My daughter started at Wildflower when she turned three, and she's been loving it! The kids spend a…read morelot of time outside everyday, not just at the playground but also in the woods, at the mud pit and bike path. She has so much fun, coming home tired and content. The teachers are nurturing, loving and attentive. I especially appreciate how they educate kids to be wholesome human beings, care for each other and solve conflicts among themselves.

The teachers are the most patient and positive human beings I have ever come across, and have made…read moremy daughter's first experience with out-of-home care the best I could hope for. Her imagination and confidence have both blossomed since she began there. I only wish the program extended to kindergarten and beyond.

I love this School. My kids have gone here and it is truly amazing. The teachers are so kind and…read morehave the kids best interest in mind.

Summer Camp Review: I think the young adult counsellors are not implementing the program as on…read morepaper. Such a disappointment as it really missed the mark. Of course, not all counsellors but the few we experienced have put on movies, and are kinda immature in interacting during parent interaction. Don't get me wrong nobody is mean but the place isn't worth the price at all. YMCA is running laps around Duke School summer camp in terms of fun energy and don't tell me it's educational and cut out half the stated activities b/c suzie q didn't remember. Overall Duke School is a master a marketing an illusion of what it thinks it is. Maybe 20 years ago dude...

My daughter attended language immersion schools for 4 years (school taught 80-100% in a foreign…read morelanguage by native speakers) when we decided to homeschool. Our biggest concern with this choice was losing the years of language we had invested in our daughter and her losing a something she absolutely loved learning. We discovered chicle when exploring Carrboro and decided to write them about a possible group class for homeschoolers. I worked with Sara Biondi, their office manager, and she was able to organize a homeschool group class. However, the first day of class we were the only family in attendance as all the other families had decided to cancel at last minute. Sara and the Chicle team worked with us and our budget to find a tutor solution for our daughter. We now have daytime classes at Chicle twice a week with two different teachers, Alma Manso and Perla S. which provide a fun and diverse learning experience. We feel our daughter has grown her Spanish skills more this year tutoring with Chicle than spending her entire days at an immersion school. We have been very impressed with her progress!! We have been attending Chicle classes for almost a year now and it has been an all around fantastic experience. From the organized office manager to the awesome teachers to the convenient location. We feel blessed to have found this little jewel in Carrboro!!! Keep up the amazing work you are doing CHICLE!!!! :)

I signed up at Chicle after wanting to freshen up my Spanish after almost 10 years wanting to try…read moreout a private lesson and it really is the best thing I've done to help dust off the language and get into practice again. I really like how they tailor a class or lesson to your needs. If you know of several people who want to do a class they can set that up or put you in one that is already set up. They also do private tutoring which is what I am doing now after my teenage daughter and I did a group class together over the Summer. It's a little more expensive but for me having the personalized attention and ongoing interaction has been very helpful and worth the extra cost. I took Spanish in grad school and didn't learn as much as I am learning now. I really love my instructor, Pilar. She is good at drawing you out and giving you feedback real time to help you speak more fluently. She is also very personable and warm and entertaining. I had Perla once and she was very nice and got both my daughter and I to practice and we enjoyed her instruction style as well. They offer children's programs (though might be in the summer), study abroad experiences and translation services as well.

Tammy is the most heartless Head of School who openly shows no care for students and their…read morefamilies, neither the well being of her staff members. This school has no regards on separating families whose lives changed due to relocation and can't afford to break contract because they want parents to pay for a whole school year, even when they are not providing the educational services. Family dynamics change, families get relocated, and they have no concerns on the separation anxieties on their students about the parents, or their mental health. They have 0 empathy and unwilling to work things out to keep families together. She also mistreated staff members that she doesn't like and keep things behind parents knowledge.

Ask yourself how would you want your school to act during a crisis?…read moreHere is our experience ... On January 2020, we signed a 5 months contract with MSD for both our kids - a 20m old baby and a 4y. Despite missing half the school year, MSD refused to prorate the admission fee of $2,200 per 2 kids. We were a little surprised how much the kids struggled in the first 2 months. The 4 years old had experienced physical and emotional bulling from older boys, and we had to intervene time and again. The toddler could not express himself. However, every time we picked him up we were terribly disturbed. Our baby was waiting for us every day outside in the playground in the cold days of January and February. Standing alone, he was motionless, looking visibly cold and uncomfortable. His bib was always dirty and terribly wet, making his chin red and irritated; his hands and nose red and very cold to touch. It was so stressful to see, we had to complain several times but things improves only a bit. Sadly, just as the children begin to settle in a bit, the school had to close due to coronavirus. When it was clearly a long-term situation, the school tried to adapt the framework of higher education institutions and move to distance learning. With an email a day per each kid, the school has tried to offer its distance learning for toddlers and preschool kids as a fair replacement for in person/ class learning. And without mentioning any official change to its policy nor a discussion of the contractual agreement between us, the school began to reframe its digital effort as an interchangeable learning tool to the traditional Montessori experience. A friend described the irony to me in such elegance: "a virtual Montessori classroom is an oxymoron ..... Providing digital services to you as a parent is the exact opposite of what you paid for". We told the principal that ultimately in our case, the distance learning the school has offered fails to address our family needs. At the developmental stage of toddlers and young preschoolers, distance learning requires unreasonable level of parental engagement and it puts an overwhelming burden on working parents like us. We acknowledged that perhaps this is useful learning tools for their K-6 graders who are older and can better study and follow instructions independently with limited need for parental oversight and engagement. But it fall on deaf ears. MSD has pushed back against any claims we made for getting a refund. And with with just an email, they moved to charge us tuition for distance learning in the same rate it had charged us for its traditional 5 days schedule in-person program from 8-12pm. And so, we have now unwillingly found ourselves having paid Montessori School of Durham $18k for as little as +2 months of school. And if this not enough, now we had to worry also about next year. Having signed a 2020-2021contract with the school in Feb 2020, we have been weary of similar outcomes in the likely event of a second wave of the virus next year. Making several attempts via emails and phone calls, we asked MSD to clarify its financial policy for next year and an update to the contract accordingly. The Principal has refused to answer. So we asked to withdraw our kids enrollment from next school year 2020-2021 since we do not agree with the current change of term and their refusal to update us with next year policies. The Principal responded with a threat to sue us for the full yearly tuition of both kids as well as the school legal fees. Apply to MSD and this will be your partner in a time of crisis.

Every Friday, Counter Culture does a free 10 AM coffee tasting, which is a cool experience…read more Admittedly, I am more of a tea drinker, but I still learned a lot and think this is a special outing for anyone interested in learning more about single origin coffee. The baristas were very welcoming and knowledgeable, providing a sample of the coffee (we were given a coffee from Burundi) , providing some information on their harvesting and roasting practices, and opening up the floor to an audience Q&A. Ambiance is very modern and chic and there are two bathrooms open to visitors in the facility. I would recommend going on time to the tasting if possible for the best seating/experience. I came 15 min late and the seats were all taken and it was a full house. There were no issues with finding parking; there is a gravel lot adjacent to the roastery. Overall, a very unique experience!

I visited this fantastic coffee wholesaler a few weeks ago for their coffee concentrate event! They…read morehave manufactured a prepared coffee concentrate that can be diluted and used in everything from lattes to espresso martini. They plan on selling to shops, bars, and restaurants. They drizzled some of the coffee concentrate onto ice cream, which was amazing! I can't wait until they start supplying local stores. Hopefully, it will be available in stores for customers in the future!

No, UNC isn't perfect, but I'm giving it five stars on Yelp because, objectively speaking, it's…read morestill a great school and one of the biggest and most-recognized brands when it comes to universities (academics) and college athletics. There's no denying that. I have an interesting relationship with UNC. I was born and raised in High Point, North Carolina. My parents went to Wake, so I grew up a Demon Deacon fan. I was in the minority, starting in elementary school, because most of the other kids cheered for Carolina and Duke. In middle school, I became a member of the ABC Club - Anybody But Carolina. A lot of my high school friends and classmates went on to attend UNC. I went to Georgia Tech and settled in Atlanta. Fast-forward about 15 years and my wife matched into her ophthalmology residency at UNC. We moved away from Atlanta and spent the last four years of our lives in Chapel Hill, so my wife could slave away as a resident physician for UNC Health. For her, it was the most difficult and grueling years of her life. For me, I used it as an opportunity to explore Chapel Hill - mainly the businesses on and around Franklin Street - and go to Carolina men's basketball and football games when they played Georgia Tech. As expected, we beat Carolina in football, even when they were ranked and favored, and lost to Carolina in basketball. It was a lot of fun to attend the games at Kenan Stadium and the Dean Dome. I do have to mention I was at the last men's basketball game between Tech and Carolina on January 30, 2024 in Atlanta. Tech upset Carolina, then ranked No. 3 in the country, 74-73. UNC has a beautiful campus and the Town of Chapel Hill is a great college town. Generally speaking, in this regard, I think UNC is a model university for the classic American college experience. It seems to have it all and is more well rounded than, say, Georgia Tech, which is heavily research and engineering focused (not as typical a college experience, in my opinion). After spending four years in Chapel Hill and getting to know a part of the UNC community, mainly through my wife's program, I've softened on Carolina. I do admit I was very proud of my wife as soon as I learned that she matched into UNC's ophthalmology residency (Kittner Eye Center). Funny enough though, my wife still rooted for Georgia Tech over North Carolina and still does to this day. I successfully brainwashed her. Aside from certain things related to her work - much due to the broken US healthcare system, not necessarily specific to UNC or UNC Health - we leave UNC with nothing but good memories.

Visiting college campuses is one of my favorite things to do. While in the research triangle,…read morevisiting UNC Chapel Hill was a no brainer. The campus was gorgeous and made for a lovely evening stroll. The book store is awesome as well. I know this university is top notch for academics too. Make sure to visit.

I am a product of public schools and I aggressively advocate for education. There are some misses…read morebut schools like Hillandale, Easley, DSA, Shepard, Forestview, and there are others are examples of what public education should look like.

My daughter, who just turned 20 months old, is just wrapping up her survival lesson with coach…read moreRachel and she has had a truly incredible experience over the last 6 or so weeks. She fairly scared of getting her head under water, hated getting her head wet, and was brand new to this at first. In just a couple weeks, Rachel gave her the skills and confidence to thrive and accept new challenges. I was continually impressed by Rachel's calm, kind, supportive approach with each kiddo I saw her with - she was always comforting and understanding - yet challenging because she knew each kiddo's limits and abilities. I am so grateful for PhD Swim - every coach seems so encouraging and knowledgeable about both swimming and kids. We have enrolled in the next stage at PhD Swim and I couldn't be more thrilled. I know my daughter can survive if in a dangerous water situation, which was what was most important to me, but I also know she learned a ton in such a supportive environment along the way. I'd also like to add that PhD Swim is has been very impressive regarding covid protocols. Every adult - both parents and teachers - remain fully masked every second they are in the room, and kiddos are generally masked unless they are in the pool. The small classes and low number of kiddos/families in there at any time is very reassuring. Honestly, I initially balked at the price and time commitment - hey, it took 2-3x as long to travel there and back than the lesson itself, and the survival class was 3x a week!! - but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Tl;dr: run, don't walk, to PhD Swim!

From the owner: We strive to provide top-quality swim instruction that's fun and effective…read more Join us to give your child the skills they need to feel confident and safe in the water.

PLEASE READ before you enroll with Our Playhouse Preschool…read more The philosophy is a dream and it all looks and feels picture perfect when you are there BUT the Owners are NOT trustworthy and have wreaked havoc on the Lexington KY community- where they opened a school in 2015 and suddenly closed it with a 2 week notice in January of 2019. To make a very long story short, the owners, without warning to parents or teachers, closed the school with a two week notice in January of 2019. They never paid any of the parents back their deposits, which they require for each student that enrolls unless you pay in full for the entire year. They never paid any of the parents back that had paid in full for the school year (through May). Mostly though, they crushed many people and good hearts in the process. They broke the contracts they had with each family and have never paid them back the money they are owed. Please, don't let this happen to your family! With the best intentions, I warn you about these people. Please, look out for yourselves!!

OPH (or Our PlayHouse) is a fabulous daycare/kindergarten located directly off of University,…read morequietly concealed in a neighborhood. Whether you're looking for a morning care (8:30-12:30p) or extended care (12:30-5:00p), they will have you covered. The director of the school, Danielle, is always in sight and I'm pretty sure she knows every child by name, she is very personable as are all of the staff I've interacted with. OPH is not your ordinary daycare. They have a structured schedule for the children while allowing them to express themselves and make decisions (encouraging independence). Children are encouraged to express themselves their own playful, creative nature and are guided by teachers acting as co-learners to express their own creativity and embracing an idea that they themselves are their greatest teachers. I've never seen more loving teachers, they truly have a desire to motivate children to be the best they can be as individuals and in a safe environment. There is much attention given to creating and collaborating with classmates. If you have children ages two through kindergarten, I definitely recommend checking out Our PlayHouse as a possible child's care program. You can't walk into the school without having a feeling of excitement yourself seeing all the children's creations and experiments displayed around the open area. And you can't miss all the gardens that the children plant themselves in the spring! They also have summer camp if you're looking for a summer solution!

I wasn't sure what to expect on my first campus visit to Duke University. What I found was…read moreamazingly beautiful and peaceful. The grounds consisted of native plants, lush trees, magnolias, open green spaces with benches for resting and incredible buildings of Gothic architecture. The chapel was open and available for viewing. I highly recommend taking a peek inside this huge iconic chapel in the heart of campus. What a lovely place.

This was another check on my bucket list. The campus it's amazing and I got to see Cameron. The…read morebest basketball team in college plays here and I finally got to see it. Coach K rightfully has his own street. The road to NCAA championships.