If I could give 10 stars, I would. Director Kerry, and her wonderful staff of teachers welcomed us…read moreinto the Best Beginnings family when my first son attended back in 2018. We loved our experience so much the first time around, our second son is currently attending. Here is what sold me on the school. The bright light, and environment. I love that the school is above ground, gets natural light, and smells neutral. Everything is up to date, and very tidy. I also love that its secure. I feel my child is safe when I leave after drop off. The teachers: From Lori, to Karen, to Corinne and Magda, each teacher becomes like family. They work hard and strive for the best, for each child. They have thoughtful lesson plans, and it's a joy to see the kid art that comes back. Both of my boys loved getting ready each day for preschool. If you're looking for a new preschool, look no further.

We've had a wonderful experience with Best Beginnings, and I'm truly grateful for the amazing…read moreteachers and staff. The school has excellent teachers who genuinely care about the children. Teacher Tomoko was one of the best teachers my daughter could have started her school journey with. She helped her feel safe, comfortable, and confident, and played a big role in making her love school from the very beginning. She was also very attentive and communicative, always keeping us informed about any concerns and offering thoughtful, practical guidance. Teacher Karen runs her classroom in such a warm and engaging way that my daughter is always happy and excited to go to school. Seeing that level of joy and enthusiasm means so much to us as parents. I would like to thank all the staff and administrators at Best Beginnings for creating such a positive and supportive experience. We feel very thankful that our daughter attended this preschool and highly recommend it to other families.

I don't know why it's taken so long (about four years) for me to review this place, but it deserves…read moreabout five-star "as good  as it gets" review.  My boy was there from about 18 months until almost three years old, and really appreciated the place, particularly after mixed experiences with a subsequent Montessori school. It is open to children from 15 months to 6 years old.  The facility is the basement of a large residential home. The owner-headmaster of the school (and a much school in Issaquah) lives upstairs. The entrance is around the back, shielded by the house from the street noise of Bel-Red Road. Access from the parking lot is by a nicely landscaped boardwalk.  The schoolyard is securely fenced, with lots of forested natural scenery outside the fence. The highlight is a stream called Country Creek, through the corner of the school's property. (It starts near Cascade View Park and flows into the Sammamish River.) The city has it marked as salmon spawning habitat, but I haven't seen its salmon run. Indoors, there's a toddler school room, and preschool room, and some office and other private space. Both classrooms were brightly lit and cheerful even in the gloom of winter. They were spotlessly clean -- and our boy was there before pandemic. It was well equipped, with learning materials organized Montessori-style.  The teachers were dedicated and caring, and because of the small classes they always had abundant time for the children. And because the owner is a Montessori teacher who lives upstairs, a familiar substitute was always available when teachers needed days off.  Communications were excellent: a simple form with a few little status updates, written notes about anything unusual during the day and scheduled events ahead, plus availability to talk about any concerns at pick-up time. (They weren't champions with e-mail, but better at it than a subsequent school.)  A highlight event (scheduled well in advance so parents could see their kids' delight) while our boy was there was a visit from a mobile petting zoo. A truck (maybe more than one) arrived one day with rabbits, goats, sheep, assorted other animals -- and a pony. Their staff set up cages and hand-wash stations, and let the kids interact with the animals. In the parking lot, kids took turns riding the pony. Now I want to look at my photos and videos and share them with our boy.  The tuition was very affordable. In part, that's probably because it shares overhead with the owner's house. But it's also due to the place's one inconvenience, that parents had to send lunches when dropping off the children.  A note about Montessori schools in general: the learning style is exploratory and largely self-directed. Budget permitting, I think it's ideal for most toddlers and preschoolers, except for some with special needs. But it's not such a clear choice for elementary school and up; if a child absorbs a strong sense of self-motivation to work at school, it's superior. If not, a conventional classroom with stronger guidance may be a better fit. But Prime Time enrolls kids during the early years when Montessori is best for most children.  In retrospect I wish we had kept him there until he was too old, but we had previously wait-listed him at another Montessori school (which provided excellent lunches). Our reasoning had been to transfer him while he was little, to get the disruption of changing schools over with earlier. But as it turned out, the pandemic was a vastly greater disruption to children (and adults) of all ages.  After all that praise -- and the observation that the inconvenience of sending lunches was balanced by the very reasonable price -- I feel comfortable giving Prime Time a five-star "as good as it gets" without any concerns about grade inflation.

Great school with small classrooms! Loving teachers. They provide a very clean and nurturing…read morelearning environment and really love the kids! The playground area is very beautiful and offers lots of things for the kids to do.

SMS has provided foundational learning experiences for my three kids over the last 6yrs (youngest…read morestill attending). They are at an excellent location, easy commute from our work places, and have an excellent family-like staff & environment. Highly recommended!!!

I highly recommend SMS. It is the best and one of the most mature Montessori schools in the Redmond…read morearea. Family run and teachers stay for decades. I cannot say enough good things about them - they are excellent. The front desk staff, Jane especially, greet you with smiles and any information you need as well as help for any issue. Teachers are attentive and thoughtful, and they communicate well to parents. For issues and concerns they pick up the phone when you call, they do what they say they will do and most important - our kids loved their teachers and we parents got to be proud of our children's development. I had my two girls go through their pre-school program in 2014-2020 time frame and I couldn't be happier - big shout out to Mrs. Kerr and Mrs. Digdhe in class room 5!

oth our kids have attended Cascadia since PreK. We had heard about this wonderful institution from…read moreour colleagues and were very intentional in our choice. Mrs Keeton's leadership and high bar for the teachers and students is amazing. Cascadia provides our kids with a safe environment (home away from home) where there is focus on academic rigor but also on whole child development. Mrs Keeton and all the teachers/staff genuinely care for the children and set a high bar for them both academically and socially. It is also very well recognized amongst other middle/high schools of the region (Overlake, EPS, Lakeside, Eastside Catholic etc) and Cascadia alum have made great impressions at these schools. If you are looking for a nurturing yet academically rigorous school, this is your place!

My both kids attended Cascadia and we thoroughly enjoyed our journey through Cascadia. Cascadia…read morenot just provides strong academic environment, but also overall development of the child - development in terms of social, emotional, public speaking, creative writing, confidence building, respect for others. The director of the school knows each child personally and involves actively in the child's development. Cascadia is a small, closed, connected community which differentiates Cascadia from many other schools in the area. Some might consider the smaller school size and lack of at-school activities to be drawbacks, but that did not bother us as our kids always had time to pursue their interests outside school as well. Our kids are not at Cascadia anymore, but they look forward to meeting teachers and other kids at every opportunity possible. Even after our kids graduated from the school, parents still try to keep in touch and help each other. We are pretty fortunate that our kids attended Cascadia and thankful to teachers and Mrs. Franklin.

Both of my sons have attended RTG. In addition to providing wonderful learning opportunities for…read moreboth them and me, it has helped me form my parenting "village" with the connections I have made with other parents in the program. We still spend some of the other families from my oldest son's class at RTG weekly, 4 or 5 years later! We love our teachers, and my sons have looked forward to going every week. I also appreciate that there are both indoor and outdoor class options - we do both and enjoy both formats!

Miss Amy is awesome! The school is awesome! We had very great time all the years we have been with…read morethe school.

My daughter was in Education Hill Learning Center for 3 years, from her 1 year old to 4 years old…read more Ms. Tang loves children and takes very good care of the kids. My daughter enjoyed the time in the center. She learned a lot, not only academic skills but also social skills. She made a few good friends there. Ms. Tang gave daily updates about children's activities and meals. She kept track of each individual's growth and personality, and shared the feedback with the parents in time. One important thing to call out is that the center is very clean and organized. My daughter was healthy and happy most of the time. She got sick for just 2 or 3 times during the whole center time. I really appreciate Ms. Tang's efforts to keep the place as good as she can.

My child enjoyed her stay in this family care. There are several aspects that our family love in…read moreparticular. - cleaness. The house is not super spacious but it is always clean and well-maintained. Janet paid attention to details. - caring. I can tell that Janet and other staff love children and make sure that every child is taken good care of. - food. Janet cooks hot and fresh lunch most of the days. - and the Halloween and Christmas party for the little ones are fun! I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for daycare.

What a treat to watch our granddaughter blossom under the guidance of this incredible preschool and…read moreits teachers. She has developed a great love of "the forest" and hiking. And her appreciation of nature and living creatures is wonderful. She is always asking for the magnifying glass to look at bugs! I love that she is learning that you can enjoy outdoors in all kinds of weather and there is always something to explore.

My son attended the Outdoor Preschool the first year it was available, and he loved it! I firmly…read morebelieve nature plays an essential role in wellbeing. I'm glad schools like this exist and kids can immerse themselves in it.

Our son has been here 2 years. Great staff and our son made…read moresome great friends and enjoys the teachers and playing here.

My kid started at 3 at this place and WOW this place is amazing!…read moreThis place provides the perfect setting for kids to develop and grow! On top of that we REALLY LOVE the TEACHERS! YES every single one! They love the kids and treat them with love!. Our kid have developed so much from this place. It was the best decision that we have made for our kid! We are really thankful to all the teachers that helped our kid grow and we are going to miss this place alot! Highly recommend this place!

We adore LWTG! I seriously can't say enough great things about this program. As a stay at home mom,…read moreI was looking for activities to get my kiddo involved in and stumbled upon LWTG. Not only is it a way for your child to socialize - you also bond with a ton of fellow parents and engage in valuable parent ed. The teachers are amazing and they really try to make everything extremely inclusive and accessible. Run, don't walk, to sign your kid up for this program. You won't regret it!

We love Lake Washington Toddler Group! I attend with my 2 year old daughter and it is the best part…read moreof our week. My daughter thrives in the toddler friendly environment and especially enjoys the new art projects every week. At LWTG you get a little of everything (art, science, music, stories, parent education, parent connection, etc.) which makes this an amazing value. As a parent I really appreciate the strict sick policy as it ensures all families who attend remain healthy. We are thrilled that we get to attend this program for years to come.

We have been attending parent-child or drop off preschool with Tiny Treks since January 2015 as a…read morefamily with three kids. Our youngest is about to graduate from drop off preschool and it will be an end to a very special era for us with Tiny Treks NW. We have been loved, supported, and educated by Tiny Treks teachers and staff and many are lifelong friends for us now. Couldn't recommend them enough! Definitely check them out!

I can't believe how much our son, age almost 6, knows about nature..really..it's really due to…read moreTeacher Ann who he has been learning from for two years. The consistency of being exposed to the nature jewels of the area with someone who is willing to explain and point out cool stuff means he can really appreciate the wonders around us. We're very grateful :-)