We've had a wonderful experience over the past two years at Morningside Playcare. The language immersion has been truly transformational for our daughter and played a meaningful role in preparing her for a full language immersion school next year. The administration has been supportive throughout that transition, which we really appreciate. The community is warm and welcoming, and the location is hard to beat. We especially love that the kids get outside every day--time in Central Park is such a gift--and the Forest School option is a great offering for families looking for even more outdoor experience. We've been so happy with our time here, and we're excited for our son to follow in his sister's footsteps next year. read more

Our son has been at MPC since he was 2 years old, and we've seen such incredible growth in him. He has developed so much socially, emotionally, and with his language skills. The support and care from the staff have made a meaningful difference in his development, and we're truly grateful to be part of this community. read more

MPC has been a wonderful place for our daughter for the past year and a half. Her teachers are warm, loving, and fun and she's looking forward to seeing them every morning. Some of the aspects we most appreciate from MPC are that kids learn through play, daily nature exploration, and arts. They are exposed to full-time Mandarin, Spanish, and English in a multicultural environment and they are also introduced to yoga, stretching, and breathing exercises every week. The Director makes sure the food provided is nutritious, varied, and high quality, which is also very important to our family.  The school moved to a beautiful new location by Central Park and despite there having been certain setbacks with city regulations, we really appreciated the strong bond within the community of MPC parents and teachers that supported each other during that transition period. We are very happy at MPC and looking forward to continuing with them in 2024. read more

My daughter goes to and loves MPC. MPC provides a safe and supportive learning environment where students feel challenged, engaged, and cared for, with high-quality teaching, a diverse curriculum, strong community involvement, and a focus on individual student needs, resulting in not only strong academic achievement but also personal growth and development for all students; essentially, a school that fosters a love of learning and prepares students to succeed in life beyond the classroom. read more

Morningside Playcare has been an unbelievably wonderful place for our son to grow and learn. The teachers and the staff are warm, loving, and nurturing. My son spends each day exploring Central Park, doing yoga and practicing mindfulness, speaking in Spanish and Mandarin, painting, reading, singing, and playing with his friends. He talks about his feelings and how to be a good friend, as a result of the guidance and prompting he gets at MPC. Our only wish is that our son could keep going to MPC for kindergarten and beyond. But there are good dual-language options for elementary school in the city, and MPC really helps parents navigate that transition. We can't recommend Morningside highly Playcare enough! read more

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. This place is awful and honestly feel so bad for the kids there. There are so many issues it's hard to know where to start. 1) terrible communication by director/management who also comes off as extremely arrogant. 2) if you are looking for a child centered progressive, nurturing school/preschool this is NOT it. If you on the other hand are looking for a military style disciplinary correction facility applying very traditional methods of public shaming, time outs, punishment and withdrawal of outdoor time this is the right place for you. It is extremely upsetting because the website and marketing tries to create an imagine of this place being something it is not. It mentions buzz words like Waldorf and research based but there is absolutely nothing Waldorf about this place and it does NOT employ research based approaches to child care. 3) the facility is awful without natural light, hardly any space or materials for the children to engage in. This might just be the case for the public funded pre-k classes they have (we haven't seen the other rooms so can't speak to those) but in any case it seems like they are pocketing the government funding without investing any of it in to the classroom and materials for the kids which is extremely unethical. Of all the preschools we visited in UWS / UES this was by far the worst. If you have any options of sending your child elsewhere I definitely would. read more

Our family decided to withdraw from this program in April 2022 after having been enrolled there for 10 months. There is much to say about our experience, but I'll try to keep it brief. The Good: It has a wonderful mission that our family believes in, especially as a bilingual family. Multilingualism and a nature based program we believe can benefit a child in numerous ways, not just while in the program but for years ahead. Although there has been high teacher turnover while we were with the program, we felt that the teachers who remained were solid teachers. Lastly, they have a beautiful, newly built space in a great location. The Bad: While our family was enrolled in the program, the program was unstable. And although some of the instability with the program was due to COVID, it was certainly not the single root cause. The lack of transparency along with poor, and inconsistent communication from the director caused our family much stress and frustration. On any given week, we were given news that ranged from inconvenience to bombshell. We met some families who were never told that they would eventually have to move their child to the UWS location from Harlem. We met families who were told that the breakdown of language would be an 80/20 split, while we were told 50/50. (There is a clear preference for Mandarin over Spanish at the program, which was not what we signed up for.) The program rules seemed to be selectively enforced. We often relied on talking to other parents to try and get a full picture of the status of the program and what was happening from one day to the next. There were reductions on contracted and paid-for hours of "child care". The list could go on. The Unfortunate: If you are looking for a child-led, developmentally appropriate learning environment, that is more progressive than it is traditional, then I don't think MPC will be a fit. Our family felt that there was a lack of understanding of the child development process and that would manifest in obvious and subtle ways. The exchanges with the kids often felt more transactional than they did supportive and nurturing. Now, it's worth mentioning that while our family was there, there were 2 locations - a Harlem and an UWS one. The parents in Harlem were undoubtedly having a different experience than the ones on the UWS. Overall, our family was disappointed with our experience at MPC. We will miss the friendships our children developed with the other students and the camaraderie amongst the UWS parents who really banded together to try to make the best of a very unfortunate situation. They were hands down the best part of the experience read more

We are the first batch of the "failed" UPK program. This review is for its new location, based on the experience in the last academic year, not the old place which was a sweet family-style experience for us. We believe this review holds in the coming year, but it may need reevaluation by others in the coming years. Pros: Excellent teachers and kids. Cons: 1. Chaotic management, e.g. unclear schedule, lack of communications, parents treated differently, etc. 2. Kids are behind in reading and writing, particularly English, due to the lack of teachers and unclear curriculum. 3. Paid in full for the after school in the beginning of the year, but no after school was offered for nearly 5 months, due to lack of teacher. No refund. 4. Only Mandarin was taught since the after school shutdown, thus no bilingual experience. .......... read more

Overall, we have been very happy with the program at MPC. Our child has been attending for the last 2 school years (2021-2022 and 2022-2023). The staff has been amazing- high quality and caring teachers we trust. The program director is very passionate about education, specifically language immersion. We appreciate the regular check-ins, progress reports and organized social activities (picnics, parents night out, holiday gatherings) that has helped build a community and socialize outside of drop-offs/ pick-ups. read more

My son was in their Dual Language PreK last year. He loved it. He matured a lot. What a sweet and wonderful community of parents and teachers! read more

I am a parent who values quality education, cultural enrichment and a sense of community, and so I am happy to share my overwhelmingly positive experience at MPC. The multilingual approach (Spanish and Mandarin) is what initially drew me to the school and I have been pleased and amazed at how quickly my daughter has developed the ability to speak and a reasonable level of understanding in these languages. I love the fact that the students go to Central Park for play every day (except when it is raining), to foster a love, curiosity and appreciation for nature. My daughter now loves to go searching for worms in the park and points out every insect in her line of sight on a daily basis. I love the sense of community and "wholesomeness" that the school fosters in activities like family nature walks and parent gatherings. And MPC has actively involved us in our daughter's learning journey, keeping us informed about her progress. But the real evidence that MPC is a wonderful place is in my daughter's excitement and pure joy about going to school every day. I wholeheartedly recommend MPC to any parent seeking a nurturing, diverse, and academically enriching environment for their child. The dedication of the teachers, the multilingual education, and the celebration of cultural diversity make this preschool a hidden gem in the heart of the UWS. I am grateful for the positive impact it has had on my daughter's development. read more

We love MPC and its commitment to language acquisition, nature exploration, yoga & meditation, healthy food, and no screens. Our child has attended for the last two years and enjoys the daily routines and rhythms. We greatly appreciate and admire the school director who is very approachable, kind, understanding, reasonable and reflective. When we have a concern, we feel heard and supported. We are very happy to recommend MPC and be part of its wider community! read more

Our son has been enrolled at MPC for 6 months and we have been quite happy with the program. Despite the lack of a multi-lingual environment at home our son has picked up a good amount of both mandarin and Spanish speaking skills. The teachers, students and community surrounding the school has been amazing. Highly recommended. read more

We are very happy with the education that our daughter is receiving from the school. The teachers and support staff are very attentive to the children. read more

Our two kids have attended this daycare. They both started in the Harlem location and my daughter continues attending in the 93rd location. We love the culture and the curriculum (and that everyone takes off their shoes!). MPC offers what we valued the most: outdoor time in a lawn in Central Park everyday, a dual language program (Chinese/Spanish) and a play-based approach to learning. They organize a lot of activities outside the daycare hours so the families have the opportunity to know each other and create community. Our kids love the teachers. We couldn't be happier! read more

If I knew then what I know about Morningside Playcare, I would not have enrolled my son in their Pre-K program. Right from the beginning there were many red flags, and I'll share just some here... - We were told the program was a DOE-licensed UPK, but that to secure a spot we had to commit to paying for a full year of aftercare and for the summer program, despite UPK being a free program. - To some she sold the program as 50-50 Spanish/Mandarin immersion, to others she sold it as 80-20 Mandarin/Spanish. - We spent the first 3 months in another school because we were told the construction of the new facility on 93rd was delayed by COVID. However, the inspection of the new site was not ready by December and we were told it was too expensive to continue paying rent to the other school, so our kids were switched to virtual learning without warning. - Our kids went from 6 hours of regular school (+ 3 hours of aftercare) to less than 2 hours on virtual. The programming was extremely inconsistent and changed from day to day without us being informed and everyone was left confused and frustrated. Our kids may have been kept on virtual programming indefinitely had we not complained and demanded a better solution. - Because the school was still not licensed, the founder was not allowed to run the school on 93rd. We came up with the solution that we would co-work out of the school while Pre-K was in session and therefore we were technically watching our own kids. However we also had to accompany the kids on their hour-long recess in Central Park every day since it was not a licensed program. It was not ideal but the best solution we could come up with. - She started cutting hours and staff because of money shortage. This meant that there would no longer be aftercare for the kids even though we paid up for a year in advance. Instead of being promised childcare from 8:30-5:30, our kids were now released at 2:30. As working parents, this took a huge toll on us. - The program was inconsistent and unregulated. There was no clear curriculum for Math and basic English literacy (which I believe is required for Pre-K) and our kids fell behind, and I found myself having to teach my kid phonics and reading at home. The entire time we did not have a schedule of the teachers or a timetable of the program. - What we have found most frustrating is her communication (or lack thereof)- it was hard to get a straight answer from her and she only responded when it was convenient to her. It was not uncommon to get a text or email from her that demanded a prompt response but she had no problem avoiding our messages or selectively responding. It was also not uncommon for us parents to have to check in on each other for updates because she forgot to relay the most basic information like when the school is closed. The reasons why we stayed on until almost the end of the school year (although we gave up on the summer program we had paid for because we had had enough of the chaos): - All of us who signed up believed in her vision, and truly wanted the program to succeed. - Despite the multiple shortcoming of the founder, the Pre-K teacher Miss Xie is absolutely wonderful (if this was a review just for her she would get a 5-star!). She is experienced and enthusiastic and has done an amazing job teaching the kids despite the many curveballs thrown her way. She was the biggest reason why most of us continued to show up day after day. - The fellow Pre-K parents with whom we banded together and became co-workers with, huddled over tiny desks in school working while our kids were in class. From Day One, our number 1 priority was the kids and we worked together to make sure no one was left behind. Needless to say, our experience with MPC left us mentally and emotionally drained and we are glad to be done with the program. Take what you will out of this review but if you ask me, I would say to look elsewhere. read more

Our daughter attended Morningside Playcare since she was 14 months old, all the way until she was almost 4 and we cannot be happier about the experience. She was nurtured and cared for by the loving teachers and staff. She learned to thrive in Mandarin and is now a trilingual pre-kindergartener at a Mandarin Immersion School. Mila loves school and all her Laoshis. The positivity she brings to class is in part from her loving family at MPC. We became a little family and the children and teachers we nothing but lovely. We miss them dearly and still try to keep in touch. MPC will love and care for your child as if it were their own, we are so happy to have joined the family! read more

Our child has had a wonderful experience at MPC for the past 2 years. The bilingual immersion program seemed like the best gift we could give her since we don't speak a second language at home. And it's remarkable to watch her development over the last couple years. She's clearly formed connections with her teachers despite the new languages. The teachers have been very caring and supportive. They are able to recognize and meet her individual needs, from the transition to daycare when she started as the youngest in her group, to keeping her challenged now as the oldest in her group. We love that they spend a lot of time outdoors in Central Park, focused on nature based play. And it's great that they serve really wholesome, quality food, so I have one less thing to prepare for the day, and so my child is more likely to eat the healthy food that all her classmates are eating. We really valued the vision of the director as she was growing the original 2 room daycare into the program it is now. I've seen some of the critical reviews from other families whose experiences during the year of expansion were quite different from our experience. Perhaps we were just lucky. There were some issues as the program grew, but it seems to have stabilized and we still feel connected to the community even as it has expanded. And we are thrilled our daughter gets to stay another year through the UPK program! read more

Our two daughters are at MPC and they receive a truly holistic day of care and learning. They both come home loving yoga -- a daily practice at MPC -- singing songs in Mandarin and Spanish, and talking about their favorite teachers. You can trust that your kids will be well cared for and well fed (organic lunch) and in a multi-cultural environment. The founder and staff go the extra mile with family days and bring a lot of thought (nature leaders, interactive sessions) to the extra curricular programming. We like that they are "all-weather" and the kids go outside into central park (and not a playground) to have 'in-nature' experience. It is a small business facing the challenges of many small businesses -- city policy changes, communication challenges but nothing out of the ordinary. The website and how they represent themselves are accurate. We are really pleased with the language acquisition of our girls. The MPC team also went the above and beyond with us for kindergarten apps this year. We highly recommend MPC!! read more