We were here with my oldest from 2019-2022 when the shut down happened. The director and assistant…read moredirector moved on in their careers at the same time and a lot of teachers left with them which caused issues. We left the center with my oldest from 2022-2024 and my youngest, 2 yo was with her older sister at another center. Last summer/fall a lot of issues started with my youngest at the other Center and it was having a negative effect on her in multiple ways. We pulled her out and decided to return to Kindercare Elkridge and are so glad we did. Since the shutdown, management changed again and improved. Ms Christina was one of my oldests infant teachers so we already knew she cared about the kids and really knew her stuff. Ms Amanda is the new director and we love how she'd rather build the center back up slowly, even if it means keeping a few classrooms closed until she can find quality teachers, rather than rush to fill rooms with warm bodies. They're really trying to restore kindercare to its previous glory. And the 2s teachers Ms Heather and Ms Chelsea are fantastic. The issues my 2 yo was having at the other center have improved significantly and these teachers have really partnered with us to help her. But it's also clear they see and care about her as an individual. We couldn't ask for better teachers who understand this tough age and love and care about the kids like their own. She receives quality instruction in a nurturing environment and has even been branching out and trying new foods thanks to their provided lunches! For a little more money than we were paying at our previous center (where only snacks were provided and most were just processed carbs), now she gets breakfast, lunch and snack provided, with a lot of variety and they actually cook stuff on site. We're so glad we returned. It felt like coming back home.

My oldest son went to this school for around 5 years until the pandemic started and he was old…read moreenough that didn't need daycare anymore, and my younger son has been here for the last 3 years. We have had great experiences in all those years..... until the last two months. The director and the assistant director resigned to move on in the careers with in a few weeks or each other and subsequently and seemingly with out support from KinderCare corporate Teacher after teacher has been leaving the center and this evening when my wife arrived to pick my son up she was met by people from the state of Maryland telling her that the centers license has been revoked and they are being shut down. As of tomorrow we are with out daycare for the foreseeable future.

Three of my four children attended YS Kendall Ridge over the last five years. My last two graduate…read moreand move to Kindergarten and I have been so lucky to have them be a part of my village. Every single employee has been kind, caring, and receptive to questions or feedback. The curriculum is child-led, nature-based, and reflexive. I love the cottage system - it really sets the school apart. Most of the school has received new furniture (including the new loft!) and it looks amazing. Ms. Melissa and Ms. Hanna are amazing leaders who listen and pivot when needed. They really listen; the moral compass of the school is the child. Your child will experience natural learning in a real way. They are only young once; why not give them the best experience they possibly could have?

We had a premature baby in the middle of our move to Maryland. We thought we had lots of time to…read moreget the house ready but it didn't work out that way. Needless to say having a half furnished house with a newborn was very challenging. We were nervous about the idea of putting our infant in daycare at such a young age. We researched and toured four local daycares and ultimately chose the young school. We are glad we did. Ms Susan and Ms Kimi have been great and the administration staff is super attentive and friendly. The school is clean and well run. Their communication has been excellent and they take great care of our son. We particularly like the SproutAbout app which provides regular activity updates on everything from bottle feeding to activities which makes us feel like we are involved even while away and provides a sense of security in understanding what transpires during the day. The hours are also convenient for us as is the location which never has morning traffic. We are so glad we found the young school and recommend them! - Darren

My child is at the Hickory Ridge location and I cannot speak highly enough about the staff. My…read morechild, 8 months old, comes home each day happy and tired, which to me indicates a great and stimulating day.

Warning to parents about school's Hickory Ridge campus: On several occasions when our child was in…read morethe care of a classroom aide, particularly when the lead teacher was absent, our child came home visibly upset--this was unusual given how typically happy and loving our child is. Our child would often share concerning incidents involving the aide, such as being unfairly singled out, including having food taken away. The most alarming moment came when the aide told our child, "don't tell mommy and daddy" about something that happened, which caused fear and hesitation in sharing further. When we reported these issues to the administration, they dismissed our concerns and defended the aide's actions. After consulting both a pediatrician and a childhood psychologist, they both flagged the aide's behavior as a serious concern and advised us to remove our child from the school. Despite this, the school has yet to address the incident and continues to support and employ the aide. While there are wonderful teachers at this school, the administration's defense of harmful practices leads us to advise against enrolling your child here.

I love this school. My son has been there since Kindergarten and he's entering fifth grade this…read moreyear. My daughter is entering Kindergarten this year. There are really too many things to list, but I'll try to. First, arts are at the core of learning at this school. The arts are used as a tool for teaching and evaluating students' work. The school also ensures there's recess everyday which is so important at this age! I absolutely love the community of families, teachers and staff. We are always welcome in the school. The day starts with a community breakfast in which all classes eat together, hear morning announcements and say the school pledge. Parents are encouraged to be a part of that. The class sizes are small, which is great for students to get specialized attention. And there's no boring worksheets. Kids learn in ways that are meaningful and fun. I can't say enough great things!

My daughter is currently in fourth grade at Creative City. She has been attending Creative City…read moresince kindergarten. She has received wonderful instruction from Creative City staff and has made close friends at the school. Over the years she has participated in a number of great projects from woodwork, to pottery in the style of an acclaimed potter, to gardening, to a month long Black Lives Matter arts-integrated project. Her class has recess daily, which helps her to focus during the times of classwork. In the times that I have had concerns about her schoolwork or instances of kids being mean, the teachers and admin have been very responsive. I am glad that my daughter has had Creative City as her home for the past five years and hope that she will find as good of a school home for middle school.

My son loves Quala! The teachers are so caring and he is learning so much! Pixie 2 is the best!read more

I cant say enough good things about Quala Care. The curriculum, the structure, everything is…read moreamazing and I always feel like my kids are super safe. In particular Ms. Tina goes above and beyond for me. I dont have facebook (FB) and other than the office sending an email or the teachers putting a message on the app, all communication about (for example) spirit week, holidays, birthdays, etc. is done via FB. But Ms. Tina takes her time to text me every single message. She also checks in if she feels my son is having an off day. Her kindness has made me and my kids feel very special. Of course Ms. Danielle is also wonderful and always so kind and Ms. Jayla has even been to some of the kids birthday- she truly loves kids- so they are all amazing. They give birthday gifts, holidays gifts, etc. that THEY PURCHASE. Above and beyond. Ms. Iku and Ms. Bow are also wonderful to my daughter, though i dont have the same interactions. Ill just say they are very sweet. I dont know the other staff names, but as they run your kids back to class or up from class they are always kind. I love the security of the locked main door to get into all of the classrooms as well and the app that we utilize. Only using FB could be considered a negative to some (there are times I wish maybe there was more signage or emails sent but they also recently put up a board that they write things on which helps) but with staff like Ms. Tina it really doesnt bother me. Thank you Quala Care :)

My family loves Childtime! Our son joined when he was 12 weeks old and is now almost 4. He has…read moregrown up with his friends and his teachers. To say it takes a village is an understatement and Childtime is an essential part of our village. We do not trust anyone to keep our children, the fact that I can drop off my son and feel comfortable and confident that he will be treated and loved the way he is at home is amazing!

All 4 of my children have gone to this school in some capacity since 2015. The school is run by a…read morecaring, empathetic leader, Bethanie, who has always been approachable and supportive. She communicates well and helps parents feel at ease. Though my older kids only go for school days out and summer camp, they LOVE coming back to Childtime. It's a bit of a commute for us, but its worth it for my kids to feel loved and happy. Shout out to Ms. Janet, who has been there longer than we have. She is so kind, generous, and always gives us a nice anecdote about their day. Any concerns are handled quickly and I love that I don't have to pack them lunches! Thank you, Childtime, for being there for my family for almost 10 years! You are a part of my village and I couldn't do it without you!

In the beginning of the School Year I trusted this place (The Director Michelle) to care for my…read morechild before and after care in my absence. This school does not have its own Bus or van so the kids use HCPSS School bus for the local school kids. The director stands at the stop while the kids exit the bus. My little girl who was 5 years old at the time (now 6) got left on the School bus because she said the other kids told her that my child wasn't on the bus. She didn't get on the bus to check for herself because she said that the bus driver doesn't allow her to get on the bus. I verified that with the bus company and the driver and that was a lie. I was told she never asked to enter the bus to check. Anyways, once the driver realized that my child didn't get off at the last stop, the driver returned her back to the school and in the care of the Principal. The Principal called me to let me know what happened. I was 30mins away at work. I was able to leave work, get my daughter from school and make it to the center and never received a call from the director to confirm or deny if my child was at School. When my child first started, I told her that I would always let her know if my child would be absent to avoid this traumatic situation. Once I got to the Center, I confronted the Director and asked her why my child wasn't taken off of the bus. Her response was. "Oh ___ was at School today?, the kids told me she wasn't on the bus!" I understand mistakes can happen but this is a mistake NO PARENT EVER WANT FOR THEIR CHILD! When I told the director that her response wasn't a good enough response and that I wanted an explanation for what happened. She told me in front of some staff "I mean it was a accident, I don't know what more you want me to say." It was so nonchalant. As I left the building there were other parents waiting on me in the parking lot because they had possibly heard what happened, as the director didn't even have enough courtesy to take me to her office and discuss the situation. As a result, I have since moved her to another before and after care where she was frantic riding the bus because of the situation. Now, she's in a summer camp and the first day I picked her up, they told me that she was very upset and crying on the bus because she was afraid she was going to get left on the bus because she wasn't sitting next to an adult. Although, this camp is amazing and they assured her they'd never let anything like that happen to her, this is a ongoing wound that continues to open for us. As it stands I'll have to put my child in therapy because this has been really traumatizing to her and those of us that love and care for her. Finally, I'll end this with, I NEVER GOT A LETTER, CALL OR EMAIL FROM ADMINISTRATION APOLOGIZING FOR WHAT OCCURRED. Instead they swept it under the rug but now that my child is still traumatized almost one year later, I'm going to contact administration or corporate for answers on why they never contacted me. Maybe Michelle never reported this situation. I'm going to tell all parents reading this to please look at other centers. I've been told other Brookfield locations are good but please stand clear of the one on Cedar Lane, under the Direction of Michelle. She is very heartless and should never be in control of keeping anyone else's child or children safe. This School failed us in a major way. I was going to post the email response I received from her, but I will stand clear of doing so for now.

This is not a "school" in the traditional sense. It is a daycare. The employees are not certified…read moreeducators, they have the 90 hour credit to work in daycare. All locations are not run the same even though there is one owner. We used this daycare for about a year. The employees were kind but there were a lot of inconsistencies. An example is two "teachers" in each classroom and one was very strict while the other was super lenient. The strict teacher did most of the instruction and the lenient teacher would let the kids have fun. That's confusing for small children because when they are disciplined for showing behaviors that were permissible by the lenient teacher, they did not understand why they were in trouble. There was a lot of turnover in all of the "classrooms" and when there was a "new teacher," parents were not immediately notified. This was a safety risk as the kids would not know all of the teachers names in case something happened. Also, you did not know for sure if all of the hired employees were vetted. At one point they would just ask if people were looking for a job. The employees were not dressed professionally. There was no way to know another child's parent from a staff member. Also there were times where the ladies were dressed inappropriately. Tight, short, and/or revealing clothing. It was disgustingly worse when the weather warmed. To be fair, the building was secure in terms of gaining access to the children. Also, one and only one teacher taught Bible verses. They did not enforce Christian principles in all classes because "all families were not Christian". That was strange that they would not teach these principles regardless being as though they called themselves a "Christian School." I mean is it not in their name?! Rhetorical. I want to give this place a one or two star review but I will give it a 3 because not all three locations seem to be run the same. Even though it's in Columbia, do not be fooled.

I seriously can't say enough good things about this center. We are heartbroken to leave, and it's…read moreonly because our family has moved to a new home this center is too far for our commutes. Our son went here from 9mos to 2 yrs and he has grown so much! He can count to 10 in English and Spanish, identifies so many colors and shapes, and can hold a crayon with confidence. Beyond education, the teachers here truly care about the children and show love, compassion, and attention to all students. They have wonderful seasonal events, theme weeks in the summer, and lots of opportunities for fun. My very small feedback is that sometimes it was hard to communicate about supplies needed like diapers or changes of clothes, and sometimes we had to wait a while at pick up. 10/10 recommend this place to anyone. Your kid will be safe and happy here.

We are excited for our daughter as she is blossoming in her 3 year old class. Her writing and…read morecreative playing have gotten so fun! Her teachers are so engaging and have helped us guide her through tantrums and growing pains! She loves painting, story time, Zumba and the cool (and safe) playground. Our son was totally ready for Kindergarten this past fall and I know that the Kiddie Academy Family was a big part of that.