Sunflower is such a special place for little ones to learn, explore, and grow. Kathy creates such a wonderful, nurturing environment. We love the focus on playing outdoors and connecting with nature. Couldn't recommend the program enough. read more

Sunflower Hill Child Care - Sunflowers in the outdoor garden - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Our 2 year old son is blossoming at Sunflower Hill. We are so impressed by Kathy's intuition and dedication to helping toddlers and preschoolers thrive. She truly gets young children, in a way I have not seen before in a day care center. I have seen Kathy and her staff respond to toy stealing, tantrums, hitting, and other normal behaviors of young children with immense patience and gentleness. Kathy and her staff truly seek to understand and come alongside children, not boss them around or control them. The kids spend a large portion of the day outside, in this beautiful fenced-in property in a safe and vibrant neighborhood. It is tranquil and calm both inside and outside Sunflower Hill. My son enjoys daily circle time, songs and books, and crafts (they even bake bread and plant flowers with the kids). "Squirrel Nutkin" comes alive from the book they read, and munches on sunflower seeds outside the center. We have attended a few of Sunflower Hill's festivals, which are a great opportunity to meet parents and watch your kids thrive together. The lantern festival was a time to pause and reflect on the darkening of the seasons, and how the light is inside each of us. The kids each made a lantern and we walked around outside singing songs. It truly is as magical as it sounds. Kathy and her staff have a holistic approach to childcare, which isn't what all families are looking for. The "curriculum" is not structured or rigid, like many schools are. Each family should choose what works best for their child, and Waldorf isn't a good fit for everyone. Kathy provides flexibility in choosing days of the week, and the opportunity to re-arrange your days if needed. We looked at several child care centers in Denver, and Sunflower Hill has very reasonable pricing. They are open long hours, and it is a very convenient pick for working parents. Also, the center is housed on a sleepy neighborhood street without traffic, so you don't have to fight to find a parking spot. Pickup and dropoff are always easy. When we started at Sunflower Hill, Kathy would send us photos of our son and encouraging notes about how he was acclimating to the group. Kathy always texts me if our son is hurt (a self-inflicted scratch while playing with sticks, and a toy sharing incident that turned into hitting), and sends us photos of him with an update. I am so impressed by this attention to my child's safety, and trust Kathy immensely. Kathy has asked for feedback from parents in several of her weekly emails, and shows genuine humility and a desire to continue changing and adapting as needed. Though I don't pretend to know half as much about raising young children as Kathy, I wouldn't hesitate to speak to her if I had any concerns. The staff are fantastic, our son especially loves Warren who sings cowboy songs to him and is so attentive to his language development. We are overjoyed that our son is blossoming here. He comes home from school each day chatting about his friends, and has started pretend play at just over 2 years old, which speaks to how healthy and supportive this center is for his imagination. read more

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Sunflower Hill as a safe space for any neurodivergent or strong willed child. Despite describing themselves as "dedicated to addressing the uniqueness of each child," the director Kathy has proven to be inflexible in her approach towards children, seemingly unaware of what is developmentally appropriate behavior for toddlers, and unable/unwilling to provide an environment in which all types of children can succeed. I have no complaints against the teachers, except that they clearly do not have the confidence or are not empowered to speak with parents directly and honestly. Everything funnels through the director in a game of he said/ she said, and ultimately Kathy would prefer to blame and label a child as violent and out of control, than help a child who is clearly struggling with big feelings in a new environment. My son has been in daycares and centers his whole life and no prior caregiver would characterize him as aggressive in any way, but Kathy was quick to do so by day two. My child attended a total of 4 days. We actively sought feedback from the providers and were met with responses of "he did great" and then would get a phone call from the director days later saying he tried to hit the teachers (behavior we almost never see at home), and that we the parents need to make it stop. We asked for more timely feedback and were told it was inappropriate for the teachers to discuss our child's progress at pickup. In conjunction with my son's therapy team, I provided explicit feedback on strategies that work for de-escalation, which was met with "thanks, we do most of these things already." I am not sure these strategies were even shared with the staff. In focusing on my child's negative behaviors, no emphasis was ever placed on ways the providers sought to understand or help my child. I offered to send someone from my child's therapy team to shadow my child and assist in the transition, which did not come to fruition as Kathy terminated our contract, citing aggression towards staff and children. (The "aggression" towards children was for trying to pull another child from a toy car. One can only assume conflict over toys NEVER happens and is totally unacceptable from a toddler on their first day.) I also want to note that Kathy attempted to justify withholding my child's lunch until he said sorry in a manner that she deemed acceptable (ie., by making eye contact), which is a huge red flag and demonstrates a completely ableist and authoritarian approach to discipline. She responded to my request to not discipline my child this way with wildly exaggerated claims that he punched an employee in the face (although as with most incidents she did not herself witness this) while still maintaining that forcing a child to parrot a meaningless "sorry" for something that happened earlier in the day was the right approach. (Antiquated parenting practices much?) She chose to view my son's behaviors as manipulative rather than a cry for help and said things like, "I suspect that at the other places he has been, they just give in" and implied that he was acting out because we do not set clear expectations and boundaries. She also claimed that the other children witnessing his behaviors would negatively impact them, as if neurodivergence is an illness that can be caught, rather than view this as a teaching moment to model empathy. If your child is a robot, 100% compliant, and does not emote or demonstrate unpleasant feelings, this might be a great place for you. Their false bubble of Waldorf peace and harmony is a direct result of excluding those who are in any way challenging or act outside their predefined expectations of compliance. Finally, after refusing to provide service after less than a week and leaving us with no childcare options, Kathy still initially declined to refund the several hundred dollar materials fee for the quarter, citing the contract we signed (that she herself terminated). It wasn't until we pressed the issue that we received the refund. This should say a lot about this center's values, general hypocrisy, and the way they run their business. Edit to add: Kathy responded to my review on google with a lengthy, defensive essay, which is on par for her communication style. Instead of being open to feedback and admitting that maybe they can improve the ways they support neurodivergent children or saying she's sorry we had a bad experience (because no matter how "challenging" it was for her staff, I can guarantee it was harder for the child who felt he had no other way to be heard than to lash out), note that she continues to blame the toddler. As for her ableist statement that she hopes that we find a "specialized program" for our child's needs, I'm confident that the only thing my child needs is a welcoming environment with open minded teachers. read more

I am not sure how the current child care is, but as neighbors they are less than optimal. The staff is always speeding through the side streets to get to work. They routinely go above the speed limit and ignore traffic signs. This is on streets where children walk to school. If they have that disregard for life and the neighborhood where they function, how will they do with your child? Ours will not go there, period. read more

Sunflower is awesome. Kathy, Michael, and the rest of the staff are truly fantastic with kids and the kids love them; this morning at drop off I saw several kids run up to hug Kathy's legs in the space of just a couple minutes. Our toddler plays outside every day, sings songs, creates tons of artwork and cool projects, bakes bread, plays, and learns how to be a kind, caring, and considerate person. Sunflower is a wonderful community and we couldn't recommend it more highly. read more

Update: to the person who said the staff has not turned over, I would like to clarify that three staff members (including Michael) were terminated in June and another left. The owner responded to me by claiming my name is not in the records. This would explain the continual confusion I dealt with when asked to picked up my granddaughter. read more

When we were looking for daycare after moving to Denver with an almost-two year old, it felt like we would never find a place we loved with an opening. We were incredibly lucky when a spot at Sunflower opened up after just two months! Two years later and we are still there, soaking up the magical sense of wonder and loving the abundance of outdoor play. You will be hard-pressed to find a sweeter place for your child to grow up. Every year, we take our light into the darkness at the lantern festival, weave ribbons at the maypole festival, and hand-churn Apple cider at the harvest festival. We have a kind and confident 4 year old and we owe so much of his social-emotional growth to the work that Kathy and her teachers have done. We have seen a few unstable folks pass through the center as you can see from some of the reviews that have been left. I assure you that they are baseless. Go for a tour and you can experience the wonder yourself. As a bonus, we have an active parent group that has blossomed into tight community. read more

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My daughter is 3.5 and has been at Sunflower since she was 2. We absolutely love it! Places like this are so rare- authentically run by a consistent and caring staff. We deeply appreciate Kathy and the Waldorf inspired approach. The seasonal events are magical and fun to connect with other families. There is a strong community of parents which have been a great support to me and my family in these early childhood years. Thank you Sunflower for everything!! read more

Our daughter has been going here for just over a year. She loves it, we love it and will continue to send her until age 6. Kathy, Michael and team have a great approach and way with kids. Their experience and education align with the Waldorf philosophy of play-based learning, support and nurturing of children as unique individuals and engage kids physically, mentally and emotionally. Sunflower Hill fosters community, respect and care for each other and the natural surroundings. The setting is tranquil and beautiful, anyone would love to spend the day here. The class is small and the kids are well-bonded. The parents actively work to encourage a community feeling here, too. I couldn't recommend it highly enough. read more

My son started at Sunflower just after he turned two when our name came up on the waitlist. After touring countless daycares, it was clear that Sunflower was the only place we wanted to be. Kathy treats the children as whole people, teaching them to be caring and empowering them to be themselves. The kids get hours and hours of outdoor time. Each year is filled with festivals that fill the children with wonder for the natural world. My little one has hand-dipped candles, dyed fabric with flowers, churned fresh apple cider, spun a maypole, and bakes fresh bread almost every week. I cannot recommend Kathy and her center more whole heartedly. This is a wonderful place to raise children away from screens, media characters, and early academics that suck the life out of a magical childhood. read more

Our son started at Sunflower Hill right after his 2nd birthday. We were on a couple of different wait lists, but we'd decided that this was where we wanted him to be. Kathy and her staff are kind, creative, and speak respectfully to the children. It's a beautiful facility. It's clean and smells good. The toys available to the children are beautiful and simple. They spend TONS of time outside playing and creative play is highly encouraged. They do cool things like make paper, have a worm farm, and butterflies. If you want to have your child in a wonderful place - contact them! read more

This is a special place. Kathy, Michael and all are amazing. The children are in great hands here. Play based care. Our daughter is learning so much here. When I come to pick her up she doesn't want to leave. While that gives me a complex, I know she is in good hands. There is structure without being structured. The kiddos all get along really well which to me is representative of the spirit Kathy guides with. They will nurture your child and let them be children. read more

Our son truly flourished at Sunflower Hill! He gained confidence, friendships and the ability to communicate more effectively in a matter of weeks. We were so thrilled to have found such a caring environment. read more

I've been taking my daughter there for over two years and have plans to take my youngest there next year when we enter her into wild world of child care. This particular business was recommended to my wife and I by the owner of the restaurant I manage. He felt it reflected our views on parenting, child care, and development and knew several families whose children had attended. My wife and I were happy with and continue to feel this center offers the healthiest option for childcare for our daughter. Their philosophy of spending much of their day outdoors coupled with the encouraging support of children's free play to explore their developing imaginations is wonderful. The lack of anything resembling screen time during the day is refreshing. We feel there is plenty of time later in life for zombieing out in front of a screen and the longer we can push it off, the better off our children will be. While many of the caregivers have changed over the last two years, one thing has remained the same. A vested interest in ensuring our children are well looked after and allowed to develop in a natural setting. If you are looking for a center to teach your kids to read before they are four, learn multiple languages concurrently, master a touch screen, or become an expert in all things Disney, this isn't the place for you. If you value physical activity, a caring approach to fostering imagination, and a healthy encouragement to explore the world around them, you couldn't find a better fit. read more

We've been at Sunflower for just over a year now and our daughter has been thriving! We love how her social skills and her sense of adventure have been nurtured and just couldn't be happier! Every kids birthday is celebrated, and Phoebe felt so special on her day! The rest of the holidays and events are so fun and it's great to meet the other parents and get involved. They have a great garden, that Phoebe takes so much pride in helping plant, so much so, she even eats vegetables from it. Kathy, Michael and Kelly do a fantastic job, and we can't wait to see what this year will bring! read more

My step daughter is currently enrolled here and the administration has flat out refused to work with my wife and me. You can read the full story here: https://goo.gl/maps/yp5icZEE6NZ27gAn6 read more

For anyone looking for a wonderful daycare for children 2 and up, I heartily recommend Sunflower Hill 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! read more

My daughter loves Sunflower Hill Child Care, for so many reasons. She got a lot of individual attention from the teachers, and loved the variety of activities for the kids. She got to create art, sing dance, play outside, and learn in a warm and loving environment. I can't say enough positive things about this school!! It has been a fantastic experience all around. -Grace read more

My son has gone here for 2 yrs and we both love it! They go on a mile walk most days, play outside, eat home cooked food like whole wheat bread, broccolie, soup. The staff is very nice and very loving. read more