STAFF: There are 1-2 staff per class. The staff are all friendly, knowledgeable, understanding, and…read morehelpful. Not a day goes by that I don't receive a warm welcome at the door or input on how to deal with a new behavior. FACILITY: Each room is fully decorated with kids' art - and is frequently changed with the season and corresponding holidays. Each kid has their own (or a shared) cubby. There is a mountain of toys and books throughout the classrooms. The rooms, bathrooms, and common areas are always exceptionally clean. A argument could be made for the lack of natural light in the building - although, I like the fact that our son is in a safe environment with limited windows and a single point of entry that is near the director's office. OUTDOOR SPACE: The pick-up/drop-off lane and parking areas are all clearly marked - with plenty of room for everyone. I've never had an issue. There is an outdoor play space, which, to be honest, is a bit small; however, as you can see, the size of the space is only one of two minor complaints I have. ACTIVITIES: Seasonal parties, visitors (e.g. balloon artist, Children's Museum puppeteers, etc.), options for the Gymagic Bus or Happy Feet programs, movie days, and other fun special events are a part of the regular monthly schedule. There are also weekly slots for a music teacher, the use of sensory bins, and designated days for the letter and number of the week. COMMUNICATION: We receive a daily "report card" detailing our child's mood, meals, nap, diapers, and activities. We receive a monthly newsletter and calendar that covers all activities, curriculum, and other notes of interest. Simply, the open line of communication is exactly what I would expect and prefer. OVERALL: We are very happy with APTG and everything it has to offer. We are confident that our child is receiving the very best type of education, interaction, and activities. We know he is in good hands every single day. He is happy to go to school - and even more excited to tell us about his day. We've found that he is not only developmentally on par with other children his age but often exceeds even our own high expectations for him. I wholeheartedly endorse APTG as a superb childcare learning center for even the choosiest of parents.

Amazing daycare! The staff is caring, professional, and truly treat the kids like family. My child…read moreloves going every day, and I feel so confident knowing they are in a safe and fun environment. Finding a daycare you can fully trust is not easy, but A Place To Grow has truly exceeded our expectations. I would recommend them to any parent looking for a safe, loving, and enriching environment for their child.

After one year I can confidently say that I love Mt. Alvernia Day Care and the staff feels like…read morefamily to us. I believe they genuinely adore our little girl. We're thankful for everyone there who has helped her along in her development, as we've seen her grow into the strong and smart and kind toddler she is. As childcare costs keep rising it is rare to find a daycare center that is upfront with you about the cost. This is the only place I have found in Pittsburgh that will actually tell you their tuition rates on their website. They have a waitlist for infants but we got on it during my pregnancy and had no problems getting our daughter in! I have to note that they will be moving out of their current property sometime in the future, but they intend to find a new home in the area, so we're hopeful that we can continue to rely on them for childcare. We're excited that they will be able to design their new location to suit their needs!

Best Daycare ever!! Wonderful teachers and staff!! Everyone here truly cares about the children and…read morethey learn so much!! It is amazing the projects and experiences they have to offer at Mount Alvernia! Also the teachers and staff are caring, understanding, and treat you like family. I wouldn't want my children anywhere else!! My daughter had Miss Rachel for preschool and Pre-K and she is a top notch educator and person!!

A wonderful, nurturing learning environment!…read more Having moved around a bit, my two kids have collectively experienced a total of 5 daycares and preschools. Little Appleseed is tied for first place. What I liked: The staff are incredibly engaged and talented educators. They 'got' both of my children (with very different learning styles) and tailored the curriculum to their needs and interests. My daughter began kindergarten extremely well prepared, yet they still maintained a mostly play-based curriculum. A lot of curiosity encouraged. Child transitions were handled with care. At some schools I felt forced to move up my child before they were ready because of class size, etc. I was able to delay my son's move after a great discussion with his teacher and it was enormously in him gaining confidence. Small class sizes. At some centers, I felt that they were constantly shifting rooms at the end of the day to maximize ratios, too. Great indoor and outdoor space to keep the kids active, regardless of weather (boo, Pittsburgh!) Flexible arrangements. Beth was usually able to accommodate changes to my work schedule if I needed extra care. Building security and safety were better than some other schools. One reviewer noted lack of attentiveness to children - I simply never saw any indication of this. The center-wide events were fun and made it feel like a nice, supportive community. What could be better: I agree that the food skews towards many of kids' favorites but not the healthiest options. I was spoiled by a prior center that was all-organic and catered by the company cafeteria. Communication could be more direct and detailed. They respect each family's privacy, which is good. However, there was an unfortunate behavioral issue with another child that I felt posed some risk to my child. The staff generally handled the difficult situation with tact and sensitivity, but they were slower to include me than I would have liked.

Clean and Caring. Felt very comfortable. Highly recommend Little Appleseed Learning Centerread more

Granted, this is not a top ten Pittsburgh childcare facility (ellis school, WT etc), but it doesnt…read morecost an arm and a leg to pay for, the owner is very accomodating and flexible, staff is personable and i like the mixed ages classroom! They craft, you prepare your kids lunch, they take kids on short safe strolls in the neighborhood. No problem to start care there mid-fall and you dont have to pay for sept & half of october. They save your spot if they can. You can quit month by month (no two month full tuition penalty as with the JCC).

My second son attended Milestones from the time he was 18mo old-PreK. we had a wonderful…read moreexperience. The director is such a kind hearted person and it is reflected in how she and her staff interact with the kid. They are a smaller center. For us that translated to a warm family feel. Out so. Thrived here, developed great social skills and a love of learning. They truly felt like family! As a parent that is the goal of these early years. We had just moved into the city when we sent our younger son to Milestones. At the time we sent our older son to a local private school for Pre-K (thinking we needed to "get him in early"). In hindsight, he didn't need academic structure and rigor at age 4, he needed to feel secure, cared for and loved....knowing what I know now, I would have had him sent him to Milestones for one year of PreK while his little brother was in the 18 mo old group. For us Milestones gave us piece of mind everyday we dropped our son off...it truly felt like an extension of home!

I met Miss Jala a year ago and her instant warmth and connection with children made me feel…read morecomfortable and as if my kiddo was going to be loved and well taken care of. It's hard to find people you trust with your kiddos but once you meet Miss Jala your fears will be gone. She has a cute kid friendly set up and is engaging and interactive with the kiddos in learning activities and fun. My daughter said other day, unprompted, "I love Miss Jala's" so this is really a review for my 4 years olds honest opinion. They do adventures to the library and parks and an academic curriculum that is solid and progresses forward. We love Miss Jala and Friends!

Chartiers Street Daycare has been a great place to bring my children. The workers there are…read morewonderful and I know they love my children and care deeply for them. They are communicative and I completely trust them. The same women have been caring for my kids for 3+ years (with a few others sprinkled in). It's been great to not have staff turnover and consistent caregivers that I have grown to know and trust. It definitely has a homier, more family feel. Which I think is rare and I much prefer! I would recommend them highly!

The owner and employees of Chartiers St. Daycare are very passive aggressive and unprofessional…read more By passive aggressive, I mean that they were never willing to address our issues and just terminated us. In the cruel and highly unprofessional termination letter they snuck in our daughter's lunch box, among many other things, they said "How can you expect us to take care of your kids, when you don't?" This was even though we picked up our children and took them to the doctor, whenever they told us to. Almost always our children wouldn't have temperatures when we got home and this led us to ask questions because, as two working parents, this was affecting our livelihood. They also had us send our son to the pediatrician because they said he had thrush, but his pediatrician said it was just food on the roof of his mouth. They didn't like the doctor's finding and didn't trust the pediatrician's office anymore. Furthermore, they told our 3 year old daughter, who has asthmatic issues and frequently gets sick, that she got everyone at daycare sick, then they told us they didn't say that to her, but then told us she did get everyone sick after they gave us our termination letter. Finally, they terminated us knowing we both have full time jobs, no other daycare options, and another very complex, special needs child at home to take care of. Daycare is hard to come by, but unless you're ok with not being allowed to have an opinion and sending your children to passive aggressive, judgemental employees who can never be wrong, I wouldn't recommend this daycare.

First of all i would like to say my grandchildren were in this facility and they loved it and the…read morestaff treated them exceptionally well. They treated my grandchildren like their own. Landra is a great director and genuinely cares about the children. It was always a warm and welcoming feeling upon walking in ... I never felt rushed on drop off and they helped them adjust in what ever way they could . They have a really great preschool with a loving teacher also. They have lots of fun toys and an outside play area that is fenced in . Also fun activities in the summer too. Don't hesitate to enroll you child here ...

We've been using Children's Learning Ladder for almost 3 years and our son has made some of his…read morebest friends here! The teachers are amazing and are truly vested in the success for the children. We recently started sending our second child now that she is old enough and they've gone above and beyond to make her transition as smooth as possible during this time. This daycare has been the perfect fit and worth every dollar we've spent!

This center is pricey but worth absolutely every penny. We used the South Side Bright Horizons…read morelocation for their pre-k and kindergarten prep programs with our oldest child and the infant program when our daughter was born. The facility is beautiful - welcoming, clean, enriching and safe (security is never an issue). The staff is absolutely excellent - some of the teachers have been recognized on a national level within the organization. And the environment is great, they have a terrific secure playground area and they take the kids for outings in the South Side Works. We were so sad when we moved and had to transfer our daughter's care elsewhere. A year later, we are still saying how much we miss it! p.s. Get on the list EARLY!

Dont apply for enrollment for your child here unless they have an opening right away, otherwise,…read morethey may scam you out of $100 like they did to me. i choose the Bright Horizons in monroeville/plum for our child and i need her to start at the end of summer. They assured me that there would be an opening for her then. i filled out all of the paperwork and was advised that there was a $100 enrollment fee/application fee to hold our spot. A few weeks before summer ended, i had contacted them to verify our start date and they told me that there werent any spots opened and they wouldnt have any openings until November or December. They never contacted me previously to advise me that they wouldnt be able to take our child at the end of summer like i was previously advised and i then had to rush around to find another daycare that would be able to take our child when i started back to work. They refused to give me my $100 back. i am pretty sure that they knew at the time that they wouldnt be able to take my child, they just wanted the $100. They are a bunch of scam artist, if you ask me and i wouldnt recommend going there unless you are able to start right away because them guarenteeing you an opening is just a scam to get your $100.