Ms. Sylwia has created an incredible daycare. We saw MANY in our search and knew right away we wanted our daughter at Hip Hippo. When we visited Hip Hippo that first time, it was clear Ms. Sylwia has a philosophy about how to care for children. We loved that we had a partner in raising our daughter who cared as much as we did, and was way more experienced than we were :) I took many of my "first time parent" questions to her and always got great, measured advice.
Ms. Sylwia and her team care deeply about children and creating developmentally appropriate, engaging and varied activities for them. I was amazed at how ambitious they were - during drop off I saw kids painting, our daughter came home with creative art projects and they had weekly guest educators (music, Spanish class, cooking, etc). Not to mention, they have monthly themed units to help the children explore colors, seasons and other topics.
Beyond what they did with the children, even more important was how they made the children feel and how they took care of them. It is an incredibly loving environment where children are given autonomy to try things, express their feelings and resolve conflict. The staff got to know my daughter very well and I'd get a report at pick up each day with the funny things she did, her overall mood, what she ate, etc. Her transition into daycare was a little rocky and everyone worked so hard to come up with a plan to help her, and made sure I didn't turn into an emotional wreck :)
In terms of the facilities, everything is so well organized and clean. They have all their incredible art projects up on display which makes the kids feel really proud. They have a big outdoor space in the back where they plant in the spring and have water play in the warm weather.
Beyond that, Ms. Sylwia and her team have times throughout the year for the parents to come visit, mingle and have special snacks or activities with the kids. It helps feel like you're part of a community rather than just dropping your child off with strangers for the day.
I was unprepared as a first time parent how integral the staff would be in helping raise my daughter. She spends so much time there and I know she is getting the type of care, attention and love I want for her. I also didn't realize how wonderful it would be to have a baby and toddler mixed program. My daughter started as a baby and was OBSESSED with the "older kids", and they in turn with her. I saw her develop so much by watching them.
I could go on but I'll end by saying anyone who sends their child to Hip Hippo will be getting more than just people to watch and interact with your child. It's a really special, loving place and we are SO grateful we found it!! read more