Great school, teachers and leadership are exceptional…read more Excelente curriculum with great independence and emotional development for the kids.

The benefit of Montessori is that it fosters a love of learning for a lifetime, and Doughty is the…read morebest! It's hard to find a Montessori that is true to the philosophy of Maria Montessori, and this space is perfect. The staff is very caring and professional. They love what they do and they love the children they work with.

AAHCDC has earned 5 stars! This school has a wonderful program and thoughtful amazing teachers…read more Children learn and play as well as garden. They have wonderful music, art and Spanish programs for the children. I will be sending my second child soon. So happy here!

Our daughter has attended AAHCDC for two years now. It is a wonderful place with wonderful staff…read moreand we are very fortunate to have a school like this in our community. Every day AAHCDC creates a caring, nurturing, thoughtful, educational, creative, safe and fun environment for the children it serves. It understands what children are feeling and going through, and works with them and their families in wise and thoughtful and caring ways. Music, Spanish, art, reading, play, sensory table, outdoor activities, friendships and support. We couldn't imagine a better place.

ELC is Ann Arbor's best kept preschool secret. The teachers have hearts of gold and really love…read morethe kids. They create such a great environment for socializing and learning for the kids and do a great job caring for safety as well. I was nervous about taking my kids to preschool at first, but this program has become dearly loved by my children and I. We have also had a number of different teachers there and all have been incredible, speaking to an excellent leadership and administrative culture in the school.

We are in love with this place!! The teachers are amazing and do a great job with the kids. They…read moreare endlessly patient. I love picking my child up and hearing a little bit about what has happened during the day. They are dedicated to spending time outside. Something really important to me, that ELC does really well, is the way they model language in the class. My daughter wears hearing aids and her speech has improved while there due to them, speech therapy, etc. Every week they send out the theme of their activities and songs they're singing, which is also very helpful.

I can't speak to the quality of this center now, but I was someone that used to go to gretchen's…read morehouse after school as a child. Granted its been more than 20 years since then, but I am still dealing with the trauma of being at this daycare. Even back then this place was very expensive, and my immigrant parents worked hard to be able to send me here. Despite the fact that it was the "best" it was one of the most racially intolerant places I have ever experienced. The staff treated me like I was untouchable. They constantly isolated me from all the white kids, blamed me for things I didn't do, refused to feed me, and allowed other kids to discriminate against me. If this kind of treatment were going on today this place would be cancelled so fast. Will my parents ever get the money back from this place, no. And I continue to have to deal with the racial trauma I received as a little brown girl. Hope things have changed at this place and other people of color haven't had to experience this.

Gretchen's House is a fantastic day care. We had our first son there for two years. They do…read morestimulating play beginning even with very young infants (including finger painting with feet, playing with sand, and, when older, playing with edible art materials. Also, the individualized care is striking. Each day, your infant or toddler comes home with a personalized note about his or her strengths, funny things he or she did or said, and an emphasis on his or her individual personality, not just about what the group did. The drawback to Gretchen's House is that it is very expensive. Unfortunately, too, the next step down in daycare in Ann Arbor is severe. Now that we have two children, we've had to enroll them elsewhere and the quality is impressively worse. If Gretchen's House weren't so completely unaffordable for us, we'd be back in a heartbeat.

This place has been exceptional for my daughter's development and my comfort level as a mom leaving…read moreher in someone else's care. My daughter has gone here since she was 3 months old. I was a mess leaving her but all the staff were so supportive and understanding.Now that she's a bit older, drop off is no hassle as she happily goes with the staff. The teachers are great and I really do feel like they're part of our Team helping to raise our daughter. They care about her development and cheer her on each day. I never hesitate to contact them or ask a question during the day (and they always are quick with a reponse!). -The app is a wonderful tool. It makes it easy to communicate with the teachers/them with you. If you get to work and realize you forgot to tell them something, it's so easy to let them know. -The curriculum they follow is fun and educational. Every week we get pictures and notes of all the fun things our kid did. Even though she's not even 1, they have her painting and exploring things! I think she has more fun there than at home some day. -The teachers always know what happened if there's an incident, which as my daughter learns to stand/walk, are bound to occur. She has never come home with a random scratch or bruise and no explanation. -The cameras are great (especially at first). Leaving a 12 week old was so difficult and having the cameras to look in on her really helped. Now it's just fun to pop in and see how she's doing. It makes me feel less cut off from her. -We feel very safe having her here. It was a tough decision to send her back during covid, but we have had nothing but a positive experience. I even saw a staff member sanitizing a high chair, a baby put one hand on it when the staff member went to put it away, and she sanitized it all over again. The staff is always wearing masks. All the safety protocols in place made me comfortable enough to send her back. We are so happy to have Everbook on our Team!

This is a great option if you want more structure than an inhome daycare or nanny, but slightly…read moremore reasonable cost than some of the other chain daycares in the area. The hours are also better than some other places, where you can bring your child in anytime from 6:30am to 6:30pm. Our children love going here, I'm a big fan that they provide the lunches and snacks for the kids (one less thing to have to worry about), and they use an app where you can get real-time updates about how your child is doing as far as meals, diapers, naps, etc. Some of the teachers are more or less on top of sending you a photo of your kid to you too. You can also use it to send messages to the teachers too. Outside each classroom they have a post of what the daily schedule is, plus what are the activities for each day. Recently, our child comes home with usually at least 1 project from the day, usually drawing or painting, etc. However, there are times I visit my child during when the schedule says they'll be doing some activity, to find the kids mostly having free roaming time. The negatives are that there does seem to be a lot of staff turnover, especially in the infant room, though the lead teachers are stable, the assistant teachers changed over at least 4 times in the course of one year. I also don't like that they dont ever announce any of this, so you have no clue if they went away on vacation and then to realize a few weeks later that they must have left. Similar to one of the older posts from a few years ago, it still rings true, where our child has been called out to go home early because they thought she had the various illnesses that were going around the school. Each time we pulled her out, brought her to the pediatrician, who confirmed she was fine and didn't have the symptoms of the illness they said they thought she had.

We have had an excellent experience at Ann Arbor Co-op. My son began last year (Fall 2017) after…read morean abrupt move to Ann Arbor from Chicago. At this time he had never had a babysitter or been dropped off with a non-family member. I was definitely feeling apprehensive. Thanks to the warm, welcoming, gentle environment my son's transition was seamless. Seeing him cheerfully and confidently flutter around the classroom truly makes my heart swell. Not only is he academically and socially ready for kindergarten, but he has developed a real love for school and a thirst for learning. AANI was the perfect introduction to school for our whole family. We are looking forward to enrolling our younger son next year.

AANI has been a wonderful experience for our entire family! As a mom, I have enjoyed being a part…read moreof my kids' preschool experience by being in the classroom with them. I've also learned SO MUCH as a parent, and gained a lot of confidence by learning what is age-appropriate behavior for my kids, and by watching and learning from the other adults around me. I have also enjoyed the social aspect of getting to know other families- there are fun social events and playdates going on all the time. The curriculum is play-based, and within it, there are so many skills that the kids practice that will help them later in their education; kids work on lots of hands-on science, art, and pre-literacy skills, and they are having so much fun doing it. My daughter made a seamless transition to kindergarten after her two years here, and I expect my son will do the same. I would recommend this preschool to anyone who wants to be more involved with their kids' education!

I just wanna say Ann Arbor Kindercare has shown great office and staff communication through the…read morecenter, Great Quality, Children are engaged in activity's as well as teachers keeping supervision key. Thank you Keyonte Jones and Faith Griffey for doing a great job for the center each and every day! They provide breakfast,Lunch, snack that gives kids the ability to feel comfortable healthy and never hungry at this center. They have outdoor playground Time and safety is taken well were they watch the temperatures and make sure the child is dressed to the weather and never missing out on learning. What is best at Ann Arbor's Center is there Monthly curriculums. Seeing the children's art work Is amazing and watching them grow Making friends and learning. My daughter Madelyn, has attended Ann Arbor's Kindercare since she was 6 weeks old. I knew coming into KinderCare my child would learn to go from an infant to a toddler in no time. She was in infants and learned to roll talk and walk. Going into toddler A and B she learned to walk so well she started potty training in toddler b on the potty and now in discovery preschool she's officially 3 and she's fully potty trained. The teachers really show how much this job means to them and what it takes to have a child improve. I'm super happy with how much She's grown as a toddler and learning to speak fluent sentences. Most of all what makes me the happiest is they have us bring family photos to stick up on the classroom walls and the child can be at eye level and know I'm in a safe place because my family is right beside me in my classroom As I move to each class as I grow. If Your ever wanting to enroll in a child care center that is learning based Ann Arbor Kindercare, its CLEAN! Teachers are very welcoming and friendly and the management takes high Pride in what they do for work! Thank you again for everything ! I will keep watching my child grow around the center.

Kindercare has been so fantastic for our family. We have to kids attend and both experiences have…read morebeen amazing. They are compassionate, caring, fun, and flexible. We were nervous to go back after all day cares were shut down due to Covid. Ms. Crystal took the time to talk with us on the phone and answer all our questions and made us feel very informed. Now that we have a been back for a few weeks we feel so well taken care of and safe at the center. Our daughter didn't want to go back after being home with us for weeks and now she wants to stay longer every day!

Daycroft is a school unlike any other…read more The Montessori philosophy is the foundation of what makes Daycroft so amazing. The kids that attend Daycroft are genuinely some of the nicest kids I've ever met. There is a huge emphasis placed on the "culture of kindness" and it shows every day. Children are treated with respect, and therefore respect one another. When behavior issues arise, children are counseled through it by their teachers, not simply punished. There is an emphasis on understanding and empathy rather than control. A HUGE reason this is possible is the faculty to student ratio. Every grade-level classroom has two full-time, certified teachers. The class sizes are nearly always 20 kids or less, so that's a 10-to-1 ratio max most of the time. When they go to specials (music, art, gym, Spanish, library, and technology), each class is split in half (half go to music and half to art, for example, then they switch) to preserve that ratio- unless the class makes more sense to have more kids (such as gym or orchestra). Daycroft is a school where everyone knows everyone by name- students know and are friends with other students at other grade levels, teachers know students' names in grades other than just the ones they teach, and specials teachers get to teach the same kids for up to nine years. The bond that is created with such a close-knit community is special. Daycroft is a family.

Our family has been at Daycroft Montessori for four years and are starting our fifth year. We…read morehighly recommend the school. We annually renew our decision to enroll at Daycroft due to the following: 1. The Montessori philosophy: mixed-age classrooms, children work uninterrupted on learning activities that they freely choose from a teacher-created set of options, children primarily learn by working hands-on with a myriad of subject-appropriate materials rather than verbal instructions from an instructor, and work plans designed for each individual child to the point that, depending upon the needs of the child, work plans can range from daily to weekly in duration. 2. Two teachers in each Daycroft classroom. This translates into a ratio of approximately one teacher for every 10 students. 3. The extraordinary religious, racial, and ethnic diversity of the children enrolled at Daycroft. For those of you reading this review who are new to the Montessori philosophy, let me explain that Montessori means disciplined choice. There is zero chaos in a Daycroft Montessori classroom. There may be a quiet hum, or happy chatter, but no chaos. From their workplan, children choose which item to address when. They are taught how to effectively focus and not interrupt other children's work. Because workplans are individualized to best fit their learning style, the children become deeply engaged. Before they move on to a new activity, the children must clean up their current activity. So, classrooms are tidy, calm, and, at the end of the day, everything is back in its place. We particularly love the diversity of the Daycroft families. Because it's so diverse, children learn experientially about the many skin tones, religions, & ethnicities. The teachers invite families in to share their rituals, foods, and experiences. Parents have the opportunity to become as involved as desired. I've volunteered in the classroom and my husband has volunteered in after-school. (There are quite a number of after-school activities for the children.) Daycroft has two locations. The Zeeb campus is K-6. Our family's experience has been at the Zeeb campus, which is where I will focus my review. The building is in excellent condition; bright, clean, and well-designed. It includes the K-6 classrooms, a robust library, media center, well-appointed art room, music room with risers and instruments, multi-purpose room (used for lunch, spanish, and after-care), kitchen, gym/auditorium, science room, sickroom, and administrative offices. All classrooms have smartboards and other types of technology (computers, etc). All children at Daycroft have Spanish twice a week and upper grades learn additional languages, and the etymology of language. Musical instruments are introduced at an early age, and increasingly sophisticated instruments are added as the children progress through the grades. There is an orchestra, choir, and band, and the children perform a concert semi-annually. Annually, in the spring, there is an all-school musical that is amazing. Every child is involved - creating the sets, singing in the chorus, and/or being on-stage. At Daycroft, children have choices appropriate to their age and abilities. All subjects are taught extensively and deeply throughout the children's time at Daycroft. For example, geometry and algebra are introduced in pre-school; each year, a child's learning of such subjects advances in sophistication. Because the children have individual workplans and uninterrupted worktime, they progress at their pace (with the teacher's encouragement and guidance, of course). What the children learn at Daycroft is far advanced from what my husband and I were taught at the same ages in our own school experiences. The administrative and teaching staff are always available to the parents. Two years ago, our daughter hit a personal "bump in the road". We spent time with her teachers and the head of school to work through this and found the experience to be very gratifying. All of us worked collaboratively to help our daughter traverse the situation successfully. From a distance, I've noted this scenario repeated successfully with other children at Daycroft. All children, at some point, will need some extra attention and the Daycroft staff has the time and commitment to provide it. From a physical perspective, children have gym three or four times per week. Plus, of course, recess. At the Zeeb campus, there are two playgrounds with age-appropriate equipment - one for lower elementary and a second for upper elementary. Zeeb has a garden, pond, and wetlands for the children to use in their curriculum. Some classrooms also include yoga daily for the children which has been a wonderful thing. Check out Daycroft Montessori - you'll be glad you did.