I live right by cottage schools and Gatewood elementary. I take my kids to the playground often and…read moreget to watch how the cottage teachers interact with the students or shall I say a lack of interaction. Every time I'm there, the teachers are just huddled around talking to each other while the girls get into their caddy circles and exclude other kids. Then there's this one poor little boy who sits by himself staring at the ground all the while the teachers chat it up. If this was my child, I'd be heartbroken. This happens on the regular. We went inside to do a tour and all the students were rude to my daughter. Some of the "teachers" looked like they had zero education. Think about who guides your children. These are not the people you want. Then jve tried to call them. No one ever pics up the phone or it's disconnected. Then the person who emails is extremely short and rude. I'm guessing the reason they get kids to come is because it's tied into Gatewood. Unfortunately, Gatewood is the school my daughter will go to but with this level of education in the pre k program, I'm worried about the level of care my grade school child might not get.

My son has been attending Cottage since the summer before he started kindergarten at Gatewood…read more Laura and Amanda have been incredibly responsive, kind, and helpful when we enrolled, and then later re-enrolled after the early phase of the pandemic. My son absolutely loves all of the teachers and their programming. Any time I voice a concern (like my son being rough, other kids being rough), Laura and the staff have been clearly invested in ensuring that their curriculum addresses the areas (beyond just academics) that the kids need to grow and thrive in -- such as socialization, being respectful, listening to their friends, etc. I highly recommend this wonderful school!

Children's Workshop is still the best preschool in the Queen Anne/Ballard/Magnolia area. Teacher…read moreNadine has been operating for over 30 years, and no one can match her enthusiasm, creativity, and spirit,. She instills this love of learning and wonder for the world that is so hard to capture, through her weekly nature walks and daily yoga, in house music (guitar & piano), and interactive drama activities. This has been the best preparation for elementary school for my three kids. If you have the opportunity to get in here, consider yourself very lucky!

Nadine, Thomas, Talma, and Lacey have been so wonderful over the last two years. We still think…read moreabout them now that our child has moved on to elementary school. The level of imagination and play combined with a ton of incredible learning is unparalleled. We are so lucky to have found CW as our first family experience with a school. Wonderful!

On Monday My husband and I brought our 3.5 year old son over to The Teaching Home to meet Crystal…read more Our first impressions were that her home was beautiful and exceptionally clean. The yard is fenced and very well maintained with space and interactive play equipment perfect for a pre-school. The interior had a very comfortable play and study area. The whole property gave "grandma's got style vibes". Crystal also had a perfect vehicle to taking the kids anywhere they need to go. Crystal is open and pragmatic and she cares about her community. My son ended up at a different facility due to a connection to my husbands work. But truth be told I knew out of all the people we interviews for care Crystal was providing the most love and intimate care. She's a lovely woman and if you can get your kids into her daycare you are very lucky! Not surprised she has nothing but positive reviews here!

My son has been going to The Teaching Home since he was 2.5 years old. He is now 4.5 and when I…read morementioned Kindergarten the other day, he cried for a long time, because he NEVER wants to leave his home away from home. Crystal, the main caretaker, is a very experienced, loving, and dependable educator. I love that she is always there, giving my son the consistent experience, kids at that age crave. Especially since I'm hearing about the constant staffing changes in bigger childcare centers and that impact on the kids. His days at the Teaching Home are filled with play (there are many building toys, he especially enjoys), doing arts & crafts (he brings something home almost daily), and eating healthy meals (all meals and snacks are provided). Kids are even involved in preparing some foods (for example kneading dough for home made bread). There is a nice outdoor space for them to play, dig in the dirt, and run around. Wednesdays during the school year, the kids get to attend a preschool coop, where they dive into a new topic each week (eg. friendship, the letter, F, how to be a good friend, read a book about friendship, draw your best friend). It feels great dropping off our kid there in the morning, knowing he'll have a wonderful day!

The management at this Bright Horizons is really incompetent…read more I used the Bright Horizons Backup Care program to make a reservation for my daughter at this location. The West Seattle location had availability and confirmed my reservation. On the day of the reservation, when I was getting ready for dropping off my daughter, I got a call from the West Seattle location and they told me that they have no space for my daughter even though they had given me a confirmation earlier. This is not an isolated incident. The same thing happened to me 2 days later. And I had to run around at the last minute to find a daycare option for my daughter. The people working at Bright Horizons West Seattle don't even have the basic decency to give you a heads up 1 or 2 days earlier to let you know that they don't have space for you! I would recommend everyone to stay away from this location due to terribly incompetent management here.

Enrolled my daughter and my son and have been very happy with the program overall! The teachers,…read morethe space--everything has been awesome. The only drawback is that I wish it was a smaller campus during COVID and there was even more communication on what other parents are doing during the pandemic but I understand the trade offs for a high quality program. She's thriving abd has made new friends that she'll hopefully have as she grows up.

Our daughter Sally has been going to sweet pea for almost a full school year now. We love the…read moreteachers and how they treat the children with love and welcoming arms. She comes home each day truly happy. She has FUN at school and loves the kids and teachers. This is not a child factory- each child is well known, loved, and well cared for. We have gotten to know the other kids and families well. This school has something very special and unique. It's an amazing place for children to thrive! I cannot say enoigh good things about Sweet Pea Cottage!

A really wonderful preschool program. Highly recommended. My son has been attending Sweet Pea for…read moreabout 6 months, and he loves it. It's a 4 hour program (longer than most preschools), so I'm able to get a lot done while he's there. He does art, languages, nature walks and more.

My Little Friends Daycare is everything you want in a daycare- safe, reliable, and has very caring,…read moredevoted staff. Julia has created a wonderful environment where the children are very loved and cared for. She cooks delicious meals and the children go outside to the community garden daily. She and her staff are incredibly dedicated to the children- there is very low turnover among the staff and never once have they had to close unexpectedly since we've been there (which many parents tell us happens frequently at their childcare centers). We are so glad we found My Little Friends, every day our daughter can't wait to run into daycare where all the children and staff greet her with huge smiles and hellos. They also teach Spanish lessons, and our daughter loves to share the new Spanish words she has learned when she gets home. We are so happy and grateful to have found My Little Friends- it is a warm, caring community of teachers and families!

My kids are both currently enrolled in My Little Friends Daycare. We absolutely love the level of…read morecare provided. Julia and her staff are amazing. My 3 year old child has learned so much from her program, including how to speak in Spanish. He's learned how to count past 100, write and spell some words, among other things. He loves their frequent trips to the park, the community garden they tend to, and the fun art/educational projects they do. My 6 month old is also thriving there, and Julia is so warm and loving with her. We feel very fortunate to have found this gem of a daycare.

CDCC has been a key partner in our family for years. My oldest attended from 2015-2019 and my…read moreyoungest has been there now since 2019. We have been to two other daycares (which had infant rooms) and one other preschool, so we have some points of comparison. Things I really like: - management - Lois is on top of things and involved in childcare advocacy in the region. Through the pandemic, I felt confident that CDCC was managing things as well as possible. The staff was vaccinated quickly and the changes to policies (pickup/drop off, schedule, masks) all made sense. - atmosphere - the staff are consistent and friendly and my kids like them - food - it is cooked on site and pretty well balanced - playground - they go out twice a day to a nice private yard, right at the school - community - most people who attend live fairly close, which helps build community. There are some required volunteer hours, but they are not excessive. Sometimes I wish that there was more "formal enrichment" when I put on my "ambitious parent" hat, but really kids (or at least mine) are so happy with consistency, community and more play than formal learning. I think a lot of places are too academic, too early. Learning to share, do circle time, sit at a table for meals, switch activities according to a schedule etc. goes a long way towards school readiness. Music classes and swim lessons can be found elsewhere (though CDCC did them pre-pandemic and pre-renovation closure at Medgar Evers) and I'm okay with art projects that look like they were made by a toddler, rather than a pinterest pro.

Because of moves, we've had our children in 3 different child care centers, and CDCC was by FAR the…read morebest. I hesitate to even call it a child care center, because it really is so much more. Ms. Lois is the most genuine individual. She is friendly, welcoming, knows and remembers all the small details of our life, and truly cares about every child and family. We've experienced a lot of bureaucracy and felt like a dollar sign at other centers but not here. Lois bent over backwards to help us get care for a child who was temporarily staying with us when we were in a bind. The teachers all feel like family who love our kids like their own. They've been part of the neighborhood for decades, and it shows. I love that they provide home cooked meals, neighborhood walks, park and outdoor time, story time at Douglass Truth Library, swim lessons at Medgar Evers pool, and so much more. Our kids attended for 2 years before we moved, and it's still the part of Seattle I miss the most. Thank you CDCC for being such a valuable part of our children's lives!

What a lovely preschool! We are in our third year at Sprout and our son has thrived the entire…read moretime. He will begin kindergarten this fall and is very much ready academically and socially. From our first interaction years ago to today, we have appreciated the communication, collaboration and community at Sprout. I would highly recommend this as a preschool; they are excellent!

We landed at Sprout in 2023 after our daughter went to a full time daycare that was not the…read moregreatest fit. After several months of tearful drop offs at her previous daycare, our daughter was at ease and comfortable within minutes of entering Sprouts classroom. For our family, it has felt like the perfect balance of structure, play, social emotional and learning. Because the classes are small, each kiddo gets the care and attention that is needed when it is needed. I have observed each teacher seamlessly and calmly redirect kids with kindness and respect. Not only has Sprout helped to nurture our kids, they have also provided a place of safety, comfort and community for us as parents as well. There is something truly special about Sprout and we are grateful that our second born is experiencing the magic of this preschool this year!