I was referred to this daycare from a friend. The provider is great!!!! There is a daily routine…read morein place and the meals are healthy and tasteful. The chidcare enviorment is neat, clean, literacy rich, and the area is well it . My child comes home singing songs and talking about her day at school. The two teachers are patient and work well with the whole family. I would reccomend this home daycare to everyone!!!!!!!!

CGS has been a part of our families community for two years now. I couldn't be more thrilled with…read morethe decision we made to send our daughter to the school. The teachers are exceptional, the administration receptive and accommodating, and the students are embraced and enthused with a desire to not only learn, but to dig deeper into subjects. I'd never heard of the school prior to a family mentioning it, but boy am I glad I did. My daughter has been given wonderful opportunities as a member of this community and I can't wait to see what's in store!

This is our second year at CGS and if you are looking for a private school for your child, CGS…read moreshould be on your must see list. CGS is nine years old and is graduating their first class of 8th graders in 2014. All will go to the best high schools in Chicago. Class sizes are small, all under 15, so your child will get more attention. That is what we feel we are paying for. From the first grade, your child will have more than one teacher who is teaching their specialty. Another plus. Our headmaster, Mr. Jackson comes from a special needs background, so it is an excellent choice if your child is smart, but has some challenges. Our daughter she needs a lot of repetition. With the small class sizes, she is getting that at CGS. We had her tested this summer and discovered that even though she was in the "lower" groups for reading and math, she is reading more than two grades above level and her math was also above grade level after only one year at the school. The fact a child reading over two grades above grade level was in the lower group, also speaks about the student quality. If you want your child challenged, this is the place. If you want to go to work and brag how your child is a straight A student and the smartest in their class. Good luck at CGS. Now to why this school is not for you. We are in an office building. If looks matter, go to British, Cook or Parker with their beautiful campuses. Sports, we do not have a volleyball or basketball team. This apparently is a big deal to many in Chicago at the elementary level and why some parents do not choose CGS or use as an excuse to leave. At CGS, the parents make sports happen, We have the only traveling snow sports club with its own ski school at any school in Chicago, a Taekwondo Grand Master teaching in our after school program as well as weekly yoga and swim club in our after school program. Other student are excelling in hockey, figure skating and golf outside of school. So we are a very sports conscious and active school. There is a music school upstairs that will pick up your child from after school for their lessons. How great is that. We are a private, for profit school. What does that mean. To me, the best part of all, no giving fund or annoying fundraisers. Both my spouse and I are self employed and have work commitments 7 days a week. We do not have the time to sell chocolate or make things for an auction like was expected at our daughter's former school. Your tuition might seem higher than your friends at FXW, Old St. Mary's or Urban Prairie, but they have "mandatory" giving and/or significant pressure to make large purchases at their fundraisers, so in the end we are about the same. There is no other school in Chicago we would rather be at, my only wish is we had a High School :-)

My child was not passing her quizzes at school. The last 3 quizzes, she scored 100% on all 3! Her…read moremathnasium sessions have really filled in the gaps. And while her dad and I are tutoring at home, there is something about THIS program that really works. I highly recommend. I see the results and so does she. And she loves coming. Worth every penny!

Long story short: If your child needs to concentrate with little to no distractions while taking a…read moretest, this place may not be a good fit in my opinion after what I experienced today - unprofessionalism. My daughter had a 45 minute assessment today to figure out strengths and weaknesses in math to determine the right fit for tutoring at Mathnasium in Evergreen Park. During her assessment, (which most would consider a test) a tutor on duty talked the entire time while seated near my child, held a parent consultation across from my child, stood up and small talked a few feet from my child's desk area LOUDLY, yelled across the room to the same parent exiting, I mean she would not shut up. I found it very distracting from where I was seated and very unprofessional. If a child is taking an assessment, would it be too much to ask for a lowered voice? Move to a quiet corner of the center? Talk softly? Consult the other parent there in another part of the room? Well apparently this was too much to ask. The tutor and the owner, once the other parent left, began to talk about holiday and weekend plans, their upcoming work shifts, how the owner's wife fell down the stairs...etc. all while the tutor is standing over and near my child taking an assessment. How rude! I got up twice. I began to coach myself to calm down. But, I know my child, she is nine years old and doesn't concentrate well when things are going on around her, especially adult small talk, YOU KNOW? LIKE MOST KIDS!!!!. I went over the first time to see how she was doing because this woman talking and talking was getting on my nerves and I was seated several feet away, I figured my kid couldn't possibly be knocking out this test. Wait I'm sorry, assessment. She was stuck on a problem. The second time I went over I was through with this place. The tutor was standing near my child asking about weekend plans. My child was still on the same problem she was on minutes before! Mr O (the owner) told me that he told her if she's stuck on a problem to circle it and keep going, I'm surprised she didn't circle the whole thing! When I asked to reschedule during a more private session with less distractions they both looked puzzled. The owner said "During assessments there is no quiet place this is the environment." Whoa that was my cue. My request was incredulous to them. Ha. Whelp we are out. No apology no effort, no concern. Nothing. No customer service? I personally will not spend over $200 a month here. Mr. O was very pleasant and detailed over the phone but once I got to the location, my impressions slowly faded. Also, I must say Mr O if you read this, the tutor once she found out you were coming, she told the little girl she was tutoring that they needed to move from the way they were seated. She wasn't facing the window and did not see me when I entered nor did she greet me. She was more concerned about why you were coming up there. SMH.

I have been taking my time to write a great review for this school. My son just finished the…read moreschool year at Casa dei Bambini Montessori. He is 3 1/2 now and started when he was 2 1/2 years of age. I can't say enough about this establishment. Oana and Ms. Patti as well as their staff have been so kind, patient, and dedicated to the needs of my son as well as the other children. They were very accommodating to our schedule with work on our tuition plan as well as with my son's allergy's. The building as well as the classrooms are very Montessorri based and structured. Very calm and inviting atmosphere. The rooms are neat, clean, and very organized. I love the bathroom they have set up for the kids. They have a outside play yard and garden that is beautiful. My son enjoyed planting flowers and learning about nature. I loved that they often get the kids outside everyday to get fresh air. My son learned many important independent functioning skills while his time at their school. He also learned many other important skills such as problem solving, waiting, and separation from me. His transition to the school as pretty smooth. He took regular naps there and I feel the home visit they do beforehand really did help with this transition. He loved all his teachers and most of all I felt comfortable with him being there while I was at work. I knew he was well taken care of and in good hands and most of all learning. We have decided to move on to the Catholic school that we have my older daughter at due to cost as well as just having one drop off and pick up in the day. However, although this is the best choice for us as a family, this school definitely is a top of the line Montessori School if this is the education route you are interested in starting and continuing with. They have a beautiful video ( my son is in it) that can also give a nice picture of what it looks like inside. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Positive: Clean daycare, some friendly staff, some useful feedback but mainly geared towards…read morecomplaints about your children. Negatives: Lack of followup from the owner on multiple occasions, exaggerates normal child behavior to create a sense of immediate need for therapy (maybe there is a $$$ relationship there), video system not working in case you need to check something. They are a business first and foremost and not a daycare. If you are looking for a more traditional, not soldier building machine, steer clear. If your child is docile and low level of energy, great place.

Wonderful staff who instills in preschool what learning should be...inquisitive and FUN. My…read moredaughter loved her few mornings a week she went in. She got to make friends, go outside daily, make crafts, learn about the world around her, celebrate birthdays. When I would pick her up, she would sing songs, about what they were learning, over and over again. This place is incredible for kids. So loving.

When moving to the North Shore I had my work cut out for me to find a preschool that was both…read moreplay-based and offered full-time care. Banner was the answer. From the moment we visited the school, I knew it was the right place for our daughter to begin her preschool experience. "Warmth" is how I'd describe the environment at Banner both in appearance and culture. The classrooms are inviting, cozy, and creative. This is a school run by teachers who love what they do and create a warm, positive environment for children to learn, develop and thrive. Our daughter wakes up excited to go to Banner every day which is the best testimonial a parent could offer.