We feel so fortunate to have found CSWS! Our daughter (now five and in kindergarten) attended the…read morepreschool during the 2015-2016 school year, and we will be enrolling our son (not yet three) as soon as he's old enough. During the preliminary observation session, I was so impressed with the atmosphere and learning spaces. Each classroom was so whimsical and yet completely intuitive for a child to navigate. Because independent exploration is encouraged, the rooms are highly organized and accessible to little bodies. Throughout the year, we had numerous opportunities to develop relationships with other CSWS families, while the staff became like a second family to our little girl. She felt right at home, with a genuine affection for her teachers, and it was clear that all of the staff were on the same page in terms of values and discipline. I felt extremely lucky to have such a top-notch crew observing and guiding her behavior at that tricky stage! Our daughter joined CSWS with a huge delay in her speech, but her teachers were attentive and raised our awareness to her progress and challenges. When she left CSWS, she was as articulate as any 4-year-old could hope to be... and now she never stops talking! ;) Her teachers also sent weekly updates about topics of interest to the students, anecdotes and funny moments that occurred throughout the week, and some truly precious photos that captured each of the children in their element. What a gift, for the parent who can't be present all day, and for the child who receives such thoughtful attention.

We loved our time at Community School! This inclusive school honors individuality in the students…read moreand fosters kindness with every decision. The staff is wonderful.

We love Cometa. My daughters love Cometa. The maestras are absolutely top notch. My oldest…read moreattended twice a week for about 1.5 years, and my youngest currently attends twice a week for what will end up being 2.5 years by the time she ages out. Our oldest is, um, challenging. She was asked to leave three different preschools for being just generally defiant and difficult. She loved Cometa, and the patience and individual attention that the teachers were able to give her helped her immensely on the path toward getting past her limitations, respecting others, making positive choices, and getting ready for kindergarten. My wife has a PhD in linguistics, with a focus on second language education, so she knows what she's talking about when it comes to second language acquisition. If she yelped, she'd go on at length about how well Cometa implements the language immersion pedagogical methods. The theory is great, but the devil is in the details, and Maestra Manuela's school is really top-notch in this regard. Manuela has the training, but also the instincts, to be a top-notch instructor, and a care giver, a patient listener, and a creator of a fun, dynamic, warm environment. We have had several child care opportunities come up during the two years we've had a child at Cometa, and we've turned them all down in favor of keeping our girls here. I really cannot speak highly enough of this place.

Our daughter attends the West Seattle location and we cannot imagine a better environment for her…read more She absolutely loves her "maestras" and looks forward to going to school every day. Her Spanish comprehension in just one year has been beyond my expectations. We will definitely be sending our second daughter to Cometa as well.

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!

We LOVE Bella Mente. After doing a couple of in-home preschools, we found that we needed something…read morea little more structured and sophisticated. We are so lucky to have found (and actually get into) Bella Mente. Lauren and her staff are absolutely the best we could ask for in a preschool. Anyone who has had to find quality childcare knows what a struggle it is, and what a blessing it is to find the right fit. For my family, this was it. We felt our older son, who attended for a year and a half, was well prepared for Kindergarten. Our younger son has been progressing very well through the program, and I know he'll be ready to shine once he hits Kindergarten! If you're looking for an authentic, caring, and committed environment for your child, you should check out Bella Mente!

My girls love their time at Bella Mente! The staff, the space, and the community they create…read morefosters a thoughtful, compassionate culture encouraging creativity, curiosity, and respect. We are grateful for Bella Mente!

Our son first went to Giggles Academy as a 10 month old. Being a first-time mom, I was nervous to…read moresend my very young infant to daycare. The wonderful environment at Giggles Academy, put my mind at ease as every time I drop him off or pick him up he was being well cared. He was being held, swaddled in his cozy bed, or playing with other infants. Now at 22 months old, our son has learned so much from his peers and teachers and he is happy! We love their daily report in the app which updates us on his activities including what he had to eat, nap time, diaper change and specially pictures of artwork, crafts, playtime, and precious moments recorded in camera. Rabia, with her expertise has helped our son successfully overcome his milestones. We greatly appreciate the accommodations to our requests, and the open communication, Giggles is the only place of the many we visited that was willing to use clothes diapers as our son was used to; making him happy by preventing rashes and keeping him dry. Giggles Academy is a health conscious, learn through play based and family centered learning environment. As a mom and teacher myself, I highly recommend this awesome daycare for your precious ones.

My baby was 6mo old when she started at Giggles Academy with Rabia and we couldn't be happier. As a…read morepremature baby it is so important to us that she is cared for in a supportive and caring environment which Rabia is able to provide. I have heard other stories where some facilities don't understand the different needs of care for preemies than others babies, for example with feedings, and crawling. She is so helpful too with continuing the needs of her OT to further her development. Just recently she completed a build out in their garage for a beautiful room for all the kiddos. Allowing them more space for play and learning, including a nice outdoor spot as well. An added bonus she uses a great online system to track the learning plans and daily activities, food schedules, etc. that you can have easy access too throughout the day online or by mobile app.

We love the cottage school! It is a hidden gem that cannot be found easily (at least we couldn't…read morefind it easily), mainly because it is a space that is rented from gatewood elementary school. My 5 yo son started in their preschool class last year, and now he's in pre k, and he loves it and loves his teachers! He used to be mortified of going to any daycare before that (maybe also because he was younger), but he fell in love with this one from day one. They have various stimulating activities, with monthly and weekly themes which they post through a monthly calendar that the parents can follow. And so many art projects! (Just to give you an idea - my son used to hate art projects, and would just go off and do his own thing. And now, he's got so many art pieces that he brings home daily that I don't know what to do with all of it!! I feel like the big difference is because the teachers at the cottage school are well trained and know how to engage the kids in tailored ways to achieve results) So yeah, they have a structured program but are flexible as well, and listen to the kids needs. They're involved in the community by collecting items for the west seattle food bank, Westside baby, food/diaper/blanket drives, etc. They do field trips throughout the year, and in the summertime especially, twice a week!! Another thing, a great perk, in comparison to other full time daycare/preschool, they are probably the cheapest. And we're talking about 7am-6pm full time! Not your typical half day preschool.. I seriously can't praise the cottage school enough! You need to send your kids there to see how great they are.

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.

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.

When we toured this center we were really excited. It seemed like such a great place. We very…read morequickly learned otherwise. We are vegetarian. We made sure everyone knew this but our daughter was constantly fed chicken the teacher claimed it's not meat because it's a bird. Everyday she cried because she didn't like how her teachers talked to her. One morning when we dropped her off the teacher saw that she was crying and said "I got my nails did, don't they make me pretty" way to en still the image that she has to have her nails done to be pretty. They are a nonreligious center yet they say canned prayers before each meal and it is totally acceptable to play Christian music all day. This carried into our home life and we are not religious. One day we had enough and pulled her because all she did was cry to the point of having red marks on her face from running off tears. I wasn't going to pay an arm and a leg to send her here. When I informed the director that that was her last day she charged us for a half of the next month and said "her last day will be in two weeks" I payed it, but she never went back. Since then she has moved to a different school with quality teachers and we have none of those problems.

I entrusted SELC (Admiral 1 -- there are 3 locations total) with my baby when I went back to work…read moreafter maternity leave. He's been in the infant and toddler room. The center took great care to stay open while keeping everyone safe with realistic policies during COVID uncertainty. The teachers and staff are all wonderful. Communication has always been easy with staff and we get meaningful updates/recaps at pick-up. Extra callouts: They have a nurse that comes around each month to give tips and help with processes. The Procare app is awesome for 2-way communication between teachers/parents and provides a glimpse into the kid's day with pictures/videos/text updates. The center provides meals (breakfast and lunch) and an afternoon snack. The facility also has two outdoor play spaces, one of which is covered. All in all, a great option in West Seattle

We started our daughter at SELC A1 when she was 5 months old and have really loved our time there…read more Our daughter really liked her infant class teachers and would pump her arms with excitement at drop-off. SELC A1 was so helpful in doing a slow transition to the toddler room, which was a bit overwhelming for our daughter at the beginning. She warmed up to it and now loves it. The staff seem to genuinely like the kiddos and enjoy their jobs. They do fun activities with the kids and take them outside quite a bit. We get lots of great updates throughout the day and the teachers are always happy to chat at drop-off and pick-up. The kids all seem happy, too. There are lots of smiling happy faces in pictures. Though I don't have a lot of experience with other daycares, SELC A1 feels very organized and the communication is great, which I really appreciate. It was something I noted from the very beginning of our search. It feels like everyone is paying attention and doing their best to provide quality care and service. Daycare everywhere is expensive; SELC A1 is worth the cost---good staff, happy kiddos--what more could you want.