We have been very happy with KCC. The teachers are the best - kind, caring, hardworking,…read moreprofessional, organized, knowledgeable, communicative. I could go on and on with how much and why we love them. The center director manages everyone and everything beautifully. We fully trust the staff & director and feel like we are truly part of the KCC family.

Our daughter was in the Butterfly room with Ms. Andrea and just THRIVED at KCC. She loved going to…read moreschool so so much. We are moving out of state, otherwise we would've kept her at KCC until preK. It is such an incredible, nurturing environment and the teachers are just wonderful. Our daughter is not even 3.5 and she can basically read! We love love love KCC and couldn't recommend it enough!

We have been at Newport since our daughter was 12 weeks old...and she's nearly 4 now. It's a…read morefantastic school. This is our second child, and our older son had gone to two different daycares, so we knew exactly what we were looking for when we toured Newport. My daughter is learning all sorts of things, but more importantly to us, she's making friends, learning how to resolve conflict, learning to take turns and share, and we're confident she'll be set up for success in kindergarten. She looks forward to school each day. When she was younger, she went through some health issues that required some extra steps in caring for her. Newport was absolutely lovely during this difficult time. The teachers, staff, and in particular John the owner worked with us so that she could still attend school. We've become part of the community, doing play dates with her school friends outside of school, meeting other parents and families. Her teachers know her, and we can always talk to them about challenging "growing up" things like potty training and nap transitions, and I feel like we tackle them together. There may be wait lists...but honestly that's the situation with daycares in the city. It's definitely worth adding Newport to the list of daycares to tour and consider!

We pulled our kid from the toddler room at Newport Children's Academy in January after only a few…read moremonths. I'm writing this review so that you know what we wish we had known before we enrolled: this daycare relies on physical restraints to "teach" the toddlers how to behave. In the toddler room, they have "learning time" for 20 minutes each morning and during that time they arrange little toddler chairs in a half circle and a teacher sits at the front of the class and gives a lesson. The chairs have a seat belt-like strap and they strap the kids into the chairs so that they stay seated while the teacher is talking. When they first sent me a picture of my kid strapped into a chair, my mom instinct went on red alert. Why would they use physical restraints on toddlers? And why would they lecture at toddlers like they are in an elementary school classroom? It all seemed so wrong.  I talked to the lead teacher, who was very understanding but said the decision was the director's. When I talked to the director, John Sears, he said they use the straps to teach the kids boundaries because otherwise they wouldn't stay in the chairs. Of course they wouldn't, I said, toddlers don't sit still for more than a few minutes. And I said they weren't being taught how to sit and pay attention if they are being physically held into place and have no choice but to sit. We went back and forth for a bit and then his argument shifted away from boundaries and he homed in on safety. He said the kids could fall off the chairs. The chairs are toddler-sized and very close to the ground. This is hardly a safety issue. Even if there is a risk that the kids would climb on the chairs, the way to handle that risk is to watch them carefully, not to use restraints. (Full transparency: the lead teacher told me that "learning time" lasts 20 minutes. The director insisted it wasn't that long. Only 10 minutes, he said. I believed the lead teacher who was in the room everyday and in charge of the room's daily activities. But, even if the director was right, 10 minutes is still way too long to expect one-year-olds to sit still. Also, at our request, they stopped strapping our kid to the chair. But they still made her sit in place when all the other kids were strapped into their chairs. One of the teachers said it was "a requirement of this school" that she sit still.) Strapping the kids to their chairs wasn't a technique only used during the 20 minute learning time in the morning. For every activity that was done at a table (coloring, sensory activities, puzzles, eating) the kids were buckled in. That meant multiple times a day the kids were restrained. Sometimes when I arrived to pick up my kid in the evening, all of the toddlers would be strapped into their chairs for no apparent reason. One time I arrived and they were all strapped into chairs singing "The Wheels on the Bus." Why in the world do toddlers have to sit still in chairs to sing? Another time they were all strapped into chairs and doing nothing. I asked what was going on and one of the teachers said they had been playing with stickers. There were no stickers to be seen. The kids were made to sit buckled into chairs with nothing to do while the teachers cleaned up. I described the learning time to my kid's pediatrician and showed her a picture that Newport had sent me. She was dumbfounded. She said she had never heard of anyone trying to teach one-year-olds that way and said it demonstrated a misunderstanding of how young children learn. They learn through play, she said, and their attention spans are 2-3 minutes. She strongly suggested I find a new daycare.  I talked to a lot of other people about this too. I asked other parents and found no one whose daycare did anything similar. I also talked to other pediatricians and child psychiatrists that I work with who said the same thing my own pediatrician did - it is not developmentally appropriate to expect toddlers to sit and pay attention that long and the use of physical restraints to facilitate "learning" is not an accepted practice. We couldn't shake the feeling that doing something as developmentally inappropriate as strapping kids into chairs was indicative of the fact that they just didn't understand or respect child development. We couldn't trust a place that relied on physical restraint as a teaching tool.

its 6th month that we are sending our son to l and l academy. He is 19 months now. I dont have a…read morecomparison place, this is the first time we send him to a place away from us. But the 5 star is based on the intercation and learning curve of my son. He learns new thing and seems to be enjoying. He des cries when he goes and comes back but then he was so used to staying with me that i think the change was oo big for him but he has gotten better each day. The teacher always answer question, very adjusting with our schedule and there are fun activity all the time. Photos are send every friday and what they do are put up on noticeboard everyday. I am specially impressed with Miss Danielle's flexibility and ease of conversation and Miss Lindsay's dedication towards I can only say abut my son :)

First I'd like to say that my child does not go here and this review is solely based on my tour…read more The staff seemed okay. The tour was enough to make me want to escape run. This place was so overcrowded. Kids sitting on the floor in line in diapers waiting to use the bathroom. I could barely talk to the staff because it smelled so bad that I wanted to throw up. The small was a combination of feces and sweet potatoes. The place is too small for so many little ones. They did not seem like they were getting the proper attention. I was looking for an affordable place for my toddler in a neighborhood full of expensive preschools but there is no way I would send my child here.

We have now had two kids at Marisol's since they were about 5 months old and our experience has…read morebeen great. Our babies were taken such good care of and learned how to be kids. Highly recommended experience for the kids and the parents.

My daughter attended this daycare for one year. We were sad to leave the daycare but had to leave…read moreonce we moved to another part of the city. The Wonderful things: - Caregivers are warm and affectionate to small children. My daughter loved receiving lots of hugs and flying kisses. She was happy when I dropped-off/picked up. - Toddlers are active & burn off energy. They take 1-2 trips/day to the park (weather permitting) using a 6-toddler stroller/carriage for safe transport. There is a great covered play area in the backyard for cooler weather and a mini toddler gym with mats and tunnels to climb through in the basement. - Price is good for the area. - My daughter learned several Spanish words, the alphabet, cute dance moves, and colors. - Minimal days closed when compared to larger daycare centers. - Other parents are warm & friendly. Not quite as wonderful: - Parking is usually available but parallel parking skills is a must. - The drop-off/pick-up area is small and can get busy.

We have been sending our twins to LSNP for 2.5 years and could not be happier. The teachers are…read moretruly caring and go WAY above and beyond for the kids. There is no end of creative and fun activities that have taught my kids more than I would have ever expected. The space is bright, cheerful, and truly welcoming. Highly highly recommended!

I cannot say enough good things about Lincoln Square Nursery and Preschool. My daughter has been…read morewith them 4 days a week since she was 4 months old. I have so much trust and respect for them and I highly recommend them for a small neighborhood in home daycare. The atmosphere that they provide is friendly, safe, warm and fun. My daughter always comes home with the same kind of experiences that I would provide if I could be with her all day. They go to the park, create the most beautiful art projects and are encouraged through play to grow and explore and develop their little minds. I was very through with my in home daycare search and when I discovered Arta, Nita and Flutra I knew they were the best fit for my family.

Mary Meyer Preschool is such a warm and inviting place, it truly feels like an extension of home…read more(with a bit more paint and glitter - ha!). The teachers and staff are amazing at foster our littlest ones to develop kindness, listening skills, problem solving skills, patience and learning the more basic fundamentals through purposeful play. My third child is at MM right now and loving every minute of it (the other 2 went there too!). The curriculum is creative, imaginative and playful - drawing self portraits, looking for the gingerbread man, creating art that works on their fine motor skills and cooperation. I cannot speak more highly of this school and could not imagine having our children start their school process anywhere else!

You will not find a better preschool program in Chicago. This school has been around for so long…read moreand has everything down to a science. Parents are welcomed as collaborators and community members. The half day program allows kids to explore individual interests (and parents will help coordinate activities). Teachers make the program what it is -- and they stick around and have decades of experience. My son is in the afternoon class. He gave up his nap the first day of school, and goes to bed every night tired and happy. He's gained confidence socially, emotionally and is ready for next year.

Our daughter has been attending for a year and we love the school. She's learning so much and she…read moreadores her guides. She's in the Spanish immersion and her Spanish has gotten way better too.

I can't say enough about this program, the staff, and community of parents/families here. Our son…read morewas born at the height of Covid so really didn't have as much exposure to other kids and activities the way our daughter did, so when he turned 3, we opted for the Children's House program at Guidepost in Wicker Park and it's been transformational for our son. When he started, he didn't want to interact with anyone and would scream at anyone who tried to engage with him, but a few months in and wow--this mighty personality that was waiting in the wings just poured out of him. Not to mention, his speech improved exponentially in such a short time. Even now, just one year later, I am so amazed at the rate of development. We've gone from unruly toddler to a little boy who is now a leader and helper to the younger kids, is so independent, outgoing, and already learning to read and write. In fact, he has an older sister at a different school and we thought about transferring him for convenience (and cost savings), but decided against it because it has been so impactful for our son--we didn't want to disrupt the process--and we are so thankful we stayed. It's such a wonderful community and not only is there "school work" but so many opportunities to participate in extra-curriculars like art, dance, tumbling, soccer, etc. The school heads take the time to carefully select the meals for each month and I'm so grateful because my son is a notoriously picky eater at home, so I'm comforted by the fact that he's eating healthy meals on a daily basis at school. The staff is honestly just exceptional and really take the time to know the parents and their kids, regardless of age or which class they are in. We leave at drop off every day knowing our son is in good hands and I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone! Ms. Gladys, Ms. Brittney, Ms. Maria, Ms. Sue, Ms. Katelyn (and all the staff I don't interact with on a daily basis)--thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have done and continue to do for this school and the children. This is really a special place and if I could rewind the time, I would send our first child here as well!!

We did not want our son in a daycare. However, after a failed nanny share attempt, we knew we…read moreneeded a solution that would be closer to our offices downtown and something that would expose our son to more children for socialization. Once we met Val and saw the school, we instantly knew the location was perfect for our commute and the nurturing, attention, diversity of education, structured play/education we had been hoping to achieve with a nanny share would happen at CPS. Our son was one of the first enrolled students. 8 months later, we could not be more thrilled with the experience. He is only just now 1 but is already walking, talking, singing and signing. The teachers are amazing and the activities offered (yoga, music class, baby sign language, daily walks/park play during nice weather) are unlike any other school we toured. They also have numerous activities where parents are encouraged to come to school and participate. Checking in on his day is easy with the Brightwheel app. Am excited to have our son at the school until they kick him out when he is 6 :)

I am really impressed with this school. Both my grandkids go there. The activities and the…read moreprogram are amazing, the food, the facility, the best I have seen, and I was an educator myself. Good habits, reading, potty training, and lots of fun activities, caring environment, this place is a real find!