Your child's safety is not a priority at this facility. On 9/1/21, my 1-year old was injured due to…read morethe negligence of the staff. They allowed three toddlers to be on a climbing toy meant for one child at a time. Two of them fell on my child and he busted his lip. In video footage, a staff member walks right past them shortly before the accident occurred. We were very disappointed in the initial response from the staff at all levels. Which did not match the gravity of the situation. When I was informed by Ashley Litchfield (Director), I told her I would be there right away. However, when I arrived to speak with her 25min later, she had left. The teachers in the classroom showed little remorse. So, I had to take my child home with inconsistent information on what happened. It was difficult to reach someone in leadership to address our concerns that evening. It wasn't until my husband called to escalate the situation and request a meeting, that we received more details from Ashely & Lynn (Owner). I won't even get into the issues we had with Grant (Owner's son) and his unprofessionalism on different occasions. We had to request that an actual accident report be done. Only after we filed a complaint with the regional office was an investigation and additional "safety training" conducted. Although we already had a few complaints about this facility, imagine the horror of finding a bloody shirt in your child's bag without notice? My son has not returned since that day, and I don't recommend sending your children here. At least Lynn was "gracious" enough to say "we will not financially hold you to our policy of a thirty-day written notice of disenrollment." Are you kidding me?

Horrible location and staff. There is no one-on-one attention and the classrooms are jam packed…read morewith little staff.

Who wouldn't want their kid to learn Spanish and receive childcare at the same time?…read more Spanish for Fun Academy is one of a couple spanish immersion daycares in the area. The staff are all native spanish speakers who provide childcare for babies to pre-K at their building conveniently located near UNC on S Columbia (hours 7:30-5:30 M-F). My child has been going here for over a year and has been picking up spanish fairly quickly. It is like having eight hours of spanish lessons every day. It also seems to be a good sign that many of the parents who bring their children here have been doing so since they were babies. Not a lot of turnover. The teachers are all very friendly and loving and speak enough english to communicate with all the non-spanish speaking parents. While the actual classroom spaces are somewhat small (hence only four stars), there is a very large fenced play area in back (el parque) where the kids go to romp and play once or twice a day when it isn't raining. Typically they'd be outside 4:00-5:30 in the afternoon. Quite frequently if I happen to show up for pickup on the early side, I'll end up waiting a while because the kids don't want to stop playing with each other.

My 2yo son was at SFF for a month after we moved to NC from OH. We decided to look for a new…read moredaycare for him the first week he was in SFF. I gave them 3 stars instead of 2 because the teachers were so caring for him. I think that if you have never experienced other daycares before and your child is not as high-energy as my youngest, then SFF might be okay for you. The daycare my son had in OH was outstanding, so I think in contrast SFF had some room for improvement. Here are my thoughts regarding pros and cons. Pro - Obviously your child learns Spanish, which has a plethora of benefits. - The teachers are very caring and they put him with a bi-lingual primary teacher since he just speaks English, as do my husband and I. - There is a diverse socioeconomic range of students/families. I value this because I worry about my kids being around only affluent people living in Chapel Hill. Cons - As one of the other reviewers said, they have them in a small room most of the day. There is a huge garden area for them to play, but they essentially have no play equipment other than some bikes. They have a small playset, but it is taped off and can not be used. So what I observed with my son while he was there was basically him just milling around. He could have dug in dirt and climbed on the stage, but most of the time he was just wandering around aimlessly because there were so many kids he couldn't really run-- and he loves to run! - In the classroom it seemed like a lot of free play. Which is important, but in the entire time he was there, my son never produced any artwork except a cup for father's day. At his other daycare he was daily coloring, painting or doing art projects, which he loves. I saw the teacher read once to small group of students, but other than that, I just see my son milling around when I look in the room before I pick him up. I am not sure they have any sort of curriculum. This is really why I looked elsewhere for care. If my son is not busy and bored most of the day, it is impossible to wear him down as night. We'll take him to the park and play/interact with him at home, but he has so much physical and intellectual energy (e.g. needs to paint, needs to build something or be stimulated in some fashion) that it is crippling when you are trying to do things like make dinner, clean up around the house or interact with my other son because my 2yo will just breakdown (and we are not push overs). At his OH daycare we had a teacher who was only there for a short time who did no activities with him and he had the same behavior as he did while he was at SFF. This is fairly specific to my son, although I think it is not uncommon for young kids, and especially boys to be this high energy. - My son had a black eye that I noticed on pick up. It was difficult to identify what happened and I am used to the other daycare that filed an incident report anytime a child was hit in the head or had a significant injury. - With other the OH daycare they have a daily sheet that discusses things like what they did that day or how they ate (e.g. ate everything, some...). SFF does not have this and it made it difficult to understand what if anything my son was doing in the day and if he was just really hungry (which he ALWAYS was when I picked him up) or didn't like his lunch that day. - The parking and just getting in and out of the center is difficult. There are not enough spaces after the staff parks and usually only the handicap spaces are free. They need to repair their parking area. Overall, we really liked the immersion and a lot of the benefits of the center, but these benefits were not really enough to have our son mill around all day. It just didn't work for us.

Lawson Preschool is a very respectable preschool for your children to attend . The Owner Mrs…read more Sandra K. Lawson as Experience over 30 + year's in Child Psychology and Degrees in Social Skills . The staff is experience teachers with caring for all the children needs . No child is treated differently than the other. Mrs. Lawson Law Abiding Citizen and also A Christian . This Preschool also protect any child from being harm or danger . Your child / Children are very welcome and Safe at this facility . Mrs. Perdine Chandler

This preschool is really good. All the teachers are nice and respectful of parents wants and needs…read more Both my children go there and they love it. Ive never had any problems with this daycare. The director is who I like the best. She is really kind and works with you also.

Don't recommend. The…read moreteachers are sitting in the shade chilling while children burn themselves on the hot slide. Director is not welcoming. Her huge diamond demonstrates the center's values - money - not children, teachers, or families.

Love this place and the environment. Every teacher knows each child's name, the atmosphere is warm…read more, loving , laid back, the parents and staff has such great relationships. The teaches really do love the kids and even though every day is not sunshine and smiles they always give their best and make the parents feel comfortable with their child there. Great place. Definitely recommend

In the words of Vera G. from 2023: "Look elsewhere, seriously."…read more After many, many interactions with the center's current director Amy Boyette, I fully believe Amy is engaged in active covering up of abuse and neglect happening at the Children's Campus. I am in the processing of reporting this. Amy was made aware of our daughter's multiple health issues including anaphalytic responses to various foods as well as suspected celiac disease (where gluten exposure could potentially damage her intestines). Amy said we could bring own our food for our daughter, but that they could not make food accessible to her (fine, we were ok with that). Eventually our daughter grew out of several allergies which made us more at ease, but her doctors were still waiting until she was older for celiac testing. I came to find out multiple times that the staff continued to not only provide our daughter gluten meals (with bread and everything) from the school lunches by accident, but also that one of the teachers was intentionally feeding our daughter food from her own packed lunches - completely against our daughter's allergy action plan that was on file. The teacher told me she had given her sweet potato from her lunch that "only had butter on it" and I was filled with rage because our daughter at the time had a cow milk protein allergy that previously had given her very severe hives and vomiting. I informed the teacher that butter is in fact dairy. The primary teacher of the classroom said she had been trying to get the second teacher to stop feeding children in the classroom her lunches from home, but was not having success with this and Amy and the management would not step in. When I would ask Amy for a meeting to discuss the very urgent health-related concerns, she would avoid responding to my requests and just say that the problem was solved when it wasn't. She would never offer any solutions until I would point out repeatedly that the current system was not working and she was not offering new systems. I even shared information with her about how other centers have more safety-focused allergy food systems in place but she did not seem the slightest bit interested to learn more or even about how to protect my child or other children at the center. In addition to not following our daughter's allergy action plan, there were multiple days where we would pick her up and she would not have been given any fluids and the majority of her lunches where not offered to her (pouches, string cheese, etc. completely unopened). She was there for over 8 hours, on multiple occasions, with her water bottle untouched (we had to supply her own water bottle each day freshly to avoid allergy issues and the line we brought it in at was always in the same place as when we dropped her off and she would consistently be constipated from not being offered proper fluids). When I would confront the teachers about this they would cite being too busy or being pulled out of the classroom to attend other things. When I would confront Amy about this she would placate me and also continue to insinuate I was over-reacting or that my daughter just "wasn't hungry" that day (how would you know if she was hungry if you never offered her the food?) Eventually Amy said her "plan" was to set reminders her on phone to go into the classroom to remind the teachers to feed my child at the designated 4 meal times. She did this for maybe 2 days and then again things returned to being without documentation and my daughter often not being given fluids. I cannot emphasize enough that despite the center having an app for documenting diapers, meals, naps, etc. - I almost never in the 6 months my child was there had any documentation of what was happening throughout her day. There would be brief moments on days where a few items would be input, but most often we would pick her up with almost no idea of what happened that day. Teachers freely admitted to me when my daughter was an infant that safe sleep protocols were never followed, and that the meal plan is never what was published by the management. One day we arrived to drop our daughter off and the teachers were freaking out that they had been given a nearly empty bag of cereal that was supposed to feed breakfast to a room full of children. They say there is a "schedule" and that is an absolute joke because no one there is following a schedule (at least in room 2). We were given no protocol or steps to follow in checking out from our time at the center, and so my husband still has a fob to a daycare where we no longer have a child there. How many other fobs are lingering out there with adults who shouldn't have them and whose children are no longer there? I could go on and on about how horrible of experience we had at this center. We chose it because allegedly it was locally run and well liked. Found out later from staff that (allegedly) it's just run by a family in Florida who is pretty neglectful of it.

Look elsewhere, seriously…read more Our daughter began attending this daycare in the summer of 2022 and was 2 years old at the time - in the 2s class for clarification. From the moment I met her teacher, I wasn't impressed. She didn't give the kids a big happy greeting, hardly introduced herself to us and honestly, I just got a bad vibe. Within a month of attending, my daughter came home and reported she been hit on her bottom by this teacher. I reported this to the daycare director, and my concerns were dismissed, and it was obvious I wasn't taken seriously. A few months later, I came to pick up my daughter early, and walked in at quiet time (same teacher) and the teacher YELLED at a kid so loud it made me jump and I'm 32 years old. Worst of all, the very first day when the kids returned to school after Christmas break, my daughter had a horrible experience: I came to get her early that day, and everyone was just going down for quiet time (they couldn't have been down longer than 15 minutes). When I walked in the door, my daughter was wailing on her mat with tears streaming down her face. I knelt down and she ran to me, climbing into my arms begging to leave. When we stepped outside the classroom, my daughter reported the teacher had pulled her legs so hard it hurt, and that the teacher was very mad at her and needed to be nice to her. I emailed the director who said she would speak with the teacher and review the video footage. The director emailed again to say she'd reviewed the footage and she could assure me there was nothing to be concerned about, but we should meet face to face later in the week to which I agreed. At the meeting, my husband and I were shown the video where by the director's account, nothing inappropriate occurred. As I watched the video, my heart began to race as rage flooded my body. I watched with disgust as a daycare provider angrily took my (now 3 year old) child's blanket from her, grabbed her by her legs and aggressively yanked her down her mat. The teacher then walked away, leaving my daughter crying and went to sit back down - no remorse, no attempt to console, nothing. I don't recall much after the video ended. My husband says I started to yell, loudly. I remember asking the director to explain what part of that video showed the level of care and compassion parents expect their children to be shown when in another's care. The director later emailed to say, "I do sincerely apologize for the turn it took and the misrepresentation of my evaluation of the incident." We reported this to NCDHHS, who cited a violation of G.S. 110-91(10); comments: "Each child was not attended to in a nurturing and appropriate manner, or in keeping with the child's developmental needs. On January 2, 2023, a staff member repositioned a three-year-old child on their mat by pulling the child by the legs." We moved our daughter to a different class, and within a month decided to withdraw her from the program. It's been 6 months, and she still talks about this and is scared of attending school. The emotional damage this has done to our daughter is heartbreaking. The teacher, as of our daughter's last day at the daycare, had not been terminated. NCDHHS reports the director and teacher have taken an online class which is hardly sufficient. The report can be found on: https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/childcaresearch Search by the license number: 32001491 Visit from NCDHHS on 1/12/2023

Our family did not have the best experience. Initially my little was excited but then claimed they…read morefeared returning and would cry.

Afton Nature School is a wonderful preschool. ANS was recommended to us by the parent of a current…read morestudent. We toured several preschools, but our tour with Afton was by far the best of them all. The classrooms are bright and open, the teachers are wonderful, and the students are truly exceptional by any standard. Our child was welcomed with open arms by all of them and watching her thrive in this school has been a great joy. The teachers are patient and thoughtful, and the communication with them is open and transparent. Parents are welcome to volunteer, which I was able to do on a few occasions. Watching the kids learn through play and feed on one another's creative energy was incredible. Our experience with Afton Nature School has exceeded our expectations.

Cannot say enough good things about Ms. Shelley at La Petite!…read more If you're looking for infant care in the area, the infant room at La Petite is the best! Ms. Shelley is an incredible teacher who goes above and beyond to make both babies and parents feel comfortable and supported. She creates such a calm, engaging, and loving environment for the little ones. We are amazed at how much our little one has grown since being in her class. We are so thankful for the care she provides every day for our baby!

Our 7 month old son has been at this daycare for about 2.5 months now. So far, we have no regrets…read moreand are very happy with the care that our son has received. The staff here are all very professional and make us feel welcome. They are intentional about communicating with us and their concern for the safety, happiness, and development of our child is clear to see. Ms. Shelley, in particular, has been wonderful. She is very organized, appears to be a great leader, and has made us happy as parents by making us feel like we are leaving our son in highly qualified and caring hands.

VERY DISAPPOINTED! Our opinion of the Family Preschool is as follows:…read more We were extremely disappointed with the manner in which our family, including our son, was treated. In our opinion the treatment was discriminatory from a racial, ethnic, and gender standpoint. We do not believe that this school fosters the level of "inclusion" that they proclaim. We were compelled to withdraw our son from the school in order to protect him and ensure his well-being.

We had two children enrolled at FPS during the 2021-22 school year. Our oldest was a 5day friend…read moreand our youngest was a Treefrog (2s). Our experience with our youngest was wonderful. Teacher Kim was lovely and kind and our daughter loved going to school and being part of the FPS community. Our experience with our oldest was the complete opposite. He was a 5day friend in Teacher Hannah's gathering and his experience was awful. He's neurodivergent and in therapy to support sensory sensitivities. We proactively offered support to his teacher before school even started. Our therapists observed his class on four separate occasions and raised their own concerns about what they saw. The classroom management was nonexistent and our son was ignored often, leading to dysregulation. At one point, he went outside unsupervised and at another point, he was wandering the hall when I overheard a child ask where he'd gone. His teacher responded, "I don't know and I don't care." Ultimately, we decided to withdraw him from FPS because they are ill-equipped to care for a neurodivergent child and his teacher called him bad to his face. We also withdrew our daughter because it wasn't the right place for our family. Our son has been processing his experience at FPS in play therapy and internalized quite a bit of shame during his three months as an FPS student. We're still very angry at his treatment. We switched our son to a local public school in a mainstream classroom. He's been there for more than two months now. He's had zero incidents of dysregulation. His teachers tell us that he's calm and consistently able to self-regulate. Every issue FPS blamed on him completely disappeared in his new environment, which leads us to conclude he was never the problem and that his teacher was the issue. Because of their treatment of our son, we cannot recommend FPS to any family, especially if you have a child who is neurodivergent.