I cannot say enough about how wonderful our experience has been here thus far with Heather. She is…read morekind, communicative, organized, thoughtful, and a baby wizard! She has collaborated with us to get our 6 month old on a sleep schedule and start figuring out those day time naps, as well as support our decision to do a baby led weaning approach to solids. Our baby is loved and cared for in the ways I've hoped and prayed for. We feel incredibly lucky to have found her!

From the owner: We are an in-home day school located in Somersworth, NH supporting local families by providing…read morechildcare and early learning services to infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children. Our curriculum includes daily lessons in math, science, and art with a strong love for music and adventure! We strongly believe in play-based learning as well as teaching children of all ages real-life skills and problem solving techniques. We strive to build confidence, positive communication, compassion, and expression by encouraging the kids to be independent, confident in expressing their needs and interests as well as nurturing everyone around them in their school environment. Outdoor time is spent exploring nature, playing with water, dirt and mud, as well as climbing, sliding and pretending!

I would like to preface my thoughts by saying the educators are wonderful with the children; very…read morethoughtful and caring. I cannot say the same about the administration. I would strongly advise against enrolling your children here. If there are no alternatives, please keep the following in mind: - Always have a back up plan for childcare as they will cancel classes for the smallest amount of snow (2") and very frequently for " teacher development." - You will pay gratuitously for tuition even for the numerous weeks and holidays they are on vacation or the days they are not rendering child care. - Be sure to communicate exclusively in writing as there is NO dialogue between the administration and the educators; they might as well be separate entities. - Carefully read their policies as they will use any means to justify pilfering your deposit if you deviate from their terms whatsoever, even if common sense would indicate otherwise. It bears saying twice: I strongly recommend against conducting business with this daycare. Consider alternatives.

I'm going to say that I am ashamed. They have no staff…read moreretention whatsoever and the staff members who are employed aren't really qualified. The school is not even Montessori and they use the name without educators. They don't seem to keep a Director for more than a couple of months. The owner is a business person who has no real compassion for children.

The teachers at Little Hands clearly love children. They're professional and warm - we love them!read more

From the owner: Little Hands is an Early Childhood program caring for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old. We are…read morea developmentally appropriate program that understands that each child is a unique individual who learns and experiences life at their own pace. We will educate your child/ren intellectually, physically, emotionally and socially by maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment.

This school goes above and beyond to promote a healthy and safe place for your children. We were at…read morethe school for over 5 years and have recently "graduated" to public Kindergarten. They don't cut corners and have a full range of creative ways to help the children learn and grow. The preschool and school room teachers are exceptional. Both my daughters were more than ready for public school education. The outdoor play areas are large and have a very natural feel to them... They go out every day, sometimes several times a day and they do that year round. The classrooms are always changing with projects and paint and a liveliness that makes a parent feel good about trusting their children in these caretakers hands. Truly a wonderful school.

From the owner: At Leaps and Bounds Learning Center we strive to provide an educationally focused environment where…read morechildren can discover the world around them with the guidance of loving, dedicated, and qualified staff. We support children to understand themselves and their special place in this world through stressing the value of each child's individuality and creativity. Our mission is to provide rich and meaningful learning experiences in a safe and nurturing environment where children engage in activities to experience early learning success. At Leaps And Bounds Learning Center, we look forward to sharing in your child's growing years!

Huge staff overturn all the time. I would pick up my baby and ask how her day was and no one would…read moreknow because they "didn't have her". Staff would overheat her bottle and "sometimes" check the milk before giving it to her. I found this out when I picked her up and they handed me her bottle. It burned my finger. I was told they put the hot bottle in a cooling bath. Disgusting to think that bottles with breast milk are sitting in a bath of water. This place is awful. We told the director about these issues and she claimed she had no clue. My daughter's diaper was on so tight one time that she screamed until I realized what the problem was. This was the only issue the director knew about.

This place is great. When I go to NH for business they watch my kids! The facility is clean and…read morefaculty is outstanding! I highly recommend!

The director here is a danger to children's well-being and safety. At first, we thought this center…read morewould be adequate for our child, and turned into a nightmare which would end up being a hinderance to proper care and development with a wildly out of touch, unprofessional and downright nasty director. My little one started at 5 months old. The center utilizes ProCare to communicate about daily happenings. It was not utilized properly whatsoever. There would be massive gaps in communication regarding nap time, feeding time and general issues daily. Opening teachers did not communicate with their closers and they never had info for pickup about how their day was and could not answer basic questions such as "what time did they eat, how many bottles, how long did they nap, etc" They could never give us a proper timeline of their day despite multiple complaints. Our little one did have some basic struggles for sure because of this, it's an adjustment to their tiny brains, but it was nothing outside the boundaries of normal and healthy development. On the surface, their teachers seemed to have adored him and the feeling was mutual. Recently, I walked in for drop off, and while still holding my child I was pulled aside and +informed in front of all the other parents that our care would be terminated due to our child's "incessant crying" I was told that "they cry all the time", and it is "detrimental to the staff and other children." I was then told by the director that staff members resigned because of our child! The school never mentioned this to us once beforehand besides the occasional "They had a rough day" or "They only slept 40 mins do you have any tips?" etc. There was no discussion to correct the problem via the official process laid out in their 15-year-old poorly xeroxed handbook. It immediately smelled fishy. Former staff members confirmed with us that they did not resign because of our child but because of the director and how she treats her staff, causing them anxiety. How quaint. It was clear that Cross road has serious problems. Therefore, the director's solution to her own insolvency, staffing and ratio issues beyond defaming former employees was to throw a perfectly normal child under the bus because she was too weak of an individual to take responsibility for herself and work through her problem. She took the easiest way out and blamed it on non-existent parenting issues she made up in her thick head instead of looking in the mirror and being an adult. When asked to confirm her reasoning for expulsion in writing multiple times, she refused beyond the "At-will terminate anywhere anytime" coward's way out. She is obviously aware of a hole she can't dig out of knowing we are furthering this issue beyond her control and influence. The state licensing unit was very interested in what we had to tell them. We kept every receipt, like when our child was forced to pose for a photo with a disparaging sign taped to their chest that bullied them because of their difficulty napping. They did this to an infant and thought it was funny. It makes me sick that caretakers would do that to a child instead of addressing the problem like a professional. We played along so they would send the photo to us to have on the record. Licensing took that photo very seriously. Teachers are actively contributing to the problem by not speaking up for themselves and allowing such a vile person to use children as leverage for her own massive shortcomings. It's inherently inappropriate, unprofessional, and unbecoming of childcare workers. I understand childcare is difficult to find in our area, but please don't take yours here unless you want them used and taken advantage of in a building where the director has lost control and drunk with power. It is a recipe for disaster.