We have been at Newport since our daughter was 12 weeks old...and she's nearly 4 now. It's a…read morefantastic school. This is our second child, and our older son had gone to two different daycares, so we knew exactly what we were looking for when we toured Newport. My daughter is learning all sorts of things, but more importantly to us, she's making friends, learning how to resolve conflict, learning to take turns and share, and we're confident she'll be set up for success in kindergarten. She looks forward to school each day. When she was younger, she went through some health issues that required some extra steps in caring for her. Newport was absolutely lovely during this difficult time. The teachers, staff, and in particular John the owner worked with us so that she could still attend school. We've become part of the community, doing play dates with her school friends outside of school, meeting other parents and families. Her teachers know her, and we can always talk to them about challenging "growing up" things like potty training and nap transitions, and I feel like we tackle them together. There may be wait lists...but honestly that's the situation with daycares in the city. It's definitely worth adding Newport to the list of daycares to tour and consider!

We pulled our kid from the toddler room at Newport Children's Academy in January after only a few…read moremonths. I'm writing this review so that you know what we wish we had known before we enrolled: this daycare relies on physical restraints to "teach" the toddlers how to behave. In the toddler room, they have "learning time" for 20 minutes each morning and during that time they arrange little toddler chairs in a half circle and a teacher sits at the front of the class and gives a lesson. The chairs have a seat belt-like strap and they strap the kids into the chairs so that they stay seated while the teacher is talking. When they first sent me a picture of my kid strapped into a chair, my mom instinct went on red alert. Why would they use physical restraints on toddlers? And why would they lecture at toddlers like they are in an elementary school classroom? It all seemed so wrong.  I talked to the lead teacher, who was very understanding but said the decision was the director's. When I talked to the director, John Sears, he said they use the straps to teach the kids boundaries because otherwise they wouldn't stay in the chairs. Of course they wouldn't, I said, toddlers don't sit still for more than a few minutes. And I said they weren't being taught how to sit and pay attention if they are being physically held into place and have no choice but to sit. We went back and forth for a bit and then his argument shifted away from boundaries and he homed in on safety. He said the kids could fall off the chairs. The chairs are toddler-sized and very close to the ground. This is hardly a safety issue. Even if there is a risk that the kids would climb on the chairs, the way to handle that risk is to watch them carefully, not to use restraints. (Full transparency: the lead teacher told me that "learning time" lasts 20 minutes. The director insisted it wasn't that long. Only 10 minutes, he said. I believed the lead teacher who was in the room everyday and in charge of the room's daily activities. But, even if the director was right, 10 minutes is still way too long to expect one-year-olds to sit still. Also, at our request, they stopped strapping our kid to the chair. But they still made her sit in place when all the other kids were strapped into their chairs. One of the teachers said it was "a requirement of this school" that she sit still.) Strapping the kids to their chairs wasn't a technique only used during the 20 minute learning time in the morning. For every activity that was done at a table (coloring, sensory activities, puzzles, eating) the kids were buckled in. That meant multiple times a day the kids were restrained. Sometimes when I arrived to pick up my kid in the evening, all of the toddlers would be strapped into their chairs for no apparent reason. One time I arrived and they were all strapped into chairs singing "The Wheels on the Bus." Why in the world do toddlers have to sit still in chairs to sing? Another time they were all strapped into chairs and doing nothing. I asked what was going on and one of the teachers said they had been playing with stickers. There were no stickers to be seen. The kids were made to sit buckled into chairs with nothing to do while the teachers cleaned up. I described the learning time to my kid's pediatrician and showed her a picture that Newport had sent me. She was dumbfounded. She said she had never heard of anyone trying to teach one-year-olds that way and said it demonstrated a misunderstanding of how young children learn. They learn through play, she said, and their attention spans are 2-3 minutes. She strongly suggested I find a new daycare.  I talked to a lot of other people about this too. I asked other parents and found no one whose daycare did anything similar. I also talked to other pediatricians and child psychiatrists that I work with who said the same thing my own pediatrician did - it is not developmentally appropriate to expect toddlers to sit and pay attention that long and the use of physical restraints to facilitate "learning" is not an accepted practice. We couldn't shake the feeling that doing something as developmentally inappropriate as strapping kids into chairs was indicative of the fact that they just didn't understand or respect child development. We couldn't trust a place that relied on physical restraint as a teaching tool.

My children have been at 3 different L&L locations since starting in 2020 - infant/toddler west,…read moreinfant east, and the larger Lakeview east location. We have had a great experience at all 3. The teachers have all been so kind and patient. The directors had a difficult situation with Covid and trying to navigate that and the usual daycare germs, but we all came through it in good shape. My older child has thrived in her preschool class and loves playing with her friends and learning through activities. She loves when the special teachers for music class and Spanish class are in, and she especially loves all the time that the children spend outdoors on walks and at the park. My younger child is still really little, but she has bonded so well to her teachers, and they have been so helpful and encouraging of her as she has come to different milestones. Any time we have had a concern, the director and teachers have taken the time to talk to us and collaborate. I would recommend L&L to any parent. It's such a lovely school community. The kids are very well taken care of and truly love their teachers. Plus as a bonus, healthy meals are included (parents only have to provide bottles and purées for babies), and my kids eat so many things at daycare that they won't touch at home.

We really loved this daycare before covid but it has gone so downhill that we actually took our…read morechild out. I take writing negative reviews pretty strongly (especially small businesses) but I really would not recommend this place to a friend. Before Covid I think the management wasn't too hands on and the daycare functioned great. We loved the teachers and were very happy. But I think once management got involved in covid we saw a bit more of their true colors. They got very greedy and shady (in a time where they should be the exact opposite!). A couple of examples: 1) They didn't treat the teachers well. We got many over the top, gushing emails from management about how much they love and support their teachers (to explain the constant tuition rises) all the while not treating them well. They raise our tuition every year (explaining to us they want to give staff pay rises, but never gave those pay rises as I learned!). We have had many teachers babysit and learn the truth from them. As a result of this they literally lost every single lead teacher in a year, and hundreds of assistant teachers. This was the main reason we chose this daycare, because before covid the teacher actually stayed there more than 6 months. 2) They have been very much not transparent throughout this pandemic. I know this is all new to everyone but they went out of their way to hide information. My husband found out he tested positive for covid while my son was at school and asked the director to inform the parents so that they can get tested. They refused to communicate this and only did in the end when we threatened to contact the parents ourselves. I really hope they are able to turn this trend around and get back to the daycare we loved pre-covid. We have many previous teachers that we love and use as babysitters so they did something right finding them!

Love this place! My son has been going here for almost 3 years and has enjoyed every classroom and…read moreteacher.

Children's Learning Place is incredible. We were so nervous to send our four month old to the…read moreBadgers classroom...he was going to be the youngest in the room by a few months. They took such good care of him, loved him, took school/learning/development so seriously, and he's an incredible kid after five months of class! CLP West Town is the best! It's clear the teachers really care about the kids and the curriculum. They do a great job with communication through an app, sending lots of pictures and updates throughout the day. Could not come more highly recommended!!

Mary Meyer Preschool is such a warm and inviting place, it truly feels like an extension of home…read more(with a bit more paint and glitter - ha!). The teachers and staff are amazing at foster our littlest ones to develop kindness, listening skills, problem solving skills, patience and learning the more basic fundamentals through purposeful play. My third child is at MM right now and loving every minute of it (the other 2 went there too!). The curriculum is creative, imaginative and playful - drawing self portraits, looking for the gingerbread man, creating art that works on their fine motor skills and cooperation. I cannot speak more highly of this school and could not imagine having our children start their school process anywhere else!

You will not find a better preschool program in Chicago. This school has been around for so long…read moreand has everything down to a science. Parents are welcomed as collaborators and community members. The half day program allows kids to explore individual interests (and parents will help coordinate activities). Teachers make the program what it is -- and they stick around and have decades of experience. My son is in the afternoon class. He gave up his nap the first day of school, and goes to bed every night tired and happy. He's gained confidence socially, emotionally and is ready for next year.

We have had the pleasure of sending all three of our kids here and couldn't be more pleased with…read moreevery aspect of the experience. From the teachers, to the community, to the tradition I would recommend anyone that wants to see their children grow and thrive in a nurturing and fun environment to try and get into this school. When I have had the pleasure of seeing the teachers in action, they all practice what the parenting books I have read preach. The community of families, parents, and alumni is one of our favorite aspects of belonging to this school. LPCNS has been around for nearly a century and thanks to their commitment to care and excellence they will be for a century more.

We had such a great experience here. It was my daughters first school and really installed a love…read moreof school in her. All of her teachers were amazing and they are superstars in her mind- if we bump into them on the street it still makes her day. Besides the great classroom experience it was built the best community for us. I love all my co-op friends. Tip: try for an afternoon class- I originally was skeptical but having the afternoon class allowed for all sorts of after school activities with friends and also left the mornings open for other classes/lessons or lazy mornings

Our 2.5 year old has been attending For Your Child preschool full time since February of 2011…read more Most of the time when I come to pick him up, he does not want to leave. The director and teachers are wonderful. Our son is learning new things every day. I especially like the fact that his class is mixed age, so the children learn from each other. For example, he is now interested in using the potty because some of his older friends are already trained. The teachers are always working on creating new and exciting activities for the kids. Gardening, art projects, trips to the park, singing, alphabet, talking about the weather. In addition to all that greatness, they are also fed organic family style lunches. My son's pallet has expanded beyond mac and cheese since he started attending this preschool. The place is clean and bright and kids seem to be genuinely happy to be there.

My daughter started in the infant room last summer and is now in the toddler room and our…read moreexperience thus far has been amazing. The infant room teacher were all highly qualified, they all have Bachelor's (some are working on the Master's) and they all have extensive experience in child development. They are nurturing to all the babies and they still visit my daughter who graduated to the toddler room. The toddler room teachers are some of the most patient people I have ever encountered. My daughter has been difficult lately with plenty of toddler tantrums but they set her straight and clean up after her mess. This place is a very good investment for your children. Teacher retention is great and if there are teachers that are leaving - transitions were smooth. The director returns your emails/calls within 24 hours. One of my favorite features is the website - the teachers update the classroom blog daily. It's nice to see pictures of my daughter in the middle of the work day to see how she's doing. I hope we never move so we don't have to switch daycares lol!

I love MM so much. The teachers care for my LO as if they were their own and I love that so much…read more I've had so many comments on how smart my 1 year old is and I credit that solely to meaningful milestones. I can't wait to watch the continued growth here!

We transitioned our almost 4 year old twins from a nanny to Meaningful Milestones after the year of…read moreCovid kept us in the house longer than anyone could handle and it is has been, hands down, one of the best parenting decisions we have made. In short...the staff at MM is amazing. They have an amazingly creative curriculum, work hard with the students on meeting and exceeding milestones, are always very communicative on what happens throughout the day, and give great advice on how to reinforce their learning (and behavior progress!) at home (thank you Mr. Robert!). Since this was our first venture into daycare/preschool, we spoke to A LOT of the schools in the area and were less then thrilled after every conversation. After hanging up with Miss Jamia, my husband and I just looked at each other with relief. She was very informative, personable, and KNOWLEDGABLE! She has decades of early childhood experience to draw from and we knew immediately the twins would thrive there. Unfortunately, we are moving closer to the suburbs and have to end our run with MM early. If you are lucky enough to be reading this while they still have availability, run don't walk to MM for a chat and a tour!

We were Little Marvels parents for 2 years before moving away and we miss it dearly! Daniela and…read morestaff were lovely to us and to our son. Teachers were engaging, energetic, communicative, and kind. I highly recommend Little Marvels to anyone.

Little Marvels is a wonderful daycare and our daughter has loved every minute. Daniela and Becky…read moreare fantastic and Ms. Maritza is the absolute best. Great environment for learning, development and fun!