So, I read the reviews and toured the facility. I had a pleasant feeling about the cleanliness and organization;presentation amazing. The 3 year old room teacher even took me on a tour herself. However, LISTEN TO THE REVIEWS!!! I read them before we started, warnings of the owners behaviors once you present her with a concern. Welp, we were 15 days in, I had a concern, addressed it with her directly, and three days later, she pulls me into a room to tell me that her staff is "not licensed to diaper three years old" and that "they should be asking" (3 year olds)to go to the bathroom. She also stated that her staff was "scared" to help my son to the bathroom because he is "punching them in the face" and telling them "don't tell me what to do, or I will leave this center, go get my mom and have her slap you." Keep in mind, he is 3!!!! He can't even cognitively put together that sentence, and we don't speak like that in our home. He has been in daycare for 3 years, another center prior that abrupt left closed down, which when he was there, they LOVED HIM and never had any issues, outside of him telling them "no," but what three year old doesn't. When I asked her to advise me why her staffing issues, of having to take my son to the bathroom was even be a problem, as her staff and center are license for this, she asked me to leave. Well that was it, I took my son and left, she said "good, better for us." I have raised 6 kids in Columbia daycares and have NEVER experienced this kind of communication or human experience. I have many, many connections in the community, and should have referenced them prior, as others have heard similar stories with the owner. It's I called DHR IMMEDIATLY-they stated there is NO SUCH LICSENCE stating that certain staff cannot diaper or change 3 years old. Or that they have to use the potty and cannot be changed. So, this was verified a LIE, so what was her motive??? I am so flabbergasted!!! LISTEN TO THE REVIEWS!!!! DONT LET THE APPEARNCE FOOL YOU!!!!!!!!! I also walked into the room yesterday to pick up my child and one of the providers was screaming at a little girl, "DONT YOU BE TRIPPEN ME GIRL," when she noticed I was standing there, she quickly looked away. HUGE Warning: stay away. All the reviews about the director and the way she talks to you, and places the blame on the parent and makes up stories, one person stated "pokes holes in stories," is TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! End of day teachers are rude, yell at the kids, and tell them "you better pick up your toys before leaving cuz we don't do that around here, we don't pick up after kids." I have heard this DAILY at pick up, in FRONT of parents, and they say it in a rude and nasty manner, eyeing up the parents, like we better not say anything. Don't get me wrong, yes, they should clean up after themselves, that's not my issue, its the way they spoke to the kids. Oh yeah, I was told when I was addressing the changing issues, that my son "needs to learn to adjust and that change was inevitable." This was DAY 3!!! I kindly asked them to have patience with him asking to use the potty , as he is trying to adjust to the new environment, and was told " what you dont think we do?" It was just one defensive, aggressive remark after the other by the owner. Bottom line: DO NOT SEND YOUR KID HERE, DONT LET THE APPEARANCE FOOL YOU, AND IF YOUR KID ISNT 100% POTTY TRAINED THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU!!!! PLEASE PLEASE STAY AWAY!!! PLEASE!!! DONT PUT YOUR BABY OR FAMILY THROUGH THIS. I'm not usually one to YELP and hate social media but if I can save a child and their parents from a circus show and unneeded stress, then this is ALL worth it! read more

I've been really happy with MKD Kids Learning Center. We had my daughter at a different daycare and switched here because it's closer to where we live and more importantly, I wasn't all that happy with the other daycare. At the old daycare she would cry miserably when I left every morning. I felt awful leaving her like that and it was a terrible start to the day. I figured some separation anxiety was normal (she is now 13 months), and expected her to at least be a little upset when I left her at MKD, but in the month and a half that she's been there, there has been exactly one instance of her being just a little sad when I left. My daughter LOVES Miss Jenny and is excited to see her every morning. I just wish I could have started her here earlier! I'm surprised to see the negative review about the management. The director, Miss Mona, who started the school originally as an at home daycare, is super nice and attentive. I've never had a complaint, so I can't speak from experience, but I have a very hard time imagining her being unreasonable. The staff all seem to have a great sense of humor and like to have fun, but still take their work very seriously. The kids seem to have a lot of fun here. They spend a lot of time outside (when weather permits) and parents get a weekly printout of the activities for the week (all with a theme). If there's only one thing I could change it would be to get more information on what they're doing each day. Some daycares use systems that send messages and pictures to parents throughout the day, which obviously would add to the overall cost and far from essential, but kind of nice. It's a nut free environment if that's of interest to you. Overall, I'm really pleased with the daycare - especially for the price - and highly recommend it. read more

We absolutely love MKD Kids! I have visited so many centers and by far MKD Kids is the best. It is always clean, organized and everyone is friendly. The teachers are more than teachers, they truly care for the kids. My two children have learned so much and my son who is now five is definitely ready for kindergarten. I am so grateful for the care they give and do agree that they are co-parents! We highly recommend MKD Kids!!! read more

My diabetic daughter was accepted into MKD Kids Learning Center a little over two weeks ago. It was made clear the responsibilities that would be required of the daycare such as sugar checks, recording my daughters levels and notifying me at each check. Here we are after two weeks of successful care and my daughter is no longer able to attend their facility. Why, you might ask. Its not because of behavioral issues, failure to pay nor as they stated inadequate resources( because they have already successfully cared for her for 2 weeks), but because and I quote the director Mona Curran, "Based on our understanding of what is required which was gained from the last two weeks of child's name enrollment in our program, MKD Kids Learning Center does not have the adequate resources needed in order to accommodate the needs of your family." 1st mistake she states that she is unable to accommodate my child's needs base on her disability which is illegal according to the Americans with Disabilities act. 2nd prior to this email which was sent on a Monday at 1pm, I tried contacting her via email at 9:45am that morning(no response). Prior to that email I called her twice on the daycare business phone and left a message(no answer or call back). Lastly prior to that Monday I called Mona Curran twice on Friday afternoon(no answer or call back) and then when I arrived to pick up my daughters bedding she so conveniently had gone to pick up her son. MONA CURRAN IS UNPROFESSIONAL AND BREAKING THE LAW. We were required to purchase a lock box to store all of my child's medical items in which turns out to be the responsibility of the daycare facility. I wasn't even able to keep my daughters inhaler on the daycare grounds, which turned out to be untrue as well. Mona Curran lacks the education and professionalism it takes to run a childcare facility and I urge you NOT to take your child to this facility. My daughter was put out unjustly when we adhered to all of the compliance representatives request and legal action will be taken. Just a fair warning to all the parents out there, this is a headache you do not want. read more

MKD appears to be a clean, organized, bright and welcoming facility. My husband and I were excited to move our girls there when we moved to Columbia. However, after about 6 weeks we pulled them out and are now commuting to our old daycare in Odenton because of this experience. While Mona comes from a good place, I don't believe people work in childcare for the money, she seems to be overwhelmed by all aspects of running this facility. I have had similar experiences to those cited in other reviews. I was also a part of that "disaster" meeting where the tension between parent and provider was physically uncomfortable and unlike anything I have experienced in the more than 5 years of having a child in daycare and 10 years as a special educator. Our experience, and ultimate decision to leave, was mostly due to poor communication. Emails are not responded to or acknowledged, and concerns are addressed in seemingly confrontational ways. When we had an issue with the interaction between our 5 year old in the school age class, the blame was placed on my daughter. We were asked if she had a history of behavior problems and storytelling. She does not. The bigger concern was about Mona's 16 year old neighbor being with my 5 year old but that was not talked about. I would receive zero communication about my 5 year olds day, also "because we don't do that in the school age room." When my communication desires were expressed, I was told maybe my 5 year old should be with the 3-4 year olds. When they were closed July 4, we were charged a late fee for not paying online. We had no documentation of the online payment option and the fee was not waived. There is no flexibility. When choosing a daycare, I looked for someplace that feels like home. With warmth from all staff and that is lacking here. While some teachers are "by design" to be more strict and less cuddly, the overall feel of the place was not home. The intention is there, but the execution is lacking. Some teachers were very kind and warm and one time I did pick up my sick child and found her to be sleeping in her teachers arms, but that is the only example that comes to mind. There is no family forgiveness such as the late fee and one day when I forgot to send wipes I was told they would use wet paper towels for the day. Only when I offered to replace the 4 wipes with a travel pack of wipes, was I told that my two year old could borrow some from another student. It is unfortunate that you have to provide two weeks notice, but I read that she only provided a family with 5 days. Mona preaches about trusting your instincts and feeling safe but offered no flexibility in our last day despite our documented concerns. As a new facility I hope that Mona reads these comments as constructive feedback and does not just have an emotional response to them. She has visions of a family and community feel in the future but has some work to do to get there. If it were me, I would look at my relationships with families and redefine my responsibilities. read more

We are very pleased with MKD Kids. Our daughter has been in the Pre-K program for four months and she couldn't be happier. She loves her teachers and has learned so much in such a short period of time. The kids have a lot fun too! I highly recommend MKD Kids. read more

My review is similar to Mab B's review above. I had concerns about a parent/provider meeting that my wife attended so I reached out to the director (Mona) to discuss my concerns. The meeting was set up to address concerns that parent had developed over the last week or so. When I met with the Mona, I opened the meeting by saying I heard the meeting didn't go very well. She replied, "it was a disaster". She admitted the following: 1. She went into the meeting unprepared. 2. She did not meet with the parent who witnessed a TA mistreating a special needs child. 3. She took the concerns of the parents personal and was too defensive and emotional. 4. The meeting create more concerns and no answers for parents. Our meeting was professional and cordial but I did not bite my tongue. I was straight forward with my concerns about TA's and how they are vetted and the need for parents to be informed when new TA start working at MKD. I was also blunt in discussion concerning her being unprepared for a meeting with parents and not meeting with a parent that witnessed a TA mistreating a child. At the end of our meeting, I did feel somewhat better because she did admit that she didn't handle the situation very well. Three days later Mona terminated our contract giving my wife and I 5 days to find a new provider for our two daughters! read more

MKD average location, secure and clean. Came on when facility first opened initially was very impressed and satisfied with the facility however, as it started to grow I feel it began to decline in customer satisfaction and less attention to detail. Staff changes and issues with management had us looking elsewhere. The money I feel the staff should be more consistent, use common sense and communicate amongst one another. For example my daughter had a severe reaction to diaper cream the am staff was told to stop using it; it was not communicated to the evening staff. It continued to be put on her throughout the day. Common sense seeing the irritation you think someone would not lather it on, however ... that was not the case. When expressing concerns parents are made to feel that they can leave if they don't like the care provided. So that is exactly what we have done. Do your research is all I have to say. read more

MKD is clean, staff are friendly and they do a great job watching my 5 month old. He has been there since he was 8 weeks and all the staff treat him like family. Mona's team are well trained and super attentive! I'd recommend to anyone that wants an official daycare operation that feels like home. read more

I was really excited about this daycare. I toured the place and really liked it. Lots of natural light and the teachers were pleasant. I was looking to transition my infant from another childcare center and this was a viable option after the visit. The day of the tour, I later picked my child up from their regular daycare. I felt good about the new place and looked forward to switching. Later that day while picking up my child from their current daycare center I noticed that my child was fed from a bottle that one of the daycare providers tried to offer me from her personal collection at home. Backstory: the previous day she commented that she wasn't particularly fond of Dr Browns bottles that my child was using and that she was fidgety while feeding. That evening I brought stage 2 nipples because I figured the milk wasn't coming out fast enough. My kid was 4 months at the time. The next day the normal care provider brought those bottles in from her house. I politely declined and mentioned the new nipples I purchased the previous evening. Fast forward to later this same day when I picked my child up (same day I toured MKD daycare) and those bottles the care provider offered were wet with a cloudy substance, obviously milk. As any parent would be, I was livid. She totally ignored my request to feed my kid out of the bottles that I provide/approve. That night I get home and my baby also has two raw patches in the inner creases of her thigh. This was just 4 days into this daycare! I was just returning to work. So at this point my mind is made. I was ready to switch. I was counting my lucky stars that I visited MKD earlier in the day and they had an opening. I called MKD the next day & spoke with the owner, the same person I toured with. I explained the entire situation in its entirety and she replied "ok, let me play devils advocate. Mistakes happen." and attempted to poke holes in my story. At this point I briefly stated the situation again and reiterated my point. You don't mistakenly bring bottles from home to feed babies in the daycare. She lost me there. What she should have said is "mistakes happen, but you will never have to worry about my staff bringing in bottles from home and feeding your baby with them". But she didn't. And the statement she gave luckily gave me a glimpse into her way of dealing with complaints. So I decided against this place because of that reason. I am a fair yelper/reviewer. Prior to visiting I read the only bad review on this place on yelp and decided to visit anyway. The other reviewer ironically commented about the communication style as well. So this is a word to the wise. Choose carefully. read more

My child has been attending MKD Learning Center since six months of age and has been in the 3s class for about six months now. The director, Ms. Mona, and the staff have been very flexible and cooperative with accommodating my child's disability from day one. This was no easy task, as my child required regular physical therapy both onsite and offsite and frequent appointments with several specialists for the first year and a half. Also, while in the infant and toddler classes, the staff had to help with certain physical therapy-related stretching exercises several times per day. Over the last year, my child has transitioned out of the need for additional services, but still requires extra care from the staff. All of the staff are excellent caregivers. I am so pleased with the quality of care, the learning environment, and the flexibility at MKD. It's like leaving my child with trusted family members while my husband and I go to work. My husband and I would highly recommend this daycare to anyone. read more

This was the first school that my son attended. He transitioned from a in home daycare. The staff was amazing and really took care of my son. They were caring, thoughtful and always happy even though, my son didn't make it easy for them. I liked that they had a good curriculum set and had events for the children. We were only at the school a few months but we were very happy and felt like, my son transitioned much better when we moved due to attending MKD! read more