Pssssst! Are you a…read moreparent in the Reno-Tahoe area with a kidlet that's between 3 and 5 years old? Have you spent countless hours wading through websites and reading reviews trying to find a loving, safe and affordable program for your preschooler to attend? Look no further--your search is over. Annie and Friends Preschool is the hidden gem you've been looking for. This program is truly the best-kept secret of early childhood education in the greater Northern Nevada area. The school offers phenomenal instruction with a robust, well-developed curriculum that goes far beyond the accreditation standards for Washoe County, the State of Nevada and the NAEYC. The school's principal and lead instructor, Miss Annie, holds a master's degree in early childhood education from Arizona State University. The caliber of her background plus her many years of teaching experience really sets this program apart from others in the area. Learning is tailored to each child's talents, strengths and learning styles. Each child is given a phenomenal opportunity to achieve cognitive milestones within a loving and supporting environment. The most exciting thing? Our son is reading and doing simple addition/subtraction problems! He is well on his way to being prepared for kindergarten next year. Thanks to Miss Annie's creative lesson planning, he has also learned empathy towards others and positive ways to express his emotions. Our son comes home every day excited about the world around him while discovering his place in it. We are amazed that this level of world-class instruction is available here in the Reno-Tahoe area at such an affordable price. We are so thankful we found Annie and Friends!

We absolutely adore Annie & her school. Our daughter is in her 2nd year at the school & thriving!…read moreShe's learned so much and has so many friends thanks to this school. Annie plans engaging lessons for the kiddos & sends a weekly write up of what they did at the end of week that is so helpful. Annie communicates well with parents & is always easy to talk to. I also feel that she truly cares about my child & offers the tender care that is so critical for little ones. I am already sad for preschool to end but I know my girl has been given a wonderful foundation thanks to Annie.

I heard lots of good things about this preschool. Strongly Recommend by one of my friends, whose…read moredaughter has been with ms sandy and her daughter for the past couple years. I did the tour with Ms sandy and her daughter this afternoon. After met the teachers, I immediately registered my 2 and half yrs old son there. Even though I am on the waitlist right now. But I already have good feeling about the school! 1. they are locally family owned and operated. 2. They are teachers from Wcsd. What they teach will definitely help your little one to prepare for the kindergarten. 3. They have lots of family events and monthly theme studies. 4. They have a camera in the classroom. So you can use the app to watch your little one whenever and wherever you want!! 5. They do have a waitinglist.. please register and contact them as early as you can..so you can have a spot for your little one when they turn three!!

So fees were raised quite a bit each year after we paid our non-refundable deposits. For Covid they…read moretold us we all were in a contract and had to pay for worksheets and a short zoom or that we still attend as they were doing everything to stay safe. However, as posted earlier the owner was basically posting how covid was a crock etc. on her Facebook. Luckily one parent checked the contract and we were able to give a 30 day notice (that was not given as an option until a parent checked the contract). Yes, they did have a 5 minute late policy and then it was $1 a minute after that (they'd give you a post-it not upon arrival) but the rudeness with it was uncalled for (because emergencies do happen). So, basically the experience for our child was pretty good but it felt like there was some greediness and just unnecessary rudeness involved and that part didn't feel good.

Great team and communication A wonderful, beautiful safe…read moreplace for children We have had our children there for sunday service and the teachers truly love kids

We heard really great things about kidslife from friends who have their children currently enrolled…read moreso we wanted to check it out! We decided to schedule a tour The tour was primarily to see and if we liked it to put it on the list of prospective schools when the time comes. the building felt grand with and pillars reaching 20 feet high above the ground! the doors were locked and the only way to enter was by their doorbell. We walked inside and were greeted immediately by Kyleigh, assistant director, started the tour. We loved how secure this place was and how naturally bright it was with all the windows at the front of the facility. She gave reassurance they work closely with wcds police at damonte ranch and transparent on their protocols for emergency. The pictures on their website does not do justice of their indoor treehouse, located in the middle of the facility. We were able to meet the class they had the opening for. As Kyleigh was explained the curriculum they were children turning three this year and offered potty training. Ms. Hannah & Ms. Nicky with the kids were welcoming as they acknowledged our daughter while they're getting ready for lunch. The room was naturally lit with natural lighting coming from the windows. Kyleigh explained all teachers are required to have 24 hours of annual continuing education and that when they are first hired they train and must pass their initial courses before working. The teachers perform biannual assessments to make sure the children are reaching their milestones to ensure by the time they're done with pre-k they are more than ready for kindergarten. We continued on the tour and walked into the outdoor playground which better than any park playground we've been to. They had a section of the playground with wooden blocks to play and climb on. The playground is nicely naturally shaded by the building which is a plus for the warmer days but for sure had to make a mental note to layer our daughter with clothes when the weather gets cooler. She also explained that the kids will also run around the grassy area in the front of the school to get energy out! We were immediately sold and excited to get the paperwork started for our daughter! It has been a smooth process working with Stevie, which I appreciate! They encouraged for us to drop by a few times before her actual start date to get to know the teachers, friends, and to find her own cubby to lessen the anxiety of the first day of school. As we pulled into the parking lot, my daughter's eyes lit up and was excited to go inside. We walked into her class and she wanted to go straight to the playground., the teachers and the bear cubs were so welcoming acknowledging our daughter! We got to observe the class during the morning right before lunch time: circle time, potty/diaper change, chapel time, centers, walking outside, and then playing outside. During centers we were able to observe the assessment and interaction between Ms Nicky did that were asked as well as seeing what the kids would answer and what to expect when our daughter starts. This was the perfect time for Ms. Nicky to perform one of the biannual assessments on a few of the kids. I noticed the teachers had their iPads and was constantly taking pictures of the kids to send to the parents through their app. I've seen pictures from my friend of her daughter while she was at school so it was nice to see the other side from the teachers point of view constantly making sure with every activity they were documenting what the kids were doing. I also noticed the teachers are constantly making sure the kids are safe and if something happens they are quick to help and follow through with their policies. Pricing is comparable to other preschools in the area which is found on the website. The facility is bright, clean, and welcoming. So far it has met and exceeded all expectations we had in regard to our daughter to grow, intellectually and socially in safe environment. All in all we are excited to start this new chapter of our daughter's life!

We love The Goddard School in South Reno. The teachers and administrators are friendly and…read moresupportive. We know our son is safe and getting the best early education here.

My son went to Goddard south reno for several years. We loved it so much! specially Ms. Pam! She…read moreis amazing! I was so impressed to see that my son was able to do skip counting, addition and subtraction before he turned 5 years old! He learned all of these at Goddard!

This was our first daycare and decided to try it out with a referral from a family member. Our…read moredaughter was 2 years old to at the start of her time there. We loved our first teacher, Mrs. Debbie. She was very understanding and helpful as we were first time parents and this was all new to us. Also, Mrs. Camille was very helpful as we understood our daughter can be hard headed at times so she was very understanding. Unfortunately, that's really where our good experiences stopped. I will spare the paragraphs and paragraphs of complaints I can list, but to make it short, my wife and I were constantly reminded of how much of a "troublemaker" our daughter was. We would consistently receive attitude and dirty looks when our daughter did not have a good day. We also were potty training and got to a good point where she was having no accident overnight or during the day during the 2 week winter break and that's is when she was moved to the "3's classroom." Upon returning to school she regressed significantly and constantly complained of rashes and pain, and we were blamed for this regression and told that if she does not improve, they would "not be able to accommodate her in this facility." The end our experience was when we received a call that we needed to meet with the director upon picking up our daughter. That day, we met in a room and I was told that our daughter choked another child (which she has NEVER done that at home or anywhere for that matter) and handed 6 MONTHS worth of "discipline issues" that we were never asked to meet about before. They told us that that day was her last day and that she was not to return to the school. From our perception, it seemed that her "behavior issues" were less behavior problems, and more a lack of stimulation/ wasn't the typical easy child that will just sit and be quiet. Our daughter has since started at a new school and has not had any of the issues listed above, and in fact we are told every week how good she is doing and how much fun she is having. At home since starting the new school we have been amazed at how much she has learned and how much she loves going to school.

My daughter loves going to preschool at Sonshine. Every morning she asks if it's a school day, and…read morecheers when it is. We love this place. The teachers are caring yet firm, as any good preschool teacher should be. There is a curriculum and there is plenty of traditional classroom-type learning as well as play-based learning happening in the school rooms. Jane is an excellent administrator and has effective communication with lots of important emails and is always on site for face-to-face conversations. The secure fingerprint sign-in, sign-out is a great addition to the morning routine. I absolutely love the fact that most of the teachers' helpers are grandmas. I know there is lots of grandmotherly love and kindness doled out whenever needed. Finally, the costs are very competitive, if not less expensive than most. They do not charge fees for August and June in order to fairly account for the multiple school holidays throughout the year, (Thanksgiving, Christmas break, etc.), so you definitely are getting your money's worth. I have never experienced getting so much for so little cost. I feel blessed. We are very fortunate there is such an awesome first school experience for our daughter here in the South Meadows, and I can only hope it continues on as an asset to our community.

My daughter went to Small Strides for a full year and it was an ok experience. I'll be talking…read moreabout the location that they have in the Rancharrah area. My daughter started going at 3 months old and the baby room that she was in was incredible. The main teachers in her classroom in the morning were on top of it and overall the classroom was very organized. OH, and we loved receiving her art work. Despite the crazy schedule the teachers had with these newborn babies, the way they were able to insert art time for memories I was definitely delighted how they did it all! Now talking about the second classroom she transitioned to as she got a little older and meeting her milestones, her teachers in that classroom were also great! I loved how they all knew my daughter's schedule and were on top of it. And in both classes, I really appreciated how they informed me right away or my husband when stuff happened. Now I'm going to talk about the cons in this paragraph which explains why I'm giving this place a 4/5 rating. It was frustrating when my daughter's things got misplaced from other kiddos and this happened a lot. They reminded parents to label and whatnot but things started to go missing. Another incident is when there was an issue with a staff that I just had to address with the owner and I was glad it got handled well because as a parent, no parent should be coming in feeling unwelcome and uncomfortable. And lastly, towards the last two months of my daughter's stay, she has gotten bit at least 10 times. My husband and I let it go and just kept letting it go until we finally addressed it to them but then on her last week it happened. Her marks were awful and I was not happy but I let it go since she wasn't staying there for long. Overall, I do appreciate the teachers who cared for my daughter and all their hard work they provide for all these kiddos. It was an ok daycare experience but I am so delighted to be a SAHM now and be with my kids under my care.

First off let me say that we didn't realize how great Small Strides daycare/preschool was until we…read moremoved out of state or how difficult it was to find a daycare that met the level of expectations that Small Strides had set. Needles to say, Small Strides set the bar very high. We had our son in Small Strides at 3 months as a first time mom, it was a nervous experience. However the teachers are very nice and caring, I went in the middle of the day to breastfeed and all the babies were well taken care of and happy. At the time (it may have changed) they didn't use swings or bouncers for the babies, because the owner felt that the babies should be held if/when they get fussy. And it's just too easy to put a baby in a bouncer or swing and leave them there. I never thought about it, but so true and I loved this concept. Our son was there until he turned about 2.5 when we moved to NJ. He learned his shapes, had learned how to count to 18 (in Spanish and English), knew his colors (in English and was beginning to learn them in Spanish), and so many other things. While the kids did get free play time, whenever my husband or I would show up unannounced it always seemed organized. Kids rarely were just running around in complete chaos and most times were engaged in a group activity. Because the daycare was small we knew all the teachers, and they all knew the kids by name even if they weren't in their assigned classroom. This made it easy for our son to transition between classrooms, and truthfully, he walked around like he owned the place lol. We saw the same teachers for the most of the entire 2+ years that we were there, which says something about the owner and the facility due to what seemed to be low turnover. The Owner/Director was always available and worked the front desk in addition to being involved in the classrooms day to day if needed, so any issues you could always reach her. And because she was always at the school and involved, you could tell that she had a vested interest in ensuring that the teachers and students had what they needed to succeed. Not to mention she knew every kid by name. While there isn't the new technology that some larger daycares have (online video that parents can tap into or tablets to send parents reports and pics), this is a definite plus (having now experienced a daycare with this technology). Filling out the kids daily report each day and evening allows you to meet and get to know the other parents and kids (making it feel more homey and safe) and the teachers are much more engaged with the kids since they aren't on the tablets all day updating the kids logs. Though there isn't online viewing for parents (at that time)video , they do record all the classrooms, so if there was ever an issue the owner and parent can review the video records. We've come to find that many of the daycares have the online viewing option, but don't record. So if something were to happen, and unless you were watching at just the right time, you would never know. The online viewing is really just a false sense of security in my opinion. We can't speak highly enough of Small Strides and are still in search for a daycare/preschool that meets these expectations.

Our experience wasn't as positive. My first negative was not receiving the invitation email to the…read moreopen house prior to school beginning. After expressing my disappointment that the email never arrived to my inbox (or a number of parents' apparently), they were unapologetic and just said I "couldn't do preschool wrong." And so we showed up 5 minutes early on the first day (expecting instruction to begin at 8:30 and dropoff to be taking place then...but the parking lot was empty). I felt stupid ringing the doorbell, having seen teachers already enter the door, and having no one respond. I was new and this surely didn't sit well. Perhaps we were early, but considering I missed the open house to an internal error, perhaps explaining the rules 5 minutes early on day 1 would've been more inviting to a brand new family. Perhaps I could "do preschool wrong" after all. This was my son's third preschool. I have a lot of experience in school settings. He went to a fabulous 2yo program in IL, then paid public preschool and since we moved here recently and all the programs were about full, we had few options. I went on a whim and signed up here. Maybe it's a local culture thing (coming from CA and IL), but I'm an elementary school teacher myself and the structure and schedule were much too lax. Drop-off was "anytime between 8:30 and 9:30" and "we start instruction sometime between 9:30 and 10", which meant the first hour + was glorified daycare. Some days he would be the only student there for the first half hour! I didn't feel this program would adequately prepare my Pre-K student (who thrives on schedules and activities) for real Kindergarten and rigorous standards next year. I am definitely hyper vigilant (and maybe a little tiger mom) being a teacher myself, but with the laissez faire approach, it likely fit other families better than our family. I guess first impressions really do stick, because we just never quite got our groove after that first day and are now sending our son to another program that he is absolutely loving.

I put my youngest daughter in preschool at South Reno United Methodist Church after receiving many…read morereferrals from fellow parents and neighbors. I have to say that it has been such an amazing experience. Miss Jamie, the director, is great and all of the teachers are wonderful. The preschool is clean, bright and cheerfully decorated with children's artwork. My daughter has grown so much in the short time that we have been there. Miss Fran, her teacher, is great with children and is still always doing fun activities, singing songs and coming up with creative ways to teach the kids. The preschool is located on Mount Rose highway and is very easy to get to if you live in the South Reno area.

Looking around Reno for a daycare was mission impossible and we were so fortunate that Kiddie…read moreAcademy was opening at the right time and we slipped right in! Our daughter has been there since it has opened and she loves it there!! The owners are amazing people and truly care about your family and listen. The staff is fun, caring, and kind towards not just our child, but towards others as I have witnessed repeatedly! They have worked with our schedule which I am very grateful for and always work towards resolving any issues when they arise. I am very happy with the curriculum the children are learning and the communication that comes from the Academy. The care and schedule is consistent, the kitchen is BIG plus as it takes away from worries of making daily lunches, and we are thankful that our daughter has a hot meal, and eats things that we cannot get her to eat at home, lol. The smile and excitement we get from our child after school speaks volumes! She is always in an amazing mood when she goes to her Academy! Keep up the good work and always grow!!

My daughter started at Kiddie Academy earlier this year and has been thriving and getting new…read moreskills quickly! I was nervous about her starting daycare but she absolutely loves it and is learning new things weekly! We absolutely love the staff. The teachers are so caring and attentive. Big shout-out to Ms. Elizabeth, Ms. Samira, and Ms. Kelsey, they make our daughter so happy and well cared for. The owners Erin and Andrew are incredible and very attentive. It's been a great transition joining Kiddie Academy and we look forward to continuing to have our daughter attend through her childhood. I highly recommend!!!