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Forest Playschool

4.6 (7 reviews)

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My wife and I have been blown away by our experience with Forest Playschool. Our son has thrived throughout his two years in the program, and we believe it has furthered his development well beyond where he might have been in more traditional preschool/daycare programs. He started as a "little", or one under the age of three that required a parent/guardian to attend as well, and currently participates in the half day drop-off program. Centered on early childhood development and learning through imaginative social play, the Forest Playschool utilizes Mother Nature as its classroom. The kids are outside every day, barring extreme weather conditions, and interact with each other in creative, self-directed play. As a result, our son has become fiercely independent, is confident in himself, and willfully explores imaginative play with others and by himself. Having a mix of children at different ages and capabilities all interacting together provides a unique community where the older look out for the littles, and littles learn from the older. The kids create games to play, problem solve, sing songs, put on plays, help cook, serve, and clean up after themselves, and countless other activities. After a long day of exploring and playing with his friends at school, we are often treated to an exhausted and enthused rambling recap of all the goings-on of that day. After hearing the excitement in his voice, and genuine anticipation of returning the next day to play outside with his friends, we could not imagine better validation that we made the right decision enrolling our son in Forest Playschool. The Forest Playschool staff is passionate about the program and committed to the children's development. They attend seminars around the country learning curriculum, techniques, and best practices from other forest school programs and implement them. The staff do well to engage the families on the kids' weekly schedule and one-off social events that include the entire family. We are incredibly grateful this program exists, especially in the city of Chicago where green areas are few and far between, and our hope is our son and his younger brother stand to grow with the Forest Playschool for years to come.

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Wonder Montessori School of Chicago

Wonder Montessori School of Chicago

(17 reviews)

North Park

I worked at WMS two years ago for 5 years total and within that time learned and loved the…read moreMontessori Method applied here. From the wee seedlings to the elementary kids, I watched how these children flourished beyond anything else I've ever experienced during all my hours of student teaching at various schools. First off all, the organization behind every aspect of the school comes from the extensive training and education that the school founders have along with their decades of experience. Yes, decades. Everything offered at WMS is all very carefully considered and all the material there is hand-picked by their wonderful teachers and moderated by the head directress. By hand-picked, I mean hundreds of material is considered before being chosen. The material selected all depended on the season, subject, and mastery of each child in mind. This is no easy task. Secondly, the work is all relative. What your child is doing in the infant and toddlers program (from pouring to sorting) will lay a strong foundation for what they will be doing years later in the preschool and elementary program. I cannot stress enough how many times my jaw dropped when I realized how all of the works are so connected. All of the works encourage independence early on so they can master specific work later on. It all comes full circle. Third, the socialization that happens within the walls of the school is inspired by the work itself because the way the work is designed teaches children patience, compassion and empathy. A lot of the work here teaches children how to contribute to their homes and communities in a positive way. It also helps children find their confidence because they realize they can do so many every day things themselves that it sets them up for success academically - from tying their shoes to doing dishes the practical life work is such an essential part of their learning. The teachers have so much patience and love towards their students. It's really beautiful to observe. They develop connections with each individual child and because of the nature of the Montessori applied here, they have the ability to do that as opposed to teaching every child in the same exact way like most traditional schools. While working there it was pretty common for the children to be far more advanced than their friends and family who were in regular public and private schooling. Because of the method, they had the ability to cognitively identify and grasp things much easier in a safe and encouraging environment - all at their own pace. I look back on my time working here with a lot of fondness. As teachers, we took a lot of pride in the work we put into our kids. We provided them with quality education, but above all else a lot of encouragement to explore and play - all important parts of this method. We let our children lead and that is what makes this place so special. They all eventually became leaders in their own right. If you have any questions, reach out and book a tour! They're always really informative and it's a real peace of mind seeing the beautiful space your children will grow in before enrolling them there.

My review will be slightly different from the rest of the reviewers…read more Most of the reviews are from the perspective of parents who have or had children attend here. I will give you the perspective from a former alumni that graduated from here over 2 decades ago. While many of the teachers have come and gone, the leadership has remained steady with the founders since '93. I went to Wonder Montessori in the mid 90s, a few years after they opened, and I can honestly say it was the one of the most important educational experiences of my life. Of course, I did not realize it then, but reflecting back I can clearly point to my experience here to clearly shape the person I am today. Every detail was examined, and every individual considered. I am sure Wonder Montessori's mastery of the montessori method has improved in the years since. I can remember learning to use the computer here, learning about planets and plants and science in general. Singing songs in multiple languages. Even mundane life skills like washing the dishes, oh and of course - I learned to tie my shoes here. Even more importantly social skills on how to properly interact with your peers was developed, and if someone has been wronged we were guided to resolutions, often with apologies to the wronged party. Conflict mediation is an underrated skill. Parents, it is easy to forget how profoundly influential these formative years are for a child. In terms of social development and satisfying their intellectual and creative endeavors - positive and enriching experiences in these areas now will only compound in the years to come. Your children will be more confident, more independent, and more intellectually curious. Characteristics that will hopefully stay with them for the rest of their lives As for myself, what happened to me? While everyone's path in life is different, many years after here I attended an engineering college and studied electrical engineering, achieved moderate success as an entrepreneur and in my other professional endeavors. My final vote of confidence? I will be sending my kids here when they are ready.

Gateway Montessori

Gateway Montessori

(6 reviews)

Irving Park

Update: April 20, 2015 My children are now 7 and 3-1/2 years…read moreold and I and they love the school as much as ever. Currently, the school announced that they do plan on expanding the school. Update: August 16, 2014 My 6 yr old daughter & 2-1/2 yr old son attend. The school and parent community is still incredible and my only wish is that they expand their elementary program to middle school. Original review: It may not seem like much from the outside, but this school is a hidden gem. I honestly believe that there is no better learning or childcare environment than Gateway Montessori School. My daughter is 3 years old and has been attending Gateway since she was about 10 months old (Infant Program). When my wife and I were interviewing daycares, nannys, etc. for our daughter, we asked ourselves 3 important questions: 1. Can you we trust the Institution and Providers? 2. Will our child be Loved & Respected? 3. Will our child be learning and developing to her full potential? Can you we trust the Institution and Providers... ? Both my wife and I have complete trust in the school's Directress, Shelley Torres (and teachers). Once you meet her, you will understand. She teaches the 1-3 year old class and has the composure and patience that few have (and that is necessary for this age group). She has a long history as a Montessori teacher (AMI) and upholds to the standards that make a true Montessori school a great education. Gateway is a small school with small classes so you know all the teachers and assistants. The school hosts teacher presentations (as well as guest-lectures) and classroom observations. These are great opportunities for parents to see how teachers work with children, understand the classroom environment & materials, and talk with teachers. We leave our daughter at Gateway everyday knowing that she is in the best care outside of family. Will our child be Loved & Respected...? I see everyday not only how loving and respectful the teachers are to the children, but how my loving and respectful my daughter is to others. The teachers exemplify the qualities that I value in a caring & quality school. Among other things, they help the children become independent, guide them with reasoning (rather than control), support them emotionally, and encourage them to support their classmates with love and respect. I think my daughter has developed a true sense of empathy and understanding through working in the classrooms. Will our child be learning and developing to her full potential...? Number One, I want my daughter to be Happy (and she is). Number two, I want my daughter to Learn (and she does). Not only do the children build on their knowledge, but they learn about independence and practical life. They are drinking from cups in the infant class, baking bread in the 1-3 yr classroom, and learning about the trinomial equation in the 3-6 yr classroom. My (limited) experience with Montessori... My wife and I had never heard of Montessori education prior to attending a Gateway lecture. After meeting the director, learning more about Montessori, and seeing the school we were completely sold. Whether you are already familiar with Montessori education or not, you should see Gateway. As my wife and I have learned, this is no ordinary school.

My daughter has been attending Gateway Montessori School since she was 3 and it was located on…read moreMontrose Avenue. It's now in a brand new building on Pulaski specifically built for the school and my daughter is now in 5th grade. She loves it. She feels connected to the community and safe in the environment. I love the school, the teachers and the Director who has 35 years experience and I learn from her every day. The new space is large and bright with a lovely garden area for playing. The classroom sizes are still small with one trained teacher "Guide" and one assistant in each room. Classes are broken into 15months to age 3, age 3-6, and elementary age 6-12 years. Gateway is one of only two Montessori schools in Chicago that is recognized by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). This means they follow the original teachings of Dr. Montessori and they have all the required materials. All of the classroom teachers have under graduate degrees as well as the required AMI certification program for the level they teach which requires several years additional training. I feel really fortunate to have found Gateway Montessori.

Mary's  ABC Academy Day Care Center

Mary's ABC Academy Day Care Center

(6 reviews)

Sauganash

Mary's ABC Academy is a wonderful daycare! As a mom and teacher, it was super important that I…read morecould find a place I could trust to take care of my 2 year old daughter. I searched for months, set up tours, had a list of questions ready, compared and visited many daycares before I finally found one that made me feel like, "Yes! This is a place where my daughter will feel safe, loved and grow!" And that place was Mary's. The lead teacher, Jessica, is so kind and patient. She always has time to meet and tell you how your child is doing as well as discuss any concerns you or she may be having or even just to praise how well your little one is doing. Mary is usually with the younger kids (fourteen months-twenty four months, I think) and every time I see her she is right there with them either reading or playing with them. My daughter comes home everyday with a big smile on her face and says, "Mommy! I had so much fun today!" She's constantly singing new songs and is so proud of the artwork she makes that week. They have fun events for the kids like puppet shows and Minnie and Mickey visits. The daycare itself is colorful, clean, organized and honestly, it's what I was hoping it would look like. They have an open door policy, so we always feel free to stop by and check in on our little one (during nap time, we knock on the window instead of ringing the doorbell. Don't wanna wake the littles!). I would recommend this place to anyone looking for childcare. The staff is genuinely happy to be there and I feel totally comfortable leaving my daughter in their care. Hopefully they have a spot open for my other daughter who will be old enough to join them next year because this is definitely the place she will be attending too! Highly recommend this place!

Fantastic daycare for my son. I had looked at close to fifteen locations and could not find one…read morethat was clean enough or even close to Mary's. This is a wonderful place for daycare and my two year old loves it. They are kind, genuine and truly care about children. Highly recommended!

North Elston KinderCare

North Elston KinderCare

(11 reviews)

Irving Park

We switched to this location of KinderCare from Ladybug on Irving park. We were worried about the…read morechange but surprisingly our kiddo liked it better and didn't miss her old daycare much which was more upscale. The director Michelle is super accommodating and we had 0 problems with Early Intervention therapists visiting the kiddo at school (Ladybug requested additional fingerprinting even though they had Early Intervention screening ). But the best part was that our kid became potty trained on day one because her teacher Ms Mary takes time to put them on a potty at regular intervals . The group size is smaller than at our previous school and pretty relaxed atmosphere.

I enrolled my sweet girl in late January. I was so nervous to put her in school as this was the…read morefirst time she would be separated from me. I spoke to Ms.Gaby on the phone and explained to her my situation, she was super energetic and happy to talk to me about kindercare and gave me a virtual tour (covid times). She literally put my mind at ease. I came in to grab some paper work met with the director Ms. NEFALI and her team. They were amazing and so happy to have my little one there. Honestly this facility is the best and the teachers treat your children like their own. I am incredibly fortunate to have my baby girl here, she is happy and well taken care of. Not to mention every single teacher there is genuinely happy to work there. Thank you ladies for all you do you are the best of the best.

Forest Playschool - preschools - Updated May 2026

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