Disclaimer: I am the "over protective" mama that does the endless research, tours a dozen…read morefacilities, and asks a million questions before choosing a program to put my kids in. I LOVE LITTLE ORCHARD KAYSVILLE! Just by meeting the program director (Michelle Paez) you get a sense of the high standard Little Orchard PreSchool is held to. My 3.5 y/o has a speech delay, mild sensory sensitivity, and severe separation anxiety. Ms. Michelle reassured me that the staff are prepared to help kids with any transitioning difficulties they may experience. They are INCREDIBLY empathetic and patient with each student, my son actually hung out with Ms. Michelle his first 2 days of school and once he felt safe with her; she helped him transition into the classroom without her. The level of compassion and respect they give to our kids is outstanding. Other things I found note worthy... - CLEAN: The facility has a modern and updated interior. The layout is simple and very clean/organized. - STRUCTURED PROGRAM: The program is Montessori based and is very much routined and structured. They have a set daily schedule and implement early education skills (reading, writing, etc.) - GREAT COMMUNICATION: The program director is the bridge of communication between you/your kids and the teachers. This makes communicating thoughts and concerns consistent and easy! If I have a concern about my son, I can just call, text, or email Ms. Michelle and she does the rest. I decided to write this review bc last week I noticed a bruise on my son's face on a day he had school. I reached out to Ms. Michelle and asked if she could check in with his teachers and see if he had an accident or hurt himself. She called me and said that she had talked to all of staff that interacted with my son AND she personally reviewed footage from his school day to make sure there weren't any incidents where he could have been hurt. I just felt very impressed with the level of safety precautions and immediate communication to re-iterate that our children's safety is their top priority. - COMMUNITY: There are activities that families can participate in that make it fun easy to interact with the school community. - PROCARE APP: Little Orchard has a smartphone app where you can sign in/out your child from school, get personal updates from teachers, get pictures/summaries of activities the kids are doing in real time, update personal information, pay tuition, direct message the staff, etc. The app is user friendly, easy to navigate, and makes it easy to never miss an update! Long story short; if you want a community that will enable your kids to thrive socially, emotionally, physically, and academically, CHOOSE LITTLE ORCHARD!

The staff is wonderful and patient. The school is clean and inviting. We really love this preschool!read more

Awesome Preschool! My daughter learned a ton. Loved their use of music, structured, and organized…read more Wonderful teachers!

I highly recommend this daycare for parents who want their babies in a fun, loving, and educational…read moreenvironment. The director Shelley is beyond awesome and the teacher Ms. Jillian is wonderful. My babies are no longer at this facility due to a change in employment and schedule but I still recommend them on a high note. The kids love it here and you can feel the energy when walking into the daycare. They also prepared my son well for Kindergarten. When I first took my daughter who was 1 then, it took her 2 weeks to settle and the staff remained gentle and patient, even gave me some pointers to break her into the daycare schedule. I believe you would love it but above all, you're babies would love it!

Our daughter has been attending this school for the past month in the ages 2-3 classroom. She just…read moreturned 3. We love the school. I love that every new teacher is trained before they join a class, and so they are consistently able to meet each child at where the child is individually at a social, emotional, and intellectual level. I love that there are no time-outs, and there is plenty of positive reinforcement. The teachers are so kind, and full of empathy and compassion, that it takes any pressure off the kids and creates an environment of unconditional acceptance. Lacey and Paige and all the staff are simply wonderful with the kids. Our own daughter used to have meltdowns, and since she has come here, they have completely stopped. They respect that she doesn't like to be touched and doesn't like to have an audience while going potty. We know she is receiving individualized attention, because we see improvements daily. In under 3 weeks, she came home able to pronounce certain sounds that she struggled with - as a result, we were able to understand her better, which resulted in her being a lot calmer. The classrooms are full of natural light, and they have a sweet play area in the back with a play set and a sand box. There are plenty of sensory materials available. The children have access to various art media and materials also. Within the first month of school, they have used Play-Doh to build habitats for animals in the grasslands, they've made animal footprints using plaster (assisted by their teacher, of course), have painted with watercolors while listening to music, drawn self-portraits by looking into mirrors, and have made multimedia seashell and sand collages, among other things. The art is not constrained and Pinterest-worthy - instead, experiences are aimed at helping children learn how to use various media and work around a theme to create their own stuff. The kids also have music and dancing time. The children get a fair balance of outdoor free-play, indoor free-play, and teacher directed activities. There's a fair amount of imaginative play involved. While the curriculum is not rigorously academic (i.e. your child will not learn to write all the letters of the alphabet in week 1 of school as a 2-or-3-year-old), there is a focus on cultivating scientific thinking and curiosity, and they are equipping the kids with skills necessary to excel at Math. It's a child-led Reggio Emilio school. They make sure social skills are incorporated into learning experiences. Last month, for instance, the kids built an airplane for the class to sit in and took turns "flying" the plane. They also hosted their own market with fake money and products, and took turns buying and selling goods and returning change to customers. They have been building habitats for the African grassland animals they learned about. They have been measuring object sizes and lengths. There is art incorporated into their Science lessons. Among other social skills, the kids also clean-up after meals, wiping down the tables and sweeping up crumbs. They fold away their bedding and put it away after nap time. My daughter has come home so proud and confident that she can help around the home and contribute these things. The teacher also has conversations with the kids during lunch, which is so crucial - to be able to listen, and take turns speaking at dinner. The snacks provided are nutritious, diverse, and not junk food (apricots, cheese, turkey, crackers, fruit, a variety of vegetables and hummus, etc.). I love that they have an app that the teacher uses to provide periodic information about what the kids ate, how long they napped, and activities they did. They also upload pictures and videos. The teacher fills in updates when the kids are asleep or during post-meal cleanup. So while the kids are awake, they have her complete attention. The updates are helpful, because as working parents, we know if our child hasn't eaten or we know if a nap wasn't taken, and can accordingly provision for it. It's also reassuring to check in on my kid when I am on my lunch break. The drop-off and pickup timings are very generous. We can have afford to have a slightly late day at work without having to stress about pickup. The school has far fewer days off than most of the other local schools - so I don't have to worry about arranging childcare for non-school days. Given the small class sizes, trained teachers, the Reggio Emilio approach and curriculum, convenient hours, limited holidays, and individualized attention, this preschool provides full value to its students and parents. We had come here after having our older child at a wonderful school that set the bar really high. And we love the Second Avenues Preschool just as much, if not more. Thank you for providing such a wonderful space where our child feels loved and accepted, and where she has been able to flourish and thrive. You are wonderful.

My daughter has gone to this preschool since she was 18 months old (she's almost 4 now). The old…read morestaff was great. Since hiring a new Director (Lacey) the turnover seems high and the teachers being hired appear to be unqualified and incapable of handling the amount of children in their classes. A couple months ago my husband and I were informed that our child was hitting and spitting in class- my kids teacher and Lacey the Director stated that this behavior had been going on for an ENTIRE YEAR without the daycare informing us- a complete lack of professionalism and communication. Needless to say, we all decided that it was best to part ways. This was a horrible experience to say the least.