First Church offers a warm and welcoming nursery school! I started sending my daughter there at 4…read moremonths and she's now a flourishing toddler who loves going there. The staff is great and always engaged with the kids in their care. What I particularly love about this nursery school is that they accept infants, which they have a small program for, and are open hours that are good for working parents!

From the owner: Here at First Church Academy for Young Children, we pride ourselves on adhering to high educational…read morestandards while maintaining our NAEYC accreditation. We provide children (Infants through Pre-K 5) and their families with consistent care throughout the day under the guidance of our experienced, professional staff.

I can not say enough wonderful things about this loving nurturing environment. They are very…read morecreative in how to stimulate your child in a very loving environment. They offer so many special activities too. They visit and elderly home, field trips, dance, zumba, yoga, and sports classes. It is a very calm, but playful environment.

From the owner: West Hartford Methodist Nursery School is a nationally accredited program that provides the highest…read morequality early childhood education within a warm caring Christian atmosphere to support children's social, emotional and physical needs.

We love Quaker Lane! Both of my kids have gone here and it's truly like a wonderful little family…read more The teachers are fantastic, caring, and creative.

From the owner: Our program is a Cooperative in which parents and teachers share the common goal of supporting our…read morechildren in their learning endeavors and providing a quality learning experience. We provide an environment that fosters social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and creative development with emphasis on the whole child as a unique and capable individual. We strive to provide a foundation on which children can build their knowledge and understanding of their world with a hands-on approach, as they experience it through active play and manipulation of materials. Creativity, discovery and decision-making are encouraged within a developmentally appropriate curriculum.

TLDR - was ghosted completely after a visit; didn't feel we were welcome…read more A bit of a background, we visited this montessori to explore the possibility of enrolling our old child (less than a year old), when eligible in 9 months or so at the earliest. My spouse and I, we are both immigrants with no immediate family here for the support. We both have graduate degrees in STEM and work full-time. This montessori, given its proximity to our home and hours of availability, would have been a great option for my child to enroll. Unfortunately, we felt we were not really welcome here based on our visit and follow-through, or the lack of it. My wife made the first approach and was strongly encouraged by a staff at the school to arrange a possible visit. For clarification, the visit is a part of the multi-step process of getting admission. This staff mentioned to my spouse that this would be the best time to explore the possibility of enrolling our child. My spouse was very excited for the visit, which had to be scheduled between 9-10 am when they accommodate at most 2 people/families a day. The visit was alright for the most part. There were few odd moments here and there but we have gotten accustomed to those from our visits to other daycares and such. We were also informed by the staff giving the tour, a different staff from the one who my wife initially contacted, that the admission is really competitive and difficult to get. This sounded slightly different than the prior information from the staff. It was still understandable given how strained childcare and educational services have been in the area. At the end of the visit, we were given a brochure but were informed that they were out of the application form - odd again but not out of the norm. We were told the staff had our email and will send us the application form, and we could also reach out if we had more questions. My spouse emailed this staff with the questions the very same day. After getting no response for a couple of days, my spouse called the said staff and left a voicemail after receiving no answer. We never heard back and never got that application form. My wife again emailed the following week to no avail. We were ghosted and started wondering if we failed to meet certain standards they had set, unbeknownst to us.This is even more baffling given the fact the staff barely asked us, the parents, anything to know us. Now, in any other place, this would be an issue with one staff. Here, based on the information available on their website, it sounds like the multi-step admission process goes through certain staffs, not committees. We started asking ourselves what the chances are that if we couldn't hear back after multiple attempts or receive an application form, our application will be adjudged fairly, let alone be accepted. I am not sure whether I should be happy that the staff showed us how the "educational place" is before we got heavily involved or I should be saddened that an early development school is unwelcoming to many.

I remember being so worried with our first child - are we doing the right thing? Maybe we should't…read morebe doing this; Maybe we should be trying that etc. And I have to admit, till this day, I keep having the same inner dialogue. But there is one area, where this conversation has ceased. And that is 'What is the right school for our children?'. MSGH is a unique Montessori school that not only provides an authentic education that perfectly balances academics with life & executive skills, but a school that has created such a loving and caring community that we truly call our second home. That is the one area, where I don't have to worry anymore - I know my children are being lovingly cared for, receive the right amount of support to flourish emotionally and to grow into mature individuals that are strong academically but also feel responsible to make our world a better place for everyone.

We hope this is the place for your child. Finding the right fit is hard. Ultimately, it was clear…read moreto us, from the way our children took to their class, or didn't, that this was a poor fit. Overheard staff complaining about short lunch breaks at hours that made no sense to avoid staffing shortage, overheard a teacher tell a child to stop crying, that he was faking it. I hate to knock a place that someone might like. If we had no other option in the world and literally no one could take care of our kids, fine, we'd go, temporarily. However, we ended up at a different daycare and we are much more at peace with that decision. Unhappy teachers made this place feel like a holding pen for toddlers instead of a place of early childhood education.

Choosing the right place to send my then 4 month old daughter only gave me anxiety. Having a…read moreprevious background in childcare I was so nervous I wouldn't find a place where I could feel comfortable sending my daughter. My husband and I took lots of time researching and visiting many different facilities. I had almost given up and then I met with Moriah ( the asst..director). From that moment of meeting her and touring the facilities and hearing about their extensive program I knew that I had found the most perfect place. If I couldn't be home with my daughter full time EPC was the only place I felt as ease sending her. Once my daughter started attending I really got to know the teachers. They are so accommodating to YOUR child's schedule. My daughter is now 9 months old and I couldn't be happier with her growth there. I have no doubt that EPC is the BEST!!

Stay away!!! Not updated at all. They charge so much and give so little in return. The hallway…read moresmells all the time. Lunch is not included. The director, and site manager are a joke. They know more about me then I know about myself. They need there positions filled with hard working people who are willing to put there love into a facility and making sure that things are ran smoothly. The toys that are in the class room and out side are all donated. No learning tools. Just stay away. Pay that extra $40 of daycare somewhere else and thank me later.

Wonderful. Kids spend a ton of time outdoors. Lovely atmosphere to learn and grow. The kids get…read moreto be kids at this school. The owner is wonderful.

In our experience, sending our child to Renbrook for Pre-K was unfortunate. There were two Pre-K…read moreclasses that, to us, appeared quite segregated, with most minority students and teachers in one class and others in the other. This gave us the impression that the school lacks diversity. Throughout the school year, our previously happy and outgoing child became increasingly miserable, to the point of not wanting to go to school in the mornings. We all felt a significant amount of stress. At the time, we weren't aware that Renbrook does not require formal qualifications for their teachers. It seems that individuals who were formerly teacher's aides or camp counselors are employed as teachers, without any formal education or training in child development or education. This contrasts with local public schools, which typically require a master's degree in these fields. In our view, based on what our child shared, these unqualified "teachers" seemed unable to connect with our child and perhaps others, resorting to strict discipline methods such as yelling, time-outs, and a lack of affection or support. As parents, we were repeatedly pressured through emails and phone calls to use time-outs at home to make our child easier to manage in class. The classroom environment seemed overly strict for four-year-olds, who were expected to sit still in a circle for extended periods and were not allowed to wiggle or make noises without being labeled disruptive. Any attempts to communicate with the school about how well-behaved our child was in other settings were dismissed. We felt blamed as parents, with the school insisting that the problem was with us or our child, never them. It appeared that children of teachers and wealthy donors were given preferential treatment, allowed to misbehave without consequence. Our child noticed this difference and expressed that the teachers only helped certain kids, not her or some of her friends. There seemed to be a bias, with boys being excused for inappropriate remarks or physical transgressions, while girls were expected to remain quiet and compliant. This made us feel very concerned. Based on conversations with other parents, it seemed that families who were not part of the teachers' or donors' circle were often advised to seek psychological evaluations and treatments for their children. This gave us the impression that the frequency of children in therapy at Renbrook was notably high. We never had the opportunity to meet the school counselor, as she was part-time and unable to attend a meeting we hoped she would join. When we attempted to discuss our concerns with the head of the school, we felt that our concerns were again dismissed, with the suggestion that the issue lay solely with us and our child. This was not supported by a subsequent elaborate professional evaluation, which found our child to be highly intelligent and emotionally healthy. Throughout the year, most of the school's communication centered around fundraising and monthly donation requests, with little focus on the educational details of our children. The events were more akin to social gatherings, featuring heavy drinking by some participants and the formation of cliques among parents at golf or social clubs. Notably, Renbrook does not offer tuition refunds if you decide the school is not a good fit and wish to transfer your child during the school year. This made the school year seem long and needlessly difficult for us. Things immediately improved when we enrolled our child in a different school for summer camp and kindergarten, where she now feels respected, supported, and welcome. We are very pleased with this change, and she has returned to being her happy, outgoing, curious, and well-behaved self. Lastly, we have noticed that Renbrook tends to respond to negative reviews by stating they have no record of the student attending, particularly in response to anonymous reviews. We assure you that we did send our child there, regardless of whether Renbrook acknowledges our email address.

Renbrook is by far the best private school - and better than most public schools - in the area…read more It's worth a look for any child between the ages of 3years old and 9th grade. Small class size, diversity, traditional and creative school curriculum and individual attention from teachers is the norm, not the exception.

Stay away!!! The director/ site manager is a joke. It's not updated at all. Nothing new, toys are…read morehanded down by parents and the hallway always smells. They charge so much for so little in return. There play scape is a joke. No lunch included and your kids nose are never cleaned. The site manager/director/ billing specialist are so nosey!! They know so much about me/ my life. It's not professional at all. Just don't send your child here. Spend the extra $40 and send them to a updated daycare facility.

I was disappointed at the pre school, they seem to put kids in time out a lot. I am a parent who…read morelike to see positive learning for children and not also totally against the time out, but the incidents here that happened was far too many times. Everyday when I went to drop my child there there was always someone at the time out table with his\her head lowered, it just seemed like may be it was just underqualified teachers or simply way too many kids I don't know. Now my kid is in grade school, and its time for my younger kids to go to preschool and my older one busted into tears saying that preschool is very harsh and not to send my other kids there. I just learned that my kid was was a target of ridiculing by this pre school teacher. She actually put my kid in time out and n NEVER gave a reason and when other mom or visitor came she actually said out loud "Look who is in Time out". Today after three years my kid cried recalling told me " and mom my face got Red" . I think this is really bad but now I am wondering if this incident is so harsh for my kid and I never knew and my kid never told me, doesn't the school supposed to tell me????? This happened 3 years ago, I dont know what else might had happened there, Mrs. Andrea, ate you still teaching kids? I dont't think you should. May be you should go back to school to learn how to encourage children or YWCA should hire more qualified teachers. I give this school 1 star.

We couldn't be happier with our summer at Miss Yelena's Educational Place. She is truly wonderful,…read moreand it has been the perfect transition for our child into preschool. I would highly recommend this as a first daycare option--she welcomes children up until they move on to Pre-K or Kindergarten. Along the way, we've also met such wonderful families and friends through this experience. If you're looking for an interactive, safe, and enriching environment for your child, definitely check out Miss Yelena's.

My preschool daughter has been at Mrs. Yelena's Educational Place for almost two years now and we…read morecould not be happier with the love and care that she has received. Before finding Mrs. Yelena we visited multiple day care centers, we never liked the place, the people or simply we did not feel comfortable with the setting. (As first time parents we were nervous). When we first visited Mrs. Yelena we knew, we knew right away, we had found a place where our daughter could play, learn and grow. It felt like, and it is for our daughter, a home away from home. The small group really allows Mrs. Yelena to focus on the kids and their growth, our daughter, learned to clean up after herself, snack time and sharing, gave up the diaper, started napping (she only naps during the week, not on weekends), playing with other kids, climbing, painting, snow, new songs, English! She started singing all out and expressing herself in so many creative new ways. Every so often you meet people that have found their calling, when you meet Mrs. Yelena you can tell she is doing what she loves to do. She is a great educator, with so much warmth and kindness. Every single day the kids are playing with something new to stimulate a new sense, or new songs, or planting trees. A beautiful place and environment for kids to grow in. I highly recommend Mrs. Yelena's Educational place in West Hartford and Mrs. Yelena, if anything everyone who cares about their kids should visit her place to see what a loving and nurturing environment looks like.