I am ashamed to admit that FBBC Daycare was highly recommended by neighbors/friends of ours and I…read morenever checked it out when I was first choosing a daycare because I had pre-conceived notions about church daycare (I'm a recovering Baptist minister's daughter :D ). I chose a different, secular daycare based on location and I only checked out FBBC Daycare as a last resort when the first place did not work out well. I was afraid that it would be ran more like a church nursery than a daycare and that teachers would be chosen more for their church membership than their qualifications. Oh, I was so wrong.
FBBC has been amazing. First, the center itself. Clean, clean, clean, bright, cheerful, and innovative. In the infant/young toddler rooms they have a large pole that runs across the room up high and they have infant (outdoor style) swings that are securely hung off it to create giant indoor swing sets for the babies. I was crushed that we couldn't do that in our nursery. The rooms are huge, with tons of space for the kids to move around. They have the older, sweet, grandmotherly ladies in the tiny baby rooms for lots of cuddling and rocking. The teachers in the toddler rooms (children are in rooms based on development, not age, so the toddler rooms start with the babies that are just starting to crawl, older toddler room is for walkers) actively play with the children. They are down on the floor, crawling around, not sitting in a chair just watching. They actively work with the children on their developmental steps. There are tons of toys that are cleaned regularly and kept in good condition. They have huge storerooms filled with supplies and more toys, so that when things wear out, they are changed out.
They take the kids on buggy rides around the facility to break things up. The buggies will fit the whole class in individual seats with safety straps. The have an outdoor fenced playground for the older kids and they have an indoor playground for the toddlers/young preschool kids (mainly to keep them from eating the ground rubber playground material outside, but also to give the smaller kids a little more protection from the heat). The indoor playground has toddler-sized play equipment and larger toys.
Food. I think I read every day care menu in town when I was looking to switch centers. I saw places that regularly fed the kids pop tarts for breakfast and only heated up frozen nuggets and the like for lunch. I won't say that FBBC has the best menu in town, because I am sure there are some fru-fru places that only serve gourmet baby meals, but the food is nutritious and is made there in the kitchens. They serve a breakfast snack of either grits, cheese toast, or jelly toast. Lunch items range from white or red beans to chicken, ravioli, chicken alfredo, hamburgers, sandwiches, and homemade pizza. The serve vegetables, fruit, bread and a snack every day. They either have milk or water. No juice, which I think is great since it's just liquid sugar crap.
They have loads of activities for the kids, even the little ones. There are always dress up days and activities coordinated with monthly events. The have Halloween and Mardi Gras parades, Easter hat contests, and the like.
I cannot comment on the preschool, because my child is not there yet. I have seen the preschool rooms, though, and they are as amazing as the rest of the place. The staff are wonderful and Ms. Deleece runs a tight ship. They have security cameras in the rooms and they monitor them. The entrances are secure. There is a check out code for the kids. And feel free to look them up on the DCFS website because they are one of the only centers with a practically spotless record (only minor repairs were noted and they were fixed).
When my son was at the previous daycare, I would leave work early and rush as fast as I could to go get him because I didn't like the place and didn't want him there any longer than necessary. At FBBC, my son is jumping up and down to go as soon as we drive in the parking lot. When he was 7 or 8 months old, he would actually scream to stay there when I went to pick him up (he was a bit in love with his teacher). He is so happy there and I am soooooo glad that I quite being stubborn and judgmental and checked it out. I am only sorry that I didn't do so from the beginning because we never would have had him anywhere else.
