This is a great childcare center! The director and staff are highly qualified, kind, and wonderful…read morewith children. The pricing is reasonable, which can be a struggle to find in center city. My daughter has recently left and started kindergarten, but it was very sad to leave, and we will continue to go back and visit. My daughter misses the staff and her friends there a lot. I am very grateful that she attended this childcare for nearly 4 years. It has a lovely community/family feel to it and the former students always return to visit which speaks volumes. I highly recommend.

It is true. The biggest mistake that you will make in life is to send your child here. I had to…read moretake my child through a serious program to quit fighting with kids. It took me 7 months to handle the situation. What they learn: They do let them fight. They do abandon them. There is no thorough program that the kids go through other than watching TV half of the day and fighting with each other, cause there is nothing else to do. The teachers rarely came up to me to tell me what my kid learned today or what he did. Environment Sickness, in 2 month my child got sick four times. That's a record. What do you expect from a place with no air, no sunlight and frequent trips to the outside. The piercing, the earrings, the tattoos and the smoking in front of the kids are all true. And it's too much. Tip: If this was the only daycare you can take your child to, then for the benefit of your child, keep them home with a babysitter. They will learn more, behave better and be much more safer. And I really mean this.

Now that my son has been at Formative Years Preschool for a year and a half, I can safely say that…read morethis is an incredible school with loving teachers, welcoming students, and an engaging curriculum; my son loves it and has blossomed since starting in September 2014. After trying (and failing) at a more trendy, less-structured preschool, we found the structure we needed at Formative Years. My son feels safe and comfortable knowing when free play time, circle time, snack time, etc. will be each day. Each day is designated as a cooking, science, music, sports, show-n-tell, or library day, and each week has a letter of the week and other themes to inform the classroom activities, so I know that the students are exposed to a variety of subjects. While the school does academic activities like practicing letters and counting, handwriting, etc., the emphasis is truly on play and discovery. I feel like my son is learning the life skills he needs (e.g. socializing, taking turns, sharing, etc.) to be successful in Kindergarten. Nestled in an old church building on 20th and Lombard, the school makes great use of the neighborhood as a classroom. Students take "nature" walks around the neighborhood to search for signs of each season, walk to the public library each week, picnic in Rittenhouse Square, and take field trips to Sound All Around (through the Philadelphia Orchestra), Taney Park, fire stations, and other spots around the community. The school helps students connect to their community. The teachers in the school are wonderful. Ann, the head teacher and director of the school, maintains high expectations for her students, and still maintains a positive, nurturing relationship with each student. Even when my son misbehaves at school, he knows he'll still get a kind word and a hug from Ann when it's time to go home. The care, respect and love I observe between the teachers and students is heartwarming and reassuring. When I first toured the school, I was a little disappointed that the school didn't have a playground, but my son hasn't missed it at all. Instead, the school blocks off an adjacent street or courtyard and fills it with toys (scooters, balls, bubbles, etc.) and the kids have a great time. Formative Years does an excellent job ensuring that little kids have the chance to move their bodies, so even when the weather is bad, the school pulls out scooters and has a small structure to climb on inside the classroom. Here are some logistics: The school is one big classroom with 3, 4, 5 year olds mix together. Formative Years provides after-school care to students at Chester Arthur and Greenfield schools, so there are some KG and 1st graders who come later in the day. Parents have a great deal of flexibility in scheduling, students can choose to attend half or full days (or a mix) and can choose which days of the week they attend (although it has to be consistent). The school is perfect for working parents since they rarely close (e.g. you won't get saddled with trying to find day care for a weeklong winter break in the middle of February), and hold regular hours when the public schools have delays or early dismissals. When I was shopping around for preschools, I did notice that the Formative Years website was out of date, so I'd encourage prospective parents to look past that technological faux pas and go ahead and set up a tour. When we were shopping for schools, I found it interesting that my son didn't end up loving the fancier schools with the indoor sandboxes, instead he loved the simpler school with the friendly kids and teachers who welcomed him and made him feel at home immediately. My son has continued to grow and thrive at Formative Years, and I would encourage families to check out the school when they start shopping for preschool.

Hands-down the best pre-school in Center City! The Director is amazing. She has managed to create…read moreone of the most nurturing, educational environments I have ever experienced. The parents are very involved and the children are wonderful. They make full use of a multiple of resources within the city. They go to the library weekly, go to the Orchestra, take trips all around the city, provide an individualized learning experience for each child, and even have a Chess Club! My daughter blossomed at Formative Years....we absolutely loved it!

I have had my son attending Kids Point since he was around 10 months old and he just turned 2 now…read more They have been amazing with him. He loves going there and has learned so much. There are daily updates and photographs so I can see what he does during the day. They do arts and crafts, librarian visits, parties, serve actual hot food, and have even started potty training him. Small and personalized so the teachers know and care about all the kids. I would completely recommend them for anyone who needs childcare.

My 1.5 year old attended Kids Point for about 5 weeks before we suddenly and unexpectedly moved…read morefrom the city. It was his first daycare, so the first days were tough with separation anxiety. But, by the end of the first week, he was happily reaching for his favorite teacher at morning drop-off :) The small school size allows for children to receive individualized attention, and the instructors were able to welcome my shy boy and draw him out so that daycare was something he looked forward to! Every instructor I met seemed to really enjoy working there and caring for the kids, which soothed a lot of my parental guilt (haha) and left me feeling confident that he was in good hands. Highly recommend!

I really think very highly of this daycare. I have my own kids here and friends' kids go here too…read more I have been sending my kids here since they were babies. The school offers a structured day for my children which helps tremendously with little ones learning about their world. My kids have friends, love their teachers, and honestly learn a lot. I really like all of the teachers we've met, they all seem to genuinely like being around little kids all day. I've always felt like my children were in very good hands when I leave for the day. It's a very happy place.

they so unprofessional my son started a month ago nev updated the payment till i wanted to take him…read moreout then charged me 150 and he wasn't even there a whole month then I picked him up and he's cov in piss hes only one then try and say it's Apple juice I recommend doont send your kids there

Great staff highly recommend new school fresh start for your kids to get ahead in this cold worldread more

*Don't send your kid here.* They are chronically understaffed and stressed out. It results in…read moreunsafe conditions. My 3 year old came home telling us his teachers were mean and then with adult sized hand-shaped bruises on his body. Child Services launched an investigation and concluded that a police report needed to be filed. We decided not to pursue charges because we didn't want to put our already traumatized three-year-old through anything more. Teachers were constantly yelling too. I wish I'd listened sooner when he told me they were mean.

My experience here has been not so good They're constantly switching staff member. Seems really…read moreunorganized it from the looks of things they're just hiring anyone

EXCELLENT!!! My child has been enrolled at this learning center since he was 12 weeks old. He is…read morenow 2 and the entire experience has been wonderful! They have a very strong curriculum which includes music classes, Head Start Sports, and computer classes. Weekly lesson plans are emailed to the parents keeping us well informed! The atmosphere is very loving and nurturing. The administration and staff are very professional and friendly, and the facility is neat and clean. The outside play ground is fabulous and quite large! There are many staff members who have been on staff for over 10 years, which to me, speaks for itself! The center has an open door policy for parents, and parents are encouraged to take advantage of this policy. Parents are also encouraged to sign up to come in during the day and participate in their child's classroom activities, such as reading a book to the class. I can not say enough good things about this center and the center's program and would highly recommend Christ Lutheran Child Care Center to anyone who is looking for somewhere to send their child (6 weeks-pre-K)!

I have sent my daughter here for preschool and now send my son here starting with the nursery. We…read morepreviously had a nanny because I was worried about daycares - you hear all the nightmares. But this is not that place. I sent my daughter here when she was 3 and my son here starting when he was about 18 months old and it has been am amazing experience for both of them. I have never questioned their safety once. They have wonderful learning opportunities for the kids - they teach the nursery colors, playing with each other, being gentle, tooth hygiene, nature, etc.! For the preschool, they've taught the alphabet, numbers, writing, nature, reading, etc. I've heard from others who have sent their kids to Kindergarten that Beginnings prepared their children well for the rigors of school. But the most important is that both of my kids are so happy and loved here. The teachers care SO much and they truly love the children. Would 10000% recommend.