We LOVE this school!!! My son loves going there everyday and I'm not just saying that he really…read moredoes. Mrs. Ashley is the nicest person and truly care about the kids in her school. You can tell she really puts her heart and soul into this school and the teacher that work there are just as great as she is. We are so lucky that we found this school, I just wish we got him in this school a year sooner. I also feel that the monthly tuition price is fantastic too. The Allwood Play and Learn is a great school and if your looking to place your child in daycare this school is absolutely worth checking out.

I never thought I'd be rating a pre-school (at least not for another few years... I probably need…read moreto find a girlfriend first?), but I came here to pick up my niece last week, and I was just really, really impressed. So here I am. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on pre-schools (although, not to brag, but I did attend a pre-school and I'm pretty sure I graduated in the top 10% of my class. I'm really good at coloring.). Anyway... the people here were just so nice (I met... Ashley and Lauren, I think), the kids seemed to be having a great time, and it just felt like a great atmosphere. It was a little difficult to find though, so plan accordingly.

I am one of those creative types who lean towards the granola side when it comes to rearing…read morechildren. My dream school for my daughter was Blue School. But, reality hit me with my wallet and I found this school. My daughter goes to this school for the second and the final year now. This is a play-based nursery and pre-K school. They call it a co-op school, though it is not what I would call it a co-op. Cos, I lean towards the granola side. That said, the parents are always welcome to come in and talk to the principal with questions, and we are all required to put in 15 hours of work into the school. It feels good to be in the same room my daughter spends her days, cleaning and organizing. All the teachers are super gentle, and they guide the children skillfully without them realizing that they are being taught. They have a screened room where parents can watch the classroom in action, and I looooved sitting there, observing my daughter outside of my direct influence. The principal, Mrs. Varsam, is a character, and can come across a bit put-offish for outside adults, but she is a passionate educator who loves children. I highly recommend this school to every child.

This is a fantastic nursery/Kindergarten school. Both of my boys went there and it was the most…read moreamazing experience for both of them and for me. I was sorry when it ended for them. They did amazing art projects, went to sing for the senior citizens at the local center, and hand plenty of hands on learning and play. The staff is patient and caring and the children spend their day learning, playing and becoming independent. It's a cooperative school so parents are expected to help out either helping to clean before the program ends in the June or fixing or building items for the yard/play area. They work with you in terms of what you can do. They are not cheap but they are worth what you pay for your children. I highly recommend this school to anyone in the area.

When we moved to New Jersey from Brooklyn in 2015, we used a day care facility a few blocks from…read moreour home but they went out of business. We were frantically looking for a new service, but everyone rejected us. That is until we made a plea to the owners of Education Station and they made room for our little girl. Fast forward seven years later and we can't thank them enough. Both of our children attended ES and went into kindergarten fully confident in themselves. Not only did they have an academic head start, but they also learned to properly socialize with other children. Can't neglect the fact that if you work in New York, ES is one block away from the train station. Doesn't get any more convenient than that!

My daughter was at Education Station (in the toddler 5 class, ages 2-3) for a year. We sadly moved…read moreout of Essex County; otherwise, we definitely would have kept her there. The teachers are all so warm, sweet, and energetic. I always felt that they truly cared about my daughter, and made her (and all the other kids) feel loved. They do tons of activities with them (including gardening, water play in the summer, etc) and have an impressive amount of outdoor space to play. Their communication was always easy and smooth, including through the pandemic, and the owner/director is flexible and kind. I can't say enough good things about Education Station! My husband and I are both teachers and we highly recommend Education Station. We feel lucky we found it.

As a parent of two small kids, it really hurts me to have to put my child in daycare school because…read morewe need two income. So having found a perfect school for my 3 year old meant so much and I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I think the most important criteria for a good school is safety both physically and mentally. The environment in Talent Prep is really safe and the teachers/founders are professional and kind. My expectation for a school is to be safe, then on top of the safety, if my child can learn and have fun while learning, that'll be a win, win, win combination. Just short 2 months that my son is here, he has became more independent on daily chores, more vocal on his thoughts, like to read and occasionally speak Mandarin Chinese which is another win! He talks about friends and teachers and all fun things he did at school everyday coming home. And he is eager to go back the next day. The first two weeks were really hard, but after he is adjusted, the school became his second family. Great job ladies and keep at it!!!

My child has been enrolled in Talent Prep since their doors open. Like most parents, the thought…read moreof putting my kid in someone else's care was gut-wrenching and the process of finding a school/day care that fit our laundry-list of needs was agonizing. We spent months touring places before ultimately deciding on Talent Prep. My husband and I are strong proponents of early childhood development and believe children thrive in an enriched environment. Talent Prep's proven track-record for preparing children for the Gifted & Talented program was huge draw for us. We were thrilled to find a pre-school that focused on this AND the fact that they offer Mandarin education- was icing on the cake. Apart from the curriculum, the school is affordable and has a completely reasonable holiday/vacation school (no 1 week vacations/ 4x a year that would eat into a working parent's PTO!) We get along with the teachers and are in constant communication with them. Most importantly, my kid is happy and thriving. We didn't experience any issues with adjusting and I'm sure this is due to the teachers, the like-minded students and the environment. She goes to school excited and comes home happy. She recites songs, talks about her friends and her teachers and constantly surprises us with everything she's learning. Lastly, they potty-trained my daughter. We followed THEIR lead because we couldn't get our act together. Thank gawd for Talent Prep.

Wow, if I had read that review I wouldn't have enrolled my daughter. Good thing I somehow missed…read moreit. My daughter started at POA at 3 months and I've had a terrific experience. The teachers are fabulous, very caring and loving. The Director is fantastic (two of her kids also go to POA at that location) and runs a well organized school. I was torn between doing the nanny thing or daycare and this school has set the bar very high. My little one eats better and naps better at school than at home. The experience has been wonderful. I have no complaints at all about this place. I'm sorry to see the negative review below. My daughter is thriving.. eating well and is an early walker, very social, very happy all the time. I know her experience at the school fueled all this. I am thankful and recommend POA to any parents. Please message me if you have any questions.

My son started here at 4 months and we have felt great about it! The staff is truly caring.. The…read moreteachers are high quality and when you walk in - the whole place feels welcoming. They helped get my little guy on a schedule, but always met his individual needs. True professionals. We are very happy here.

HLC Kids Academy is truly amazing. My daughter started attending HLC in the Mini's classroom when…read moreshe was nine months old and she loved her experience. The staff is SO caring and attentive. The teachers are fantastic at communicating needs and issues with parents. They do progress reviews, share photos, and provide reports on your child's development. My daughter was a late walker and they practiced with her and encouraged her so much that she was walking in no time. They would send us videos of her walking progress and caught many of her first walking attempts on video for us. They update parents with many pictures throughout the day to show what your children are doing and learning. HLC has thorough learning plans with weekly themes and lessons (examples are Earth Week to learn about recycling or Rainbow Week to learn colors and songs). The teachers are constantly singing with the kids and my daughter learned many songs and hand gestures through this. The kids go on long beautiful walks along the Hudson river and look at flowers and get fresh air. During the summer they do water days where kids can play with a water table and little splash pad outside. This school is creative and fun with children's enrichment being the top priority. HLC handles feeding schedules so smoothly. When babies are young they have many feeding needs and somehow all the teachers balance the different schedules without missing a beat. We cloth diaper my daughter and they happily accommodated that as well. The price is fantastic but the waitlist is long so get on the list early. I put my daughter on the list one calendar year before she needed to start which was the best decision I ever made. As a working parent, I was NEVER concerned about my daughter's well being or uncomfortable to leave her with the teachers at HLC. My daughter absolutely loved it and would walk into school each day excited and so happy. We moved away from the area and had to switch schools and leaving HLC was the thing my husband and I were the most upset about. The teachers threw my daughter a little going away party when she left and it was the sweetest thing. I cannot thank Ms Maddy, Ms Naz, Ms Nicole, and Ms Elina, and all the Minis teachers enough for running such a great school.

Can't say enough good things About HLC. We wish we found sooner, my girls enjoyed a full school…read moreyear before going on to pre K. Staff is caring, loving, thoughtful. My girls were excited to see them everyday. Communication is great, they use an app to keep you posted on anything and they send you pics throughout the day. They are flexible if changes to be made and listen to feedback. They do so many educational activities and make it fun. Lots of extra things too like music shows, animal shows, family picnics, face painting, graduation. On top of all that price is great.

Truly thankful to Linda and the team at MELC for the care they've given my 3 yr old son over the…read morepast year. We were attracted to MELC by the intentionality of their curriculum - a great mix of structure, Montessori-type play, and emphasis on getting outside. They've been teaching children for 30+ years and it shows.. every aspect of their program is done for a reason. Our experience was everything we hoped for and our son absolutely thrived in the full day (8:45am-3pm) program, with parabolic language and social development. There was also a real community focus, with (optional) events almost every month to get parents and kids together. A best-in-class program operated by best-in-class people.

We absolutely love it here. My daughter started last spring and it was incredible to see growth in…read morejust a few short months. The teachers are phenomenal. They care so much about each kid. As parents you have the opportunity to speak with them in the pick up/drop off lines and in parent teacher conferences. They spend a lot of time outside and do lots of arts and crafts. The curriculum is solid and I'm amazed at how much she has learned so far. Beyond that I've seen a positive impact on in my daughters manners, vocabulary, interaction with other kids, etc. I see little mannerisms she has picked up from her teacher that are really sweet, kind and empathetic. They do adorable celebrations for birthdays and an amazing end of school year celebration complete with songs and dance. They have an amazing structure set up for flexibility. There are drop in options for before-care and staying later for lunch. I really can't say enough about MELC. We are so grateful to have found this school.

I am a parent but also an educator. I cannot say enough about how fantastic Rising Stars Academy…read moreis. They are the best!!! My son would come home with art projects that were very well planned. The level of planning in the art projects is professional quality. These were not "cookie" cutter art projects. Also, Mrs. Cecilia would teach the kids Spanish every morning...and she taught my son how to dance professional salsa for the end of year party!! They also have a high quality science program with lots of materials. It is a structured school that uses some Montessori methods. They have both an indoor and outdoor play area, which helps for those long winter days ..and sprinklers in the summer. Their tuition is very reasonable for such a high quality program. However they gave me the option to pay a little extra for instrument lessons & soccer camp to come to the school. The breakup of class sizes is 4 kids to 1 teacher so all the kids get tons of individual attention. You have the option to buy a healthy lunch. I can't recommend them enough!!! My son is older now and he still talks about what he learned at Rising Stars Academy!