We have been at LB since our child was a 4 month old infant (she is now 3 years). We originally applied thinking she would be offered a spot around 3 YO but we hit the jackpot when the stars aligned and we got into the infant class. I will summarize the pros and cons at the end for those who don't want to read all this so you can just scroll to the bottom. We were drawn to LB because of the smaller feel and that it's not a corporate daycare. It's a non-profit so we are happy our tuition goes to the teachers, staff and for capital improvements. The ratios are the lowest anywhere. (E.g., It was 2 infants to a teacher and even in her 3 YO class now, only 3:1). We have really seen our girl blossom into an intelligent, playful, inquisitive and polite toddler. She loves her teachers and her friends. In fact, all the kids whom I met are all well adjusted, polite and social kids, which I think is a testament to the Conscious Discipline philosophy this school adopts. I also don't call it a daycare... in my opinion, it's a school. My daughter has known all her colors and shapes before she was 2 years old. She now knows how to recognize some letters and numbers. She can count and understands not just the numerical order (like memorizing the 1, 2, 3 song) but she actually grasps the concept of basic math. Like counting her toys or berries for us. There is weekly music classes and she sings and dances a lot. We also love the learning through play mantra. They go outside in all weather (unless it's unsafe). I love how my girl isn't afraid of dirt, bugs or puddles. She embraces the elements and outdoors and we think this is a positive for her life. It's a WONDERFUL place and we are so happy here. (Since we have enrolled, we've been offered other spots in Bright Horizon and LAA but we cannot move her because she's thriving at LB). There is no screen time at this school unlike some other places (as a parent, screen time is not beneath us but if I am paying someone to watch my kids, built in screen time is not cool). Pros: smaller/intimate school; lots of opportunities to meet other families thru school planned events; wonderful teachers; great/easy location with parking; non-profit; small ratios; learn thru play and conscious discipline philosophy; kids who will love the outdoors and is curious about life... we always have oxyclean on hand because her clothes are dirty from a fun day of play Cons: it's a coop (so some volunteer hours required but nothing unmanageable); lunch from home on Thursdays (lunch is included rest of the week); mandatory fundraising contribution per family (not a ton of $$$ but about $150-250 per year); they follow APS' conservative weather closure policy for the 1st day (if more then 1 day weather event, the director has discretion and she usually tries to open school by 2nd day if staff can commute in... this isn'tuncommon but my colleagues big bad corporate daycare never closes so I am envious those days)... I have a toddler who doesn't stop talking and sometimes claims that the "light was red" (she's right but she's also looking at the light on the other side of the intersection!!!). read more

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We've been part of the LB school for over a year and have been so thankful to find this community! WIth one child enrolled and another soon to be enrolled, we fully trust the administration, teaching staff, and parent community. The daily activities/weekly themes are creative, educational, and fun. The meals are varied and nutritional. Plus, the outdoor time at playgrounds and neighborhood walks are a huge bonus. The music and Spanish classes every week also make for a well-rounded experience. We looked into many programs in Arlington and have never reconsidered our decision after enrolling at LB. Our child is truly so happy to go to school each day. read more

Our son has been attending LB fr 2 years now and we couldn't be happier. The class sizes are small and the teachers are great! Our son has been lucky enough to make a lot of friends and he learns something new each day! I highly recommend enrolling your infant to pre-k child at this center. read more

Sending your little one off for the day can feel scary! Fortunately, at Little Beginnings, I know my child is in good hands. My daughter has been at the Center for three years now and she has learned and developed so much. It's clear the teachers care about her and her growth. She has made friends with the other kids and I have made friends with the other parents. Couldn't ask for anything more. Please note that Little Beginnings uses a co-op model, which means parents are expected to take on a volunteer role. And while this has made me grumble at times, the co-op model creates a strong sense of community and connection with the school and among the families in attendance. Bottom line: If you're looking for a quality and heartfelt environment for your kiddo, look no further than Little Beginnings! read more

I have had my 4 and 2 at Little Beginnings for 6 months now and it's been such an improvement from their previous childcare center. I previously had the 4yo at an in-home until he was 2 and 9 months but my daughter started here at 20 months. It is clear that the engaged teachers have accelerated her development and independence compared to when he was the same age! They speak to her in a mindful and informative manner and she really absorbs what she is learning. They are incredibly kind and loving as she was a little apprehensive of the transition. As for the 4 year old, it is apparent that their focus on conscious discipline has helped him work through his emotions independently. He learns through fun and thoughtful activities and is able to develop at a pace that is ideal for him. They both get an abundance of outdoor time as there is a lovely shaded playground on the property which they both enjoy immensely. As parents, we have thoroughly enjoyed the community we have built and the parents we have met. read more

My grandchild attends this school and I get to take her to the school and pick her up on a regular basis. I want to taken this opportunity to thanks the professional staff and administrators for the incredible job they have done. I can't believe how many skills she has developed and how happy and excited she is to go to school. The teachers have created a warm and welcoming environment for her which has given her a love for education. When we get home she wants to play school! Thank you all for getting her off to such a great start to her educational journey. Keep up the great work! read more

We have two children at Little Beginnings and are very pleased with the quality and value! The curriculum is quite broad, including crafts, music, Spanish, tricycling, etc. The teachers are very attentive to the needs of children and the concerns of parents, and there is excellent communication on a daily basis. The hours are excellent for working parents and they even provide meals - no more packing lunches! The administration is attentive and thoughtful on ensuring children are moving through the class levels on an appropriate timeline. The six class levels enable children to be grouped with others at very similar development stages. Lastly, Little Beginnings fosters a community atmosphere among families beyond the school day. read more

Little Beginnings' administrative staff are welcoming, responsive, helpful, and the teachers are dedicated, communicative, calm, and invested in caring for and teaching children. Unlike most daycare playgrounds, this one is full of trees and natural elements for children to explore. Highly recommend! read more

We joined the LB community when our son was 22 -months old (he is now 4) and we are about to send his younger sister. Our son has thrived during his time here - the teachers really help the kids develop their independence and meet each child where they are. Small class sizes, ample outdoor time, and the thoughtful and intentional style of learning have been so beneficial to the kids. Our son is sad to leave every day! We have loved the community - the parents, teachers, and administration (which is led by an experienced and thoughtful new Director who was recently hired) are all really engaged and it makes such a difference! read more

This is not a safe place for your child. The director of this school, Sasha Cunningham doesn't care about your child's health and wellbeing. my baby daughter had an accident while attending LB. The school told us that another baby hit her head to the ground which led to her nose to bleed. Accidents can happen with kids at this age so we are very understanding and try not to be unreasonable since the other child's parents also apologized. The school on the other hand, didn't let us know about it and only gave us her bloody clothes at pick up. The accident happened at 11 AM and pick up was at 5:30 PM so they had an entire day in which they could have called us/text us but nothing happened. They made the decisions for our baby daughter without even consulting us. After numerous emails in which we were expressing our concern and anger, Sasha Cunningham decided to put the entire blame on the teachers even tough we were informed later on that administrative staff, the Director included, had witnessed my daughter bleeding. When complaining about it, the director seemed more frustrated than us. After telling her that we are looking for other options for our daughter's care she started pressuring us to leave giving us an ultimatum. I asked to confirm that she can keep her safe during the time she had left at the school twice and she didn't. The director was punishing us because we complained about not knowing that our baby got hurt while in their care. The scariest and most painful is that she never asked about how our baby daughter feels. We mentioned that her nose bled again after the incident and we had to take her to the doctor's and take days off to keep her under supervision(while still paying for daycare) but this just didn't touch her at all. She actually DID NOT CARE! This was a very traumatic experience for our family and the school didn't treat us, the victims gently at all. Their attitude was to kick us out because we had the nerve to complain. Until this day we don't know what happened to our daughter and we will probably never will because we don't believe them. her teacher was the only one that really cared and asked about how my daughter was feeling! This Director will not treat your kids as helpless beings that need protection and a safe environment. This is an industry in which you have to be kind and considerate. This person and the institution she is running are inhumane! Their policies are only meant to protect themselves and not the children attending the school. Their director is a bully! Mistakes at LB are common practice: they have gas leaks, they are calling you to pick up your child for whatever reason(but not during an actual emergency), they are charging you even they said they won't, they have so many days off because they don't want to pay their staff more, they are constantly stating that they're understaffed but won't hire new people etc. You just can't have a full time job while taking your child to LB cause you won't be able to keep up. Unfortunately they know that people are in desperate need for care for their children so they think that even if their services are poor they will always have hard working parents to pay for them. Trust me, there are places with way better services around. Go look somewhere else and don't give this institution your hard earned money. read more

If you can get in, you need to send your kids here. The staff is excellent and the size of the school makes it very home-y. Nice playground, good facilities. It's pricy but it's going directly to the teachers... read more

My daughter attended another daycare/preschool up until she was about 3, when we had a terrible experience with that school and pulled her out. We were lucky that LB had an opening for her age and we had heard great things about the facility. After our visit, they provided us with a great transition plan to ease our daughter into the new school. The teachers were so accommodating and really encouraged our child to flourish. We were so used to so many rules at my daughter's old school that it was strange to find teachers being so open and flexible! For example, we thought that our daughter should give up a paci at nap. The teacher said she'd work with us but didn't think the paci was something to worry about. We took her advice and sure enough, our daughter gave it up on her own one day! I can't speak for the younger class rooms, but for the 2 years that my daughter was there, she was happy, well cared for and clearly well loved by the teachers who watched over her. The only thing that disappointed me was that there was quite a bit turnover during my daughter's first year, but she's had a stable set of teachers during her second year. As others have said, the tuition is high but they do offer great benefits to the teachers and the class rooms are smaller than most other schools. Because of the co-op status, there are jobs to do as part of it and they are not overly intrusive. In fact, I find that the job duties and fundraising are even less than what I do at my son's public school! The jobs fit fine into a working parent's schedule. At our old preschool, which was also a co-op, the Board and director never provided minutes or information to the co-op. LB is completely transparent and the director is always open for discussing anything. read more

Our son has been at LB for a year now, and we couldn't be happier. He's in his second classroom and all the teachers have been great so far. He always has a big smile on his face when we arrive in the morning, and I'm honestly amazed at the things he learns there. It's a parent cooperative, so you have parent jobs and there's more involvement than at some other centers. So yeah, sometimes it's a hassle. But in the end I think having all the parents involved makes it a better and safer place. I feel really lucky to be at LB, and I wouldn't trade it. read more

I love Little Beginnings. My wife and I have had two kids there for going on two years now. We absolutely made the right choice for our kids and family when we choose Little Beginnings. The teachers are kind, caring educators who want to be here. It shows in how they teach and interact with our kids. Admittedly this place ain't for everyone. So with that in mind, here are the three most frequent complaints I hear: 1) The curriculum is play-based, which means that the teachers focus on using play to teach the little ones social skills and how to interact with others. Other schools will focus more on things like reading and writing than does Little Beginnings. That's a fine tradeoff for me and my kids, but some parents want to make sure their little Johnny is the first on the block who can write his name. If little Johnny goes to Little Beginnings, little Timmy up the street will probably write his name before little Johnny. 2) The laundry. Kids at Little Beginnings are encouraged to play and be kids. Jumping in mud puddles? Have fun! Playing in the sprinklers? Yep. The result? Kids get dirty and you'll have lots of laundry to do. And let's be honest, laundry sucks. 3) It's a co-op, so parents get jobs. The downside to that: probably an extra few hours a month of work. The upside: you actually get to know the community of teachers, kids, and fellow parents. The work doesn't have to occur during the regular workday, and it's definitely not a second job. But you'll probably find yourself occasionally saying, "what the heck?" as you are cutting fruit for tomorrow's daily snack. When one of my kids had a specific need that was outside the standard teaching norm, the teachers and directors went out of their way to bring in the proper specialist. That matters. And it's illustrative of an early education center that cares for its kids. That's Little Beginnings. read more

Like many local parents we were in a mad dash to find daycare once we knew we were expecting. Our daughter was born in early 2010 and we visited a half dozen day care centers. Little Beginnings was by far our first choice, but we were told the wait could be 2-3 years. We enrolled our daughter in the first place that had availability, which was our last choice. We got extremely lucky when about six months after our daughter was born we got a call saying that the Little Beginnings had an opening. We swooped in and took it! Our daughter has now moved on to Kindergarten this year, but our son is in the pre-school class. We've been very happy for the 5+ years that we have been at LB. The teachers and staff are great and the community is fantastic. We still consider ourselves lucky to have gotten in when we did. read more

Pricier than some of the other options, but for good reason - the teachers are well trained and extremely loving and the school has great facilities. The higher salaries keep the teachers there longer and the school is extremely well run (thanks to the Director and to the Board). The other parents and children are worth the price alone - but don't expect to not be a part of that community - it is a co-op and while it takes some effort, it is a thousand times worth it. We currently have two children at LB and have been here a year. The waitlist may seem daunting, but get on it and keep checking! read more

My daughter started attending LB at 7 months, and now two years later, my younger daughter also goes there. We love the small class size and the teachers are wonderful. My girls are happy and excited to go to daycare every day. There is an excellent playground, with sprinklers in the summer. And they also take walks with the safety rope in the neighborhood, including several "field trips" throughout the year to places like the farmers market, the post office, the metro, the animal clinic. Our kids get lots of attention each day and there is an open dialogue with the teachers about any milestones or challenges that come up. I have definitely asked them about parenting advice! A previous reviewer is correct in saying that most of the tuition cost goes directly to teachers' salaries, so they are able to hire great teachers with experience and training. This is a coop, so the parents are asked to participate by doing various jobs that help keep the school running. It adds a little more work for the parents, but also creates a nice sense of community and responsibility for the facility. We feel lucky to be a part of LB! read more

When we got into LB we felt like we won the lotto! Our son started at Little Beginnings when he was 12 weeks old. As first time parents, we experienced the normal trepidation of dropping off our infant at a new daycare but our first-time fears were immediately calmed once we saw what a loving and warm environment he was greeted with each and every day. His teachers dote on him as if he were their own, sending us emails, text messages and other updates throughout the week. In addition to that, we get a weekly journal that details his adventures at school. In his first year at the school, he has grown leaps and bounds. The teachers have taught him sign language, good eating habits, social skills and more. The curriculum, play time and teachers are second to none! It is truly a family environment at Little Beginnings and we couldn't be happier with our decision to send our child there! read more

Our oldest started there as a Preschooler (4s) and just graduated Explorers (5s). Our middle and youngest began in Engineers (2s) and Infants (less than 12 mos). This small center is a family oriented school with an experienced Director and loving teachers who are treated very well - all of this results in a happy and safe environment for the children. It's a little more on the expensive side (worth every penny) and requires parental involvement as it's a co-op, but if you're into that it will be a pleasant and memorable experience for your family. We waited 4 years for our oldest to get in, so it requires some significant planning ahead to get a spot. Once you have one child in, getting siblings enrolled is much quicker. read more

We were so excited to get in as we thought this place was great. We tried this out in Fall 2014 (3s class), and we left after 3 weeks, and left our $1500 deposit on the table. The teachers were not warm and loving, the director was great but I guess she was at a loss to help the teachers greet and care for my child warmly during her transition. There were times when I observed them just letting her cry in the corner when I left, and I would stay out of sight, but close, and they wouldn't do anything. Once, when I asked, can you at least hug her, the teacher (young) shrugged and was like, she'll get over it. My child had started stuttering and I was so stressed i couldn't work. we left and went back to our old daycare, and she stopped stuttering, was happy again, and I could finally get back to work. read more

I stopped by to ask a few questions today and my experience wasn't pleasant. When asked questions about the center, I was given rude responses. I'm definitely not going to send my children here. read more

Any parent in northern VA will tell you that finding quality child care you feel good about is a HUGE challenge. We occasionally hit some administrative bumps in the road, but they always get worked out, and the bottom line is that I feel good about leaving my kids here. My nearly 3 year old has been there for about a year and LOVES it. Sometimes we have to drag him out of the building to get him home at the end of the day. His baby brother started recently in the infant room, and is adjusting very well. No place is perfect, but this is about as good as it gets. I feel like my boys' teachers really, truly care about them, plus - they have fun!! read more

Expensive, sometimes a little too hippy for my taste, and class transitions can be a tad rocky, but you should send your child here if you can. This place is worth it -- every child seems happy, well-behaved, well-educated, and excited to be there. Son started in the 1s class and is now in 3s; daughter will soon be joining infants, and we're grateful they had an opening. read more