Both my sons went to Small Characters and loved it! My older one, who is now 18, was in…read morekindergarten when we met Andrew. Andrew has always enjoyed being with kids, and the kids love him! He is passionate, caring, and doesn't put up with nonsense :-) He is also very flexible with parents' times and understand when you run late to pick up your kiddo, or have last minute reschedule needs. When he opened his own pre/after school care, it was no brainer for us to sign up both boys with Small Characters. The school has been very successful and extremely popular. There is a very nice atmosphere, enjoyment, and yet Andrew and his staff keep their authority with the kids. Also, they have just opened another location for a preschool. Highly recommend the place for anyone!

My son has been at Small Characters for several years and love it. They always have fun activities…read moreand field trips planned for the kids. The before and after care school program is so valuable because I know my son will be able to get his homework completed and still have fun in a safe and caring environment.

What a wonderful facility! We started our daughter at the Lakewood center when she was 2.5. She had…read morepreviously stayed at home with a parent or a nanny, and the staff at Sunflower Hill was wonderful in helping her make the transition! The teachers are loving, kind, and communicative. We love the kinds of activities that the kids get to do--they have lots of time outdoors, get to make creative crafts, bake bread together, garden, sing, read, and use their imaginations. We've been so happy to have our daughter in such a nurturing environment!

For anyone looking for a wonderful daycare for children 2 and up, I heartily recommend Sunflower…read moreHill Child Care. It's a small Waldorf-inspired daycare with exceptional staff. Kathy cares deeply about each of her charges, and hires other caregivers who likewise seem to have infinite reserves of energy, patience, and good humor. The kids spend a lot of time playing, being outdoors, going for walks, making bread, gardening, singing, painting, etc (and participating in the awesome birthday parties each one gets). The staff truly pays attention to each child, gets to know their quirks, and provides a fun and stimulating environment for them. My son was at the University location for a year and a half, and recently moved to the new Glencoe location. Both sites are great, and enrollment is limited, so your child won't get lost in the shuffle like he/she might at a large daycare center or preschool. Choosing the right daycare is such an important decision -- definitely consider Sunflower in your search!

Both my kiddos have gone through highlands and the teacher are the reason you stay. Great teachers…read morewho go the extra mile for kids and with long hours and hard work they all stay and make the magic happen.

Claire (the director) was incredibly rude and the pre-k rooms downstairs were so hot and humid it…read morefelt swampy. The one year old teachers were rough with the kids, grabbing and yanking them hard when they wanted them to move. It seemed like the one year old teachers were annoyed at the kids and they would rather be anywhere else. Doesn't look like the cleanest facility either. Definitely wouldn't send my kids here, especially for how much they charge and how little the teachers and director seem to care about children. RUN.

My two daughter have been going to West Woods KinderCare for the last 8 months. I have been very…read morehappy with the care and attention they have received. They have both grown leaps and bounds academically and socially. My kids have been in 5 previous daycare centers ( we have moved a bit) and West Woods KinderCare has been mine and my children's favorite. The center is managed very well and there has been very little turn over since we have been. This is a big indicator of the success of a center. There is nothing harder than leaving your kid with a new teacher after they have grown attached to the previous teacher. I have recommended West Woods KinderCare to many people and will continue to do so. Thank you for taking such great care of my daughters. They are happy to go to school each day and sad to be picked up and leave school.

Our two daughters have attended Goddard for many years...we commute them to this location from the…read morewest suburbs because we have not found a facility of comparable quality and value. The care team here has taken excellent care of our children and prepared them for kindergarten with a effective pre-K curriculum. We have seen continuous literacy development with both kids. All of the teachers have degrees in early childhood education (or equivalent) and it shows. I have always had total confidence in the quality of care at this facility. In addition, David and Allison have fostered a genuine community here...we were there from the start and watched it develop organically. Unlike other daycares we have dealt with, we have seen limited turnover and we have seen some truly great caregivers stay around for the long haul - of particular note are Ms. Eileen, Ms. Liz, Ms. Chelsea, Ms. Alexis and others. When COVID came along, the school adapted thoughtfully to reduce risks and control spread of illness. They provided daily communications regarding active testing, health department guidance, etc. The result was everyone in our family stayed healthy for a year even with daily attendance of a 4-year-old. The facility was completely remodeled before opening and retains the character of the previous use (a school gym). Big windows are everywhere and the building is maintained in a very clean and secure manner. They have a big outdoor play area that is also very secure. I am confused how any reasonable person could complain about this building. We will miss this community when our daughter heads off for summer camp and kindergarten next month. This environment is hard to beat from a quality and value perspective.

After touring the school, we believed it would be an excellent fit for our family. We were informed…read moreby David (owner of the franchise location) that the waiting list would be approximately six months. Eagerly, we paid the $150 deposit and looked forward to enrolling our children. However, 12 months later, there was no progress on the waiting list, and we were still told we were "about six months out." At this rate, our kids will be in high school before they're admitted We connected with other local families who shared similar experiences and assumed the school was simply overwhelmed. However, we discovered one family, who happened to be friends with David, and they experienced virtually no wait time to enroll their 3-year-old in the school. Regrettably, we lost our $150 deposit and decided to move on. One point to consider is that the owners, Allison and David, had no early childhood education experience prior to opening this franchise location. On the surface, it appears they run the school more like a business than a service to the community. Think twice before handing over your $150 deposit.

I love this school! My twins are treated as individuals and have learned so much. The school is…read morenear my office downtown so no need to rush back to the suburbs to make pick up time. At 3 years old my girls are showing signs of beginning to read and I give the credit to their school. They also have great friends and their social skills have grown. I can't say enough good things!

We've had our tiny human at this school since she was 3 months old and we really love it here. If…read morewe ever have to leave, it will just be because we have to find a place closer to home or work. Here are some useful tidbits for parents who might be looking at this school: Pros: super secure sign in/out process (everyone gets their own code, and there's a hand scanner), friendly office staff, responsive to inquiries, owners are on site every day and are involved and very communicative, teacher to child ratios are maintained really well, the teachers there seem to really love what they do, well-rounded curriculum, regular meetings with parents, regular evaluations (because they're a franchise), our tiny person loves her teachers... she reaches for them when we get to school in the morning, open door policy, you can call or come by any time to see your child, you can hire the teachers as babysitters (and many of them love to do this!), you're treated like family, transitions to new classrooms are done according to the child's development, not necessarily according to birth date. Cons: cost-prohibitive (it's literally like having a second mortgage), people coming in and out of the infant classroom aren't required to wear booties or take their shoes off, parking is scarce so pick up and drop off can be a little tricky sometimes, not a lot of opportunity to meet other parents except during drop off and pick up times.

Just celebrated our Son's Graduation from Pre-K today! The…read moreschool did a wonderful job of creating a beautiful setting and Graduation ceremony for the whole class. You can truly tell how dedicated the teachers are and how loved the kids feel in this atmosphere. Thank you for all the support for my Son to move onto Kindergarten! We'll miss you!!

I've had a fantastic experience, I have both an infant daughter and a toddler son who go there and…read morecan only say positive things. They're really organized and have very secure processes for checking kids in and out, they secure the entrance and exit, they are very strict about dietary needs (e.g., they don't allow any peanuts/peanut butter to be packed for any kids regardless of allergies on the off chance that a child with an allergy would take another child's food) and they have really thorough daily reporting. My daughter has a big smile every time she sees her care provider, and my toddler son loves his teachers. He always talks about the activities they do, gets excited about snacks, specific toys and friends. The care providers are thoughtful and strike a great balance between being gentle and patient while establishing boundaries for my son, who can sometimes throw tantrums. This isn't the perfect gauge of attention, but my kids never have a diaper rash, which tells me they're attentive and that they never sit in a dirty diaper for long. Also, they're tuned into my kids and have called me when their behavior/demeanor has been off or when they're sick and need to be picked up. I'd recommend this place and I go there now because we have a close friend whose son goes there and who recommended it to us.

Our son started at Lotus Littles at four months when I went back to work. As a first time mom, I…read morewas super nervous to leave him at daycare, but Yolanda and the teachers in the infant room have been so good to him. He is on oxygen while he sleeps, and they take wonderful care of him and provide peace of mind so that I don't have to worry about him. I really appreciate the constant interaction he gets from his caregivers - this is not a place where the babies lay in their cribs all day. They do a great job of communicating my son's activities so I know exactly how much he eats, sleeps, etc., and they do all sorts of fun activities like painting with the babies. All in all, Lotus Littles is a great daycare with caring teachers that make it feel like one big family. I would absolutely recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking for child care.

Absolutely love the daycare and their mission of taking care of the teachers together with the…read morekids. Not every day care has the same stem and a lot of teachers are overworked and exhausted and plainly not happy with their jobs. This place has a good spirit about it, very warm and welcoming atmosphere and although is located in the church building, is not affiliated with it and does not impose or carries out any religious believes, which was important to me. Although the place is new the staff is experienced and have a lot of great ideas of adding more to the happiness of the little ones and the caregivers alike.