We love BCSYC and cannot recommend them enough. Our older daughter has been there for 2 years and…read moreour younger daughter has been there for 4 months. The teachers are wonderful and the leaders of the school are also great. I love that they value and teach kindness and inclusion. They have been great about communicating during COVID and I feel comfortable with their protocols. Their curriculum is engaging and I love hearing the songs my daughters have learned each week. My older daughter has Spanish as well and even learned to swim over the summer. I feel at ease knowing my kids are happy and well-cared for there.

We absolutely adore the teachers and staff at the Bala Cynwyd School for Young Children. Our kids…read moreare in the preschool and toddler classrooms, and we have been thrilled with the kindness and thoughtfulness of their teachers and administrators. Many of the teachers have been there for decades (a family member went to BCSYC 20 years ago and had three of the same teachers our kids have today). The teaching staff is quite diverse, as are the families. We have been impressed with their approach to COVID safety, including clear and prompt communication with families. The Spanish and music lessons have been a big hit, and our older child loved the swimming lessons last summer. It's an excellent program.

The knowledge and experience gained in a fun environment is exceptional…read more Thank you and hopefully next summer will be back.

This is our first of many more Lavner Summer Camp for my son. He's enjoying all the different…read moreweekly session. From Lego to Minecraft, then Pokemon and Youtube 3D then topping it off with STEM to complete his wonderful experience this year.

Our family has been very cautious with the ongoing pandemic due to health issues. We have followed…read morethe recommendations of the CDC and mandates set forth by the governor and his office because we are not medical professionals. When I spoke with the owner, Jodi, of the school, after the mask mandate was declared by the governor, I wanted to confirm that they would be in compliance with this order so that I could feel safe knowing that some medical precautions were being taken to keep my child (and our family) from contracting COVID. Jodi explicitly stated that some of the two year olds "are disgusted by" wearing masks and that wearing masks "upsets them" so the staff would "not force them to wear" masks. This was obviously concerning, especially since earlier in the summer, Jodi had told my wife that the school would not be enforcing mask wearing unless the governor mandated it, and now that it was mandated, Jodi would be going against the medical advice of those advising the governor and made it clear that even though the governor's mandate was now in place, the school would still not enforce it. I called and spoke with Jodi to request a refund of our deposit, due to the continuing concerns that we had, after Jodi made it clear that mask wearing would, in essence, be optional for those in the two year old room, despite the mandate. Jodi claimed that I was "twisting [her] words," that "the governor is crazy" if he thinks two year olds will keep masks on all day and repeatedly said that she knows from her personal experiences while raising three kids that two year olds will not keep masks on. As a father of toddlers who have navigated this pandemic with masks on, I feel very at odds with Jodi's assessment of children's capability to follow directions from adults and wear a mask. In the end, Jodi refused to return our deposit and explained that it would remain on file for six months in the event that we decided to send our child there in the future. Truthfully, after our experience with Jodi, we have very little interest in sending our children there, pandemic or not. Had we been given assurances and felt the least bit comfortable with Jodi's handling of this matter or her willingness to comply with state mandates, then we would certainly be interested in enrolling our children in the future. Under normal circumstances, I understand why the deposit would be non refundable within the 30 days notice; after Jodi made it clear that the school would not mandate masks unless the governor ordered it, we were resigned to the fact that we would likely forfeit our deposit and not send our child if it was not mandated. We were relieved when it was ordered but a bit distraught when Jodi expressed an unwillingness to comply with or encourage mask wearing in the two year old room. If Jodi had assured us that the school would be complying with the mask mandate and helping children to adjust to mask wearing instead of letting them go unmasked, then our child would be in the school at this very moment. Instead, we've found a better program that is serious about protecting the health of children.

This brand new (as of May 2019) Goddard is definitely somewhere worth sending your children to,…read moreespecially compared to others in the area. My son transferred to Goddard from Kindercare, where he was learning virtually nothing (the 4-5yo teacher there didn't even read books daily), and he loved the new environment at Goddard and got a much better education. He had a marked change in attitude and happiness as well and started to bring home art projects regularly. Pros: * Classrooms are HUGE and clean, as everything is new * Owners are willing to invest in resources and toys in the classroom * The playground is large and sparkling clean. There's also an indoor gym for inclement weather. They exercise 2x a day which is good. * They use Tadpoles, so you get notes on the day and a photo each day. * Over the summer, there are water play days. * Strong focus on academics as well as art, with daily projects to bring home * They're open most days and take very few days off. * Teachers have strong discipline. * Snacks are provided in the afternoon. * There is open and honest communication. Whenever a bump or bruise occurs, they tell us about it, unlike at Kindercare where sometimes we got the we don't know what happened excuse * Kids don't want to go home at night, which is the best indicator they're doing a great job. Neutral Notes * They do enforce logistical rules at this daycare (aka. labeling everything, taking water bottles home nightly to wash), which some fellow parents have felt are burdensome, but we like it because it prevents spread of disease which happened a lot at our old Kindercare. * They offer pizza catered in for lunch once a week at $4, and since a lot of kids elect in, we do it too for ours, but some parents might not like that societal pressure component. Areas for Improvement (they're still a 5* school, but no one is perfect): * One teacher we had was resistant to filling out info in Tadpoles and need to be complained to in order to give any info. * Teacher turnover is moderate, which is to be expected at childcare centers, but hopefully will stabilize over time. * They gave us the impression milk would be offered to students daily, but it turns out to be sporadic from what our son has told us.

We had my granddaughters 3rd birthday party here. Both kids and adults had a wonderful time…read more Heather is so organized and great with the children. I strongly recommend having a kids party with her - she works with many age groups to determine a project that is fun and interesting! She helped us every step of the way and we were so pleased!

We had our daughter's 6th birthday here and it was AMAZING! The space was large enough to fit 20…read morerambunctious kids. Heather is a saint -- she led the kids through an awesome dinosaur project and had the timing perfect. We were able to decorate the party room and bring in outside food. For free use of the space for 2 hours (set up/break down plus 90 minute party) and all of the supplies included, it was very affordable. Would recommend!

I take my 2 y. o. granddaughter nearly every week. There are so many wonderful things to explore…read moreand learn from. They have a walking path through the woods with a natural playground and sandbox, a bird house building to watch and interactive displays, a mini zoo inside a house with small animals and activities including a treehouse. They also have weekly activities and seasonal events for elementary school kids. My granddaughter calls Briar Bush "The Animal House" and loves to put a donation in the collection box before we leave.

They were so friendly and it was a great little center to see the local wildlife and learn. We…read moredidn't get to do the whole path with a stroller but it was nice and shaded on the trail so even on a hot day it felt cooler.

If I could give Rutabaga 10 stars I would. I recently had my daughter's first birthday party there…read moreand it was absolutely perfect. Krystal is an ANGEL. She was so accommodating, polite, warm and went over and beyond to make sure my guests were comfortable. So much so, she gave us a few bottles of wine for our grown up guests so I wouldn't have to go out and buy some. Besides the great hospitality, the space was perfect for a great first birthday party. It's open, very clean, baby proofed, spacious and the kids are free to play with toys while the parents mingle. We also had access to all the silverware and dish ware. In addition, the interior is very photo friendly for all your instagram posts, lol. All in all, I'd recommend Rutabaga to everyone. It's a great family run small business that goes out of it's way to treat you like family.

We absolutely love Rutabaga. It is an incredible community and play space. Even though they aren't…read moreable to have people in-person due to COVID safety precautions, Krystal has creatively provided solutions to borrow toys. It is a fantastic resource and a parent's dream because you don't have to worry about buying new toys. Instead, you can borrow well cared for toys that kids will absolutely love. The idea of a toy library is so fantastic, I wish every community had one!

My daughter attended what was advertised as "writing camp." Her experience was awful. None of the…read morestaff was qualified to teach writing, and for that matter nobody attempted as much. There was no writing instruction. In addition, the staff seemed to have neither talent, nor experience in working with children and regularly treated the kids as if they were much younger than they were. It was amateur hour to be sure. Finally, and I'm just going to be blunt, the staff were weird. If you're looking for some kind of legitimate writing experience for your kid, then look elsewhere. This is just oversold babysitting, and bad babysitting at that. But the food was actually pretty good.

My kids really enjoyed their time at Dean camp. The flexible pick-up and drop-off times are so…read morehelpful. And the fact that lunch is included is amazing. My kids really liked their instructors and the activities they did. We have already signed up again for camp this summer.

The JCC staff and facilities are top-notch. Every program we have participated in as a family has…read morebeen a great experience, and we are so happy to have the JCC in our community.

loved the JAB Basketball Clinic today !!! my 3 kids had a blast !!! thank you K JCC !!!read more