My daughter has been attending A Bright Beginning, Too for almost a year now, since she was just…read moreover three months old. Every day that we drop her off and pick her up we are reminded why we chose ABB - the teachers are attentive and inspired, the facilities are clean and child-friendly, and the curriculum is well-informed and successful. I feel very lucky that we were able to secure a space here for our daughter. I *highly* recommend the school and I'm thrilled that we'll be able to send our daughter here for a few more years.

A Bright Beginning Too is an amazing daycare and preschool. We had our first daughter in this…read morepreschool from 3 months old to 1 year old. We recently moved back to the city so we had to relocate her daycare as well. When we first looked for daycare on the North Shore we wanted a place that was safe, engaging, and gave us a good feeling about how they cared for the children. ABB Too exceeded our expectations. It was well organized and the teachers were experienced, caring, engaging and provided a one of a kind experience for our daughter. We are so appreciative and grateful for the growth and confidence that we saw in our daughter for the short time that she was there. If you are considering daycare on the North Shore, you should definitely visit ABB Too, you will quickly see why it's an excellent option.

My son attended the school for 2 years and from ages 3-5. The teachers are very/very mature,…read morecaring, and organized. Their arts and crafts followed the seasons, events, and holidays. I was consistently impressed with the art work he brought home. In addition, the children would write their own names-every day. This repetition gave him confidence and joy to write. The Director is very accessible, friendly and hand-on. I would highly recommend this preschool.

My daughter has been in the preschool program for a year and my son just entered the toddler…read moreprogram last month. I am impressed every single day at how the director and teachers pour their heart and soul into what they do. I love how every week is an interesting theme and the kids come home with multiple creative projects that they make each day. In addition, the toddlers focus on learning 2-3 letters and a number each month along with a shape and a color and the preschoolers practice tracing their names, letters, and numbers along with scissor skills and lacing. The teachers are so wonderful and nurturing and the kids are stimulated, learning, having fun, and so proud of themselves. I couldn't be happier with this school.

I posted this on the original EFGB review page; it applies to EFGB Cambridge, since that's where…read morewe've been sending our children. We've been at EFGB in Cambridge with our two children since September 2017. It's been a wonderful experience. All the teachers are native French speaking and the children are completely immersed in French. They spend their days drawing, playing, singing, reading, and everything you would expect in a high quality preschool. There's even a weekly yoga session! The teachers are warm and engaged. The class sizes are small and the teachers know all of their charges very well. There's a playground attached to the school and they go out every day, even in bad weather. It's been great to get involved with a Francophone community. The parents are engaged and we see each other for holiday parties, birthdays, and playdates; we hope to still be in touch with French friends even as the children grow older and graduate to public schools. The schedule is a little less convenient than a typical daycare for working parents (more like a school schedule, no food provided though that may change soon) but for us, the loss of convenience is more than made up for by the quality of the school and unique ability to have our children's early years be completely bilingual.

The Ecole Francaise of Greater Boston (EFGB) opened its doors in Cambridge in the fall of 2017 and…read moremy daughter was lucky enough to be in its first promotion. The school outperformed my highest expectations. The teachers are top-notch, and they bring students the best of American and French educational systems -- with an emphasis on creativity matched by structured activities and clear rules. The students in our year came from a mix of cross-cultural families, representing 14 countries. The Cambridge campus, which is on the ground floor of a luminous building with warm, bright colors, welcomes kids aged two through six, while the Watertown branch of the school is open to older children. The school's location in North Cambridge was convenient to us, as we work at Harvard and MIT. They also have built in pre-school and after-school care to allow flexibility for working parents, like us. I envied my daughter's activities, which ranged from yoga, expressive dance, singing, painting, reading and numeracy to scrambling in the school's playground with a mix of kids of all ages. The crafts she brought home -- pictures of baobabs, an ant made of an egg carton, an aquarium in a shoe box -- are unique pieces that I treasure. Furthermore, the teachers created a lively Facebook page so we could stay engaged with our child's activities, for example, watching a caterpiller grow and hatch, or witnessing the joys of a group of toddlers getting their first taste of honeycomb. Whether your family are native French speakers or not, you would not regret sending your child to the EFGB. I can't imagine a better school.

i can't say enough good things about GNS. our son has thrived during his first year there and we're…read moreenthusiastically sending him back for a second. the curriculum is rooted in play and emotional growth, rather than "ABCs and 123s." the faculty is excellent and they make amazing use of their interior and exterior spaces. the co-op aspect also makes you feel like you're taking part in your kid's education. great community of people, too. here's another way to put it: my wife went there 30 years ago and loved it so much, we went out of our way to make sure our son got to go too.

Recently became a parent at GNS via the Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP)…read more I had many reasons to be nervous about my kiddo starting preschool - pretty big aversion to playing with other children, having essentially no daycare/nanny experience, loud "no school!" when the idea was brought up periodically in attempts to make it less foreign, being a picky eater, etc. True story - when we did a classroom visit, where families can come and see the school, be in the classrooms, and meet the teachers, my kiddo said "why do I like school?" 5 minutes into it and the rest is history (currently in the making). The thought "oh, I can leave my kiddo here" came to me pretty unexpectedly and clearly during that visit, and I legit got pretty emotional. The other reviews ring true. If GNS interests you even a little bit, I highly recommend that you check it out for yourself.

Cambridge Montessori School embraced both of my children and placed them at the center of the…read morelearning experience. They love going to this school and their CMS experience has taught them to love learning. My second grader interacts with adults gracefully and articulately because of the skills and confidence this schooling experience has given her. CMS has an excellent arts, music, and drama offering and the teachers encourage academic excellence. I would recommend CMS to any parent looking for a school that supports a curriculum that encourages independence and confidence in addition to accelerated learning.

The school culture is rigid and judgmental, with a culture of pathologizing normal toddler…read morebehavior. Some of the things that made us withdraw our 3yo mid-year: Despite a stated open-door policy, parents were actively discouraged from involvement in or visiting the classroom. In March, a formal school memo forbade parents from speaking to each other at drop-off/pickup, asked parents to drop their children off at the front door instead of at the classroom door, and instructed parents not to carry their children or their children's belongings. The memo specifically suggested that any discipline problems at home were caused by not following the same rigid "expectations" as the school. When our son was afraid to use the toilet at school, the teacher forced him to sit on the toilet for 45 min while he cried in frustration. He was criticized for not doing work exactly the way the teachers wanted (e.g. sorting puzzle in the "right" order). In a parent conference, we were told our son was "too literal" because asked where rain came from, he said "From the sky," not "From clouds." He was already reading and adding at 3, but we were told this, along with his shyness, were signs of a possible psychological problem. We were bullied to take him for autism screening, even after a specialist and our pediatrician said he was likely fine. Administration, up to the head of school, either ignored problems or blamed us. When we sent a formal letter detailing our complaints, the school offered us a partial tuition refund if we signed a nondisparagement agreement. We refused. We've since learned other families had similar experiences. If you click on Yelp's "non-recommended reviews"--which are weeded out by algorithm--you'll see that other families have made similar complaints.

We joined Wild Rose, a Wildflower offspring, at the early stage and grew together over the years…read more WR started with 9 kids and now has over 40, with about half in primary and the rest in elementary. The teachers are kind and experienced, helping kids learn more about social values instead of test taking. Kids are given autonomy and expected to contribute to the school system by shopping for food, cooking, cleaning up the classroom, setting up projects, etc. We experienced some growing pains but overall was well worth it. Parents are expected to be involved but this has been reduced to about once a month instead of per week. The low teacher to kid ratio ensures more attention and opportunity to aid the kids in their weaker areas. The school is looking to grow into middle school (grade 5+) and is actively looking for children aged 9-11 for the next academic year. It is well worth taking a tour to see if it is the right fit for your family!

My 5yo son attends Wild Rose. The things that I think make it special are:…read more - it's deliberately a small, one-classroom, shopfront school. So it's a very close-knit group and the teachers have a lot of autonomy and passion for making the best school they can. - it's true to the Montessori tradition without falling into dogma -- observation and experimentation are important elements. The school cooperates with researchers at the MIT Media Lab that are studying new methods and materials. - it's a mixed-age classroom. This creates so many wonderful opportunities for younger children to learn from older children and for older children to practice being leaders and teachers.

Wildflower Montessori is an incredible school community. All three of our children have attended…read moreand thrived in this warm, supportive, unique Montessori environment over the past 5 years. Our youngest is currently in her second year. As parents, we have seen each of our children develop strong, secure relationships with the amazing teachers and with the kind friends in their class. We have also cherished the friendships we have made with other families in this close-knit community. Recommend 100%!

This is literally the most beautiful interior space I have ever seen for children and educators and…read moreparents. It looks more like a curiosity filled art and living park than a traditional school- which can be depressing and feel stifling and even boring inside. At Wildflower, the school feels like a pastoral space where learning and exploring are a natural and engaging (fun) part of life and the world.

If you are looking for a preschool in the Belmont area - look no further!!! This school has been…read morearound for 78 YEARS and has offered wonderful, exceptional and one of a kind care. The longevity of the caring staff, varied curriculum, bright and sunny classrooms as well as the huge outdoor playground make this school unique and special. The curriculum is play-based with themes based on the children's interests. They also have specialists visit the classrooms - such as music, science and movement! Your child also has an option to stay later for an extended day program - where they are able to learn about fun topics such as art and artists. You should see some of the art they create! Trust me - Your child will be in the best hands if they attend Plymouth Nursery School.

My daughter has had the most ideal preschool experience here. From mimicking Jackson Pollack…read morepaintings to marching in a Chinese New Years parade around Belmont Center, she has gotten to experience creative and challenging activities that have her excited to go to school each day. Most importantly, it is done in a warm, truly nurturing setting. I felt that from day one when I met the teachers on our tour. (It actually brought tears to my eyes.) In addition, being a coop, we parents have gotten to participate and have definitely become a community. We chat outside every morning during drop off and have had multiple school-wide activities and play dates. We truly feel lucky to have found this school.