This is a YMCA program that is actually hosted at Whitney Elementary School in Anacortes. The…read moreprogram shares a lot of the same spaces as the school; however, for toddlers is housed in a portable building near the playground. Hours: 6:45am to 5pm (actually it may be 5:30) Staff: Currently run by Crissy Floe and a fairly stable group of teachers. Ages: Starts at age 1 Overall this is a GREAT option for child care in Anacortes. They have a good toddler to teacher ratio and are always doing some sort of different enrichment activity. The other awesome thing is they provide meals, so no more making a ton of food to take in if you have had to do that in the past.. You do need to provide diapers, wipes, a blanket, and a change of clothes. Activities include taking walks, going to the library, playing outside, reading, etc etc etc. There are also at least monthly evening activities including a Parent's night where they will watch the children in the evening so the parents can go on a "date night" if they desire. Overall if you are looking for daycare this is THE PLACE to go in my opinion if your hours follow theirs. They do have part time options as well. The spots can be filled so get on the wait list before your child turns one if you want them to go here.

Love this program! Teachers are exceptionally helpful and adjust to the learning style of each…read moreindividual student.

This place is the best…read more The staff is great, they go out of their way to take great care of our kids. They run a day care but there is a learning curriculum also so your kids dont just play with blocks all day. You dont have to go everyday as long as you schedule in advance, like every M W F or something. They really are teachers not babysitters, they teach manners, social skills and some school stuff like letters and they read in a group to the kids. Great place to take your kids.

I cannot recommend Tina's Family Daycare enough. As both a friend of Tina's and someone who has…read moreseen firsthand the love, dedication, compassion, commitment, and care she puts into her work, I can say this is far more than just a daycare -- it's a safe, supportive, loving and nurturing home away from home for any child that walks through her door.

Tina found me at my place of work today, after 8 years of not seeing her, and publicly shamed me…read morefor "owing her money". I told her to reach out to me personally, respectfully, as I haven't heard from her in 8 years and she was openly hostile in front of my Manager and my employees (I am the Assistant Manager). I pulled my daughter from her care because instead of ABC's, she learned commercials. Instead of learning purple and red, she thought everything was pink. Tina is not licensed for early learning, nutrition, or any wellness programs for the children. She was also out of ratio with the kids at least 50% percent of the time, claiming another adult was present when that was virtually untrue. Please choose a different child care. EDIT: clearly, as all of the other reviews have come in since I made my original review, people were obviously asked to submit kind words. I find it funny that only one person had done so prior to my review. Tina is a wolf in sheep's clothing and her actions at my place of work when I DO NOT owe her money after 10 YEARS is enough for me. I am glad you all have had other experiences because I'd hate to have other children or parents have the same experience with her that we have had.

Montessori Preschool Program at Josephine Sunset Home:…read more I was really impressed by what the director of the program told me and I had previously had my child in Montessori so I put him in the program after only a quick tour and meeting with the instructor. My initial impression was a little weird, the kids did not seem really happy or friendly. I shrugged off my initial gut feeling because kids are kids and they are not always "on". After the first day of Class my child said, "I don't want to go back there mom, ever!" I tried to ask questions and got nothing from my child or any feedback from the teacher when we went back for school the next time. The teacher said he was a little slow but he will warm up and that is all I got in terms of a report from her. The morning of the next school day my child refused to get ready, dumped toys on the floor of living room so we would be late and even DELIBERATELY MADE HIMSELF SICK SO HE WOULD NOT HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL! When I picked my child up the second day, as soon as I got my child in the car he started crying! (not typical behavior). After trying everything to get an answer from him on what was going on I again was getting no where. I am not the type of person that will give up when something goes bad but I wanted to know if a kid was bullying my child or what the situation was. I decided to record my child at school by putting a digital recorder in his pocket to see if he was being bullied. Turns out the kids are really nice, but the teacher is verbally humiliating some of the kids and making them feel stupid. The teaching method is DEFINITELY NOT MONTESSORI. the teacher is writing and instructing on board and children are meant to remember and recall what was taught on board over 20min ago. (keep in mind this is 3-6 year olds) When my son struggled and asked for help the teacher in a sarcastic tone asked why don't you know this? I just went over this on the board. That's when he started crying and it did not end for over an hour! He would ask her for help several time but no help was offered by teacher. He would say, "Ms. Thomas." and she would reply "Ms. Thomas has left the building" . She even humiliated a little girl from the class in front of the other kids because she had an accident in her pants before they were to go to the playground..... I can go on and on with the examples from my recording. But after listening to it I just wanted to cry because my son trusted me and I put him in that environment. He is now in a different preschool but still talks about how that teacher treated him. I want school to be a positive experience for my kids so they will have a fulfilling learning experience later. the kids are definitely not getting this with the Montessori program at Josephine Sunset Home.

I have a 8 year old who also has Autism that attends the school-age childcare program at…read moreJosephine's, before/after as well as non-school days and summer camp. I am impressed with their staff as to their professionalism and honest display of affection and patience for all the children there, and believe me it tends to get loud in the different classrooms because they take children as young as 4 weeks old, they have a Montessori Preschool program and ECEAP along with infant, preschool and school-age care. We were concern with how will our son would do at Josephine as he has always had one-one-one care, but he has really improved on his social skills and has bonded with all the teachers and childcare providers and they are trained to deal with special needs children - not to mention that there is a medical staff on duty 24/7 because of the senior programs they have. The best part of Josephine is how the kids interact with the residents, "Grandparents" there. They do sing-a-longs help with activities...the whole inter-generational exposure has been great for our son as he doesn't have any living grandparents. Highly recommend Josephine's childcare program.

Our family has participated in several Camp Fire programs around the Pacific Northwest, and we…read moreattended the Camp Kirby day camp in July 2025. While my daughter seemed to enjoy herself and spoke positively about the experience, the overall setup left me uneasy as a parent. Camp Kirby is located on a small island about 35 minutes from Bellingham. The setting is rustic and remote, and you have to drive very slowly down a long road to reach it. It's an unusual place, quiet and tucked away, but also far removed from anything else. The biggest issue for me was the lack of transparency and connection with the camp itself. Drop-off and pickup were tightly controlled: you wait in a long car line, staff approach your window, and then you're expected to drive off. There was no opportunity to meet the counselors, interact with other parents, or even glimpse the facilities. I asked nicely twice during the week if I could just see where my daughter was spending her day, and was told both times to email the director due to camper privacy. I understand wanting to protect kids, but other Camp Fire locations I've attended have found ways to balance privacy with openness. Here, I left every day with no idea what the camp looked like or what was going on inside. Communication was also minimal. Other camps send daily updates with photos and summaries. At Kirby we received one brief email and a photo album with a single blurry side photo of my daughter. I strongly recommend that Camp Kirby improve transparency by posting photos or videos of the grounds and facilities online. Even a virtual tour would go a long way toward helping parents understand where their kids will be all week. As it stands, I still have no idea what the space looks like. They offer one open house in the spring, but unless you live nearby, that's not realistic. The counselors seemed kind, though a little overwhelmed. And while my daughter's experience may have been positive, I genuinely don't know, because parents are kept completely at arm's length. I wouldn't recommend this camp unless you live nearby or already know someone with firsthand experience. They need to build more trust with parents and provide a clearer window into what's actually happening during the week.

Great,naturalistic camp for kids. One of the few remaining open-water / salt-water summer camps…read moreleft. Our kids love going there year after year. They have waterfront & camp craft programs, tee pees, tree houses and cabins for ages 5 - 14. Would recommend.

Love the people who work here and numerous programs…read more Ukulele, free library, lunches, work out programs, Dementia group, friends group etc.

We attended an event at the Camano Center and was impressed with the space. The building is well…read moremaintained and clean. You walk into a foyer/sitting room with a huge fireplace (great for photos) and an area for registration. The room we occupied for the event probably had 20-25 tables of 10. It was pretty tight so we felt bad for the volunteer teens who had to serve. They have their own caterer and food was good.

We very much enjoyed our visit! It was slow, a weekday. Kids loved the playground and ball pit…read more Staff was friendly and helpful. Food was good too!

We live in Arlington and it is worth it to drive to Mt Vernon for our 3 year old to play…read more Everything seems in good order and maintained. With the prices these days it was very inexpensive.

We love it here! My daughter comes home beaming with excitement to tell me all about her day. Ms…read more Hailey is so sweet with all of her kiddos and my daughter is learning SO MUCH. I love how much outside time they get and that they're always thinking of creative projects and learning exercises for the kids to do. "fizzy hearts" with baking soda & vinegar; a blubber experiment with ice water, gloves, and Crisco during their arctic week; painting geodes; drawing upside down to practice fine motor skills; songs to practice communicating personal boundaries - just to name a few! 10/10 recommend!

I was forwarded information that was very useful and I appreciated them reaching out to me. We…read morewere in a dire situation and did not know the "ropes".