My son (now 4 1/2) started at A Child's Place (ACP) when he was 20 months old. He started in the toddler room and has moved through the trainers (2s), Pre-School II, and Preschool III classes. While he was in the Pre-School II class, the administration turned over and a new Director and Assistant Director took over. The new Director has made some INCREDIBLE changes. Many of the mothers of the 3-5 year olds agree that ACP has seen significant improvement during our time there. Some highlights to the school include: 1) Caring administration, teachers, and staff. Anyone and everyone is willing to talk to you regarding your child, including how they are doing, any concerns you may have, and they will listen and work with you. An example of this is that they wanted to my my son up to the Pre-K class, and I was very unsure of the move. He had just gotten used to the PS-II class and was THRIVING there. His class is small and the teacher is absolutely amazing. I emailed the director, and within the hour, she called me back to discuss. We agreed that he should stay in the class and we would reevaluate in a few months. He continues to thrive in the class. 2) Outdoor play space. There is so much space and so much equipment that the kids are never bored. Kids and parents (and I'm sure the teachers) can't wait for warm days to get the kids outside to run around. 3) Special activities and classes. You pay an activity fee twice a year and it is worth it. This fee goes to bounce house rentals in the Spring and Summer, musical acts (BJ & Cody and others), Reptile shows (Reptiles Alive), Scoops 2U visits, and so much more. ACP has a P.E. instructor who comes twice a week and the kids adore him. There is music class on Thursdays as well. Outside recreation companies are available for the kids (for registration fees), including soccer, ballet, computer class, and cheerleading. 2-3 times a year, ACP holds a Parents Night Out, for a nominal fee. 4) Balancing the classes. There was a boom of kids, now between the ages of 4-5, and when they moved up from the trainers class, trying to assign them to classrooms has been a challenge. Balancing personalities amongst teachers and students has been extremely successful. "Strong personalities" (including my son) were separated from each other and paired with the right teacher and fellow students. This, again, as helped my son thrive in his environment. I couldn't be happier. 5) Parent involvement. As well as the encouragement to talk to the administration and teaching staff, ACP has several events throughout the year which include the parents. Egg Hunts, Halloween Parades, Family Picnics, Muffins for Mothers Day, Donuts with Dads, etc. This allows parents to get to know each other and to meet the kids. A few other things to address the commenters on this page. Safety/Security: I have NEVER been concerned about security. There is a strict sign-in/sign-out policy. Only allocated people are allowed to pick up your child and they have to show ID to do so. Classroom Size: Physically, yes, most of the classrooms are too small. However, the teacher/child ratio is excellent. My son is completely unaware that his classroom is crowded. There is plenty of room to play, learn and sleep. Administration: As I mentioned before, the new administration is fantastic. I, too, had concerns regarding the previous administration, but they are gone and the school is better for it. Incident Reporting: Teachers cannot see everything. They fill out incident reports, signed by the teacher, staff, administration, then signed by the parents. The reports include, what happened, how was it remedied (or even disciplined), and any additional details a parent would need. If there is a more serious incident, the parents will work with the Director and child directly. Communication: As I mentioned, open communication is encouraged. Daily reports are given every day, including what they learned, how much they ate and slept, and any upcoming information you'll need. Monthly activity calendars are given, teachers/parents email communication, and phone notices (for closings) are also used. Flyers are posted around the school for upcoming events and other notices. There is no lack of communication. As my son has aged though the school, I've loved it more and more. I started out hesitant and have grown to love it as the administration has made changes. I can't say enough about the teachers/staff either. ACP is a wonderful place for your child to grow and learn. read more

Wonderful and caring teachers and staff. We have loved our experience here and would recommend them to anyone looking for childcare. The teachers are so friendly and experienced. I feel confident leaving my child in their care and I know my child has a fun and happy time here! read more

My daughter and son highly recommend ACP as they always telling me great things about the people. The outdoor play area is amongst the largest and best developed relative to what I have seen in the area. The teachers (e.g. Ms. Sandy, Ms. Early, and too many to list here) are caring as are the students--I hear the kids and teachers greeting my child by name which is music to my ears. I suspect these kids are going to better at the visual arts than the musical arts. The administrators (Ms. Leigh and Ms. Amani) are great with all the wonderful enrichment activities that they plan (specifically the art lessons, ranch animal visits etc.). Ordinarily there is a long waiting list for any child care in the area. Child's Place has an upcoming vacancy for a four-year old which is a relatively infrequent occurrence. Hope your child has as great of time as both of my kids--this has to be one of my best finds as a parent of small kids. read more

they take your $115 to be on the waiting list and you never hear back. it is like going to a full restaurant and they tell you go ahead and pay for dinner upfront and May be we Will call you if a spot opens up. read more

Disclaimer: We are not current parents but we're prospective parents. We were relocating to Fairfax and put our son's name on the waitlist in November 2017, we paid our deposit, and though we ere looking for an Apeil/May 2018 slot, we were told Aug/Sept was most likely. We called atleast every 3 weeks as we were house hunting and needed to secure a spot for our son. Each time we were told Aug/Sept. Fast forward to Feb 2019, we have never heard back from this place. We have heard from every other location we were waitlisted on, even though some said they were a year out with openings. ACP took our deposit and was never to be heard from again. I find this practice very disingenuous, particularly when we paid for a slot. We ended up buying a home in another arsa, so thankfully didn't need their services. Their outdoor space is nice but all the rooms inside were crowded and worn. Also there was no security code, at the time, to enter or exit the premise. read more

My daughter has been attending ACP for the past six months. She is 2.5 and it is her first commercial daycare. She seems to enjoy it and I get to see all the details of her day including her nap, lunch and snacks via electronic report. She is not a good napper and they do get her to take a nap most days. The teachers have been very nice. The only challenge is that due to Covid, we haven't really seen the inside of the school since she started, although I did tour a few years ago before she was born. read more

We just finished with our last children (5 kids!) at A Child's Place. We have had all of the kids at various points at the school over the last ~11 years and have seen the changes over time with the school. The teachers are wonderful. The current school management is exceptional. They know all of the children and the parents. They are hands-on with all of the kids and the classrooms. There are so many enjoyable activities for the children - moon bounces, parties, performing groups, outdoor fun, etc. The playground is what originally brought us to ACP. The teachers and current management are why we have kept our youngest children through kindergarten. The management is honestly above and beyond. They are - by FAR - the best management we have seen, and we have used several other daycare schools over the years. We have seen some posts about disappointed parents who were trying to get on the waitlist. That is for a reason. The parents who are there are so happy with the treatment of their kids that no one wants to leave. You may have to wait, but it is 100% worth it. read more

We have had and continue to have a wonderful experience at A Child's Place. Our oldest child was very prepared emotionally and academically for Kindergarten. The staff and absolutely wonderful to work with. They support each individual child, and are always open to suggestions and feedback. Their goal is to always make sure that students are having a fun, safe, and successful school experience! The waitlist is completely worth it! We will be sad to leave A Child's Place when all of our children have transitioned to elementary school. read more

Do NOT waste your time with this school. Although some of the teachers are nice, management borders on incompetent. They take days to respond to complaints (by email only)...if they respond at all. The schools are poorly staffed. There are some decent day cares in the area. This is ABSOLUTELY not one. read more

Terrible place. My 18-month old attended for 3 weeks this Fall but was removed on the day I received a phone call from Child Protective Services. Apparently a week before receiving the call, my child was slammed on the floor during a timeout and hit her head on the wall. No one ever notified me; in fact, I called daily to make sure she was doing ok with the transition and I was always told the same thing "she's doing great." Lies. What made things worse was when I went to meet with the Director of the school shortly after my conversation with CPS- She lied to me and said the incident never happened, although she did not witness it. How could a person speak so assuringly about something they know nothing about? Probably a person who cares more about not creating negative publicity or the business itself rather than the children. When I asked if they would remove this teacher from the classroom during the investigation, she said no. When I asked if they would notify the other parents, she said "that's a tricky one, we'll have to think about it." They were not notified. Although I am VERY grateful for that 1 person who notified CPS, I am disgusted by the rest of the staff and administrators for not taking action sooner and not being open with me or for not even filing an incident report. As parents, we expect open and honest communication but it seems as though this school discourages it. The case is posted on the Virginia Inspections web site- feel free to research. Please spread the word, do not take your child here. read more

Although I gave a slightly higher rating than the last reviewer, I do agree with her assessment and have pulled my youngest out after almost 7 years of my children at the school. The communication with the parents is horrible or actually non existent. The activities and projects they do with the children is minimal and you wonder what your child does there all day. There definitely were issues of how the teacher repremanded the children and how the 'punished' them. Some of these practices stopped once the director was confronted but they still continued to employee a teacher who was grumpy and took a bad tone. I have picked up my child who had an accident and then sat in dirty clothes all afternoon. They didn't clean him and they told him "mommy didn't give you clothes so you can't change" I had clothes in his bag and why they didn't have clothes on hand anyway is beyond me. My son is now going to another school and the change in his behavior is amazing. A few years ago I would have recommended the school to anyone. Now I would tell everyone to avoid it. There just does not seem to have love of children any more and most of the staff does not seem happy to be there read more

Wonderful! A Child's Place has been an excellent school for our family! The classrooms are always filled with laughter, excitement, and lots of smiles. The teachers are gentle, kind and patient and it's evident that they truly enjoy what they do. Their devotion and attentiveness to the individual development of each child is outstanding. We love that our children have PE and Music classes, and that we have the option for them to participate in extra activities such as ballet, soccer and computers. The outdoor space has a wonderfully large playground and even a special area to ride tricycles. The kids love it! We feel lucky to have found A Child's Place and highly recommend it to anyone seeking a topnotch school where your child will be loved, encouraged and nurtured! read more

Seem like the careproviders at Teddler class were not taking care kids carefully. Kids are either sick mostly and unhappy (crying) most of time while I pick up my child. When my child had misquotes bites and rushes from somewhere in class they didn't even write on the daily report . In fact, when parents called on daily to check make sure they always provide the postive,many timenotice my child has been crying so much even loose voice already. Don't know why they like to lies about it, they can be more straight forward about the truth. Make parents double think of is this place SAFE for the children at all !!!! read more

Of note, there has been new leadership at A Child's Place in the last year or so... My children have been attending ACP for over two years. My daughter started as an infant at 10 weeks old. I have never been concerned about the care she is receiving. Her "teachers" are loving and provide daily "report cards" notifying me of everything that happened during the day. My preschooler also gets daily reports, does fun activities, and spends a good amount of time each day playing on their amazing playground. All of the teachers truly care about the kids, are patient, and enjoy watching the kids grow and develop. We've had some special resource needs that the school has bent over backward to accommodate and encourage. We are informed of all upcoming opportunities and activities. We are truly happy we found A Child's Place, and the positive impact they have on the development of our children. read more

My daughter enrolled here when she was 3 months and now she is 2. She enjoys going to daycare every morning which tells me that she is being cared for by good people. The teachers there are like her second family. Thank you for all your professional and warm services. We hope to stay with ACP for as long as we can. read more

Our little one has been going to A Child's Place for about 6 months. Before I enrolled her, I had concerns about the quality of care of the school. I read all the online reviews I could, and learned that a few years back (around 2011), there was at least one teacher who had used inappropriate methods to discipline a little girl. Trust me, no parent, including me, wants to put their little ones in an unsafe place. I was wary of the place. My views began to change after I visited the school and spoke to its current administration, which was not around during that unfortunate period a few years ago. During the visit, I asked about what had happened, and got honest answers. Yes, there were problems in the school in the past, but with the new administration (which by now, has been running the school for at least 3 years), many things have changed for the (much) better. That one teacher who disciplined inappropriately was fired, and all teachers now redirect little ones who are upset or agitated. During the visit, I watched teacher-student interaction, and found that the teachers were warm and caring and the students (little ones) were happy and enjoying themselves. I also really liked the big open/green space where when weather permitted, the little ones could play and run around. So I decided to give it a try. As of now, six months in, we are all very happy with our decision. The first week or so was tough. There were a lot of tears. But the teachers were always available to comfort our little one. Since the initial adjustment period, everything has been going fine. My little one started at the trainer room, where there were 3 teachers to about 15 to 20 students. It was a bit crowded in the class, but the teachers were loving and always had a ton of activities for the little ones. The teachers even potty-trained my little bug. One day, they told me not to use diapers any more and to start using underpants. We had 1 or 2 accidents, but after that my little bug was potty-trained. I can't say enough about how great these teachers were when my little one was in the trainer class. We recently moved up to one of the Preschool classes, after my little one was fully potty-trained. We have been happy with the new class too. There was a transitional period of about 1 week. During this transitional period, my little one would gradually spend more and more time in her new class. I appreciated the school's thoughtful method of transitioning a child from one class to the next. More telling about the school is whenever I asked my little one if we should go to school tomorrow, I always get an excited, Yes! The teachers definitely keep her busy and entertained. She also has learned a ton in the teachers' care. She always comes home singing new songs, saying new words or phrases or bringing home new art and craft projects. If you are considering A Child's Place, don't let some of the negative reviews scare you. Tour the school and talk to the director, ask her tough questions and voice your concerns, and talk to the parents who have kids in the school to get a full perceptive of the school. read more

I could not be happier with the care and education my son gets at A Child's Place. He started there at 11 weeks old and is now almost 2. Each of the teachers have cared for my child as if he was their own. They get to know their children and give them personalized attention. They provide a lesson plan each month, and every day is full of structured, enriching activity through art, song, reading and play. He comes home with new words every day and I am constantly amazed at how much he learns. While a little bit of me aches when I drop him off and he doesn't even turn around to say goodbye, I love knowing that he is in such loving hands while I work. The director is heavily involved in each classroom. She knows each child by name and will take the time to talk to you if you have issues or concerns. We went through a (thankfully brief) biting phase and she really worked with me to learn how I can effectively discipline him at home, and walked me through how they approach the problem at school. read more

I applied my daughter to this preschool earlier this year. During the tour and before dropping the application, I had asked the coordinator if there are any spot for my 4 years-old. The lady gave us a hope. I just stopped by the school today because we didn't hear anything back from the school and the new school year starts in about 2 months. I spoke to another lady (I assumed she is the principal/director of the school) who initially said my daughter is still on the waitlist. I again asked her to know for sure so we can prepare to apply our daughter to another school. She didn't even look at the file and explained me specifically how many people are on the waitlist and how my daughter could not make to next year. She just simply said NO and told me to apply where else. This is messed up. If they were too full, then why giving us a the initial hope. Perhaps they are scamming for the application fee (which is is $100). And it also made me upset is that they didn't want to waste 47 cents to send us a letter. Most of the school administrators should inform their kids' family the status of the application process by their courtesy. Maybe I am Asian and they think I can't read English for them to send us the decline letter. read more

I have to say that I don't recognize the daycare that some of the other reviewers have been describing. My 4 year old is in Ms. Meghan's class and she is the best of the best. They have a daily sheet that comes home with them, loads of educational activities and play time outside twice a day, plus specials (music and PE) a couple of times a week. They also have water play in the summer. The Center also sends home newsletters, menus and monthly calendars. No way is it as dire as some of the others state. I should also note that my 20 month old is in the toddler class and was in the infant room. Never does he come home with poop or a diaper rash or in dirty clothes outside of the occasional food spill. No place is ever perfect for your babies, and every one is entitled to their own opinion, but I felt a little update to this was needed. read more

I'm searching for a new daycare for my child and did a tour of A Child's Place last week. The daycare seems like a nice facility and looks to meet basic standards. I do have two concerns that parents should be aware of, first there appears to be no security on the gates or the entrances to the classrooms (ie. locked doors/keyed entry) and I would worry that a child could easily walk out of a classroom/gate or a stranger could easily walk in to the facility. My second concern is the size of the classroom specifically for the 2+ year old age, there are 18 kids in the class with 3 teachers, great ratios, but the classroom itself is too small. The children don't really have much space to play, eat, and sleep. The children are also sleeping on foam mats instead of a cot which seems uncomfortable for a hard floor. There is lots of green space and playgrounds for the kids which is great, but with cold/rainy weather conditions the 2+ year olds need more indoor space. read more

This place is home away from home for my children. We have been at A Child's Place for over 6 years now and we've loved every minute of it. The teachers and staff are experts in their field as they prepare children for their school years. The preschool program teaches the children and encourages them to explore their curiosities and the world around them. They also prepare the Children well for school by teaching them through their wonderful curriculum. It is a year round program which is a big help. I do not need to find summer camps or other care for my children. Their summer program is awesome. They are busy all day, having a great time and a complete blast... In a structured environment. The Infant/Toddler program is in a separate building where the little ones get the care they need with lots of Individual attention; the teachers get down on the floor and play with the babies. They have their individual tummy time, one on one play time. They are fed on demand. They are great people and a Great facility. The school is situated in the heart of Fairfax. It has a huge playground where the children go out to play and explore nature. My children receive genuine care. It is very safe, never too crowded and everyone is very attentive and has a ton of patience. I highly recommend this place. read more