My son is in his 2nd year at Gentle Dragon and I'm so impressed with how much he has grown both…read morementally, emotionally, and socially. We visited several preschools locally and nothing even comes close in terms of quality of care as well as transparency of what happens in class. I believe this is due to several factors: - Joelle, their teacher, is deeply caring, very experienced, and highly skilled - Not only is it a parent co-op but it seems that the type of parents it draws also care deeply about the development and well being of the kids. This shows in our monthly meetings, in the activities and offerings that are created for the kids regularly, as well as the sense of team work and camaraderie among the parents and Joelle, all in the spirit of making it the best place possible for our children. - Lastly, the level of misbehavior, conflict between children, etc is negligible. A vast majority of the time the class feels pleasant, harmonius, and is such a joy to be in. I look forward to the 1 or 2 times a month I get to be a parent helper. Its often the highlight of my week. I also attribute this to Joelle and all the parents, helping the kids build great socio-emotional skills and a deep sense of safety and security. If you are looking for preschool for your child and you want the best for them, I dont think you need to look further.

Gentle Dragon is such a special place! We feel so lucky to have found this hidden gem of a…read morepreschool. GD is a cooperative preschool, meaning that the parents actively participate in running the school, from helping in the classroom twice a month to serving as board members. It really has a "village" feeling, where everyone gets to know one another and supports one another. There are just 13 kids ages 3-5 in one mixed-age classroom led by preK teacher extraordinaire Joelle. She is one of those magical individuals who is simply amazing with kids. She has decades of experience and was the director of another preK program before deciding she wanted to get back to the classroom and the kids. She runs a truly family and child-centric program and accepts every child (and person!) for who they are, meeting them where they are and helping them grow. Our daughter had a lot of trouble separating from me even for activities like gymnastics or swimming, so I was expecting a pretty tough transition to preschool. But it was so smooth! Joelle lets incoming children and parents visit as often as they want during the school day to get to know her and the classroom, AND she does home visits for every single student before September rolls around, so our child was already super comfortable by the time she started. There have been some teary partings, but Joelle has really helped us work through her separation anxiety, and our daughter absolutely LOVES school. The day to day at GD is exactly what we were looking for: plenty of free play, sensory and art play, focus on social/emotional learning, and above all a truly nurturing environment and warm community. The hours are 8:30-1pm with an option of extended day to 2pm for a limited number of kids. Because the program is only half day, it unfortunately isn't a workable option for some families. Most families in the program have one parent who is either stay-at-home, working part-time or flexible hours, or studying. But if you are able to make it work, GD is a really wonderful school and community to be a part of!

Years later Teddy Bear Daycare continues to provide our children the most amazing care. We are now…read moresending our third child to Ms Luz and Mr Chris! We have had such a wonderful experience with this daycare. The staff is incredibly kind, patient, and truly caring with the children. My kids are excited to go each day, and we've seen so much growth socially and developmentally since starting here. The communication is excellent and the teachers genuinely make each child feel special and safe. We're so grateful for the love and attention they show every day. Highly recommend this daycare to any family looking for a nurturing, reliable, and positive environment!

Teddy Bears daycare has been wonderful for our child! We started several months ago around 9 months…read moreold. They are caring, family centered, kind and our child loves going there each day. She comes home happy, (healthy) tired and is learning from all the kids and teachers there. They provide meals, milk and snacks daily for her which is a huge relief for me as a mom! They teach in a bilingual (Spanish/English) environment which is great for our little one too. Highly recommend Chris, Miss Luz and the teddy bears team!!

Our family has been having a wonderful experience at LLEC. The staff is professional, responsive,…read moreunderstanding and attentive. The babies are well cared for and receive positive stimulation between music, fun toys, books and just interactions! Plus, we are at ease knowing we can check on our baby throughout the day both on the app and on the live stream. Also, the communication to and from management has been great. They are proactive in offering timely and helpful updates and responsive to any questions or concerns we have. This day care truly "cares". Recommend!

Today 3/12/2020 at around 6:30 pm after all parent picked up their kid. The center sent out an…read moreemail to parents stating the center will be closed the next day morning until the end of the month for now due to the Corona Virus. Unlike other daycare which gives at least 24 hours notice. They decide to avoid any conversation with parents in person and just shot out an email after all parents leave with their children. Closing of the center to prevent community spread is understandable. However, the Center still demand parents to pay for the full tuition which is over 100 dollar a day while it remains closed is not very reasonable. In a time like this, school employees still need to get paid and the money comes from either the owner of the facilities or all the parents, but I wonder if they are getting their full-salary while parents paying full tuition or they are only getting paid on a discounted rate because that would be a shame.

Our daughter attended the pre-school for 2 years (PreK 1 and 2). We loved the teachers (she had…read moreMrs. Von Euw and then Mrs. Iacabone) and the diversity of the other kids/families. Our daughter enjoys it and has made some good friends (it took a while, but she got there). Our main regret in moving away from Medford is having to take her out of St. Joe's! We feel that it's by far the best value in the area.

My son attended St. Josephs Preschool for two years (3 and 4 year old program). He is now moving…read moreon to his hometown kindergarten this fall. We loved St. Josephs. The preschool teachers were all great! He had a great experience here. We are sad to leave but since we live 15 miles away and in a great school district he will be attending school in town. If we still lived in the city we would have kept him at St. Josephs for elementary school for sure. Sad to go but very happy with the care that they provided our son for the past two years. We will miss you St. Josephs!

First I should mention that we call Playhood Child Care "Casa Vicky." It really feels as if we are…read moretaking our daughter over to a friend's house. It's just that our friend (I'm talking about Vicky now) has two master's degrees in education and is also teaching early childhood education at U Mass Boston. Vicky's son also attends the school with the other kids and he's really sweet and hilarious. Our daughter loves him. The other teacher at the school, Laura, lives a couple of doors down the street and she has her own children who attended the school. Unfortunately they have since aged out. She has a degree in clinical psych and experience working with children and teenagers. Laura is extremely warm and loving. To me, Laura is more focused on emotional development and she strikes me as being very intuitive. Vicky is more academic and theoretical. She ensures that the curriculum is meeting the kids' and the parents' needs. I think that they make a very balanced and complimentary team. Vicky's husband is a musician and he comes to teach music sometimes and fills in if they need extra help. The school is in Vicky's house which they have modified to meet the needs of a six-toddler/pre-schooler school. There is a great enclosed backyard with toys, a sandbox, a little house with a slide and lots of small trees around the perimeter. The families that attend the school helped to plant those trees at a wonderful brunch last Spring. One of the things that I like the most about the school is that they use recycled materials to make collages and their own toys. Plastic bottles filled with puff balls, glitter and colored water make great kaleidoscopes. They can do more with a plastic tube than you can possibly imagine! I like that the value of re-use are part of the learning experience. "What ELSE can we use this for?" So...the Spanish thing. I am not a Spanish speaker. My wife is a native speaker and our daughter really is completely bilingual. She is almost 3 and she can talk your ears clean off in English or Spanish. She has been going to Playhood for around 18 months. I am completely jealous of how easily she has learned both languages because I have struggled for YEARS with Spanish. The only way to teach a kid a language is to immerse them in it. (I think of it as Spanish Submersion...glub....glub...glub). I have actually learned more Spanish since my daughter started talking than I have in years of study and linguistic abuse at the hands of my in-laws. Fortunately, both Vicky and Laura speak English as well, so I never have any problem communicating, getting reports or figuring out what is going on. Right now there are kids that mostly speak Spanish at home, mostly speak English at home, speak Spanish and Italian at home, and our house which is all Spanish for my wife and all English for me. We have gotten to meet all of the other parents at brunches at Casa Vicky or during drop offs and pickups. I feel like my daughter is completely safe and completely stimulated when she is at Casa Vicky. We were very lucky to have found them!

Our child has been at Playhood for over a year and we could not be more happy…read more Teachers: The teachers are creative, caring, thoughtful, and have a deep understanding of early childhood development. Because it is a small group of children with two teachers, they get a ton of individualized attention. The teachers send home a report with photos every day and touch base about any developmental issues. They helped us potty train, too! Our daughter is happy, growing, and learning Curriculum: The curriculum is structured but leaves plenty of room for the children to explore things they are interested in. The teachers modify their lesson plans when a child shows a specific interest in something. They do some form of art and/or music every day, they have free/guided play time every day. They often have sensory play or participate in preparing lunch. Space: It is in the home of one of the teachers. It is always very clean and perfectly set up for this age. There is a reading and greeting area upstairs, a playroom downstairs, space for sensory play, art and lunch near the kitchen upstairs, and a beautiful yard with plenty of things to explore. Food: Playhood provides a nutritious lunch and the kids love it. (Don't ask me how they do this, but the kids eat all their veggies!) Spanish immersion: If a child is coming in without knowing Spanish, they will help him or her out in English until the child can feel comfortable. For children with a base knowledge, you will see their Spanish blossom because they are getting it both from their teachers and from their peers. Philosophy: Most important to us was to find a place that was welcoming, kind and gentle, loving, responsible, creative, and stimulating for our child. We got lucky with Playhood! Cost: Very reasonable, especially when you consider the quality of education, the included lunch, and the comparison to other places in the area. I am happy to talk to any families thinking about Playhood. Feel free to contact me.

I love this school for my little one! It feels like an extension of our home instead of feeling…read morelike I was sending her to elementary school early.

Two of our kids have moved through Rockland Montessori Academy for preschool and had excellent…read moreexperiences. The teachers are amazing and so dedicated. The curriculum is fantastic- our kids learned so much! They also get outside everyday and do awesome crafts. The school offers many special classes (our kids' favorite was cooking class, from a real chef!) They really create a community for the families, and have many special traditions and events throughout the year. They also offer a great summer camp program that is very well run and convenient. The leadership team is excellent to work with and they run a tight ship. I wish we could stay there forever! But they have given our kids an excellent social and academic foundation for their elementary years.

This is an under the radar preschool. The teachers are amazing, patient and kind. The tuition is…read moreunbelievable low, especially given the instruction and attention each child gets from the teacher. They offer preschool programs for 3 year old and 4 year old. That's all I'm saying. I had to shout it out, because there are dead ends when you try to search the web for it.

The best nursery school in Medford, probably the whole Boston area…read more Friendly, caring teachers. Very affordable! Every child that attends learns, grows and is loved. PM me if you need more details!

don't take your child here unless you want them to have them touched inn-appropriately and nothing…read morebe done about it. please and thank you #savethechildren

If I could give negative stars, I would. Highly unprofessional, unreliable and frustrating to…read morecommunicate with. I have exchanged over 20 emails with them in the past 3 weeks and have gone back and forth about the availability of spots, canceling or not showing up to virtual tours at the last minute, just openly lying about a day care location having spots and changing the statement without any accountability at the last minute. I had heard great things about their brand but it seems like their staff is highly unprofessional and could care less about the reputation. They absolutely do not respect anyone else's time or needs and I doubt if they would even be able to care for my child if they are this unprofessional and unreliable about simple communication and showing up to meetings on time.

When we were considering Lesley Ellis for preschool, we asked around on the playground, and just…read moreabout every parent we talked to told us, "It's excellent! The only negative is the cost." That matched our experience perfectly. The tuition is steep - though financial aid is available! - but everything else was fantastic, and we were consistently impressed with the teachers, curriculum, field trips, awareness of kids as individuals, interaction with administration, and more. My mom worked for decades in early childhood education, and (as an interested and involved grandparent) was also very impressed. They welcomed/encouraged heavy parent involvement, from "come into the classroom to talk about something you're knowledgeable/passionate about" to occasional parent-meetups-over-coffee in the morning and more. But I was never, ever made to feel guilty about not being able to participate heavily, which was the norm once we had our second kid. (Who also went to LES for preschool, once old enough.) We can't speak to their K-8 experience, but for preschool/pre-K/TK they were fantastic.

Lesley Ellis is an independent school from pre-school to grade 6, but expanding soon to 8th. Our…read moredaughter is in her third year there and we have been delighted with the program. The teachers are an outstanding group and attuned to the needs of each individual student. The administration is truly exceptional as they create an environment where parents, children and the school come together to form a nurturing and vibrant community.

Recently became a parent at GNS via the Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP)…read more I had many reasons to be nervous about my kiddo starting preschool - pretty big aversion to playing with other children, having essentially no daycare/nanny experience, loud "no school!" when the idea was brought up periodically in attempts to make it less foreign, being a picky eater, etc. True story - when we did a classroom visit, where families can come and see the school, be in the classrooms, and meet the teachers, my kiddo said "why do I like school?" 5 minutes into it and the rest is history (currently in the making). The thought "oh, I can leave my kiddo here" came to me pretty unexpectedly and clearly during that visit, and I legit got pretty emotional. The other reviews ring true. If GNS interests you even a little bit, I highly recommend that you check it out for yourself.

Our daughter is in her second year at Garden Nursery School and it has been such a wonderful and…read moresupportive first school experience for her. We love that it is play-based and emphasizes socio-emotional learning, and the community that is created through the cooperative structure. It is such a welcoming environment with teachers and a director that truly appreciate the uniqueness of each child. Being new to the area, we have appreciated the chance to get to know the other families beyond a hello at dropoff. Our daughter has so much fun with all the art projects, and being able to run around with her friends in the garden, and as parents, it has been the perfect opportunity to have a part in sharing the experience with her. We love GNS!