As parents, we are so extremely grateful for what Kiddie Academy has contributed to our family. It has truly been a blessing for our family! From the moment we walked through the doors, we felt welcomed, and my kids have been excited to go there every single day. The staff is incredibly caring, attentive, and genuinely invested in the well-being and development of the children. It's clear they love what they do, and that shows in how happy and engaged my kids are when I pick them up. The teachers take the time to really get to know each child, providing a nurturing environment where they can grow and thrive. The teachers also take their time to assist each child to reach their developmental milestones. I've been so impressed by the range of learning opportunities at Kiddie Academy. Such as, creative arts, sign language, outdoor interactive play, and encoraging emotional awareness.My kids are always coming home with new skills, stories, and artwork they are proud to show off. I'm also very appreciative that the staff take into consideration my kids being bilingual when interacring with them. What I love most is the peace of mind I get knowing my kids are in such good hands. Also, knowing my kids feel comfortable and happy with the staff. The communication from the staff is excellent, whether it's sharing updates on their day or addressing any questions I might have. The staff are just so amazing and always happy. My kids know the staff and have developed great bonds with them. I can never thank kiddie academy enough. Kiddie Academy is not just a daycare -- it's a second home for my little ones. read more

Kiddie Academy is a top tier preschool. As a working mom, all you want is someone to love, teach, and care for your child while you can't. Well, this school has teachers and staff who do just that. I'm so sad to have said goodbye, but we are off to TK in the Fall. If I could, I would have my son stay here forever! Ms. Christine. She is the director, and let me tell you. She is on top of everything. Very personable, friendly , helpful and caring. Chats with you like you're her friend. Ms. Reina. She is the front office manager. She is the sweetest, most welcoming, kindest person ever. She is always smiling and always greeted me and my son so warmly. She made him feel so special and loved. Ms. Anna. She was my son's teacher in the 3 year old classroom. My son always talked so highly of her. He still refuses to believe he will have a different teacher in the Fall. My son has learned so much, felt loved, and had a blast in her care. We would be talking and all of a sudden he will tell me something he learned from Ms. Anna. As a teacher myself, I enjoyed our conversations so much. She wrote the sweetest most loving end of the year letter to me and to my son. She sends out a detailed daily report of what was learned, including pictures of your child participating in activities. I loved this so much! There are so many more amazing people who help run this school and help make the kids feel safe. I wish I can tell you about them all. But you will just have to see for yourself. I will say the school itself is beautiful. It is safe. It has the cutest outdoor play area with multiple structures, gardens, mud area, stages, sand pit, and more. The classrooms are clean. They offer really good meals to the kids. Your child will get a breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack created by their personal chef. My son is super picky, but I feel in doing family style and eating with his friends, he really opened up to new foods. Thank you Kiddie Academy and all the wonderful people in it. Thank you for creating the perfect atmosphere for my son to thrive, be safe, learn, and feel loved. And if you've read all of this.. what are you waiting for?? Give them a call and sign up your child! You will not regret it. read more

We have two little ones at Kiddie (4 and 2), and there is truly no better environment for them to grow and flourish as curious, kind, and engaged little humans. This school is really like a family, where every time we walk by any teacher or staff, they greet my kids by name, give them high fives and hugs, and show them genuine affection. Every activity is thoughtfully designed to teach and engage them; the curriculum is substantive but fun; they learn science and art through hands-on experimentation and outdoor activities like growing their own fruits and veggies in the community garden; the teachers use gentle parenting techniques to teach them how to manage their big feelings and relate to their friends in healthy ways. Jenn is always incredibly communicative with parents, and we trust that all important messages will be relayed in a timely and comprehensive manner. In short, it's the childhood every parent could want for their kids! read more

First off: I don't recommend many places. But, in short: we absolutely love this place, and tell anyone even remotely within driving distance to send their kid here! From the first day, the staff worked very hard to successfully integrate our - at the time - very shy child. Over night, she went from hating going to her previous preschool to absolutely loving going every morning. Every day since has been a torrent of excitement and learning, and the efforts of the staff really help our child open up and become a lot more confident (now she won't stop talking, though, so maybe we should ask for our money back?) In other words, we couldn't be happier to send our kid anywhere, honestly. Mses Suthi, Reina and Anna were all absolutely fantastic teachers, and always forthcoming, easy to work with and very atuned to the developmental needs of our child. The same goes for the director, Ms Christine, who we always enjoyed interacting with. Oh, and they're all extremely nice and reasonable people, which matters a lot in the day-to-day! We've relocated away from the area and will very much miss the whole group - thank you all for a great couple of years for our kid! read more

Our little one attended Kiddie Academy from 15 months til he was 24 months. Our previous daycare closed, and childcare for kids under the age of 2 is incredibly hard to find in our area. We are SO thankful that Kiddie had space to take us in. In our time there, Kiddie provided our little one with such an enriching and fun experience. We love the staff and teachers who treated our child like one of their own. We're moving on to a preschool much closer to our house, but highly recommend the infant/toddler program and already miss the incredible educators at Kiddie! read more

My 2nd son is now at Kiddie Academy. So we've been with this center for about 3.5 years. We've always have had a great experience and relationship with the staff and director, Ms. Christine. We trust them with our children and know that when we pick up our son, he will always be in a great mood. read more

When our au pair suddenly left, we were totally desperate to find childcare. Owning a real estate and development company, our schedules are very hectic. So the hunt for a safe/fun/STEM daycare program began. We visited dozens of daycares in the San Gabriel area. Then we met Ms. Christine at Kiddie Academy in Pasadena, I nearly cried. It was WONDERFUL! After a very thorough zoom we scheduled a visit. As soon as we walked in we could feel the genuine love & joy that the children, teachers and staff had. The security was top notch, they sent us about five photos a day and had a wonderful curriculum. Of course the first week was very hard (mostly for me lol) but after that, our son could not wait to go to school and his speech and everything accelerated exponentially. We highly recommend the school! read more

They are very profit driven place with no real motivation of caring for the kids. They are under-staffed and the existing staff are bunch of young girls who hate their job and extremely incompetent at it. The director, Christine is an arrogant and rude woman. read more

Kiddie Academy has really become our son's home away from home! Our son loves coming home and sharing what he has learned from the day. We love how the teachers really take their time to teach in a way our son can undertand, so that he can successfully apply it. For example, he went from not knowing his shapes at the beginning of the year, to now creating people stick figures that have defined shapes and clear details. That's simply incredible! We value what he is learning and we can't wait for our other child to start. We also appreciate and value his teachers maintaining great communication with his progress. We are able to work together on his areas of opportunity, and practice at home to aide in his growth and development. read more

I cannot recommend Kiddie Academy of Pasadena enough! My son has been enrolled there for about six months now and it's been an absolutely wonderful experience for him. The teachers and staff there are so warm and welcoming and you can tell they really nurture the children and focus on their developmental growth. There have also been really fun activities like days to explore water play as well as things like puppet shows, magic shows, mobile aquariums and reptile shows that come during summer school sessions to entertain and teach children. Overall I can tell that my son really enjoys his time there and is provided with unique learning experiences in a safe and nurturing environment every day. read more

We moved to Pasadena over the summer for work and enrolled our son here. We found that the administration of Kiddie Academy of Pasadena is a rare blend of hostility and incompetence. They practise everything from talking down to parents to overlooking clauses of financial conditions whereby they may need to process reductions or refunds. Even all this, plus how overpriced this facility is, we would have swallowed/accommodated, if our son had been happy/looked after. But he was *miserable* the three weeks that he was there, and we were so glad when a spot opened up at another place and we could move him to a facility where they were happy to have our son. It made a dramatic difference for all of us. Possible negligence at Kiddie Academy of Pasadena is another factor. We notified them through multiple forms and verbal messages during enrolment that our son should avoid dairy. But we received a day-end report one day noting that he had been offered cheese. He spent all of that night crying. Next day, the staff insisted that they had not offered cheese, etc. But between the report and how we spent the night, we remain unconvinced. Standards at Kiddie Academy must be low for this to be the shape of it in Pasadena. read more

Our son has been going to Kiddie Academy for more than a year. He absolutely loves the fun, engaging environment. They make learning fun and emphasize human values. We enjoy getting daily reports and photos. The school is very clean and the awesome outdoor space consists of multiple themed play areas and structures. read more

After many years of enrollment, our family moved further away and we had to leave KA. We still keep in touch, as they sometimes have public events from time to time on the weekends. Because of our move, we had to search for new childcare. Here are some of the highlights we still find KA has an advantage over. I touched on these in my original post. - Limited closures. School breaks are difficult for full time working parents, especially at this age. For example, KA was open for Juneteenth and in general year-round (THANK YOU THANK YOU TEACHERS/STAFF!!!!). - Electronic daily reports. I was surprised, in our handful of other tours, the daily reports were bare (or nonexistent) and without content/pictures. Everyday, KA had a breakdown of food, toilet/diaper reports, activities and pictures. - Communication. The Tadpoles app is great for reports/messages/pictures. In addition, each time we drop off or pickup, there is the reception area where the staff greet us everyday. It's nice to chat and exchange ideas and activities. Along with daily reports, there is a weekly email that showcases the past week activities for each classroom. - Expansive play yards. The outdoor areas are large, allowing for various activities, such as mud room, garden area, sports, playgrounds, crawl, dig, racing spaces. They also recently expanded their location, adding additional classrooms, play areas and facilities. - Extra curricular activities. Just recently the kids created and shared their pumpkin cream butter making activities! Just a side note: Outside childcare is a very personal thing to start/transition to, I recommend parents to tour multiple places to find their balance of values, activities, and cost. KA has increased their tuition over the years to account for rising costs and acquisition/retention of talent. But in our eyes, is worth it. We've always been grateful for the love and care they provided our family! Feel free to reach out. read more

I don't have enough great things to say about kiddie academy in Pasadena. My son loved attending everyday. They do gardening, lots of outdoor play, cool activities, and fun learning. The hours are so great for a working family and I never felt worried about my son when he was there. Christine, the director, is the literal best! She is educated on child development, is a mom herself, and makes sure that the school runs smoothly. My son left to go to TK and he still begs to stop by to say hi to his kiddie academy teachers and Mrs. Christine :) so sweet. read more

Kiddie Academy is the best thing that's ever happened to my son's education/social life. For starters, my son lived most of his life in a COVID bubble, socializing with only close family members. My husband and I were already VERY anxious putting our son in a germ world during a pandemic. Christine gave us ease and was very transparent about everything and all the questions we had. We started at KA 2 days a week, and it was my son's absolute nightmare. He cried every day, and didn't want to be there. He would always ask to go to grandma's house instead of daycare. Per Ms. Suthi's suggestion, make his days more consecutive or increase the number of days. We increased to 3 days a week, and he was getting so much better. Cried less, drop offs are still so-so, but way better. He now goes 5 days a week, and absolutely loves it. Sometimes on the weekends, he cries to go to daycare. He loves his friends, his teachers and raves about it all the time. The pictures/report we get at the end of the day is always a plus! They're also helping with POTTY TRAINING which is a nightmare with a picky 2 year old haha. Definitely recommend KA! read more

We started my daughter in the Infant Room at 3 1/2 months, when I went back to work, and in the middle of the pandemic. It was an emotional choice, but after a virtual tour with Christine, we started to feel like this could be a great thing for her. It was incredible. Her teachers, Jen and Ana Maria, were so loving and kind, exactly what you hope for when leaving your very young infant in someone else's care. Each week Jen developed a thoughtful curriculum for the kids to help advance their motor skills or introduce them to new sounds or textures. At 4 months old, she was doing art projects! They read books and sang songs and would take the children outside to dip their hands in tubs of water and explore plastic water toys. Every moment was educational. I am certain that my daughter's verbal and physical advancements can be attributed to her time at KA Pasadena. I always felt comfortable discussing our daughter's needs with Miss Jen, and knew that they would have communicated any issues or unlikely behavior to me. Each day, I knew our daughter was safe, happy, and learning something new. As first-time parents, we adored the daily updates--fun photos and videos with thoughtful captions, a detailed roster of what she ate and when, diaper changes, etc. We've since relocated and are missing her teachers so much, as well as Miss Susie, Miss Christine, and all the other teachers we got to know while there. This place is very special to us. We are so grateful that our daughter's first learning experience came from the amazing team at KA Pasadena. read more

We moved cross country with our children and needed to keep our nearly school age daughter in a program that would allow her to make friends in her new town, and keep her on a routine she had been used to on the east coast. Kiddie Academy was a perfect fit for our then 4 year old and it took less than a day for her to have already made friends with the staff and students. I am grateful to Christine for making the process so smooth for me to do from a distance and fo show welcoming everyone was to us. We were only there for the 4's class but for the time we were there my daughter was incredibly happy and had some wonderful experiences. The program introduced her to some new foods and provided her with a lot of great experiences and friends. I was also very appreciative of how much information I got in the daily updates. I feel very lucky we came across Kiddie Academy. read more

Absolutely the best daycare / school in the area. I was looking for a school that had a good curriculum, qualified staff, and clean facilities, Kiddie Academy checked all the boxes. The Director and Assistant Director are so helpful and commutative. My child is in the Jungle Classroom and her teachers are amazing! I love the daily updates and pictures on their app. read more

Best academy ! My 2 daughters go there and they love it !! They have learned a lot while being there !.

There is very nice and friendly staffs as well as excellent education programs for kids.

I strongly doubt if these reviews are incentivized. There were not patient with our kid who was 15 months old and suggested ( after a day of him being there)that we change him to part time since he was having a hard time "adapting". We were called constantly at work to pick him up. They kept sending messages and emails about how he was having a hard time getting used to the place. We withdrew him after less than a month. Our child looked traumatized everytime we would pick him up. I can't explain the emotional turmoil we went through the entire time he was there. The staff seemed very unfriendly and in fact there was one time when I actually saw one of the staff members mocking a child who was crying. He was at a daycare previously at a different state and is currently going to another daycare. We did not have problems at either of these places. Our experience was sub par and in fact we were caught off guard when Christine emailed us on a Friday asking us to withdraw him because he was crying and clingy. It was interesting that she waited 4 weeks and gave us no warning that this was coming. We assume she waited 4 weeks to bill us for 1 month. I am not a childcare expert but this place was such a disappointment. If you are having a hard time with some kids, please give their parents a heads up that you may not be able to accommodate them so that they can look at alternate options. It is traumatizing for working parents to find last minute arrangements for childcare. Dear Christine, I hope you can look at this establishment beyond pure materialistic gains and understand the true essence of childcare; patience and kindness. We are eternally grateful to God that we did not put our child through this emotional roller coaster for more than a month but to this day, it pains both of us to think about his experience. read more

We love this place! We started sending our kids here at the beginning of the 2020/21 school year. We were two overwhelmed parents and knew we needed to do better for our kids during the pandemic and beyond! Their pivot to an elementary-aged class for virtual learners showed real ingenuity, and our 1st grader thrived being around other kids, with fun activities in the afternoon. Their preschool class for our daughter is equally awesome! She comes home talking about what she learned and her new friends everyday. They send pics and descriptions daily that helps me talk about my kids day with them at night and makes me feel like I am right there. It has a small family-like that I really appreciate. Send your kids here, you will be thrilled! read more

This review is regarding their customer service. I contacted them to inquire about child care for my son, rather than giving me information over the phone, I was directed to fill out an inquiry form on their website. I complete the form as directed and also sent a message on Yelp. Two days passed and I received a message on Yelp from a person named Julie directing me to call and speak to the director, Ms. Christine. Again, I did what I was instructed to do and called them. The first person that answered stated that Ms. Christine was on another phone call and placed me on hold. A second person (who did not identify themself) answered and told me to go on the website. I recognized the voice as the person who had previously told me to go on the website to fill out inquiry form. I explained to them that this was my 2nd time calling, that I had completed an inquiry form and that I had been directed by Julie to call Ms. Christine. The person on the phone seemed annoyed and I asked for my information and then placed with on hold. When they returned to line, they stated they could not find my information on system. She asked for my information again all the while complaining about her computer freezing up and having me repeat my information several times. After several minutes, she stated that the director was available and would transfer me to her. I was sent straight to a voicemail. I did not get any information or at least told whether they had any spots available for my son's age group. The director never returned my call. If they didn't have any spots available, that would have been okay and I would have moved on but they didn't have the consideration to give me any information and kept giving the run around. Unfortunately, they won't be having my business or any recommendations from me. read more