recent "5 star" reviews and one reviewer even commenting on the first negative review. This further confirms my concerns about the owners to be manipulative and untrustworthy. I want to sincerely spread the message out to the parents who are looking to enroll their kids in Weston Goddard. Two months of attending Weston-Goddard was a traumatizing experience for my son. He barely survived bullying atmosphere of owner's children in the class room and biased treatment of owners. This school has a policy to put a 4 year child in a small wooden box or cube called "safety cube" in order to calm him/ her down. How terrifying? My son was traumatized by this experience. I wish no child to go through this. We experienced unprofessional behaviors from the school owners when I dis-enrolled my son from the school. My son in his new school is happy and SAFE, and that is all what matters to me. Please spread the words and reach out to me if you are considering Weston-Goddard school.