My two daughters attended S.M.A.R.T. Beginnings from 2020-2022. My oldest was 3 years old when she…read morebegan and my youngest was age 1. This center will always hold a special place in my heart. Once my youngest began attending at the age of 1....never attending a daycare previously...cried every day for 1 month when I dropped her off (as Katie mentioned was completely normal), I still knew that she was in amazing hands. Exactly 1 month later, as Katie had mentioned, she stopped crying, jumping out of my hands to run to her favorite caregiver at the time. I really enjoyed the parental communication system through HiMama. The reports were always very detailed regarding my children's day-to-day activities. If medicine was required to be given to my children, they would indicate the time it was given. It was a big help for me to see photos and detailed reports on my children. It made me feel like I was right there with them. I knew I could always trust the staff to take care of my children. However, the biggest impact for me concerned my oldest child. I cannot thank Regina, Rachel and Erin enough for what they provided for my daughter. My oldest has special needs. I did not know this right away. 2 years into the future, before she began kindergarten, my daughter received an Autism diagnosis. Yet, prior to that diagnosis, I quickly noticed that several staff here were very well-trained and knowledgeable of interacting with and caring for children with special needs. Most daycares honestly have NO IDEA what to do with special needs children. Yet SMART Beginnings knows EXACTLY what to do. When my daughters' behavior reached maximum intensity, Regina contacted me right away to explain in detail what was going on. I asked her what she recommended. She mentioned behavior counseling and referred me to someone she personally knew locally. With Regina's extensive background in Education, as well as her extensive experience in working with special needs children as a former educator, she created my daughter's first ever B.I.P. (Behavior Intervention Plan). It was a major rollercoaster and learning experience leading up to my daughter's first diagnosis, as well as after the diagnosis. Flash forward to the present, she currently has diagnosis spanning from Autism, ADHD, ODD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Yet I always knew that this daycare would be the ONLY daycare that I would truly feel comfortable leaving my special needs child in..... all because of the extensive knowledge, skill and background of the Director, Mrs. Regina, and the other staff. Also, just to add, when COVID began and most daycares shut down temporarily due to the outbreak, SMART Beginnings was LITERALLLY the only daycare in Ocean Springs that managed to stay open during the entire epidemic, implementing detailed instructions on how to manage the pandemic within the center in order to keep the staff and the children as safe as possible. I believe this speaks volumes about this center! So, in closing, this is why SMART Beginnings will always have a special place in my heart. They showed me how much they truly loved and cared about my children. They helped form a solid foundation of attempting to understand my daughter's needs, her struggles and her triggers, to develop a plan to best support her. The only reason why my kids' attendance ceased is because I had to move to Gautier. If we never moved, my girls would still be there in afterschool care.

I have worked at SMART Beginnings for over 3 years and I can truly say this place gets better and…read morebetter. From the directors, teachers, parents and children, it is all around AMAZING! They have curriculum from infants all the way up to kindergarten readiness!

So if your like me and have both family members working full time and you have kids that are to…read moreyoung to go to kindergarten but are old enough to go to preschool then why not send them to the YMCA located in Ocean Springs?! Thats exactly what I did and I dont regret it once! So actually this was the first time I have ever used preschool or childcare in my life so I didnt know what to expect but went through with it anyways because it was the only choice to do if I wanted my spouse to work and get paid. I gave them a call asking if they had any openings for my child's age and luckily they did. I dropped by filled out the paper work and got her shots up to date ( which is a must if enrolling them) and in no time it was her first week. You are allowed to send them 5 days a week or even just 2 or 3 days if you just wanted them to get out of the house and interact with other kids to get that social life going. We went ahead and picked the 5 days a week and paid monthly which you have options to pay weekly, bi weekly, or monthly. We didnt know what to expect with our kid since she has never been to any preschool or childcare before and is a little clingy but the staff kept on telling us she will adapt and it just takes time. So in no time she adapted and really enjoyed going there meeting with all her other little friends playing while learning. The staff is outstanding from everyone of the teachers to the young ladies who help out in the afternoon. They have a snack in the morning, have lunch, take a 2 hour nap and have another snack later in the day. They also go outside and have a pretty nice playground located in the back when the weather is nice out. You must provide you own diapers and wipes and a mat to sleep on with a blanket. We been here now for 8 months and we can tell she has been learning so much and everyday they give you a note that tells you how your kids was as if she ate or not, her attitude, if she took a nap or not and so on. As per holidays there closed on all major holidays but for other holidays such as Columbus day, MLK day, Presidents day they are open. So overall this YMCA and staff is doing great and I dont regret once sending our kids there! She learns a lot, has fun, and gets out of the house and plays with her friends while Mama and daddy are making that money! Dont hesitate and send them now!

From the owner: The Blossman YMCA Preschool Child Care Center is dedicated to providing a safe, healthy and…read morepositive learning environment for children ages one to five years old. Our goal is to promote social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth of young children through developmentally appropriate activities and experiences while considering individual needs, temperament and learning styles.

I went here as a kid and hated it the counselors was very mean and one time we was playing kickball…read moreand one of the girl counselors saw me on base and threw the ball at my head mind you she is a basketball player and that throw could've gave me a concussion and another counselor he just targeted me for no reason and one day I said dang and he gonna believe two other kids that I said the F word and he gave me 40 minutes of time out for a word that I did not say

Just to let everyone know, if a counselor breaks your child's thumb (accidentally), ITZ will just…read moreshrug and say "not on us" and then you're stuck with a doctor bill.

My family travels full time. When we left Colorado, we decided to keep our Y membership bc we love…read moreits mission and that they are all over the country. I have 2 children who have visited several child care facilities in the different YMCAs. From the ladies at the front desk to the ladies at child watch, I can not boast enough. They made us feel right at home. Never gave us any problem with being 'visitors'. They even offer a Date night on Friday nights from 5-9. My kids said this has been their favorite Y to date. It's hard switching places and hoping that each Y will provide top notch care to children. Especially after these ladies set the bar. Special shout out to Ariel and Dondi. They made my kids feel right at home. It is very hard to say goodbye as we travel tomorrow to another state.

I'm thankful for the Y being a valuable and community-driven facility. With the ongoing expansion…read morein Ocean Springs, I hope that more locker rooms, sinks, showers, and toilets will be added to reduce the wait-time. An addition of steam rooms, jacuzzis, and saunas would also be greatly appreciated.