During the covid lockdown we lost access to our daycare and were scrambling to find a daycare that was open. A friend recommended curious critters and while we would have taken any port in that storm we have been very happy with the care our son has received here and continued sending him there even once things began to open up. My son genuinely loves his teachers and talks about them all the time at home. He is learning quite a bit and every day comes home with new vocabulary. And I really love that the staff here encourage development across the board, from eating with proper utensils to potty training, and they are happy to work with parents to help the kids succeed. On top of everything we can tell a ton of planning goes into their days there. Every week has a theme that carries over from the books they read and the projects they do to the food that is served for breakfast and lunch. read more

Curious Critters is an awesome daycare! My daughter started when she was 2 years old and recently left in August 2018 at 4 years old to attend a private school nearby. The owner Dominique Walker and her staff are professional and courteous. I was always greeted with a smile and my daughter enjoyed going there. If I had a concern it was addressed and corrected. It takes a village to raise a child and CCELT staff really assisted with that process. I recommend CCELT to all parents who wants their child(ren) to thrive, be loved and cared for with dignity. The cost did not matter to me becuz I always had a peace of mind when dropping off my most precious gift. No price compares to the LOVE and CARING your child(ren) will receive from the CCELT staff. I really hated to leave; however, kids do grow up and they have to move on LOL!!! It was truly a pleasure being able to be apart of a wonderful family environment. We will truly miss CCELT but I know I will definitely use their drop in services from time to time Dionne read more

What a wonderful, wonderful place. We enrolled our son in this daycare at 3 months old, and 2 years later, we have not regretted a second of it. We're first time parents and were super paranoid about where we could possibly feel comfortable leaving our infant for 8+ hours a day. We saw many daycare centers, but we knew from the first moments of our tour with Ms. Dee Dee that Curious Critters was the safe, loving, educational place we'd been hoping to find. The school has been, for us, a perfect combination - the warmth and individualized attention of a home daycare with the professionalism, protocols, and structure of a large daycare center. It's ridiculous how reasonable this place is. We saw daycare centers in DC that offered only a portion of the features offered at CC for almost twice the monthly tuition. The children have a daily schedule and routine, which includes reading, activities to promote motor skill development, art, music, exercise/physical activity, outdoor time on the very secure property, in addition to predictable meal, snack, and nap times. Diapers and wipes are included - practically unheard of, and we didn't realize what a meaningful savings this would be for our personal budget. Food is included, but if you want to send your own, they are great about using that instead and have refrigerators in every classroom. Pre-COVID, we could pick him up at any time of day and find a class of engaged, well-behaved children. And once COVID reached Maryland, they quickly instituted security precautions that continued to make us feel comfortable trusting our child to their care, including temperature checks throughout the day, mask requirements for all staff, deep cleaning protocols, and a limit on anyone other than teachers and students entering the building. Of particular note are the exceptional open lines of communication. We get updates across the entire day through an app, and pictures or videos several times a week (sometimes every day!). They are in touch about everything, big and small - I have often been surprised and grateful by their incredible attention to detail when I get a note and picture of something they've noticed during the day (a scratch they saw during a diaper change, an eczema spot that appeared on his cheek after nap, etc.). While that may seem small, it has made us so confident that the entire staff is eagle-eyed and watching our child carefully to ensure his well-being. We have also greatly appreciated their approach to handling behavior issues. They have been in touch with us anytime there has been a change in our son's behavior and use redirection and individual one-on-one time to work toward positive behavior change in a way that is comfortable and supportive for the child, the other students in the classroom, and us as parents. Through their exceptional communication and passion for early childhood education and development, the teachers have been such incredible partners to us - as first time parents, we have so appreciated gentle prompting and recommendations from our son's teachers along the way. From helping us figure out when he was ready for larger bottles/less frequent feedings to pointing out when he was demonstrating readiness for solids to helping us start down the road toward potty training, they strike the perfect balance between making recommendations and deferring to our parental preferences. The relationships and trust are really what makes Curious Critters special. They feel like family at this point. The owner, Ms. Kim, knows every child and every parent, and she has hired only competent and caring teachers. Given the tight-knit environment, all of the teachers get to interact with all of the students, which makes "graduations" from one classroom/age group to the next so seamless. Our son is so excited to go to school every day and runs to his teachers when he arrives. And when other parents drop their children off, we see the same thing. It's just a happy, warm environment filled with incredibly talented teachers and set up to help support your child's learning and development. We just can't say enough about Curious Critters. If you are looking for a daycare or preschool, definitely set up a tour and see how great this place is. read more

Stay away from this daycare at all costs. The staff turnover is extremely high and the directors are unprofessional. We had our child there for about six months and were borderline on the service the whole time. The directors do not have reasonable expectations for age appropriate behavior for toddlers, and instead treat 2 years olds as if they were in 5th grade. They are overly strict and seek to punish behavior rather than communicate with parents. Ovoid this company at all costs. You will be disappointed, and your children will not thrive. read more

Well it's been two in a half months since I removed my child from this daycare... one thing that is most important about this daycare is that it's NOT a Learning Center more of a Play Center because that's all my daughter did... she brought home homework one time and my daughter started in the middle of October of 2018 and by February I was told for the second time by one of the directors to find another daycare for my child... it's a Black owned family business and you would think the best but unfortunately for two hundred and twenty dollars a week it wasn't too pleasant. Ms. Kim one of the directors was the nicest person and so was the other director Ms. Dee Dee until I started questioning their curriculum for the kids... the Spanish girl they have working there is one of the clueless workers that's there and she's there all day... I also didn't like how she had no control of the children she thought it was funny for children to ask adults inappropriate questions... On a positive note my daughter is doing EXTREMELY WELL in the Learning area even her new teachers noticed the difference from when she first started the third week in February of 2019 at her new school which is actually a Learning Center they're actually a Pre-K3 and it's fifty dollars less and I'm getting free meals and snacks my child has been on three field trip and has had professional pictures taken. CC had this scary Grinch show at the school and a Santa Clause with iPhone taken pictures ‍.... I'm not going to say do go here because to each their own but what I did learn is that other parents felt the same way as I did when it came to the Learning part of Learning Center but it is a daycare setting. Oh potty training they half did that because my daughter last three days there she pissed on herself and on her last day she was there one hour and was ready to go... which was not like her because she use to have so much fun playing all day ‍ my recommendation is that they change the Learning Center part because it's definitely misleading I never asked you'll to feed my daughter... I asked you'll if I brought the bidsters if you'll can put them on her because she came home a mess everyday. Next I asked if she could stay in because in one month she caught 2 ear infections twice!! And you'll the only daycare that take kids out in 40 degree weather everywhere says 50 and the fact that I actually seen my daughter outside with her coat wide open with no hat or hood like you'll didn't care and she was just getting over the second ear infection and ended up missing another week after that... P.S. her coat was definitely NOT broke line you'll said you'll zipped it up improperly rushing to go outside. Also we definitely did our part when it came to her Learning that's why I expressed concerns because she wasn't learning anything new! And as a "learning center" everything child needs to send home something that they are working on at school and until I requested 2 months later she hadn't come home with anything... never the less trust and believe when it comes to learning I'm on it that's why I pressed the issue. And it's not a FREE pre-K it's ACTUAL school and she she on the correct path now and as fair potty training yes I brought her in a PULL UP every morning because while traveling in case she had to because of the incident where she pooped and tee tee'd on herself in my father car and the method you'll use every 30 minutes just didn't work for her but needless to say she definitely FULLY potty trained now read more

My son finally enjoys going to school since attending there. It's been 10 months and he still loves it. Every day when he comes home he asks if he's going to school tomorrow. The staff are very friendly and respectable and loves my child as if he was one of their own. read more

Where do I start... my daughter has been going to this daycare since she was 1years old and she's 4 now. My husband and I always felt that this place really cares about the kids and the parents. The staff know each of the kids names by heart which really adds a special touch! Cost is affordable , children are taken well care is and my child loves her teachers her verbal and interaction skills really improved when she started going. They give birthday shout outs and have special events for holidays . If you are looking for a nurturing ,safe space and a place that will care about your child's entire well being this is the place for you! Mrs.Dee Dee and Kim the owners really care and will make sure to answer any all questions you may have. I will truly miss this place when my daughter starts pre-K but In the meantime I will continue spreading referrals to all my relatives and friends with kids because I am confident you will fall in love with it! read more

I've worked at Curious Critters for about 3 years and it was an amazing experience for me. I started off as an assistant teacher then became a lead teacher with the support of the management team and my coworkers encouraging me through school. I've learned so much there and I'm grateful for the love everyone has shown me and the life long connections I've made. Curious Critters is an wonderful place for any child. The teachers are dedicated, loving, encouraging and knowledgeable. The management is professional and safety is truly their top priority. read more

This is an AWESOME daycare! it is a brand new daycare in a freshly rehabbed building. We enrolled my 18 month old daughter and within three weeks, her vocabulary had expanded exponentially. She is learning games such as "itsy bitsy spider" that help her dexterity. And the teachers are so good about taking time to provide one on one attention on a daily basis. They attack everything with great care and attention to detail. For example, when my daughter got a diaper rash, they charted every time they changed her diaper and applied her rash cream. But beyond that, they changed her diaper every hour at the same time. Oh, and by the way, they provide free diapers! Dropping my daughter off at Curious Critters is a joy. She lights up every time we arrive. She has even started trying to dress herself on weekends in anticipation of going to daycare! She will grab her shoes and her jacket and gesture toward the front door. I literally cannot say enough nice things about this daycare! I highly recommend to anyone looking for a daycare. read more

I am very happy with this daycare. My 3 year old has been at the daycare for nearly two years. My 9 month old infant is also at the daycare. The most important thing for me is that the teachers are loving and thoughtful. My 3 year old loves to go there every day and she is learning a lot. When she first started there she was very quiet and shy. Now she talks a mile a minute and is joyful, bold, and social. They have recently started doing field trips such as taking the children to the pumpkin patch this past October. There is now an app where you receive daily reports on your child that talk about what they learned, what they ate, how well their day went, etc. Of course, there is always room for improvement at any daycare (this is the third one I've experienced), but generally speaking I think Curious Critters is doing a great job and is on the right track to being a superb facility. read more

In my opinion, Curious Critters Early Learning Tree is one of the best child care centers in the area. I commute to Washington DC so I've toured several daycare within a 5 mile radius of New Carrollton Metro Station. Unlike other child care centers in the area, this one has friendly staff,a clean well managed facility and a stimulating curriculum for toddlers. My child started attending this daycare when she was two. Within the first month she learned how to count to 10 in Spanish, she learned the days of the week and the months of the year. She's three now and already knows how to write and identify the letters of the alphabet. I love how they engage students in learning activities. Some daycare sit the kids in front a TV from the time you drop them off to the time you pick them up. Others have staff members that won't even speak when you walk by. I appreciate that Curious Critters staff always greet you with a smile. It gives me peace of mind knowing that my child is around care givers that enjoy what they do. read more