Wow, we really didn't know how great we had it at SLMS until we moved and switched daycares. Our…read moredaughter started SLMS at 3 months old and we have loved every second of it. Nancy is the lead teacher in the infant classroom and she is amazing. We were new parents at the time and didn't really know what we were doing. Nancy helped us navigate the newborn phase by answering all our questions and gave us advice and resources. Unfortunately, we moved when our daughter was about 20 months old. SLMS was all that we knew at the time so when we began the search for other daycares, there was a HUGE difference in teaching philosophies, cleanliness, and just quality of care. Just a few things I appreciated/noticed at SLMS compared to other schools/daycares: - The infant and toddler classrooms have indoor and outdoor shoes which is great for cleanliness and germs. - The Montessori philosophy teaches them independence. They have self service breakfast every morning in the toddler classroom. Many other daycares do not. I know our daughter misses that. - Many of the other daycares will disrupt the class for parents to tour the school (which i did NOT like). I remember at SLMS, the administration was very cognizant of not disrupting the classes which is exactly how it should be. There are tinted windows so if parents want to see their kids interact or for tours, they are not distracting the students. These are just a few of the things that separate SLMS from the others. While tuition is expensive, it is worth it. We definitely miss the staff and school. SLMS really spoiled us and now we can only hope to find a school of similar caliber where we are.

Run away! They charge fake fees, won't show you an invoice and no teachers just aids that get paid…read morelittle. Save yourself the headache they are a complete ripoff

We can't be happier with his school. I leaves him there everyday with an ease of mind that he will…read morebe safe and happy. The director and the teachers are wonderful people and very nice and responsive. He learns about practical life everyday. I recommend JTA to everyone who is looking for a perfect educational and caring environment. The administration is very receptive to parent concerns and are always available by phone, email and are on site . They know every child's name and always update me with what My son have been doing in class , and ever single field trip. The lead and assistant teachers are wonderful, thoughtful and friendly. They have parent-teacher conferences twice yearly and I am impressed with the detail of the written assessments. The lead teacher is very enthusiastic and accessible in terms of communication and the children love her. I also find this to be a very involved and nice parent community. Most important, however, I am impressed with how my kid have progressed over the Year . We Just Love it JTA Family ! Guimaraes Family !!!

When we first enrolled our son at Kids and Co the staff and director, Vanessa were amazing but…read morethings got very bad when the owners decided to merge the Harrison location and another location. The original staff took time to do activities with kids and teach them manners and work on developing their milestones. After the merger the new staff were extremely neglectful and lazy at their jobs. Things got so bad the original staff who had worked there for years were all gone within a month. I feel bad for Vanessa the wonderful environment she had worked to create was destroyed by the greed of the owners and the children suffered for it. After the old staff had all left we noticed a dramatic change in our son. He was once talkative and engaging but with the new staff after coming home he would be very quiet and still for an hour before he began interacting with us. We started paying more attention to the cameras and we saw the staff were locking up all the kids in seats with seat belts over an hour before closing time!!! We brought this up and they made excuses like "the kids want to run around while I'm cleaning". So we immediately removed our son. He has since been thriving at his new pre-school. One of the other parents who took longer to leave the school said her son started coming home saying swear words. Our son has been in a new preschool for a few months now and is happy and thriving.

Picking a daycare is one of the most difficult things to do as a new parent. I have to say we are…read moreso unbelievably grateful to have found the Goddard School West Loop. The administration was ready to work with us and support us the moment we stepped in the door. They truly care about our family and ready to help us with any and all questions. The kitchen staff went out of their way to even give us meal plans for home when we weren't sure about serving sizes based on our baby's age. Lastly, the teaching staff. They are truly the most amazing group of people. I feel like I am dropping my girl off with family every day. (Family that is trained and skilled in early child development!) My daughter is loved and being taught important life skills every day. We are beyond blessed to have this village of incredible people on our team!

Our son started at the Goddard School part-time at 12 months and has since transitioned full time…read more The Goddard School staff has been incredibly supportive of our family and their willingness to accommodate us as we transitioned into daycare for the first time was above and beyond. In addition to their support, our son is growing and learning each day. We are impressed with the amount of continuous exposure he receives to new curriculum, diversity, and care. The Goddard staff has built our trust!

Our 2 children (Ages 2 & 4 now) were at ITAV since they were both toddlers, and we have had a great…read moreexperience overall (we moved away from Chicago). I would give them a 4.5* overall. Pros: * The education is top-notch. Only through comparison with what other daycares are learning in our new city now did we realize how much advanced the content our 4yo was learning compared to other schools. My kids know so many random facts and songs they never cease to amaze me. * In addition to reading, writing, math, the focus on the project based arts and sciences is really nice and appreciated. They teach Spanish. Again, many daycares I visited didn't have the volume of student projects hanging up. * The add-ons (they do cost $$$ like $300 per 10-weeks) offered like karate, violin, basketball, are pretty unique to ITAV and convenient. * The final icing on the cake is they recently started Field Trips, which no other daycare we visited does. * They feed lunch and snack, which not all daycares offer lunch, though taste quality highly varies on this :). * Teachers know the kids' names from all classrooms pretty quickly which is a nice touch. Cons: * The biggest issue that other 1* reviews highlighted, is that your kid will have about an incident report monthly, and sometimes a scratch or bump that no one noticed. My 2yo lost a tooth at daycare and they had no clue how. I can't say if this is above or below average, as kids get into accidents was always our assumption and we are now just starting them in their new daycare. Most incidents happen end of day during pickup, when they're put into a general playroom that often are not their primary teachers, with a lot higher student:teacher ratio. So if you want to avoid the accidents, pick up your kids in that 4:30-5pm window before their main teachers leave. * There is noticed staff and teacher turnover. This hasn't affected the quality of care for our kids, but I have talked with the teachers who left and they've uniformly cited that ITAV does not pay their teachers well - assistant teachers are paid @ $12/hr and lead @ $19/hr as of 2018, so teachers will leave. That's something the teachers and the owner needs to work out, but from the parents' side, they interview candidates well and have consistently good teachers so for us we don't dock them for that in our rating, but I'm providing the info here as FYI. Overall, I would have no hesitation putting your child into ITAV and you'd get a top-tier education and can easily avoid the physical accidents issue by picking up earlier.

Absolutely wonderful school! We had both of our children at ITAV - before and during COVID. Our son…read morestarted at ITAV at 3 months and was there until kindergarten. Our daughter started at 4 months and spent 2 years at River City. This is an amazing and truly unique daycare. The teachers are the absolute best! Both of our children are reading at levels well beyond their ages. The entire staff is fantastic. Special recognition for Ms. TeKay, Ms. Michelle, Ms. Tabitha, Ms. Shirley - honestly, too many names to remember all the great teachers - as these teachers were so instrumental in helping to raise our children. I would recommend ITAV to anyone. Thank you!

I hesitated to write this review, but after sharing our brief experience with other moms, they…read morestrongly encouraged me to speak up. While our initial tour with Ms. Krista was reassuring and helped ease my anxiety about sending our 6-month-old to daycare, the actual experience was a complete 180. We pulled our baby out after just four days because we simply could not trust them with his safety and care. Here is why we left: Unsafe Sleep Practices: Despite Illinois state law requiring infants to sleep in their own cribs, we were repeatedly sent photos of our son napping in a baby swing. Even after we explicitly requested he sleep in a crib for his safety, my husband walked in later that day to find him asleep in the swing again. Propped Bottles: Photos sent to us showed our 6-month-old being fed with his bottle propped up by blankets in a swing, forced to figure out how to feed himself because staff wouldn't hold him. Lack of Interaction & Comfort: On his first day, he was placed straight into a saucer screaming, with no comfort. When we checked in later, he was crying alone in a corner swing while toddlers wandered the room. Every time my husband did a pop-in check, the infants were confined to containers (saucers/swings) rather than being on the floor interacting. The caretakers all sitting in chairs and not playing with the babies. No Outdoor Time: We were promised the kids go outside (which is also state law, weather permitting). In reality, they never went outside. We work around that area and never seen kids being taken out for walks. Terrible Communication: Daily updates on feedings, diaper changes, and naps were practically nonexistent. We had to ask for a daily report text through MsKrista. the one report we finally received was completely blank on crucial details like sleep duration, diaper change and food intake. Furthermore, emails from the center were completely anonymous with no names signed. Neglect of Basic Instructions: When we packed up his things on our last day, the diaper cream we provided had never even been opened. Ms. Krista is a persuasive talker who tells you exactly what you want to hear during the tour, but there is little action behind her words. The center takes shortcuts, ignores safe-sleep laws, treats babies like a monolith instead of individuals, and operates with a concerning lack of staff (this is our assumption based on what we saw, we don't have prove) and transparency. Those four days were incredibly stressful for our family. Ms Toni was sweet based on the short interactions we had with her. I think she was trying to her best. I think who ever runs that place is taking advantage of her. It appears to us that she doesn't have adequate support and is alone in the infant room most of the day. They told us someone comes in, in the afternoon to help. That didn't seem right. Our baby is now at a wonderful new daycare where safe sleep is practiced, containers aren't used, they go outside daily, and we get real-time updates on an app. Most importantly, he is happy when we pick him up (his face/eyes aren't puffy from crying all day), and we finally have peace of mind. Trust your gut, parents--i am glad we did!

Teachers make this place, however the Owner of this place is petty, bitter and can never get a hold…read moreof her. I am posting my email to the "Owner" of the daycare so you will see what we went through and how she is. "It is a shame that we were not able to discuss this in person before today and YOU decided that this would be my kids last week at your daycare. You made this their last day when nobody was ready for it. Not us, not the teachers and especially not our kids. We had to break it to them that today would be their last day, and you should have seen the devastation on my baby girl's face crying telling us that she will miss Ms. Tora. Similar to when you told Miss Moni not to come back after she gave you her notice that she was leaving. My son and Miss Moni have created a beautiful bond but you stripped them of their proper goodbyes and you broke their hearts. It's hard to believe that an owner of a daycare would be responsible for breaking the hearts of teachers and children in this way, by taking away their moment of a proper goodbye. It's unfortunate that you could not work with us to be able to have them there for one more week, even if that meant charging us a late fee to process a payment on August 15. We didn't say we would not pay, just that it would be late. You could have worked with us and accepted payment on the 15th with a late fee or another option that would help us all, as working parents, yet you choose to shut the door on us. Now we need to decide what to do about childcare during the week that was supposed to be their last with you. This is extremely unprofessional and uncalled for. I'm sure there could have been a solution that would work for all of us, but you decided to be bitter and give us options that would not work with us due to our work and salary schedules. It is a shame because we have been loyal customers of yours since 2019. My daughter was only 2 and a half months old when she began attending your daycare. We've been spreading nothing but good things about your daycare center. All through the pandemic and the renovation of 78 W. Van Buren, we were patient and ready to have both our kids return to your daycare. We have even called so many times during the renovation to check to see if it opened yet, out of excitement and this is how you send us out??? I feel you may have some sort of resentment towards people who plan to leave your center. Just like with Miss Moni, who has been such a blessing as a teacher to our kids, when you told her not to return after she put in her notice. Miss Moni has the nicest heart and beautiful spirit and she did not deserve that. You took away her chance at saying goodbye to her kids and you took away the chance for us to explain to my son that he would no longer see her unless she stayed until the day she said she would. Now that we put out our notice, you have given us the go around through email, because clearly you have a problem meeting in person, as I have asked you to give us a time and day to discuss and you ignored it. Because of this, today was indeed their last day. You gave us no room to discuss and come up with a reasonable solution that would work for all of us. You can be assured that I will no longer be recommending this daycare center to those around us and will not hesitate to talk about this situation and leave a review. Parents should not have to deal with this kind of unprofessionalism. We enjoyed this daycare center because of the teachers here like Miss Moni, Miss Shenaya, Miss. Tora, Miss Annie, Miss Ivy, Miss Brenda, Miss Christa, Miss. Barbara, Mr. Chris and even going back to Miss. Jan, who have all been super wonderful with our babies. We are indebted to them for all they have done in helping our kids educational and emotional growth. You are lucky to have them and they are definitely the backbone of the center. I hope you know that and value each and every one of them, even if they decide to resign from your daycare. I also hope that in the future you allow others to have their proper farewells, especially for the sake of the children. May God be with you"

I drove by Itsy Bitsy a couple weeks before they opened, and I'm glad I saw them. I followed them…read moreon Instagram immediately because what they offer is REALLY useful--an indoor play space and co-working space. But they go beyond just the standard indoor playground; they offer care (play care, in their terminology) so your children are well cared for whilst you bring home the bacon. Their "playmakers" (it's whimsical; I love it) engage in fun and meaningful play and I love the idea that I could be nearby when my daughter is here but actually get work done. Because I was following their social media, I saw that Little Giggles Speech Therapy was holding a class called First Signs here, which is what has brought me to Itsy Bitsy for now. Itsy Bitsy's facilities are really nice and very clean. When you enter, you walk into the cafe area. There's a limited menu but for coffee drinkers you'll probably find something here! There are a few tables as well. To the right of the door is the co-working space with several desks ready for you to roll up your sleeves and get to work. On the left side of the building is the children's play space, and I think it's a smart way to design the place--it helps keep the distraction down. I'm not sure what the youngest age limit is for play care here. I met a woman who's purchased a membership here and her son is about seven months old; mine is only about four so she may be too little for the place, still. But I'm going to ask when I'm back next week for the signing class, because this is a great concept and I think it would be incredibly useful to be able to come here on my remote workdays and the rates are very reasonable. This business also offers open play times and you can rent for events, so it will be a place for me to keep in mind for birthday parties--though parking seems to be street only, and though at least some of the side streets around here don't appear to require a permit the parking is still limited. I'm just loving the concept of this business and really hope to use it more fully soon, and to see the community that builds here.

We held our daughter's second birthday party at Itsy Bitsy today and it was fantastic. It's a…read morewonderful space - very clean and organized while at the same time offering so many different activities for a group of kids. It's a bright and cheerful space. It's also very spacious - there's a large play area, a cafe in front where we were able to put food to adults, and a back room for the kids to eat lunch and have cake. The owner was great to work with.

I noticed that a lot of the reviews are old - some from before my child was even born. Knowig that…read moreplaces like this evolve I thought it important to write about our more recent experience. Our daughter started there when she was 12 weeks old in 2012 and stayed until she started kindergarten in 2107. She just started first grade and EVERY time we go past A Child's Space she talks about how she misses it there. We had, overall, a great experience. We saw the director making improvements and changes throughout our time there. She sent the teacheres to continiuing education and provided lots of feedback on our daughters's progress. She WELL prepared for kindergarten - her first assesments showed her knowledge of words and sounds and more WAY above "Standards". Every kid is different, but I know she learned a lot there. They were flexible with us and caring for our daughter - they loved her. There was some turnover in teachers, but not excessive. Their drop off and pick up times were great for us - we had until 6pm to pick up.

We visited A Child's Place shortly before the pandemic and decided to move forward for Infant…read moreDaycare services. This was prior to our daughter being born in December of 2019. As such, we submitted our deposit of 1 month's tuition which is over $2,000. The plan was to start in April. When ready to start, everything began to close due to the lockdown. By time Child's Place re-opened, we had found alternative daycare option, though we figured we would take advantage at some point during the year so we didn't lose our money. Ultimately, they were never open and/or didn't have space that aligned with our needs. Rather than working with us to refund our deposit in-full or partial, A Child's Place gave us a runaround, went to their board, and ultimately decided they would take our money and not look back, with no services rendered. That's their prerogative, but not the type of business I would want to work with. They may be good with children, but have dishonest business practices.

Our 14-month-old son has been going to Zoe's Daycare for the last 3 weeks. So far he is very happy…read morethere and has warmed up to Zoe very quickly! Zoe and her assistant Jen write up detailed reports for us each day, detailing how our son behaved, ate, napped and interacted with the other kids. They pay very close attention to our son and give us tips on how to help him develop at home. Each day, Zoe prepares a home-cooked meal which our son loves. And when the weather is nice, the kids can go out and play in a large private playground behind the house.

Zoe and her husband are like grandparents to my kids. They provide a clean and safe environment to…read moremy girls and even though their place isn't state-of-the-art as most daycare facilities like to advertise, it doesn't bother me. What's important isn't the quality of the toys but that of the care (in the form of love and affection) they receive the eight hours they're away from me. And here, they have it in spades. I recommend this place especially for infants or toddlers. Zoe has done this a long time and her warm and caring nature is evident in everything that she does. She's also willing to work with parents and their requests - types of food to feed, therapy for kids, etc. My first daughter went to her until she turned two and now my infant daughter is with her and we're very happy.

Brief history: We toured a half dozen daycares in River North and selected our best one. Later we…read moremoved to the South Loop, toured another half dozen daycares and picked our best one. This year, we transitioned to Child Development Center and have never been more pleased. Stacy and Charmaine run a great facility, and our kids love the play-based learning environment!

From the owner: Our Center is also a State PreK located in the downtown area. We have 5 classrooms for 2-5 year…read moreolds year round and offer a summer camp for older grade school children throughout the summer. You won't be disappointed with our early childhood degree teachers in all of our classrooms. Give us a call or an email to set up a tour.