Love this school! My first child is going into year 3, and my second child starts in a couple…read moreweeks. (Ashland campus) Large grounds, long tenured educators, balanced curriculum, great hours for working parents, and an amazing community. Snack, milk, water provided. I do have to make lunch everyday, but it was only hard to adjust the first week or so. Campus/Grounds: They have an upper and lower yard, literally 4 blocks from the beach! It's huge! The classrooms are also generally large and spacious with lots of fresh air and light. The bathrooms and campus are cleaned everyday and there is a "Pitch In" clean up day multiple times a year where the entire community chips in to do a serious deep cleaning. There's even a parking lot and 1 block of 15 minute parking zone for pick up/drop offs too! Teachers: Serious tenure at this school! The teachers have been here for years. They are aware, listen and react to your needs and very caring. The school also supports and provide continuing education courses to allow their teachers to keep growing. Learning/Playtime/Conflict: Lots of balance between playtime and education. The teachers don't force memorization of numbers and letters. They teach the kids to understand the foundations of math, science, literacy in a way that is fun for children. It's like when you sneak broccoli into your kids pasta sauce! They love eating it and get their nutrition too. (Side note: my daughter is 4-1/2 and she's starting to read, can write her name and do some simple addition). Regarding conflict management, I'll only say this "The Talking Chairs". It's a way to get the kids communicating about what happened vs punishing anyone. It's magical. Hours: Great long hours for working parents (both my husband and I work full time). We do an 8am drop off and 5:30pm pick up. There are several families on this schedule and it's a great time catch up with the teachers and share moments with your child. Mine always wants to show me around her classroom. Community: amazing community of current and alumni families who keep giving back to the school through volunteer hours and projects! The faculty also does a great job of connecting families and providing resources for parents. Is there a con? Yes, the school doesn't provide lunch (they do provide milk, water, snacks). It was a hard adjustment at first. But at least I know what's going in my kid's mouth!

Be sure to read all of the reviews. For some unknown and arbitrary reason, YELP has filtered the…read morelukewarm reviews of this school. There is important information for working parents in the reviews YELP is dishonorably filtering. This review pertains only to the Ashland Campus. Definitely friendly teachers that welcome the kids in the morning. Pros: nice big play yard, garden, lots of play outside, kids have an active say in what their plan for the day is. Cons: damaged asphalt covers most of the playground, can not drop off throughout the day, no meal program, bathroom is dicey Definitely friendly staff but the parent population is a little self aware and snooty. If you are a working parent family, this school is workable but takes extra effort. If you have a dr appt in the morning, chances are your kid will be home for the day and you will not be at work. The school provides snacks but no lunch service which is tough on working moms who don't have a nanny. Most kids are headed home by 4pm so if you work until 5, you can count on your kid being one of the last at the school. For sure friendly, eager staff but there are many aspects that make this a tough school choice for working parents.

Our baby boy has been going to Yvonne's for a little over two months now, and we are very happy…read more She suggested starting with a few hours per day initially to help him get used to it, especially as he was 11 months old then, and it can be challenging to start at that age. It has been really helpful as it gave him time to transition. He's now always happy to go and reaches for the door when we arrive in the morning. Yvonne is always calm and calming, smiling and welcoming to the babies. Her energy is very positive and reassuring, especially as we are first-time parents. Our baby eats well, naps well and plays well, and that's what we want! It's obvious she's experienced and knows what to do with kids. Simply a pro. We highly recommend her.

I had a horrible experience with Yvonne's day care service. I was charged a full week price for…read morejust 2 hours. My baby looked miserable when we went to pick her up. I felt like Yvonne did not care at all about my child, and she picks her favorites because she gave me an ew look and made comments that she thinks my child has an issue. She also said my child was gross because she had a little runny nose on that day and she was left on the corner and being ignored. Overall, we had bad impression that she was very rude and just takes kids for money. She kept taking about her boyfriend and we felt low class vibe on our first day unfortunately. We will never go back to her and still make us feel sick by remembering this experience. My baby is safe and enjoying her new daycare everyday and now we sure know that Yvonne has an issue not my baby.

I cannot say enough good things about Maple Tree Santa Monica. Our oldest was with MTA from 4…read moremonths to 3 years old, and our youngest was there for a few months in the infant classroom before we moved away. We always felt safe leaving our kids at MTA, which is so invaluable for two working parents. The teachers are warm and caring, and were always flexible to work with us on things like naps, feeding, and potty training. Our oldest made so many friends and grew into a wonderfully inquisitive child, no doubt thanks to the curriculum of child-led exploration and learning. We will miss MTA dearly and will be forever grateful to have spent some time there!

We love MTA! My baby has been going there since he was 7 months. As first time parents, we were so…read morenervous. But MTA is great. Before you start, the administrator personally come to your house for a meet and greet, and goes over everything, explaining what to bring etc. All the teachers are super sweet, I don't know how they remember each kids' parents, even when the non-primary parent picks them up, but they do. They ask you every morning if there's any specific instructions for the day. My baby had eczema and they were good about applying the lotion we gave them. Because they also speak Spanish to the kids, he was saying 'agua' before he could say 'water'. I like that they don't only do play, but they have a curriculum and teach the kids too. They're really good with communicating through the app. One day, he saw another kid eating apples and he said he wanted some, so the teacher msged us "he wants apples". My baby really loved all his teachers. Whenever there are situations such as when there was a earthquake, or the Palisades fires, they were really good at communicating and giving us updates on how the kids are safe. The owner is a fire chief and designed all the emergency protocols. We really really love MTA, the only reason we left is because we moved to a city that's 2 hours away, otherwise, we would've stayed. On his last day, they gave us a booklet where they printed out pictures of his time there, and all the teachers wrote a little message. It's so sweet and you can tell they truly care about the kids. Thank you MTA for taking care of our lil one, and providing such great early education and fun. Definitely enroll early as the wait list can be long.

Given the cost, this YMCA is great. They have three different rooms for weights and two for cardio…read more They have classes. They have a hot tub, pool, sauna, and steam room. Yes, it's not luxury by any means but do you know how expensive other gyms are, especially with all those facilities? They also have pickleball and basketball. A daycare for kids and the staff is friendly.

Not my favorite Y. There are a few miserable older members that antagonize people. It is something…read morewith them almost every other time I am there. Same type of vibe at the Westchester Y as well. Headphones are my best friend if I have to come to this location :-) Gave it 2 stars because of the pool guys who are very cool and professional.

Our daughter started in the Seedling room at MyFirstPlace on 22nd St. when she was just 4 months…read moreold, and we've had a wonderful experience ever since. It's a full Spanish immersion program and they have very flexible options. We opted for full time M-F 8-5:30pm. Maria and her entire team are amazing: communication is clear and prompt, teachers are engaged and caring, and the school is clean, safe, and offers wonderful enrichment activities like soccer, capoeira, and music. We always feel listened to, and the teachers send updates throughout the day. One of my favorite parts of the workday is getting the cutest photos and videos of her and her friends engaged in all sorts of activities like outdoor play or reading books. The biggest testament to the program is our daughter herself. Now 18 months old, she's excited to go to school every morning, happily jumping from my lap into her teachers' arms, and she's calm and happy when we pick her up. Teacher Gabby V. has been incredibly caring and thoughtful. We feel so lucky to have had her help care for our daughter over the past 14 months. She consistently goes out of her way to provide thoughtful, individualized care, whether that means adjusting nap schedules or giving a little extra attention when needed. We couldn't recommend MFP more highly!

We loved MFP for our daughter and it truly was our daughter's first place. They were incredibly…read moreflexible, attentive, and caring for our little one. Being a first time mom, I was nervous to let go and have someone else take care of my daughter. But as I watched her start to get accustomed to the schedule there, I noticed how the staff is educated and friendly. It was emotional for me to watch her learn to be independent at MFP and Maria and Cinthia were very accommodating to helping my daughter transition from homecare to daycare. There's plenty of extracurricular activities dancing, music, soccer, including all the planned crafts to keep her engaged. I always found that they updated ProCare with plenty of updates and pictures to keep me informed of her daily activities. Cinthia, Teacher Karen, Teacher Veronica, Zohra are just some of the friendliest faces who helped take care of her. I also witnessed a very smooth transition between classrooms from the Cherry Room to Olive Room. Cinthia was always available to chat through any of my questions and provided input to best support her. We were so sad to have to leave MFP but primarily did so because of moving (needing to reduce the daycare pickup commute). What was also so sweet was how thoughtful they were to provide her a wonderful experience for both her first birthday at school and her last day. I would recommend MFP!

Both my son and daughter spent 2 years at Mt Olive from 2021-2024. They were in room 2, room 6 and…read moreroom 8. I could not have appreciated the staff, teachers and parents in the community more. My kids felt safe, had so much fun, and learned everything they needed to know to set them up for Kindergarten and TK. Their teachers were so impressed by their knowledge and ability to transition to the new school and classroom. While I would like to take credit, I know it is because of the care that Mt Olive gives to all their students. The balance of play and learning is perfect. My kids have made friends that are still with them, even though they do not go to the same school anymore, and I made friends that continue to create a village for our kids post Mt Olive. As a parent, the hours are fantastic, and the performances, art shows, field trips, and fun events made it even better for us. They are flexible and allow parents to contribute time, and volunteer as they can!! This was one big reason why we went with this school to begin with, others had so many requirements for working parents. We love Mt Olive, and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for preschool care for their kids.

Mt. Olive is such an amazing school that welcomes everyone with open arms and makes you feel like…read morefamily! I had looked at so many different preschools before getting a recommendation for Mt. Olive from another mom, and I can't imagine sending my kids anywhere else, because we have always felt such genuine warmth, kindness, and compassion. My oldest daughter has learned so much while attending and has loved showing off her new knowledge and skills with us each night, and truly loved and looked forward to school each day. It's been amazing to see her progress in her emotional growth as well, through growing close relationships with her classmates, as well as through the teachers' willingness to go above and beyond to work with your child if they are having a difficult time. There is always something special my daughter talked about on the way home, whether it being a nature walk, celebrating birthdays and holidays, and fun learning projects. The playground is also a huge hit! It's also been such a godsend for working parents for the school to be open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, and they even have part-time schedules available. I have always felt reassured that my daughter has been safe, happy, and cared for during the long hours I work, and I am looking forward to sending my youngest here as well! We will forever be grateful to Mt. Olive for such an amazing experience to look back on fondly.

We are so thankful we found Mariama and this new daycare. To keep it short, we drop off our son to…read moreMariama in the mornings and we have absolutely no worries for the rest of the day. Mariama sends us updates and pictures throughout the day to let us know how our boy is getting on. You can clearly tell she is devoted and loves what she does. She is amazing with kids - comes up with creative ideas of stuff for them to do. Her assistant, Céline, is just as sweet and great with kids. They're just really genuine people. You'd like to think your child is in the best of care when you send him off to daycare, but you can never really know. However, with Mariama, when we go pick our son up at the end of the day, we always see her being very hands on and interactive, sitting down playing with our son before they notice we are even there. So we know! And we appreciate you so much, Mariama! I want to tell every mom in West LA how amazing she is and what an amazing daycare she has started, but then again we want her all to ourselves! The French aspect is also a huge plus for us. The daycare is clean and lots of toys for the kids to play with and an outdoor area with slides etc. Lastly, Mariama prepares a variety of healthy food for our growing boy! Couldn't rate this place any higher!

Mariama has been working for me at Alouette childcare for almost 3 years. She has been such a great…read moreaddition, she was loved by everyone. She has never hidden her wish to have her own chiildcare one day. Well, that day has come. I am so happy she opened her own, my loss your gain! Mariama is patient, warm, caring, fun and passionate about early childhood education. With her, your child is not only in a safe environment, but as well in a great learning environment. I wish Mariama the best for this wonderful journey and will continue to send her families that are looking for child care as I trust her.

We sent both of our daughters to Pages Family Daycare, and we absolutely love it -- I would 100%…read morerecommend Erika and her team! Our older daughter started around 1 year old, and our youngest began at just 5.5 months. From day one, we've had a wonderful experience. I'm a very schedule-oriented parent, and I truly appreciated how willing Erika was to follow my children's individual routines and needs rather than making them fit into a preset schedule. Through every transition -- from adjusting nap times to introducing solids to transitioning from breastmilk to formula -- Erika was always happy to implement my requests and made the process smooth for our family. She has also been incredibly flexible with us. We only send our daughters part-time, but whenever we needed an extra day, Erika always did her best to accommodate. It's clear that she genuinely cares for and loves the children. You can see it in the way the kids respond to her, in how many of her little ones stay with her from babyhood onward, and in how many families trust her with multiple children. Sending your children to daycare is a big decision, but for our family it has been such a positive and supportive environment. We feel very lucky to have found it!

We are so grateful to have found Pages Family Child Care! We started our son there when he was 7…read moremonths and they were so flexible and accommodating as we weaned and started him on solids. They helped him adjust to a better nap schedule too. He's now just over 2 and we have so many amazing memories there-from birthday and holiday pajama celebrations to music classes to watching butterflies transform, it truly is a special place! We loved how nurturing and caring everyone at Pages was. They treated our son like their own and it really felt like an extended family. They're also very detail oriented, always communicating with us to make sure we were on the same page about schedules, behavior or even if there were tiny bumps and scrapes. When our kid inevitably got sick, they would send texts checking in or would be available to talk on the phone even in off hours. We recently moved and are at a new center across the country, and we are now especially grateful for the high adult/child ratio at Pages and the healthy and fresh meals they provided. Honestly, pulling our son out was one of the hardest parts of our move and he still talks about his friends and teachers there. If you're lucky enough to grab a spot there you won't regret it!

My daughter loves stepping stone! We chose this daycare for the facility and that they also teach…read morein Spanish. We have been very happy with the teachers. There are always at least 2 teachers and they develop a bond with the children. The outdoor facility is stunning and they do activities like water play in the summer. The inside facilities have the right balance of not being a large daycare center, and not being too small. Pickup and drop off are very easy, they are organized and have their holiday schedule in advance (better schedule than most and no closures if someone's sick, since there is ample staff). I highly recommend!

My daughter has been at this daycare since she was 4 months old and it has been the biggest…read moreblessing! Maria, Ana and Marisol are incredible teachers, I love being able to watch circle time and day time activities via the day care's social media page. The backyard is the best feature - there is grass, flowers and beautiful greenery. During Covid they have been very safe, making sure the kids are masked up (if they are over 2) and frequently washing their hands. They make delicious food for the kids, all home cooked! Another major plus is their bilingual (English/Spanish) program, our daughter's first work was "agua" for water!