We have been with Montessori Pathways for 8 years, and it's safe to say, this has been the greatest…read morechoice in education we've made as parents. The primary class (ages 3-6) is a great start to a lifelong love of learning. The children learn at their own pace, and choose to work on what they're interested in learning that particular day. Besides the wonderful classroom environment, the school provides field trip opportunities as well. Now the real star of the show is the Elementary classroom. The school has small classrooms so the children can experience so much more one-on-one time with their teacher (Mrs Bridget) and harbor a wonderful relationships that will last a lifetime. Each spring the class takes a trip to "Nature's Classroom" where the students stay in cabins, spend ALL DAY outside and get to choose their "breakout sessions" aka what they'd like to focus on that day. Every year, my child comes home and tells me he wishes he could go to Nature's Classroom all the time! Montessori Pathways is definitely molding wonderful young folks to be incredible adults. The staff, the classroom environment, the communication, and the community all make up our love for Pathways!

Schocked to see anyone having anything negative to say about this school. They are truly a family…read moreand go above and beyond to care for each family and child. They are one of the only Montessori schools in the area that still has actual Montessori guides in the classroom and not just as adminsvto maintain their status. They continue to keep the methodology alive and help the students blossom. My child comes in excited every day to see each of the teachers and children there. She is not yet in the Elementary program but already knows and loves even the Elementary teacher-they are THAT caring. We have had the pleasure to attend the many events they hold and see how the teachers and director interact with the kids. You cannot fake this kind of love, care, and affection. The children clearly feel safe, happy, excited, and empowered here. And the teachers truly live and breathe this-theyre not just there for a paycheck. Our daughter has learned so much and grown so confident in herself and most importantly, she LOVES to go to school and learn. We are so thankful for MPS!

My family is very grateful to have found this place, especially after our current daycare gave us…read moreonly a 2-week notice that they were closing their doors for good. Little Minds is a hidden gem conveniently located near the Crystal Lake/Pingree Road Metra stop. Only having been open for a few months, the place is clean, spacious, and welcoming all throughout. The teachers are nurturing, knowledgeable and accommodating (except for one elderly woman who is cold and never greets my family - thankfully NOT in my son's classroom) to my 2-year-old's mood changing needs. The director has been very flexible with our family when we decided to change our schedule. My husband and I like that there is an indoor play area (i.e., slides, ride on toys, etc.) for those extreme weather days. I also like how one of the teachers incorporates a baking/cooking lesson daily with the students. The only TEMPORARY downside is, because this daycare is new, the enrollment is low. My family has very HIGH hopes that Little Minds will grow in the next few months with more exposure. We literally pass a "big shot" daycare, that is 5 minutes from our home, to get here, and you couldn't pay our family to go to that one! If you are in search for a new daycare in the Crystal Lake and surrounding area, come check this place out!

Putting your child in daycare is stressful, especially at 6 weeks old! After looking at all my…read moreoptions in McHenry county, I found Little Minds in Crystal Lake. I went in and met Nicole while I was still pregnant. I took a tour of the center and it was awesome. Everything was so clean and new! They also have cameras in each room which was reassuring. My son started there right at 6 weeks old and always comes home happy. I peek in on him during the day and he is always being tended to. I would highly recommend this daycare center to anyone in the area looking. It's also better priced than most!

Toddler room: Staff located within in the room were very nice! However, I don't believe it was the…read moreright daycare for my child. They didn't provide any updates when I picked my child up something like a day activity sheet so I didn't know what he ate, how was his diapers, how his day went etc. I feel that's something every daycare should have. I felt like I was buying boxes of diapers every week like they were using his diapers with other children. A few times he came home with a different brand. He couldn't use Pampers brand due to them causing a reaction, so I only brought huggies. One day he came with pampers brand on and he had a bad rash. They didn't even bother to call, they just waited until I picked him up. The payment system is horrible, they don't accept credit cards . I elected to do checks and I kid you not they wouldn't cash the checks sometimes until 2 weeks later at times. One time, they charged both checks in the same week. It was such a inconvenience for my husband and I because during tax time we couldn't elect for the daycare expense because we barely had receipts and the 2-4 receipts we had was just pointless. I knew this wouldn't be a long term daycare for my child a as a few times the director would yell angrily at the older kids like she had no patience. I believe our child was there only two months.

Lack of professionalism, lack of attentiveness, lack of compassion here…read more The staff are frequently unkind in the way that they speak to the children. The staff often appear irritated, impatient, angry and mean with the exception of the infant room (the older the child, the less patient and more unkind they appear to be). This seems to be acceptable to the owner. I've heard her be snappy with the children as well. As a side note, I would NEVER recommend anyone bring a child here with special needs. It is not uncommon for a new child (infant room) to start here, be reasonably upset and crying, and be LEFT CRYING without being offered comfort bc the staff are too busy doing other things to comfort your child. I've witnessed this various times when dropping off my own child, and have had to let the owner know that the staff needed help/the child needed comfort. They do not give any report or summary for your child at the end of the day. Most places have a slip of paper they give you, summarizing what your child did, ate, what their mood was like, if they pooped, if they slept, etc. Not that the children actually do anything all day here, other than wander around the room playing with the same old toys, trying to entertain themselves...but if you want to know anything about your child's day, be prepared to have to hang around and ask a million specific questions at the end of each day. I have never been given a lunch menu, so I never know what my child will be eating...I do ask most days and they don't provide the healthiest of options (I was shocked to be told 1 day that my son, not even 1 1/2 had fried chicken for lunch...). At 12 months they gave my son cheese balls for snack (you know, the hard, crunchy, neon orange balls of junk...perfect size for blocking the throat of a 1 year old with barely any teeth!) and he couldn't chew them. Good thing I saw it bc he started gagging on one of them. Not to mention, the "teacher" had left the room without even saying anything and left me alone with all of the children...The "juice" they give the kids looks like Kool-Aid maybe (?) and I asked that my son not be given the "juice" but he sometimes had red juice stains on his clothes at the end of the day, so they were not respecting my dietary requests for my son. If your child is breastfed, don't expect to be told in a timely manner when/if your child has run out of breastmilk... I've also witnessed various questionable interactions between the staff and children. I have even witnessed older children who cry when they get dropped off at this place in the morning. And quite frankly, I do not blame them. They probably hate it there because the staff are so mean. I've told the owner, but nothing changes. Also, if you do not bring your child in on a day when you typically would bring your child in, they don't bother calling you to check in with you/confirm that your child is with you and safe (like most other child care facilities do). The owner is irresponsible and inconsistent with cashing her tuition checks from parents on a weekly basis. Don't be surprised if she cashes at least 2 of your checks at one time (therefore, you are essentially paying double the cost of your tuition some weeks). She has done this to me on 3 occasions, despite specifically asking her not to. I'm not sure she is even allowed to do this (legally/ethically??).

We've had a wonderful experience at Goddard. The teachers were incredibly patient and supportive,…read moregiving our son the time he needed to get comfortable with his classmates and other teachers. He has grown so much socially and truly enjoys going to daycare. We've also built great friendships with other families and found a wonderful sense of community. The school does a fantastic job organizing fun activities throughout the year, making it an engaging and enjoyable environment for the kids. We're very grateful for the care and support our family has received and highly recommend Goddard

The Goddard school in Hawthorn Woods is an incredible school, I highly recommend them. The…read moreteachers are loving and caring and follow a thorough curriculum. My children transferred from a previous daycare to Goddard and I immediately noticed the difference in their learning and education. The office staff and owner is just as incredible. I wouldn't bring my children anywhere else.

Posting this because if this was my child I would want to know…read more On 2/7/24 at 8:30 I dropped off my girls at daycare around 8:30 am. It was breakfast time. The teachers in my daughter charrlottes room were Paige and Barb. These were the series of questions I asked them. 1. Do you know where charrlottes water bottle is? "I don't know, it's probably in the kitchen being washed" I went to the kitchen and was able to locate her water bottle. When I came back to the class room I Filled it with water and gave it to her. My daughter was sitting down at the table with 12 other 2 year olds. Total 13 kids. 9 of those 13 kids were served food. The other 4 (including my daughter) were not. They were all hungry the kids that had food wanted more and the kids that didn't have food wanted food. The teachers kept telling them to use their manners but I didn't understand why. Kids were so hungry they were licking their plate and the applesauce off the table. One child was even eating applesauce with her fingers because they didn't or "forgot" to give her a spoon. 2. I asked something along the lines, are you going to feed the other kids? "We are waiting for more plates, we called the kitchen and the front no one answered." I got up went to the kitchen and grabbed plates so our kids could eat. Please note Paige said, "thank you, you should be hired" 3. Is that all the food they get? "Yes, said Barb" 4. Are you going to give them something to drink? "We are working on it." The kids finished their food before they were given a drink. 5. Are you going to put cream cheese on their bagel? (I could see the cream cheese sitting on the table) "Paige said they were waiting on a knife" "No, I don't put cream cheese because they will just eat the cream cheese and not eat the bagel, said barb" I was by the table squatting down by Charrlotte and I got up to go by the cream cheese and asked 6. Can you put cream cheese on my daughter's bagel? That's when Barb told me I need to leave now. I walked out and went to the front to get someone. I was very upset. I tried to get Jill but she was busy getting kids on the bus. I tried to get Stacy but she was talking to a parent. Then I saw Ed the owner walk through the door and told him I needed him in suite 650. He said I don't know who you are. I told him I'm Charrlotte and calis mom. His response was, "okay I don't need to go in there is this is not the right place for you, you can leave on Friday, okay, I know your notes, we're doing everything we can, so you can leave on Friday, if this is not the right place for you." I said it's how your teachers are handling things in there. He said "I'm sure you let Stacy know" I said no I didn't. This just all happened right now. They just told me to get out of the classroom. What are they doing wrong? ed said. I started to tell him, told him I grabbed plates and he told me to stay out of the kitchen and that I'm over reacting. He told me again I can leave Friday I told him I was leaving today and took my kids. As a parent we have a right to ask questions. It's too bad Barb didn't like my questions, her responses were unacceptable to me and I was the voice today for all those kiddos that weren't served breakfast properly according to DCFS licensing standards. A report has been made. Ed has proven to me that he can care less about any parents concerns and his attitude is if you don't like it you can leave. I've sent numerous emails including Ed and not once has he replied or chimed in. He hides behind Cheryl and Stacey. He was not compassionate and very dismissive. And that is the reason I pulled my kids. He is the face of the center and how he handled my concern for the kids in his center went ignored.

I understand that people have their own opinions of different establishments, and people have their…read moreown standards on what they expect or how they or their children should be treated at those establishments. With that being said, the previous reviewer really got under my skin. 1st of all, children are getting dropped off at different times of the morning, food is being served as quickly as possibly. ( No I do not work here) I have Nieces and Nephews that attend here. I have dropped off and picked up. Kids are kids, what child hasn't licked off food off a table or a floor, or a couch, or wherever, yes you get my drift. 2nd of all, parents do not belong in classrooms, telling the teaching how to do their jobs. Do you know the other children? Do you know their habits? Maybe the child was just fed, maybe the child is on a special medication, you don't know. 3rd, DCFS has ranked this center very high, Cheryl runs the day care with precision. 4th, Ed is the owner, he has Cheryl, Stacey and Jill to run the facility for him. You go through the chain of command. Cheryl is properly trained and educated for this position. When you have an issue with Walmart do you go straight to Waltons and complain? No, they have people in place for that. I love all the activities the Director puts together for the kids and staff. It really is a great place to watch your little ones learn and play. People need to make their own judgement and its ok if a facility is not right for their family. If I saw something I didn't like going on with my nieces and nephews, then I would speak up, and its ok if I felt it wasn't the right fit. Please do you research before making a judgement call, find the right fit for you and your child.

Would not recommend. The care was not acceptable in my opinion. Seemed to be short staffed and…read morelacked the cleanliness and patience.

This is the best daycare. As a mom of 1 baby, you know Id be super critical but Ive got nothing bad…read moreto say and although I NEVER write reviews, I love this place so much I feel compelled to write one. Ms. Gloria is like a 2nd Aunt to my son (Id use Grandmother for reference but she is so young in spirit, I feel Aunt is more appropriate). My kiddo sometimes has a tough time in the morning with separation anxiety and anytime he is upset, she jumps right in and holds his hand and sings with him until he is all better! You could not ask for a better care provider to watch over your precious little one in my opinion!

I couldn't be happier! I recently relocated and was worried about how my children were going to…read moreadjust to new teachers and different environment. Not only did the teachers help my 2 children adjust, they helped me adjust. The first few days were rough as my son and daughter missed their old friends and teachers, but now 2 months in and they love it! They come home each day telling me about what they've learned and the fun activities they've done. The parent app also helps because I get pictures of my kids each day showing me all the fun they are having.

Offensive and judgmental staff. Practice what you preach: If you have nothing nice to say, say…read morenothing at all.

First and best experience! These people know their business…read moreand even more. And business would even be a good word it's just their lifestyle! Lovely staff, my daughter is in love with this place. Kids are always busy making arts, singing and playing outside! I love that they spend a lot of time on fresh air! Would recommend to all my family and friends.

This is the perfect place for your child. Trained staff, clean and organized facility, and good,…read moresafe location. Highly recommend taking the free tour they offer.