We send my daughter to Sonshine Christian Academy and think it's been great. She's been going here…read morefor over 9 months, and has developed in leaps and bounds. She started when she was 15 months old, and is now almost two and has an amazing vocabulary. She knew sign language before she started talking a lot, which was very helpful to communicate with her. I think it's great that there are only a handful of times that she's watched TV there in 9 months, and it's times that's seem reasonable. Such as part of a special lesson, or the very end of the day right before the long vacation while the teachers were cleaning up. When I asked about it once, they explained the reasoning for it that day, and offered to let my child do something else if/when they do it again, but I didn't think that was necessary. We aren't religious people, so we don't reinforce the Christian concepts at home, but we don't feel like they are overwhelming either. Not a huge fan of my daughter saying the "pledge of the allegiance" to the bible after the flag, but I guess that's what you get when you pick a religious based daycare. We have our second child due in a few months, and they are already registered for here when I go back to work.

Ah Sonshine. So had I been writing this review early on with my time there, I'm not sure how many…read morestars I would have given, as I wasn't quite sure how comfortable I was with the whole idea of the "religious preschool" thing, given that we are not a particularly religious family ourselves. But Sonshine was close by and came recommended by a few friends, so we gave it a try. That was five years ago; I have since put both my kids through Sonshine, and after all is said and done, Sonshine earns a five star rating. Ultimately, your experience at a daycare/preschool is going to be shaped by the quality of the people working there, and all of the staff we encountered over the years were either good or great, some genuinely outstanding. The quality of the personnell there is a reflection on Margie and Carol, the two owners/senior administrators of the school. I got to know both of them a bit over my time there; it is clear Sonshine is their "baby" and they treat it correspondingly. As both of my kids are now a bit older, I can barely remember the stress of wondering if your kids were in good hands for the 8 hours a day you were at work was like. I never had to worry, because I was comfortable with Sonshine from the beginning, and at the end, was very grateful to have had them taking care of both of my kids.

Note, if your child is born after September but enroll them before. you will always be charged the…read moremore expensive rate. the centers are now changing the contract from 10 hours to 9 hours and charging parents more if you get there past 9 hours. The staff is loyal and have been there for many years. The management has changed and employees are being silence.

what I would like to know is why don't the establishment have a janitor to clean over night before…read morethe children enters the place instead of having the tired employees to wipe down which isn't sanitary enough kids are sick back to back to back at this place if they don't take the correct precautions I'll be calling licensing and inspection within the next two weeks cause it makes no sense

My children have attended the center. I cannot say enough good things about the program. Most…read moreimportantly, I know that my child is safe and loved. The bonus is that they come home every day having learned something new. Thanks

Figured I'd post a review since I wish there were reviews when I was looking for them. Bottom line…read moreis, among other centers in Bryn Mawr, this is probably a better one just because of large rooms and fairly small number of children in those rooms (as compared to Cambridge school in Baldwin where those kids are like sardines in a can). But that's about it. The teachers were not engaging, every time I dropped my kid off, sometimes as late as 9.15am, they were yapping with each other. Every time I came to pick up, again even as early as 4.30-5, the kids were playing on their own while the girls were chatting. When they actually did circle time, I'm not sure. Apparently there was a time because my child learned Apples and bananas song in one year! And in comparison to our new daycare, the kid has mastered sooooo much: songs, letters, numbers, games, space, anatomy - you name it. I believe the 3 year olds had a nice teacher, we would always peek in their room and get jealous of the kids that actually do something. And I think the infants teacher knows what she's doing, but 1 and 2 year olds - you'd be better of to keep looking, preferably outside of a Bryn Mawr if logistics allow. Unless they switched up the teachers and got some that actually care about kids.

Our son has been at CBA for almost 4 years.  We couldn't be happier with the staff, his development…read moreand the friendships we've made.  It's a wonderful preschool.  The staff is always friendly and responds to any questions promptly.  The teachers are great.  Our son will be finishing up with pre-kindergarten shortly and we can already see that he'll be well prepared to start kindergarten in the Fall.  CBA offers many extracurricular activities and has a lot of fun after class functions that parents/families can participate in.  I would recommend CBA to anyone in the area.  Our son was previously in another daycare in the area and CBA was miles ahead of them.  One last note, they provide snacks and lunches which is a huge benefit.  Our son enjoys mostly all of what they offer.

I highly recommend Chesterbrook Academy! The environment is…read morealways clean, the classrooms are well-organized, and the teachers and staff are truly professional. Mrs Sara, Liz, Caitlin, Mrs Susman, Mrs brin and so many more go over and beyond for the families of Chesterbrook Academy. Safety at Chesterbook is clearly a top priority for the children. I wholeheartedly recommend Chester brook Academy. I also couldn't be happier with the growth and care the children received here. I've seen the curriculum and attention provided at every level of the center, and I've been impressed every step of the way. The kids literally run into the center each day, excited to see their teachers and friends. The staff also does an amazing job preparing the children for Kindergarten. I truly see the staff as an extension of the family. I am so thankful to know them all.

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.

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.

Our daughter spent the best two years of her young life at Goddard School of Bala Cynwyd! The…read moreinstruction is rigorous and high quality, truly preparing your child for Kindergarten and beyond. From the leadership to the teaching ranks, every member of this team is kid-driven and will cater to the academic and social needs of all students. If Goddard extended into the elementary years, there would be no doubt that our daughter would attend there. Thank you Jody, Bill, the directors, our daughter's teacher, Emily.... you all are simply amazing!

Our son had been attending their school since birth. We felt like they were family and had worked…read morewith us and us with them. Our son started having some behavior issues at first we were told it was a phase. Even our family doctor thought it was a normal development phase. When the Daycare finally told us they felt his behavior wasn't a phase and needed professional help we started the process to get him an assessed and behavioral help from professionals. Literally the day we informed him that he had been approved for, and would be getting assistance they kicked him out because they felt he was a safety risk. however curiously during that phone conversation where we were telling them he was approved the admin stated that if the assistance was full wrap around coverage then it wasn't good enough (note wrap around is only for 2.5 hours a day and only given if the rarest of situations.) The professionals that had assessed him in their school was stunned when we informed them and literally put in writing she didn't believe he was a safety risk at all. We even tried talking to the teacher and she just told us she couldn't get involved. There was no meetings, no conversations, no warnings, there was no documentation to prove their claim. there was just a letter in his folder that day saying as of that Friday he was no longer allowed to attend. this was on a Wednesday He literally cried all night and then everyday for the next couple weeks when he couldn't go back and see his friends. We have struggled since then because he just wants to go back and doesn't want anything to do with his new daycare and it has made working on his issues even more difficult. Even now several months later we are still stunned and confused. And why we still don't know because the administrator of the site and the owner have refused to communicate with us in any fashion.

I have been to a dozen different day cares in Delaware County and by far all of the Step by Step…read moreLearning Centers are far superior than the others I have inspected. They offer: college educated teachers, they have four stars with the Keystone Stars Program, they use creative curriculum at its highest level incorporating field trips and guest speakers in various occupations who come and speak to the children. This isn't your typical Child Care Center. This is an Academy that develops brilliant children. My children never want to leave and I am always impressed with what they have learned each day. Whether your child is 6 weeks old or 13 years old there is plenty of activities to keep their minds occupied. Don't waste your time going to other Day Cares, Step by Step is the place for intelligent minds and caring teachers and their rates are very reasonable.

What a great school! Not only am I consistently excited by…read morethe staff and directors love for the kids but their knowledge on children's education is phenomenal! I highly recommend this school you will not be disappointed! Communication is key and I am impressed with how much they inform us on all of our children's progress but my children are happy as can be!

The director puts on a good face but doesn't seem to respect families or children behind closed…read moredoors. The upper level teachers are awful. Scream at kids in their faces, do not do what's best for kids just what's best for them. Facility is nice and directors always have a smile, but look past that and you will be troubled.