My husband and I are incredibly grateful for CMS, where our daughter has attended for the past…read moreyear. As this was our first time searching for a school, we researched and toured nearly 10 preschools in our area (mainly Montessori, but also some more traditional ones). As a stay-at-home mom, I was also apprehensive about starting our daughter at 2 1/2 years old and even considered waiting longer. If it weren't for CMS, we probably would have waited, because I truly believe no other school offered the environment that was most important to us--especially with her starting so young. The Montessori approach is clearly implemented in every aspect of CMS, both academically and socially. For us--and for our daughter's personality--the nurturing and respectful environment were the most important values in our search. Most of the teachers have been at CMS for over a decade, which was not the case at any of the other schools we toured. I love that our daughter can build a relationship with her teachers over the years, rather than changing to a new teacher every year. I believe this consistency provides a strong foundation for her academic and emotional development. The first thing I always tell people when they ask about CMS is this: At all the other schools, yes, I connected with the director or whoever was giving the tour on some level--but I'd only get maybe five minutes or less of face time with a teacher, and I always left feeling unimpressed with their classroom presence and curriculum. I'm truly impressed with the CMS curriculum and culture. On other school tours, I received more papers and booklets, but honestly, I felt a disconnect between what was written and what I saw. As a family, we follow Montessori values, and I began to research Montessori education on my own. From our first conversations with the Lead Teacher, Miss Jocelyn, I could see those values clearly reflected at CMS. After attending for over a year, I'm even more astounded by the depth and thoughtfulness of the lessons offered for early childhood development. As someone who struggled with math in school, I wish I'd had the opportunity to learn numbers the way CMS teaches them. On your tour, please ask to see the math beads and the related lessons--they are a perfect example of how CMS teaches the concept with real understanding, not rote memorization. The lessons are intentional, and the freedom my daughter has in choosing her work has developed her concentration and self-discipline. I have so much trust in this school--it's not the kind of place where your child comes home with 10+ generic worksheets a day. To get an overview of CMS's culture, I highly recommend reading The Family Virtues Guide: Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves. CMS focuses on one virtue per week, based on this humanity program (such as respect, empathy, patience, etc.). To me, this is a clear example of how CMS goes beyond academics and truly teaches life skills and character development. When observing the classroom, you can clearly see how these virtue lessons provide a foundation of calmness that, in turn, allows each child to develop their concentration to achieve their highest potential and practical life skills at an incredible level. We are truly grateful for the foundation CMS is providing for our daughter!

Community Montessori has been a great experience, Zia started there when she was 2, she has grown…read moreso much being in a constant learning environment that consisted of different aged children. The staff at Montessori are invested in and care deeply about the kids and parents. Thank you Montessori!!

This school is fantastic. The faculty and staff are wonderful…read more My Granddaughter wants to go each day and is learning so much. I would recommend this school to anyone looking for an academic preschool experience.

We are so grateful to have found Desert Dawn! Our children (ages 4 and 2) absolutely love it. The…read morecaring staff, large outdoor playground with goats and a garden, and all the fun special activities give them so much to look forward to. Communication is excellent, we receive regular photos and updates through a convenient app, and staff respond quickly to messages. The Pre-K team does a fantastic job preparing children for kindergarten. We've noticed a huge improvement in our son's behavior and academic skills. We appreciate how the staff collaborates with his outside support team to maintain consistency across programs. There's truly no better feeling than dropping off your children knowing they're in such good hands.

#whywelovewk @whizkidzpreschool Tuition includes meals,…read morediapers and wipes. Kids seem to enjoy. Kind teachers and team members.

I've been using Whiz Kidz for close to 4 years (2 children) and I have always felt very confident…read morethat my children were safe, happy and WELL taken care of. Everyone that works there is nice and cares about the children. Their attention to education is impressive. My oldest that just started kindergarten is excelling and was more than prepared. My 2nd has been at Whiz Kidz since he was 6 months old and is so happy every day when I pick him up. As a parent, we all want our children to be safe, happy, treated with care and learn. Whiz Kidz has been that place and I am so grateful for everyone there.

Creative Center has helped me so much with accommodating my child with special needs. The director…read moreeased my nerves by checking in with me throughout the day to reassure me that my child was adapting well.

I am sharing this to warn other parents about the severe lack of safety and professional standards…read moreat Creative Needs in Casa Grande. After paying for Quarter 3, I was informed by an outside ABA agency that my son's teacher was found sleeping while feeding 12 children with special needs. A student was choking and she had to wake up the teacher. To top it all off I was shown a post of a mother who said her non verbal came home with bruises and marks. When she called the cops they couldn't do nothing because the child was non verbal! Beyond this life-threatening safety issue, the school doesn't follow IEPs which makes them a daycare. They lack basic facilities like a playground. They stopped allowing parents to go to field trips because they lie and tell parents their child did great when they didn't. Despite withdrawing my son immediately due to these hazardous conditions, the owner has refused to issue a refund. This facility prioritizes profit over the safety and developmental needs of children. I would not recommend this school to anyone. If you are looking for a real school that actually supports our children, I highly recommend reaching out to ACCEL (https://www.accel.org/contact-us/). Michelle there is amazing; she discovered that my son's previous IEP didn't even correctly say his autistic!!! After years of being misled, I finally have the support of a behavioral coach and case manager from La Frontera to help me at my next IEP meeting. Our children deserve a safe environment and a great education.

I saw some negative reviews here and I felt I need to speak up. We decided to switch over to NCA…read morefrom another school and we are so glad we did. We LOVE NCA for many reasons: 1) Their communication is the best. They use Slack for communication among parents, teachers and school staff members. The tool really forms a community and promotes transparency. 2) They have the best teachers. They love kids and their work, and kids just naturally love them back. They pay attention to details like filling up a water bottle for my kid when they are taking off to an after school class. It breaks my heart when my kid left NCA last year and we had to say bye to their favorite teachers. Thank you, Miss Samantha, Miss Cassie and Miss Jennifer, for giving us a wonderful year at the school. You set the bar really high for what great teachers look like in my kid's heart! 3) They have the best hot lunch. Their chef prepares delicious and healthy organic lunch and snacks every day. My kid would ask for multiple rounds and 'big scoops'. 4) NCA teaches kids characters well because of their great culture. Respect, positivity, empathy, all these super important traits would serve the kids well for their lifetime. The kids learn these naturally by interacting with adults and other kids in the classroom and school. Anyhow, we are so lucky to find NCA. We would highly recommend NCA to every parent we know.

Our daughter started here a month ago and she seems to enjoy it. I know my husband and I love this…read moreplace. The staff are very friendly and I appreciate the communication tool that is used at this place. Would recommend checking out this place if you're interested in putting your child in day care / preschool that is play-based.

My four year old's usual daycare was closed for the holiday, but I still had to work. Thankfully…read moremy job has a benefit where I get 10 days a year of in home care or at a center. This was one of the possible providers and after doing some online research I decided to give them a try. I printed the registration form online (there was the AZ emergency contact form and a one page registration form) and brought a copy of my son's immunizations. Check-in took no time at all and they put my son's name on a nametag on the back of his shirt and a sticker to let staff know it was his first time there. My husband picked him up at the end of the day and my son was happy to see him and go home. I asked my son how it went and he said it was fine and some kids played with him and others didn't. But, during his bath he asked me if he could go to his "new school" tomorrow, which is really the highest praise he could give. There have been times that my husband and I wanted to go to dinner or even just have an IKEA trip and family have been unable to watch my kids. After today I am excited to have another childcare option.

We absolutely love KidsPark! My 3-year-old attends their preschool program, and it has been such a…read morewonderful experience. The teachers are so kind, patient, and truly care about the kids, you can tell they love what they do. I really appreciate the flexibility they offer with schedules and hours, being able to drop off and pick up anytime is a total lifesaver for busy parents! They always have fun, themed crafts and activities that keep my little one excited to go, and I love seeing all the creative projects he brings home. It's also been a great place for my older kids (6 and 7) during school breaks and over the summer. They're always busy, happy, and well cared for. KidsPark has been such a blessing for our family, I can't recommend them enough!

Great school for the size! Ratio of students to teachers is…read moreexcellent! Rigor curriculum to learn! Great opportunities to play on the middle school and upper sports team. High school sports has a great tradition to play hard and learn to win and loose in any game situations. Most importantly playing to Glorify God!

I do not recommend this school. It is very sad to witness…read morehow much this school has declined. The middle school experience has been especially disappointing. The teachers often come across as rude and seem more focused on enforcing dress code policies than providing quality education and meaningful lessons. The school also does not reflect the Christian values and kindness it claims to promote. Everything seems centered around money, and some wealthy families appear to receive special recognition not because of their children's achievements, but because of their financial donations to the school. Overall, this has been a very discouraging experience for our family.

A common theme you will notice is "suddenly removed". They have 0 accountability and the solution…read moreis to always kick kids out with no notice, no conversation, no effort to have due process. This is not for extreme behavior, it's for developmentally appropriate struggles.

I highly do not recommend Montessori Center School under the new ownership of Ms. Li and her…read morehusband, John. Positive reviews are from years ago before Ms. Li and her husband John bought the school. If you notice all parents sharing having a similar experiences. And please read Ms. Li's responses, pointing the finger back at the parents. The gaslighting and lack of accountability by Ms. Li and her husband are not acceptable. There's a reason they always have openings. We had ongoing issues, and every time my wife or I tried to bring something up, it felt like we were met with defensiveness instead of a real conversation. We often left those discussions feeling dismissed and blamed rather than heard. There was no genuine engagement with parents. We were asked what we could contribute to the "community," but we never experienced any real sense of one. Communication felt controlled and one-sided. After we set boundaries around comments we felt were inappropriate, our child was removed from the program without notice. As far as we know, our child had done nothing wrong. It was abrupt, upsetting, and incredibly disruptive for our family. This was not the supportive, respectful Montessori environment we were expecting.

WE LOVE TLG!! is an amazing place for kids, we been coming…read morehere for over 7years and it's always great, my kids have so much fun in every class, teachers are super kind, friendly and supportive. The place is clean & safe, cost is very reasonable...if you are looking for a FUN & SAFE place for your child I definitely recommend The Little Gym I guarantee you that you and your family will love it as much as we do.

I had the chance to bring my baby here to try out a class for free. He had a wonderful time running…read morearound and exploring his environment. Everything here was super clean. The teachers were so nice too. I look forward to enrolling my baby here soon.

The teachers and entire support staff at Shadow Rock Preschool really really love kids. It is so…read moreobvious from the moment each family walks in each day. The director, Kristen Hustead, and registrar, Mary Saunders, work so hard every day to build the family feeling of this community. My son came here from another preschool, after having a mediocre experience. He was shy, anxious about the change, and unsure about school in general. His teachers made him feel right at home from the first day and quickly integrated him into the class, helping him to form quick friendships. These kids work hard BY playing hard! Creativity and problem solving are emphasized through lots of expolration time. Hands-on is the name of the game here. I loved my son being in an environment where no one was afraid of a little mess-- or a lot. They learned about reading by exploring books and being read to every day. Math concepts are absorbed by playing with geoboards, counting bears, pattern blocks, and more. Tons of motor skill development-- both large and fine. And oh my, the playground. The playground is this huge open space nestled up against the mountains with a view of the city. Not that the kids notice the view, but it's a really peaceful place for them to rip and snort, with some special outdoor toys that rotate regularly. If you're looking for rigorous academic preparation in the form of worksheets, flashcards, and reading preparation drills, this just isn't the place for you. And that's completely OK. There are tons of preschools out there that work with that model. Ifyou're looking for a loving community for your children to explore, play like crazy, have new experiences, problem solve, and learn life lessons for the under 5 crowd, then come check out their family. There's a reason most of their teachers have been there for many years. We couldn't have been happier here.

We have been very happy with our experience at Shadow Rock. The director is great at communicating…read morewith parents and the teachers are wonderful. They all truly care for the children. My four yr old son does the half-day program and looks forward to going each day. They keep the kids busy with so many arts and crafts and play, plus they have a HUGE outdoor playground- something our last preschool was lacking. If education through play is your jam then THIS is the place to go!