We love YCA! Both of our children started in the infant room, and it has been an awesome place for them to grow and thrive. From our very first tour, we were struck by how warm, personal, and comfortable the classrooms felt. The staff and teachers are genuinely caring, and it's clear they truly enjoy working with the kids and seeing them grow. Several staff and teachers have been at YCA for years, and it has been wonderful to see our kids form tight bonds that last even after they switch classrooms. The special classes like music, art, Spanish, drama, and Asian folktales, are so creative and exciting for the kids. We are always impressed by how thoughtfully the teachers design age-appropriate, engaging activities while still giving each child the freedom and flexibility to join in at their own pace. Teachers and administrators are consistently friendly, communicative, and supportive. We appreciate the daily photos and short write-ups, as well as the regular opportunities to check in at drop off and pick up. Our kids have made great friends, and the parent community has been welcoming and supportive. As we get ready for our start kindergarten with strong foundations in math and reading, we're grateful for everything she has learned at YCA. We feel incredibly lucky to have found such a consistent, kind, and caring environment - highly recommend. read more

YCA has been an excellent school for our children over the past two years. We moved our kids from a popular child care center, which was great, too, but the staff turnover rate was unfortunately high. YCA staff seems to be really happy and I believe most of them have a degree in early childhood education. Unique to their center, they have daily special classes (music, Spanish class, art) and as an OT I appreciate their emphasis on promoting independence in self-care tasks. They also support potty training as needed, use a well-established handwriting program for their preschool class, and are very strict when it comes to preventing food allergen exposure. And they must have incredible hygiene practices or great ventilation in their building because my kids rarely got sick after joining their center. Both my children love YCA, the teachers, and the friends they've made there. read more

We were so lucky to have sent our daughter to YCA for over 2 years. We would have continued at YCA, but our jobs were no longer in South Lake Union. The administration is amazing - Chia Pei and her team are caring, thorough, and very responsive. During the pandemic, they implemented strong guidelines that made me feel safe and know that my daughter would be safe going there. There was constant communication - a strength considering how much ambiguity there was to navigate the pandemic. I love that they use an app for communication and for pictures. There's also a journal report of how her day went, which helps since toddlers can't always verbalize well. The teachers there are also amazing. My daughter was cared for and I trusted these teachers entirely. They not only made learning fun, but also I nurtured her. She was able to experience the infant, Toddler 1, and Toddler 2 teachers. With each class, I was amazed at how much she grew. More importantly, I loved how happy she was. If you are considering this school, I cannot recommend it enough. read more

We have had our daughter at YCA for six months and have been really happy with the structure, communication and teaching. Our daughter's language skills have improved noticeably and she has such great manners which I wish I could take credit for, but it's a result of YCA! We really appreciate the daily journal updates and frequent videos and photos shared on the app. The location is convenient and the tuition is markedly lower than nearby childcare centers (note that you do have to bring lunch for your child but snacks are provided). We like that it is a smaller, cozier center and really like the outdoor play areas for each class. We are leaving to enroll our daughter in a bilingual academy and will miss the teachers and staff so much!!! Thank you YCA. read more

I've been taking my son here for the past six months and he absolutely loves it. The newly renovated location in Greenwood is great.

We love YCA. The teachers are so caring. YCA seems to have much lower turnover than other daycares. We love that they have art, language, and music classes in their curriculum. We love when they send home artwork and dancing videos! read more

Young Child Academy has been such an amazing school for our two kids. We have been part of the school for three years and would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a childcare/preschool/pre-K program. The director ChiaPei and Assistant Director HaeLim, are very engaged and care deeply about the students and teachers and have created a wonderful environment for everyone to thrive. Our kids have had some amazing teachers and it has been wonderful to see their development over the course of the years. The school offers a great curriculum with a wonderful balance of early literacy skills and the arts. There is also a great focus on foreign languages and appreciation for different cultures. Most importantly, our kids have been truly happy at YCA and my oldest who is now 7, still has very fond memories of his time at YCA. Thank you YCA for everything you have done! read more

My 4 year old son went there and we had a great experience. He loved the school and the activities they had. The teachers were great as well and are very accomodating. Vish. read more

We recently moved back to Seattle after living in Mill Creek/Everett for a few years. When it came to finding a new preschool for our son, we were extremely nervous. After a few months of searching, we heard about YCA through a friend of ours and decided to drop in, we're really glad we did! The classrooms were clean and the children were more engaged than I've ever seen at such a young age. We could really tell that the teachers genuinely care about the kids. After having a look around we had to bite the bullet and ask how long of a wait we'd be looking at... we were in luck, they had an opening! Our son has been enrolled for a few months now and we've noticed the following... 1. He is EXCITED to go to school every day! Circle time, music, Spanish, time spent outside, etc! 2. He is learning... quickly. Very quickly. He surprised us all when he started counting in Spanish while out to eat with family! 3. The teachers all know him by name, he know the names of all of his teachers... and he trusts them. 4. While he has always been extremely verbal, he is far more articulate now and you can tell that he is really thinking about what he wants to express. 5. WORN. OUT. TODDLER. EVERY. NIGHT. One last thing that we'd like to mention... he came down with a pretty painful double ear infection the first week he was there. They called us immediately and let us know that he had a temperature and that he was tugging on his ears. When we arrived, one of the teachers was rocking with him and making sure that he was as comfortable as possible. That meant the world to us. Highly recommended, Anthony Adinolfi and Kat Adinolfi Seattle, WA read more

I was lucky enough to get a spot at YCA when I was on a short time frame to find a local place for my son to go. I have to admit I was a little deterred by the location of the school. It seemed a little 'concrete' and office space-like.. But I looked past all of that. Chai-Pei was great at staying in contact with me, meeting with me when I was available, and always emailing me back right away. My son, who is almost 3.5, has been either with grandparents or attending an in-home preschool 2 mornings a week. I'm for the first time going back to work full time. So him attending a new school for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, was a little scary for me. I wasn't sure how he would react... Well, we have been here for just over 3 weeks now, and he is LOVING it! He is excited every morning and exhausted every evening. They have a great program here. All of the teachers know my sons name after just a short period of time. He's not only made a ton of new friends, but he really loves his teachers as well. I'm so happy that I found a great spot for my little. It's extremely hard trusting someone with your child, and YCA is doing an amazing job!! I couldn't be happier! read more

YCA has been our children's second home for the past 7 years. We have two young boys (2.5yrs apart) and enrolled them both in YCA when they turned 6 months old, given their dad and I both have full-time jobs. From day one, we have felt comfortable entrusting our children in the hands of the teachers at YCA because they showed us so much patience as new parents and showered our boys with so much love, while ensuring they were always safe. The structure at YCA has allowed our boys to not only overcome some behavioral issues over the years, but also learn to absolutely love school and learning. When COVID hit, virtual kindergarten was not the best option for our oldest who had already graduated from YCA. Due to COVID, YCA received extended licensing and were able to accommodate him returning for a hybrid school year where he absolutely thrived. I could go on and on (and on) about how lucky you would be if your children are able to attend YCA. They create a place where teachers want to work, which leads to low turnover and an ability to form meaningful relationships with your children's teachers. And the Director, Chia-Pei, cares deeply about every single child and every single staff member which creates a family atmosphere. It's such a lovely place that has prepared both of our boys so well for school and allowed our family to build relationships that will last a lifetime. Thank you doesn't even begin to cover the amount of gratitude we have for YCA. read more

Young Child Academy has been a godsend to our family during the pandemic. They were true heroes for providing a safe place for our preschooler to learn and socialize, and they were gracious in allowing our daughter to stay on as she transitioned into kindergarten. I cannot say enough good things about the teachers and the breadth of their programming and communication (I looked forward to the daily write ups about what me daughter was experiencing and learning). Thank you YCA - we are so grateful to have found you!! read more

Young Child Academy is absolutely wonderful. As my son moves on to kindergarten, we will definitely miss his time here. The Pre-K program is excellent with friendly veteran teachers, a variety of activities and learning, and friendly diverse kids and parents. There is a small but nice outside courtyard for playing. In the spring the kids make a weekly trip to the park. The monthly sharing day is the thing to which my son always looked forward. From a parent's perspective, the downside is that you have to pack your kids' lunch. read more

Our daughter started at YCA when she was two and a half years old, and continued for almost three years there. She loved every day of school and would always come back a very happy kid! The teachers there always went that extra mile to create a personal connection with the students. In a world where schools are increasingly moving towards technology-based systems and gadgets to engage students, it is so heart warming to see a school that puts emphasis on one-on-one teacher-student interaction and engagement. Yes, YCA may not look that super-sleek and modern like the so-called posh daycares. However, in sharp contrast with some of these hi-tech, but soulless places, YCA definitely has its heart in the right place. And made all the difference for us. YCA teachers always made the students feel at ease, right from the moment they entered the classroom.If there's a story-time going on when the kid gets there, the teacher will make sure the kid is warmly welcomed : either by making up a cute song with his or her name in it, or making the new comer immediately become an active part of the circle time. The teachers connect emotionally so well with their students that they immediately become aware of the smallest of problems or issues the child may be dealing with. And the best thing ?The teachers are so friendly and accessible to parents, and they are happy and willing to discuss in detail how the kid did at school that day. This is in addition to the handwritten daily report!!! We really wish we could have let our little one continue into KG there. But we moved out of Seattle, and had to leave YCA. Both our daughter and to a greater extent, us, miss YCA very, very much. YCA also did am amazing job academically, and our little one now can easily do KG level problems and workbooks. YCA is just wonderful and highly recommended ! read more

Our daughter is "graduating" from pre-K and heading off to kindergarten this fall! She is 100% kindergarten ready. YCA has a wonderful program-I've seen my daughter learn and develop the skills she needs to take the next step. The teachers are good at communicating successes and concerns. I've seen how much they truly care about the students. We're looking forward to our son starting there this fall. YCA is the kind of place where you feel good about sending your child every day. read more

We made the move from another QA area daycare/pre-school this year and 6 or 8 months in, we're extremely happy. The other place, which I may review, was good for us for a while too, but we started having some issues and mostly felt our child had out grown them by his 4th birthday, it was still at best "day care." A few months into YCA, his reading, critical thinking and general interest and engagement went through the roof. No more dragging is feet on the way out the door in the morning, he's happy, he's safe, he's learning. The teachers (3 in his class) are all wonderful in their own ways. We trust them, they communicate, they notice if he has a new shirt on. Sounds silly, it shows us that they're paying attention. I feel like they and the administration are partners with us in helping our child be happy, safe and get ready for kindergarten next year. We're so glad that we made this move. read more

We've had kids at YCA for several years now. We selected it because we wanted a community-based school versus a larger chain. We love the mom-and-pop feel; it reminds me of the nursery school I went to as a child, but in an urban setting which we appreciate as city-dwellers. Two of the teachers my oldest son had in the infant room are still there - he turns 8 tomorrow! Our youngest kids have had many of the same teachers as our oldest, which says a lot about the administration. Teachers like to work there and they stay. The director of the school is very involved in everything that happens, she knows every child on a first name basis. And our kids have learned so much there...far more than I think a typical "daycare" teaches. I got a long explanation about where Dutch people are from (and their bikes and their windmills) from our 4 year old. Most adults don't understand where Dutch people are from! He learned this from his YCA teacher in their world studies class. They have the best foreign language program around - it's more comprehensive than even the local private elementary schools! Spanish and Japanese every week. We'll be leaving in a few months before our youngest starts K, and we're sad to be saying goodbye to the wonderful YCA family. read more

YCA was able to make room for our 2 children, two days a week -- which is worth 5-stars in itself! For one year, our children have been attending Preschool 1 and PreK class as part-time students who have always been made to feel just as much a part of class as their full-time comrades. From administration to each teacher (including special Spanish, drama, music teachers & floats), YCA is imbued with total dedication to each of their students. Making them feel individually loved and highly capable! For parents, YCA communicates expectations clearly and is organized and quick to respond to questions. I love reading the daily journal entries the teachers keep for our two kids as well -- demonstrating the depth of attention paid to each student. We are forever grateful to YCA for giving our children (and us!) an incredible introduction to organized education. You've set the bar high, YCA! read more

This is NOT the place for you if you are looking for a daycare that encourages children's natural curiosity, happiness and just allows kids to be kids. This daycare is focused on discipline, teaching kids to read and write, and NOT on the well-being of the child. We spent 2 months in this daycare, and I wish my kid would not have spent even five minutes in this horrible place. read more

I sent my daughter to this school for a little over a month. I was encouraged by the previous reviews being so positive. I am not sure whether they had a change in management or what, but my experience was not as positive as those who posted before me. I ended up pulling my child out in search for a place where I would feel safe leaving her. read more

Awful place. We pulled our child out of here. The staff are inexperienced and the turnover is high. The administration is cold and inflexible. Stay away! read more

I echo the sentiments of the last two reviewers. We love YCA. Wonderful teachers, great staff and an outstanding and diverse curriculum.

There is a lot of unprofessionalism going on there. I walked in with my daughter late one day and the director was yelling at one of her teachers. The teacher saw us but the director did not. It was so uneasy we took another door. There is high turnover. My daughter had five new teachers within the first four monthes. We left right before another teacher left as well. While there our family received odd emails about internal issues and their inability to keep teachers. I am so glad to we withdrew from the school. Don't test it. Just stay away. read more

Have been YCA for one year, it's been a great experience for us. The teachers are great- low turnover and really care about my child.

My son has now been at YCA since February 2008, and we could not have been happier with his time here. He has been in both the infant room and the younger toddler room, and the teachers in both rooms were great. Whenever I come to pick him up, he's either happily playing or learning a new word, or topic, or song in music class. My husband and I feel more like we're sending him to school than just to daycare. read more

We love this school. We moved here from another local school because of the incredibly rich curriculum, the skill levels of the teachers, and the commitment to literature and language. Our 2 year old is having the best time learning spanish, doing fun crafts, and going on walks in Seattle Center. The teachers are the best we've come across. We think this center is doing a wonderful job and every other family we know there agrees. read more

My first impression . . . What a dump! The playgrounds are TINY and crowded with toys that are broken or inappropriate for older age groups. The ground mats are buckling and easy to trip over. Only one has an actual structure that allows them to climb and slide. There are rotten logs that I'm sure were once meant for gross motor use but are now loose, falling apart, growing fungi, and hazardous. Some of the logs have been ripped out, leaving deep holes for children to step in and hurt themselves. One of the playgrounds has a wooden house with nails poking out. I seriously suggest that these people invest in some age appropriate equipment that will stimulate gross motor development. The children were more entertained with a cardboard box, which is what they were playing with when I arrived, than the equipment the school had actually purchased. read more