I have nothing but positive things to say about my child's time at LCS:…read more The staff were full of love and brought so much care and attention to my little one every day. All of the teachers/caregivers work very well as a team and take the time to get to know and love each of the children they look after and it really does show on the faces of the little ones attending the program. The learning curriculum is engaging for the kids and the communications with parents are frequent and clear . The Brightwheel app updates are amazing; seeing photos of my kid every day really brightened my mood. The physical space within the daycare is fun and inviting, with each classroom mocked up as a house or building in a neighborhood (hallway). I'd HIGHLY recommend this daycare to anyone in the Brookline/Boston area looking for somewhere their LO can socialize, exercise, learn, and grow in a safe and loving environment.

Both of my kids spent several years at LCSH, starting (for kid #1 at age 4, and kid #2 from 9…read moremonths). Between them, they passed through every classroom. There was not a single room that we (and they) didn't love! My son left for Kindergarten a year ago and my daughter is leaving now at age 3 to be closer to our home for pick-up/drop-off reasons. I'm so incredibly grateful we had LCSH to care for our children. First, the leadership. Lissy and Gladys are wonderful. They are experienced, kind, friendly, professional, and very responsive. They clearly love and know each one of the children and care for their staff. There is very little staff turnover, which both creates a very nice family atmosphere for the kids and speaks to Lissy and Gladys' leadership. When the pandemic hit, Lissy and Gladys did everything they could to keep the children safe while understanding the needs of working parents. I also have compared their tuition to many other places and they are very reasonable. Second, the staff! They are such wonderful people - my kids loved them all because they are warm, loving, and great educators. My son was fully ready for Kindergarten and my daughter has learned fine motor skills, sharing, listening, resolving conflicts, and fairness. Often teachers from previous years would see my daughter in the hallway and give her big hugs. It meant a lot to us that they felt surrounded by people who care. Third, the other programs. Lissy and Gladys keep things fresh by bringing in music teachers, having field days, sports, and many other activities. My daughter looked forward to every Thursday when Ms. Monica would come to her class and bring instruments for the kids to play and to dance. Finally, the community. The parents and other children are a lovely group of people. We are sad to leave LCSH, but grateful we have the memories. If you visit the school - especially Boylston street - it's not the most beautiful location. But don't judge based on that! The school itself is very nice and the teachers get the kids out and about to the local parks for sports, water parties in the summer, and playground fun. Ultimately, LCSH is a great place with people who truly care about kids and families.

My daughter has been at CPP for two years and it is a DREAM. The school is situated in the Latvian…read moreChurch. The classrooms are in the basement, but the children also use the large church space for dance and movement. There is a beautiful play yard and the children spend a lot of unstructured time outdoors. The teachers all have specials strengths but every one is nurturing and creative. The curriculum is play based with classrooms rich in books, art supplies, and interesting items to spark their imaginations. It is a small school so the teachers can really cater to each child's needs and interests. The schools celebrates families of different backgrounds and every year there have been some non-native English speaking kids. Because it's a co-op and has flexible afternoon scheduling it is more affordable than other preschools in the area. Parent presence in the classroom is not expected or required. The co-op jobs are very reasonable and related to administration. Two half weekend days per year parents volunteer for clean-up and organization type jobs. It's nice that you get to know the other kids and families may of whom are from our neighborhood and who will be heading to Kindergarten with us next year.

Nothing special just pure magic. Being very critical I…read morecouldn't not find a single thing I wanted to change in Clinton Path Preschool. The three teachers are like fairies in Sleeping Beauty. Each of them brings the gift that your child needs to feel loved and nourished. They sense what you kid wants and it is there in a matter of seconds, nobody is left behind, nobody is forgotten. They are so creative and organized that even a big messy project is finished just in time to start a circle time. They are always looking for new authors, new music, new art projects because they enjoy it as much as our kids. Whatever is happening in CP is done not out of duty but out of love and joy. Not only our kids can feel it, we, their parents, are also exposed to this wonderful energy. Isn't it what we all want for our kids?

We had an incredible experience sending our two children to Children's House Montessori (CHM) over…read morea 5 year period. This served as our introduction to Montessori techniques and it worked out great for our family. Ms. Paula and all the teachers we met over the years were amazing. Our children left CHM fully prepared for public elementary school.

Our children had a wonderful experience at Children's House. It is a remarkably calm space for kids…read moreto learn.

Our family joined the Beginnings community in Fall 2020, during the midst of the pandemic and right…read moreafter we moved locally. I could not imagine a more warm welcome to a new place for our son, who runs into school every morning and talks about how much he loves his teachers and friends every night. From really creative classroom curriculum to outstanding communication between administration, teachers, and parents, we have confidence that our son is in the place that is best for him. We also have confidence that the Beginnings team is doing everything the right way in regards to keeping the whole community safe and healthy. I highly recommend Beginnings School to other families looking for an engaging and fun place dedicated to thoughtfully educating your children.

The teachers and administration at Beginnings deeply care for and love the work that they do. If…read moreyou are looking for professional, high-quality early education, this is the place. The teachers are well-trained to scaffold the most important dimensions of early learning: social-emotional development and self-help skills. Pre-academic tasks are weaved through play and conversation and children are quick to adopt a growth mindset, which is one of the most necessary indicators of future success. I highly recommend Beginnings for any parent or educator looking for a truly special, unique school that will give them or their children the tools needed to thrive.

Both our children attended Belmont Nursery School (BNS!) for preschool, including Pre-K, and over…read morethe course of 8 years. During those 8 years, the school maintained its main focus - teaching children to develop strong relationships with their peers and teachers. Both my children are now in elementary school and are still close with their BNS friends. The BNS teachers teach children how to be a part of a group, how to express themselves, share, compromise, play, and learn joyfully together. Sure, you'll find schools with fancier facilities, bigger playgrounds, and more "rigorous" academics, but BNS' focus on friendship and play is refreshing, age-appropriate, and long-lasting. These social-emotional skills is what has allowed both my children to flourish academically in elementary school. The staff is professional and approachable, caring and good-humored. Not only do my kids miss their BNS days, but I miss them too!

My recently four-year-old daughter started at Belmont nursery school summer camp at the end of…read moreJune. We are now in the middle of August and it has been a fantastic experience. The teachers there are amazing the class sizes are small and especially during the pandemic their cleanliness standards are through the roof. Love the diversity, love the other families, love that we can walk there. And while I feel for the parents who are experiencing back to school anxiety amongst a pandemic, I'm quite relieved that my daughter will transition seamlessly from the summer camp to the preschool.

My child made a great start at the Coop. We came from Japan…read morea couple years ago and my child had a great transition to new environment with other children having a welcoming atmosphere from teachers, classes, and many activities. I really appreciate of teachers by supporting my child to enhance her language and independency as well. Thanks for the effort of them, my child was able to do the most of things when she entered the kindergarten. She is the 1st grader now, and still been talking about the great memories of the Coop. We love it.

Children's Co-op is an amazing preschool. When my daughter started in September, she had never…read morebeen left with anyone but me, her father, or her grandmother. Needless to say, I was quite nervous about leaving her for the first time ever. And as it turned out, the nervousness was needless as well. The wonderful thing about a co-op preschool is that parents take an active role in the running of it. Everyday a different parent helps out in the classroom. This provides an excellent opportunity to view your child in the classroom environment. You get to know and play with your child's classmates. You get to see the teachers in action. And your child gets the pleasure of showing you all that they do in school every day. But you don't have to worry about it being some huge time commitment. Since there are 14 - 16 kids in the class it works out to about once a month that a parent has to help out in class. And if you trade off with your partner, that means just one half day every other month you'd need to be there. Besides the co-op structure, other features I love about the Children's Coo-op: * low student/teacher ratio (in the younger class it's 14 students with 2 full-time teachers, 1 part-time teacher, and 1 parent helper), and the teachers are all wonderful * play-based curriculum - they're NAEYC accredited * great facilities - sunny rooms, fun playground * location location location - right in Newton Center, across the street from Starbucks, down the street from the T, ample free parking * flexible schedule - in addition to the normal school hours, 9 - 12 every morning (except Wednesdays for the younger class) they have early drop off and late stay day options My daughter loves school. So I love it.

GISB is not only our three kids' school, but it is also our family's cultural home. All our…read morechildren started in GISB preschool, and by now, our oldest daughter is studying neuroscience at Boston University, our son is writing his "Abitur" right now and will decide if he wants to study in the US or in Europe, and our 8th grader can't stop talking about how excited she is to go for a school exchange with Oslo next school year. Over the 16 years at GISB, our kids have always been taken care of, both emotionally and academically. The teachers are young and committed, the principal is competent and visionary, the parent community is strong and supportive. The German International School Boston has that name for a reason. The curriculum is German based but also covers the American highschool curriculum, and our families are international. Last year we had 39 different nationalities at our school. The annual turnover is hard, many families come for a predefined amount of time to Boston and then leave (some also stay!). But that also means that you have friends all over the world since GISB by now has a worldwide network of families who help each other. Our graduates finish school with the International Abitur and the Massachusetts High School diploma, opening doors all over the US and Europe. If you want your child grow up in a warm, nurturing setting where he/she will be raised with excellent academics and a strong focus on character-building, then you should consider this truly wonderful school!

My children attended GISB for four years. Below is an honest review of our experience. I wish I…read morehad an honest review of the school before we had decided to enroll there. Hopefully this will help parents who are considering GISB make an informed decision. Location: The traffic in Allston is bad now and will only get worse as Harvard opens its new Engineering Campus in 2020. Facilities: Upper campus is an old Catholic school that is quite shabby in areas. There is no air conditioning in the summer. The heat fails in the winter. The paint is worn out in the stairwells. The parking lot has rusty twisted broken fences. Some specific spaces such as the library have been renovated recently and are OK. Lower Campus, where the pre-K and K grades are located, is a recently converted office building. The lower campus space turns out to be quite cramped when it is full of students. If you have a young active child that needs to move and get their wiggles out over the course of the day this will be a challenging environment for them. Tuition: The German International School of Boston (GISB) demands all the tuition upfront for the school year and there are no refunds for any reason. Buyers beware of any service that demands all the money up front and puts "no refunds for any reason" in the fine print. There are also a lot of various extra fees for the after school classes, ski week, vacation week camp, etc. School Calendar: The GISB academic calendar follows the German academic calendar rather than the American academic calendar. This means that there are two week breaks in February and April where parents must scramble for childcare. Teacher turn over: In the four years that my kids attended GISB they lost teachers every year (sometimes even mid-year) for a variety of reasons (disputes over pay with the administration, visa issues, pregnancy, health problems, etc.). There is no substitute teacher pool to draw on so when a teacher is sick it is a mad scramble to cover the classroom. Even when there is plenty of advance warning of a teacher's departure. (This teacher is pregnant. She will be going out on maternity leave in 4 months.) There was no planning on the part of the administration on how to cover the class room and it was an ad hoc assortment of people covering the class which was very detrimental to the students. Teacher's Credentials: Being a private school the teachers are not subject to the same credentialing criteria as public-school teachers. When I asked the administration if I could see the credentials of my kid's teachers, I was told no. What are they hiding? Why won't they share their teaching staff's credentials? Teaching style: Modern pedagogy acknowledges that students have a variety of learning styles and that teachers need to craft their lesson plans to cover different types of learners. GISB seems firmly stuck in the 19th century with one method of teaching and if your kid doesn't get it too bad. It obviously must be the kid's fault. My older child entered public school a full year behind in reading skills than his peers after we left GISB. Thankfully he was immediately identified as someone who needed some extra help with learning to read and after just one semester in public-school, he was up to grade level. Clearly there was no learning disability on my child's part. My child just hadn't been taught to read. I have talked to other parents who have left GISB for public-school and they have related similar experiences. If a school can't do something as basic as effectively teach kids to read... Social Environment: The small classes mean that the social environment is somewhat stifling. If you kid doesn't make a friend in the handful of other kids in their class, it will be a long lonely year. If your kid becomes the target of a bully, there is no avoiding the bully. The bully is right there all the time. The teachers seem at a complete loss of what to do when bullying is brought to their attention. The teachers and school administration at GISB clearly view the student's behavioral, emotional, and social development as not their responsibility. My experience so far in the public-school system is the complete opposite. The public-school system views its mandate as helping children grow as a whole person and this includes the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development. Addressing of Concerns and Grievances: The GISB administration, parent council, and GISB board have no interest is addressing issues that are brought to their attention. There is a constant shirking of responsibility. The standard excuse they all give is "But you have to understand GISB is a young school." GISB has been around for 18 years and there are plenty of resources available on how to effectively run a school. The public-school principal of my children's current school has a clear "The buck stops here." attitude which is so refreshing after GISB.

This is honestly one of the warmest and most welcoming synagogues I've been to. It's a…read moreReconstructionist synagogue in West Roxbury, part of the Greater Boston Jewish community, and it just feels real. I love that in the Greater Boston area there are so many synagogues and Jewish communities to choose from, but Temple Hillel B'nai Torah is the one that gets my thumbs up. The events and services I've been to have had a great mix of people and energy. When I walked in people said hi right away, not in a pushy or fake way, just nice and natural. It felt open and comfortable and like I could actually belong here. If you're anywhere in the Boston area and looking for a Jewish community that's down-to-earth and welcoming, give it a try.

I have been a congregant here for a long time and always have felt welcomed. My children have grown…read moreup at this Temple and I continue to make new friends. The congregation strongly believes and practices inclusiveness and strives to welcome new members and strengthen the ties between current members. I strongly recommend this synagogue to anyone seeking a warm and accepting community.