Both of our sons went here- so we've experienced both the infant/toddler care and the preschool…read more You will not find a more caring group of people entrusted to your children. Jaime, the director, keeps the school spotless. All of the teachers are thoughtful, creative, kind to our children, and very loved! From Halloween parades, holiday performances, and spring concerts/graduation there are tons of opportunities for parent involvement and activities. During the summer the school has camp-like activities: tattoos and face paint, arts and craft days, as well as water play. It was nerve wracking to put an infant in daycare during the pandemic, but I know we made the right choice with Gold Star!

Couldn't be happier with my son being there at Gold Star. Jamie, the owner, and the teachers have…read morebeen a positive aspect of my child and his development. Very loving enviroment.

We love Little Beginnings! I started bringing my son at 10 months and he is thriving! His teachers…read moreare wonderful. Today he learned how to blow kisses and it melted my heart! He always has a smile on his face when I pick him up. I was very particular when choosing a daycare, and this place was the first daycare I felt comfortable with after seeing several. Highly recommend!

Four of my children attended this center for the last 3 years, I can honestly say I have never had…read morean issue. The owner and director are nothing short of amazing and they put together a great team. Even when I moved I still drove my kids there because I knew they would be cared for in ways I didn't feel they had at other centers prior to this. I would highly recommend this daycare as a place you can trust with your babies .

Our son attended Lightbridge Academy of Freehold for two years prior to our family relocating to…read morenorthern Monmouth County. Overall, my wife and I were very happy with this facility and if it were still practical to send our son there, we would. As with any new parents, we were very nervous about picking a daycare as everyone has a horror story. Two things stand out about LB of Freehold which ultimately eased our concerns: 1) The owners care. From day one Vita and Nicole were incredibly welcoming and professional. Not a day went by where we were not met with a friendly greeting. If there was a concern, they were always receptive and willing to set aside time to listen and take action when necessary. 2) The facility was modern (opened around 2015) and very clean. Every night each classroom along with all the toys were cleaned and disinfected. Did our son get sick? Yes, of course he did, it's daycare, but it was not excessive and was not a result of the facility being dirty (I'll hold the commentary on parents dropping off kids that are already sick). The teachers my son had (Infants / mobile infants /1.5-2.5 years) were great. All cared and all were in control of their classrooms and there was no turnover during my son's tenure (Ms Meryl in the infant room was incredibly caring and really helped our sons transition to DC). The owners made good hires. Some turnover was noted at the teacher aide level, but that is to be expected. Finally, and most importantly our son enjoyed being there. He never protested going in the morning and was always happy when we picked him up. Being around other kids on a daily basis has helped him develop socially. This is evident when I see him around other toddlers who have not spent time with their peers. If you have reasonable expectations, this is a great daycare and I would recommend to anyone looking in the Freehold area.

what an amazing childcare center. everyone is so happy and welcoming. the staff is always smiling…read moreand helpful. the admin team is fantastic as well. the curriculum is better than most I have seen at other schools.

My granddaughter who is 18months old so looks forward to going there a couple of days a week. They…read moreare here favorite days as the teachers are welcoming, the children are well-cared for and happy, and there are many activities to take part in Keep up the great work!!

The owner reached out to me regarding my review. So I'd like to add some additional details. She…read morewas "shocked" to learn that I had concerns about the lack of consistency in classrooms and teachers, although I had explicitly discussed this with the director. I have also spoken with other parents who told me that they have brought this concern to the director as well. I should clarify that it has been 13 teachers and 5 classrooms in two and a half years, not three. Of those 13 teachers, only 4 are still employed by Lightbridge. Additionally, the owner proudly told me that they have an average tenure of 1 to 2 years for teachers, which strongly highlights a management issue. While the director "reinforced" to me that she had wonderful relationships with the teachers, it does not change the fact that I have had teachers cry to me in the parking lot of the school about the lack of respect from the administration. The teachers spend all day, every day with these children and have strong relationships with the parents. The administration is completely out of touch with their staff and the parents if anything in my review surprises them.

I can't say enough about the caring staff and warm atmosphere at the Goddard School! My son has…read morebeen going there for 2 years and he absolutely loves going to school. Not only does the school have a great curriculum that teaches him valuable lessons, they make sure he gets a good amount of time to just be a kid and play! The teachers and staff all know my name and my husband's name (other daycares just called us "Mom" and "Dad" at drop off/pick up), and they are very alert of everyone who walks through the door - makes us feel safe knowing they pay close attention. The teachers have also been so helpful during tough times when we had to give our son medication/treatments for what seemed like forever. They never made it seem like it was an inconvenience when it probably took up a lot of their time. We also always enjoy going to the school's special events - petting zoos, Easter egg hunt, photos with Santa. They offer so much and I truly feel like they are a big part of our family's community. Tuition is worth every penny, in my opinion!

My child has been attending The Goddard School since she was nine months old. The staff are really…read morecaring and loving and really try to nurture the children. As a current staff in the building, children can be difficult and it's hard when we have a lot of children at once but we make it work and make them feel safe throughout the day. We dedicate our time to these students and make sure that they are well taken care of. My child loves going to school and I wouldn't change going anywhere else for her. This is one of the best daycares and the tuition is reasonable.

Miss Barbara and staff are kind, experienced and disciplined teachers. My son is doing so well here…read moreand they are incredibly flexible with my chaotic schedule. Thanks Ivy Hill!!

Barbra is a nasty woman to have to deal with. She is very conniving and spiteful. When you first…read moremeet her she would lead you to thinking she is nice but then you quickly find out her true nature. She yells at you to quickly close the door when coming in so you don't let the heat out. And yells at the children in the morning during drop off to sit down (they have to sit the whole time until the other teachers come in) and be quiet. They are all crammed into one room from the little 18 month of babies to the big 5 year olds. And should you be a day late in payment be prepared to be humiliated. You can either chose to pay a late fee or buy bagels for all the teachers in the school and she announces to everyone how you were late. Building seems to be falling apart and should your child be in one of the upstairs classrooms they are not aloud to go number 2 in that bathroom because the toilet easily clogs. They are forced to go all the way down stairs to the infant room. My son would come home each day with such a belly ache because he was too embarrassed to use the other bathroom. Can you blame him? I certainly wouldn't want to announce to all my co-workers when I needed to have a bowel movement. There are so many more options out there and I highly recommend you seek them out.

I toured many schools when I first moved to the area and I'm so happy that I chose Busy Bear. My…read morechildren learned so much and loved it!! They always received one on one attention and with smaller class sizes excelled greatly and made life long friends. The staff is amazing and it truly felt like an extended family. My twins are just finishing their 1st grade year of school and they are off the charts academically but even more importantly teacher's have expressed that they are role models for their fellow class mates and I can definitely attribute much of that to their wonderful beginnings at Busy Bear!

I do not usually write reviews, but I believe this is an issue of safety so I would like to warn…read moreother parents. My daughter attended one day at this preschool, and while she did like it and seemed to be well cared for, my issue is with the complete lack of security and seeming protocols this school has. The doors to the building are not locked as there is no separate entrance for the school. During drop off EVERYTHING is wide open and there is no security about who is coming in and out at all. We dropped our daughter off and were loosely told to sign her in and out. We were not shown where to sign a name or anything, or shown anything at all. There was just a place for the time. I put the time and my husband and I left. My husband went alone to pick up our daughter, I have two other children, and he was able to pick her up without 1. Signing her out 2. Saying who he was. He basically walked in, the teacher told him what her day was like and he took her home, ON THE FIRST DAY! They didn't know who he was? What if we had a custody agreement and her father wasn't supposed to be picking her up? To say the least I was alarmed. I called Christine and explained my concerns to her and got response like "well it was the first day" and "well the teachers know the parents from orientation". Just a note, we were not at orientation because my daughter was very ill that day, so they didn't know us at all. By the end of the conversation I told her I thought there practices were out of date and that I'd like a refund. She said she's "never experienced anything like this before" and I would get a refund by the end of the month. I also received an email with individual pictures of every child in the class. Not group pictures, not pictures of just my child, but a mass email of individual pictures to all parents. When I brought this up to Christine she said "well they're not on social media." Well they might as well be because I do not know any of those parents in the class and I did not remember signing a waiver, and even if I did, are you just too lazy to send the three pictures of each child to each parent? To say the least I am appalled at the lack of security in protecting my child and then the unapologetic reactions to my concerns. Times have changed and protocols should be updated.

Creative, clean and innovative This school does it all…read moreGreat staff and warm and caring environment My kid were exceedingly well prepared and ready for the next step Could not ask for more Heads above all the cookie cutter competittion

On multiple occasions I heard the teachers in the older childrens' rooms raising their voices…read moreloudly at children who were simply touching things or asking questions (in other words, normal kid behavior that needed gentle guidance & redirection, not an emergency situation of any kind). I could hear this while standing outside the building during pick-up and I also heard it when inside the building in the halls. My child started as a very young infant and the 2 caregivers that worked with her most closely seemed annoyed that she was struggling to take a bottle, or cried, or wanted to be held, or struggled with the texture of some foods when she was later starting on solids. All normal parts of development, learning to eat, etc. Caregiver would make negative comments to my baby in front of me at drop off if the baby started to fuss when separating from me. The 3rd caregiver she had at the school did seem caring and attentive and started to do sensory activities daily. Prior to this, it seemed that there were no books read, songs sang, games played, sensory activities. Staff wanted babies to lay and play by themselves. When I entered the room on a few occasions, I saw most staff scrolling on their phones while sitting on the floor rocking babies in rockers or on their bodies, and with older babies crawling around and not being interacted with. My child seemed traumatized by the lack of nurturing caregiver with whom to bond on her first times away from her mom.