Our experience at Mindbloom Preschool was horrendous. The activities they do for their mixed-aged classroom are not suitable for 2-year-olds which include using scissors (not safety scissors) with inattentive supervision (adults in the room but not interacting with the children), and punitive and outdated discipline methods that violate OSSE policies including withholding outdoor play for timeouts. The school has attempted to charge us fines for late pickups and later retracted those fees citing their own errors. Our child came home injured from this school and instead of being aware of it or responding with accountability, the school chose to blame my 2-year-old because he wasn't asleep during nap time and the staff couldn't be bothered to attempt to soothe him while he cried on the floor. I tried multiple times to partner with this school to support my child in this environment but they do not have any desire to work with parents, improve their services, or modify their activities to current best practices in any way. If you want your child in a loving and safe environment, this is not the place for you. The director, Susan Banks sends unprofessional, bizarre, and discriminatory emails. She also does not follow FERPA laws as can be evident from her online activity. Enrollment at this school is licensed to have 28 students but never had more than 12 signing in on the sign-in sheet during our time there, maybe this is for good reason. Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like video and photo evidence of the statements in my review. read more

My daughter attended MB for 6 years since the age of two. All of the teachers have been very caring and treat the children with kindness. My daughter was in the Mandarin program with Ms. Jing. While under her tutelage, my daughter has become proficient in speaking Mandarin and writing over 100 characters. In addition, she has a solid foundation in math and reading, both above grade level. During COVID and after COVID, when public schools were still trying to figure it out, the Director and Ms. Jing worked with me and created a solid curriculum to ensure my daughter would not get behind in her grade level prior to her transitioning out of the program. Ms. Jing really connected with her, cheered her on, provided a gentle push when needed, was caring, funny and met her where she was in her educational journey. She really went above and beyond during our time at Mindbloom. She is truly appreciated and made a lasting impression with me and my daughter. I truly value the time my duaghter spent with her and the MB family. read more

Our daughter attend Mandarin classes at Amidon-Bowen school. She is the youngest in class. Miss Jing is amazing and she knows how to engage young kids to learn new language. We are very pleased with MindBloom program and we are looking forward to see what Miss Jing and school will bring next. Thank you so much. Ivana Uskokovic read more

I can't say enough good things about our daughter's experience at Mindbloom generally, and with Ms. Fatimah specifically. Our daughter started at three, and got heavy exposure to both Spanish and Arabic. By the end of the year, she was regularly coming home speaking new phrases in either language, and seemed to particularly enjoy bossing her baby brother around in Spanish. I was also very impressed at the range of the curriculum, both the range of skills and topics, and also the cultural exposure. My sister works in early childhood education and would regularly comment on how advanced she was when it came to her handwriting or cutting or things like that, all of which were skills she picked up at school. Every day she came home with a bag full of projects and skill sheets she'd worked on, and was so proud of whatever new art they'd done that day - whether it was a papier mache camel or a diorama of the planets or a car made out of a box. I was also extremely happy to see how diverse her class was, and all of the other parents were extremely friendly. I've read here and elsewhere that others have had some negative experiences with the school. I've some folks note some frustrations with communication - I can see that I guess, but I think it was pretty consistent with what we've noticed at other day cares we've had our kids. We always felt like the teachers were super responsive. Its entirely possible that their approach isn't a perfect fit for every kid, but our daughter definitely thrived. I would also say that if you're looking for something with bells and whistles, this probably ain't it. It's not really fancy or "state of the art" or whatever, (though I certainly wouldn't characterize anything as "in disrepair" from what we saw). But if you're looking for a place where the teachers seem to take a personal interest in your kid's development, that's definitely what we got at Mindbloom. read more

My daughter has attended MindBloom for almost three years and absolutely LOVES it. Since day one, the instructional staff has provided not only a loving and caring environment but one where my child was truly learning language and math skills that I know will give her a step up as she prepares for kindergarten next year. Ms. Damaris and Ms. Flor are the exceptional Spanish-language instructors. It is incredibly evident that they know the children well and are intentional about teaching both language AND culture through songs and activities. Other instructors are equally as engaged with all the students and I appreciate that they are not only receiving an immersive experience in one language, but are also exposed to the the other languages being taught in separate classrooms (shoutout to Ms. Fatima and Ms. Jing who are also wonderful!). Ms. Susan, the director of the school, is both helpful and responsive. Post-pandemic, I've enjoyed the opportunities created by the school to engage with families and the school community as well. I'm looking forward to continuing my engagement with MindBloom! read more

My son was going to a day care and when he turned 3, I started looking for a better learning experience for him. I occasionally drove by Mind Bloom PreSchool and noticed their billboard so I figured, I should give them a call. When I called to ask if they had space, I was only thinking I will probably get a place next year. I was lucky to have found one spot in the middle of the year. I enrolled my son at Mind Bloom immediately, hopeful that they offer an engaging early education experience. My son and I were not disappointed. My son joined the Spanish immersive program. On top of his exposure to learning a new language, activities like music class, visits to the museums, the market and other field trips enriched his experience.The after care was also affordable and engaging. In fact, the aftercare gave opportunity to my son to pick up on more languages (Mandarin and Arabic). Him coming back excited singing and counting in Mandrin was a pleasant surprise. More importantly, I liked how much personal attention Mindbloom staff gave to the kids. They were also open to inform me in detail about how my son did which was a huge plus compared to my previous experience of generic answers. I have great admiration and appreciation for the director Ms. Susan. Ms. Susan is a passionate and hardworking person who loves what she does and always tries to do right. Ms. Susan is responsive and always informed. I have always felt assured that my son was in good care. My son left Mind Bloom to benefit from public school. I hope he can come back in the summer breaks. read more

Our son attended MindBloom for the past 6 months, and it has been a loving, caring environment. The teachers are very dedicated to full language immersion, from the moment you walk into the door until the end of the day. Our son was in the Spanish class, and the teachers were wonderful. In after care, he was usually with teachers speaking Mandarin and Arabic, and my son was able to understand them as well, after a month or two. Susan, the Director, is a passionate woman who is working to spread the immersion programs across the area. She's extremely hard working and responsive. The Mindbloom Facility is what it is, an old school building that has great open spaces, but you won't find modern or updated facilities. That wasn't important to us, as long as it was a safe and caring environment. The playground for the kids is also around the corner back behind the school. Personally, I wish the kids played outside more often, but there is an open indoor play space as well. Overall, I would recommend Mindbloom to anyone wanting to immerse their child in Spanish, Arabic, or Mandarin. This is an affordable, wonderfully thoughtful program. We miss them all already! read more

My twin boys were with Mindbloom for nine months in the Mandarin-track program. I was impressed by the teachers who were native speakers from mainland China, and also by the curriculum which integrated science, arts, and even music into their language and intellectual development. The school was located close to a playground around the corner, and the teachers were very willing to work with us despite one of my twins having issues with potty training regression. At the beginning, the boys could not speak very much Chinese. However, at the end of the nine month period, they became conversant with 3-4 word phrases. We stopped attending in order to take advantage of public preschool (PK3). However, we will definitely utilize Mindbloom for drop-in services in the future and/or consider it for our third son who is still under a year old, when he reaches their minimum age (2). read more

Our daughter went to MindBloom Preschool in 2018 (Spanish classroom) for 10 months. It was a very anxiety-producing situation, to say the least. The quality of the education is subpar and the facility is charming but in disrepair. The teacher turnover is often (I even hear this from current parents) and the director is unstable. Many of these reviews are either written by her or planted by her from the very few parents who she buddies up with. She's extremely bizarre and does not understand preschool-aged children. She shouts "STEM!" from the rooftops but doesn't pay attention to their emotional wellbeing at all. HUGE caution about this place. read more

My child attended MindBloom several years ago. My partner and I found the atmosphere oppressive, and the staff turnover frequent. The director also appeared unstable, and my child was unable to thrive in this negative environment. The director sent many rambling, semi-coherent emails in our time there. I have never experienced a more unprofessional childcare setting in my life. read more

Excellent education for little global learners. Our older crew is fluent in mandarin. With the help of Mindbloom's caring teachers, creative curriculum, and visionary leader, our youngest is well on his way to fluency. So glad we didn't get into a "fancy" preschool! read more

Before reading, please keep in mind that I am extremely picky about language immersion education. My longterm scholastic goal for my child, is fluency and literacy in 4 languages. This review is for Mindbloom's Mandarin program only (Spanish and Arabic are also available), from the perspective of a family that doesn't speak any Chinese languages. However, before enrolling here, my child attended Atlanta Trilingual Academy in Georgia for 2 years, so he already understood Mandarin, read/wrote the simplest characters, and spoke/sang plenty of vocabulary and songs. More than half of the children at Mindbloom hear/speak Mandarin or Cantonese at home, which is excellent. Other strengths: TWO native speakers per Chinese and Spanish classrooms (ONE in the very small Arabic program)! Aftercare is very affordable, separate from the primary language program, and has a daily structured component in either Arabic or Mandarin immersion, occasionally Spanish. Teacher retention excellent. Music activity daily. Location convenient. Frequent outings/fieldtrips. If you have done your research about language learning, and want your child to enjoy enough hours and quality of instruction to start/maintain becoming fluent and literate (as well as achieve STEM foundation), this is DC's best preschool option. With that being said, there is MUCH too much language mixing, due to children in the different language tracks being grouped together during morning dropoff, lunch, nap, and pickup times. So, what could be a 95%+ Mandarin program, is significantly diluted. I am now considering more vigorous immersion programs in Montgomery County. read more

Our son is 5 1/2 years old, and has been enrolled at MindBloom Preschool for 3.5 years. At 2 yrs old, we switched him from a wonderful in-home day care to MindBloom Preschool for the opportunity to introduce him to another language in his formative years. We could not be more pleased with MindBloom, and both my wife and I feel extremely fortunate that MindBloom has been a big part of his life and learning development. Ms. Susan, the director and owner of the MindBloom Program, is a wonderful person who strives to provide the best care and education possible to developing children. She has a distinct talent for hiring staff who are like-minded, and who's focus is emotional and intellectual development in an immersion environment. The teachers at MindBloom are all very caring people, and we have always felt more than comfortable leaving our son in their care. As the school has grown, Ms. Susan has held on to her most talented teachers. Ms. Jing, Ms. Linn, Ms. Fatima, Ms. Meybis and Ms. Rubia are all absolutely lovely people; and are all native speaking in either Mandarin, Spanish, or Arabic. We could not be more pleased with the wonderful teachers who we see daily at MindBloom. When we enrolled our son, there was an opening in the Mandarin program. Neither my wife nor I speak Mandarin at all, so in the first 6 months, we were curious of his progress, and were unsure how we would really know if he was learning another language. He was quickly able to count to ten in Mandarin (and Spanish as well), but other than singing some songs in Mandarin and Spanish, we did not really know if he was actually learning another language. As time progressed, we witnessed him responding to conversational Mandarin from time to time when picking him up. Fast-forward to current day, and I think it is safe to say that he is fluent in understanding and speaking Mandarin. He can also read in Mandarin! Our new next-door neighbor is a native Mandarin speaker, and has occasionally spoken Mandarin with our son. When she moved in and first spoke with him, her first question to me was to ask if his mother was from China. She said his Mandarin is absolutely perfect with no detectable accent at all. We have heard this a number of times from native Mandarin speakers outside of the school. Both Ms. Jing and Ms. Linn have really been absolutely wonderful teachers for our son. He has been reading since he was about 4.5 yrs old, and now, at age 5, he is reading both English and Mandarin, and doing math problems of addition and subtraction of double-digit numbers (in English, Mandarin, and Arabic). At risk of sounding too effusive, I will keep the remainder of the review short. Our son attends after care at MindBloom, so he spends a bit of time in Spanish and Arabic immersion as well. Ms. Fatima, Ms. Meybis, Ms. Rubia, and the other teachers are all absolutely fantastic people. I have witnessed Ms. Fatima reading books to our son (and other children) in Arabic. She does not speak slowly, she does not explain anything anything in English, she just reads. He (and the other children) react to the stories as any child would react to being read an interesting book. I have also witnessed her in conversation with our son in Arabic on numerous occasions, and he naturally responds with appropriate behavior. I certainly do not understand Arabic, but he definitely understands her in Arabic. Similarly, he understands his teachers who speak with him in Spanish. When he is greeted in the mornings, he responds in Spanish, and does not seem to have an issue understanding their queries. He even watches some cartoons in Spanish with his friends who speak Spanish at home. We feel very lucky that found MindBloom, and that Ms. Susan cares so much about the level of kindness and professionalism that she expects from her teachers. If you are considering a language-immersion program for your child, or you are just looking for a loving, safe space to leave your child for preschool, MindBloom is a wonderful option. read more

I went to an open house in March and met the director Ms.Banks, who was warm and welcoming. This immersion preschool teaches Chinese and Spanish and the teachers seem like great people. One teacher, who speaks Chinese, actually shuttled all the small children into her classroom for a painting and calligraphy exercise. The classrooms are really large and spacious and everything was very clean. Lots of parents were coming in and out and everyone I saw seemed to be able to get the information they needed. My child is not yet 2, so I cannot enroll her into the program until the fall, but I am sure that this program will be all booked up well before then. The summer program also seems wonderful, but my child is not yet old enough to attend. I am looking forward to my daughter attending this preschool this year, but I just hope there is a slot left for her. This school is very different than what you typically find in the neighborhood. read more

Our son did Spanish MindBloom in aftercare at Maury with Ms. Rubia. They were accommodating to our request for choice of topics (reading), reliable and punctual, and provided excellent educational enrichment. They even provided a prompt refund when school was cancelled on a snow day!! read more

My son attends MindBloom Preschool (Spanish Immersion Program). The school focuses on language immersion, while teaching their students the basics. I am very pleased with the program and what he's learned over the past year. The teachers and staff are great. read more

I was SO excited to have my son attend this program. I toured and though the classes are a bit rundown, I saw children interacting and using Chinese. I was willing to drive over 1 hour each way to have my son attend the program. I was told to leave a deposit and I did and asked for the director to send me the enrollment documents and medical forms for me to complete. After I requested them 3 times and had not been supplied them, I asked to withdraw my son's spot. I was then told I would not get any money back and when I pointed out I had supplied 30 days notice as her policies (I finally got) stated, she still said I would not receive anything back and was accused of being a SCAMMER. That was very HURTFUL as I had referred several parents to the program and didn't sign documents because they WERE NOT sent to me even after I had requested them. DO NOT ATTEND THIS PROGRAM. The teachers seem fantastic but the DIRECTOR does not follow her own policies. read more

The name does not do justice for what will happen for your child's educational, emotional, and social development here. My Sun started 2.5 years and within the first week he was potty trained (no effort on my part). The environment is inviting, nurturing and intimate. Nestled near Brookland, Mind Bloom immerses your little one in the culture of the language in which they are learning and propels them academically through the intensive, yet fun, STEM program and LOTS of interactive field trips. I made the mistake of taking my son out to attend a high ranking Greatschool...bad move. He was light years (yes his teachers said this) ahead of his classmates and was bored. The mental stimulation coupled with emotional development provided at Mind Bloom is mindblowing. If you are want to truly get your child a great start in a diverse child focused environment, Mind Bloom is the place. read more