We love First Circle! Our daughter has been here almost a year and the teachers take extraordinary…read morecare of the little ones, with so much love, learning, and silly fun throughout the day. They're also so helpful in helping our daughter progress and become independent. Big shoutout to Amber and Naomi in infant 3! And to Clay and Kaitie for jumping in to help whenever needed!

We love this place! My job forces us to travel often, and I wanted some stability for my son. First…read moreCircle provided that and lots of love, care, and patience. I can not speak more highly of the staff!

Above and beyond dedication to our child's health, safety and learning. The teachers are…read moreprofessional, classes are bilingual and even students who don't speak any Chinese at home learn to speak a second language. During the pandemic, Sunshine was quick to recognize the threat and react accordingly, but also quick to work with the state to reopen safely. I have heard from so many parents about their care center that took a huge cash deposit and suddenly closed for good with no refunds, or that operate extremely short hours each day. Sunshine's hours allow working parents to comfortably balance career and family. Our child loves to go to Sunshine, and is always bringing home something new that he learned. I can't say enough good things. Thank you, Sunshine!

We have been attending Sunshine for about 2 years now, and can't say enough nice things. Language…read moreexposure and a friendly, bright, happy play environment were my top needs for daycare/preschool. The administrators went above and beyond during the COVID shutdown with communication and flexibility. Their policies are all transparent and fair, and since my daughter has been back, she's regaining her Mandarin vocab and is healthy as a horse - hasn't had so much as a runny nose! We are planning to stay until she goes to elementary school and send our infant son when he gets a bit older.

Sunshine is a wonderful school for toddlers. The school has a balance curriculum as free play,…read moremovement classes, art, field trips allowing kids to be exposed to all king of activities. The sense of community is great. As a parent, I get know all my daughters' classmates names by being a volunteer once a month at my daughters classroom. At the same time, I get experience a special day for my little one. We are leaving to kindergarten this coming year and we are going to miss everyone at Sunshine. Teachers are spectacular: friendly and dedicated to teach children.

Little Llama isn't just a daycare but a second home. The…read morecare, warmth, and intention they pour into every child is exceptional. Our toddler is not only hitting developmental milestones with ease, but is also thriving in a multicultural environment that nurtures curiosity and confidence. Trust, love, and growth is all in one place. Thank you all! We appreciate all your efforts!

We tried several models of daycare in the Belmont / Watertown area for our two children, before…read morefinding Little Llama when our youngest was entering preschool at 2.9 years. We have had an amazing experience at Little Llama and simply did not think that a childcare / preschool provider could be this wonderful. The curriculum is creative and engaging, including music, exercise, and hands-on activities every day. The children also go outside every day, often several times a day, for fresh air, walks, and play in every season. The space is sunlit, bright, and spotlessly clean. What especially stands out to us is how communicative the owner, Evgenia, has been from day one, and how communicative the teachers are throughout our son's day. We get updates, photos, and daily summarizes about his experience and any time we send a message to teachers, they respond immediately. The preschool teachers are so wonderful, treating the children with kindness, respect, and enthusiasm. And as bonuses: a healthy (!) lunch is provided every day, drop off and pick up are easy with ample side street space to pull up to, and there is a very secure safety system installed in the building. Our son is thriving and loves going to school every day. We truly cannot recommend Little Llama enough; we only wish we had found this wonderful childcare and preschool earlier in our parenting journeys.

We are so in love with A Place to Grow - we had such a positive experience with our daughter going…read moreto their after-school program at our elementary school, that we had to then enroll our youngest at their full daycare. APTG has amazingly low turnover - the teachers there aren't a revolving door, and instead are there for years and years. Every day we get a customized email all about our son's day, and they do a terrific job on mixing education and fun. There can be a long wait to get in, but we feel very fortunate to have both of our kids be part of APTG.

This is a truly EXCELLENT group of people. The director Carol is a caring and compassionate…read moreeducator who is constantly trying to make things better. The staff is well trained and seems to truly enjoy being there. Also, turnover seems to be very low for this kind of place. By "this kind of place, I mean a place that many young people use as a stepping stone to work in public schools. So why not 5 stars? Because of space constraints, kids in the pre-school room are grouped in a pretty broad age range. 3 through 5 can be in the same room. This is very very good for the younger kids. Its also good in some ways for the older kids, as they can mentor the younger ones. Where it falls short is that it doesn't allow as much flexibility for more of an academic curriculum. I consider this to be a relatively minor item because frankly, once they enter Kindergarten it all seems to even out anyway. APTG is a great group of people who have created a warm, loving, safe and caring environment for the kids in their care. Its hard to ask for more.

We've had such a positive experience with Rogers-Pierce Childcare Center! Our family started in the…read morepreschool room with our oldest child, and now our second is thriving in the toddler room. The teachers are warm, attentive, and truly invested in each child's growth and happiness. The transition from home daycare to the center was seamless - the teachers answered questions at our play visit and were so welcoming. Communication is excellent through an app and each classroom has a cell phone for communications, too. The curriculum balances learning with play in a way that feels natural and engaging, and the kids are active in the Arlington community through different field trips and everyday adventures to the local parks and libraries. The center's values are rooted in equity, social justice, and community-building, and that shines through in all of their lessons and activities, as well as through the staff and the experience they bring to the classroom. RPCC has created a welcoming community for both kids and parents, and we feel confident every day that our children are safe, loved, and learning. We couldn't recommend Rogers-Pierce more highly!

My children have attended Rogers-Pierce since 2004. It is a warm, caring school with fantastic…read moreteachers. Recently (summer 2011) there have been some issues with teacher turnover, but a new Board of Directors is in place and is getting RPCC back on track. My daughter will start Pre-K in a few weeks and we could not be happier with the center.

We enrolled our then 1.2 year old daughter at Panda after touring atleast 3 different daycares in…read morethat area and we couldn't have been happier with our decision. Clearly the standards at Panda are high - be it hygiene, the rich interactions between the teachers and students , the curriculum designed to encourage individual play as well as peer learning, the involvement of the staff and the attention to parents feedback by the management. My now 4.5 year old confident, happy and creative child blossomed in this daycare and all the kind teachers will forever be a part of her memories. I would recommend Panda to all my family and friends in a heartbeat! Thank you Panda for being an important part of shaping my daughter and preparing her for the real world.

From the owner: Panda Bilingual Daycare is a bilingual Mandarin- English early educational childcare center…read morecombining the Montessori educational philosophy with Chinese and American language and culture. Our center's mission is to offer the highest quality care and education for children from three months to kindergarten entry. The Panda Bilingual Daycare curriculum is inspired by many of the tenets of Maria Montessori's educational theory and practice, along with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and our own unique features. The core of the Montessori curriculum is divided into four main areas: sensory, practical life, language, and mathematics. Many of the materials and methods we use are derived from her work. The children will also explore cultural, scientific and historical subjects such as geography, geology, zoology and botany at levels appropriate to their development.

My 3 month old son was under Ly's care until a spot in a daycare within walking distance of my…read morehouse opened up. If we were a two-car family I absolutely would have kept him with Ly rather than moving him. I found her to be super knowledgeable and caring, and the kids under her care are happy and healthy. Her hours are awesome for working parents and her rates can't be beat. Definitely bummed we couldn't stay with her for longer - miss you, Ly!

My daughter's been going here for over 2 years now, and absolutely loves it. I couldn't imagine a…read morebetter daycare to send her to! Ly's taken her many years of experience and turned them into a warm environment that mixes learning and fun. There are many different toys and pretend-play items, and the kids enjoy plenty of time outside in her large backyard and occasional field trips to Spy Pond park. They also follow a curriculum that's tailored to each age range and focused on particular colors, shapes, letters, numbers, and words each month. Ly integrates them into their daily activities and makes learning fun for them! She also tries to incorporate different cultures on a regular basis through music, meals, and stories. Who knew you could get a 2 year old to eat so many ethnic dishes? Ly's consistently been a great resource to me as a new parent- she provides regular status updates/progress reports, and takes the time to answer any questions I have and offer advice on anything from teething to potty training! Her experience has been such an asset- she knows all of the tell-tale signs of various development stages and illnesses, which has helped me to be proactive. Mike also brings a ton of experience and insights to the table, and is just as helpful. Above all, it's clear that Ly truly loves the work she does. She treats each child as if they were her own, and as a mother, it's amazing to see that bond and know that my daughter is in good hands, happy, and loved while I'm at work every day.

Children have been going to Casa Esme for 2 years. Couldn't be happier.read more

My infant child briefly attended this daycare in the Spring of 2008 until the EEC shut her down for…read moreseveral days for keeping many many children in excess of their license. The EEC was alerted to a potential problem by a neighbor who found a child under 2 wandering outside Esme's house. It was later learned, from the EEC, that Esme had an unlicensed room on the second floor of her home where infants were being held during the day. The parents never saw this room as it was not part of the daycare portion of the home. I thought my child was being kept with the rest of the children but he was held in a room I had never even been in--and that the licensor hadn't been in either since it was never disclosed as part of the daycare. The EEC briefly shut her down until she came back into compliance with her license. I believe at the time she was licensed to keep ten children at a time, with only a small number of those being infants. The EEC ultimately allowed her to reopen when she proved compliance but our family never returned. If there had been a fire in the home, infants could have died because they were on an unlicensed floor of the home with not enough providers to carry them to safety if something had happened. This was a traumatic realization for our family. I thought I had checked references properly-consulting the Arlington Parents List and calling many parent references. We learned, subsequently, from the EEC to ALWAYS phone the licensing agent in your town to find out what violations have been brought against a daycare provider. That said, the EEC I believe will only tell you violations from the past five years. I hope parents will read this comment. I would never in a million years trust my child or yours w/ Esme. I was horrified that she would put the lives of babies at risk for her own financial gain. At the time, our family was horrified that she blamed families in need of infant care on her decision to operate outside the bounds of her license. Please phone the EEC if you are considering this provider and find out if other violations have been brought against her. If you call the main office, you can ask to speak to the licensing agent in Arlington. And please consider other providers. I know how tough it is to find full time childcare but sometimes if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.