We have used Childcare of Brandon for years Their VPK…read moreprogram is excellent and they are flexible with the various charter schools. The staff have always treated our children like their own.

We have been going to childcare of Brandon since May and my daughter loves it. Ms Lourdes and Ms…read moreVanessa have been the most amazing teacher and I feel like my 1 year old is learning so much. The front desk staff is amazing and really makes you feel like family. I am so happy I chose this facility for my childcare needs! I have checked out other facilities in the area and Brandon was not only the most impressive, but also the most afforadable.

I'm so grateful we found this preschool for our daughter. It has been the best thing for her. It…read morefeels like I'm dropping my child off at grandma's house every day! They're so sweet and they truly care about the kids' health, wellbeing, and educational foundation. They have a few different playgrounds outside and everything is shaded and mulched/grass, not fake astroturf on top of concrete like other preschools. Graduation is coming up and I'm actually sad my child's time at MGR is coming to an end.

I like a lot of things about this center. The owner, Ms. Mary, is very personable and warm. She…read moremade me feel comfortable right from the beginning about sending my daughter to vpk here. The center itself is setup very nice and is clean. The classrooms are inviting, colorful, and the walls display the many projects the children work on while at school. The outside play area is amazing. It is very big, there is a lot to do, and is catered to the various ages of the children with different sections. The teaching here is fantastic. We were very lucky for my daughter to be placed in with Ms. Shelby, even though I have heard great things about the other VPK teachers as well. My daughter adores her teacher. She is a veteran teacher who knows how to connect well with her students. I can see how they all quickly attach themselves to her. She is great when it comes to communicating and interacting with them. My daughter has learned so much in her class. I am very proud of what she has been able to accomplish and seeing her progress in various subjects is exciting. I can only speak on behalf of a parent of a vpk child, but apart from vpk, this is a daycare as well. The center does many fun things with the children and every event they have here is catered to all of the kids. They have done something fun and family oriented for just about every holiday and will have special events from time to time that coincide with what the students are learning that week. There are plenty of chances for parents to volunteer their time here which is great. The staff involves themselves with the parents and care givers very nicely but there is room for improvement. I will say that I wish there was just a bit more communication when it comes to what the kids do on a daily basis in vpk. My daughter being 4 will do a million and one cool things at school but once she comes home, she has no clue what happened no matter how many unique questions I ask her and in various forms. When I go to the school and see inside the classroom, I get a better idea of how the day goes and all the great work Ms. Shelby puts in with her students. It would be nice to receive something concrete showing a schedule from the school with what they typically do first thing in the morning and sequentially after that. It is briefly discussed when meeting the teacher for the first time, but there is so much to take in that day that it is too much for the parents to be expected to remember it all. I also don't hear much about how my daughter does in school both emotionally and physically. What she really needs work on vs what she does great in (apart from what I observe at home and what I receive after a major state exam). I was told that I could sit in on the teacher and watch during the day to see what goes on, but I have another child and can't do that. What if I worked during the day? Plus, sitting in on the class would be disruptive to the teacher and students in my opinion. Apart from better communication, the center is very well run, organized, has caring staff, and proves to be involved in the education and care of each individual child. So far, I would recommend this center to another parent.

The teachers are wonderful, Ms. Ruth (Lead teacher) and Ms. Rosemary are amazing. My kids started…read moreat 3 yrs old and today is her graduation. On VPK she came home with homework every week, and you know what, thanks to these homework and the lessons at school, my kid gets the very high score at the Star test and remarkable achievement. I am so surprised of how knowledgeable she obtained from her teachers. Not only the school is great at academy, but also it provides a fun and positive atmosphere and environment. The staff are super nice and friendly, they know all of the students and always say hello to you and the kids. I highly recommend this school to the parents seeking a safe, academically rigorous and joyful environment for their kids.

Our child is enrolled in VPK and had the best experience. Ms. Ruth was an exceptional teacher, very…read morecharismatic, with the perfect amount of love and discipline. Ms. Daphne has also been a great addition to the class. Our child excelled both educationally and socially thanks to the teachers guidance. They did a great job attempting to keep kids germ free and healthy, hand washing protocols in place. This is a new location and they are working out the kinks, if there were communication issues or edits, they sent out updated information as needed.

We started our infant daughter at 14 weeks old at this Goddard campus while on the wait list for…read morethe owners' other school which is under construction in South Tampa. We had issues starting on Day 1 when we arrived and teachers were not wearing masks in the infant room. I told my concerns to the Director at the time who assured me they would wear masks moving forward. From then on we always saw her teachers in masks. We had several other issues including a lead teacher who did not provide our daughter any tummy time for several weeks, which we only noticed was happening after she stopped rolling over at home. On several pick up days, the fill in teachers in the afternoons were also using the iPads to show videos to our daughter. We also had some communication issues with her initial lead teacher Re later to scheduled and feeding. When the school director changed from Michelle to Ashley we had a discussion and Ashley addressed all of our concerns. They also brought in a new lead teacher for the infant room - Ms. Jessica - who we really loved and still think is a great infant teacher. The final straw for us, though, was 10 weeks after enrolling when we received the attached notification via the school's app on a Monday evening without any prior notice or warning. When I went to drop off our daughter the next morning, the director confirmed that vaccinated staff and parents would not be required to wear masks although they may still choose to. From what I experienced no one was checking vaccination status at the door. I told her we weren't comfortable with it, and she said that the decision was made by the owners the day before without any warning to anyone - teachers and staff as well. We weren't comfortable with this abrupt policy change, and I took our daughter home. I wrote to the director and asked that they reconsider requiring masks for teachers and parents in the infant room, otherwise we'd have to withdraw our daughter. I don't think this is an unreasonable request. They also already require you to clean your hands and put booties over your shoes to enter the infant room - why is a mask out of the question? The owner wrote me back and said they wouldn't be changing the mask policy and understood our decision to leave the school. The abrupt policy change without warning really put us in a horrible position. Thankfully we have grandparents who live close by and can help care for our daughter while we look for another solution, but if we didn't we would have no choice but to leave our daughter in a situation that we feel is too risky at this point. As a daycare which is intended to provide childcare for working parents, the school's actions have affected my job. Their actions certainly lost my trust and confidence that their school is managed and operated with my daughters best interests in mind. I am giving the school two stars because I do think the director and many teachers mean so well and do care about your children, but I think this school is experiencing several growing pains and that their management has some learning to do re: parent communication and relations. The same owners will be running the South Tampa campus when it opens as well and so we will no longer be attending that campus.

We love this school so very much. They work hard to accommodate our toddler's food allergies and…read morespeech therapy needs. The owner even recommended an on site therapist to us when he was diagnosed. Colleen, the owner, is so organized and direct with every detail, there are no surprises. Our child is happy, hugs and loves in the staff like they're family. We are SO thrilled to be a Goddard family! The school is quick to notify if there are health concerns like Covid or RSV. This has allowed us to keep our son safe in times of higher transmission. It's true the staff doesn't wear masks, but we personally prefer that to assist with ensuring our child can communicate effectively with staff members. His previous school wore masks and that seemed to delay his learning. This school was recommended to me by a friend who's child also attends and raves about her child's teachers. Lastly, the school isn't covered in gross carpet. They have tiled / laminate flooring that can be easily sanitized. I'm a big believer that this helps keeps the kiddos safe and healthy. Tuition is paid monthly and again, everything is very up front and directly communicated. Colleen is available for any parent any time. What more could you ask for?

I would not recommend this daycare to my worst enemy. Worst experience with a daycare I have ever…read morehad. Very unprofessional staff and I would not trust certain teachers with my child ever again. Please think twice about taking your child there.

I started send my son in 11/2023 and told them he is autistic and wanted to make sure they are able…read morehandle that. I was told yes and told they have cameras and etc. Things were going good but then a new teacher started after the new teacher I notice my son started acting odd. Then 1/31 I had my son tested for autism and he was on the spectrum. I shared this with the center and director. After this I started getting reports daily over stupid things and was getting concern, they were targeting my son. I called corp concern they reassure me this is not the case. Fast forward April 1 2024, I saw the police was at daycare when I went to go pick by 2 year old son up. When I walked through the doors the director was calling me about what was going on. I guess the teacher was aggressively handling my child and another parent saw it was super concern. The daycare DID NOT CALL THE POLICE! This parent sat there for 2 hours and were the ones that called the police. This daycare wanted the owner show up before calling the police. Even the policy told me they were trying hide the incident. There are NO RECORDING for this because TLE does no record footage at all. This teacher was out of ratio 1 teacher to 21 kids during nap time. They didn't call me for 5 hours after this happened. My son had a bruise on his back. They told me at first Ms. Lacey was not being fired for it which was a lie! The director quit right after this. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!!

My daughter has been at Children's Nest for 2.5 years and we have had a wonderful experience there…read more The teachers and staff are so welcoming and we have made so many friends within the community. I highly recommend this daycare to parents!

Patricia Selva, the director at the Hyde park location discriminates against neurodivergent…read morechildren. Additionally, they don't have enough staff to cover the promised daily activities such as outdoor play. They keep the after school children in one room, expecting them to complete worksheets while sitting at a table quietly for hours. Although we were verbally told during our tour (and it's covered in their handbook) by Patricia that they would go outside daily to play on the playground, they never did. There was always an excuse. It was too hot or not enough staff to watch the kids. For a neurodivergent child, this is a must. After sitting in a class all day, they need to get their energy out. My son, repeatedly got in trouble because he was saying potty words (poop, pee, balls) while sitting idle in the classroom. When we addressed it with the director she said "all the other children are angels, except yours. He must be learning this inappropriate language at home." As she was telling me this, another child approached my son and punched him in the stomach. When I pointed that out to her, she said "I didn't see anything." Patricia was looking for any reason to remove my child from the center because he didn't fit the definition of normal. I called to inform Trent Crouch who oversees children's nest he said "there is nothing I can do, Patricia has been with us a long time." It saddens me that our community is unwilling to help children that are neurodivergent. In this case, children's nest did not live up to their promises of keeping the kids active. They looked for reasons to discipline my child and ignore the bullying behaviors of other kids. Patricia and Trent should be ashamed of how they treated my son and learn how to help kids of all abilities,

Great daycare! Excellent staff members! My daughter is learning so much and having fun, she looks…read moreforward to going to daycare! I appreciate the kind teachers I genuinely feel they love my daughter just as much as I do!

I urge any parent who is thinking of enrolling their children here to please reconsider. The front…read morestaff is very disorganized and lack a welcoming environment. This establishment is dirty and the staff lack empathy and compassion for children. As a paying customer, I was very displeased with the lack of communication I received. I asked about food menus and was told they didn't have any. The "curriculum" that was advertised was essentially non-existent. The care that my child received was inadequate and I am very unhappy that we spent our money here. After taking my child here for 2 days we decided that he needed to receive better care elsewhere. This place is terrible and I don't recommend it to anyone. As a teacher myself, I know what a welcoming school should be like and this place is NOT it.

My son and daughter attended Bowman Academy for the 2014 - 2015 school year, 2015 summer sessions…read moreand part of the 2015 - 2016 school year. We ended up transferring our children to a different preschool after coming to understand the differences in teaching philosophies and methodologies in "traditional" preschools, like Bowman Academy, and some of the alternative programs, like Montessori and Waldorf. We felt our circumstances were best served elsewhere, but I cannot say enough good things about our children's teachers; Mrs. Bobbie (amazing!!!!), Mrs. Susan, Mrs. Kidder and Mrs. Emily. Truly caring and talented teachers. There was an administrative change at Bowman that I feel created some turbulence, but it is the teachers that matter most.

Both of my children have attended Bowman, for a combined 6 years total, including summer camps…read more They are there 5 days a week, usually until 5 pm as my husband and I both work executive level jobs that requires flexibility. After researching, visiting, and experiencing 2 other preschools, I have been beyond happy with them. This is the most caring, loving, kind, generous, and flexible team I've ever come across, even in my own business interactions. They absolutely cater to the families as a unit, respond quickly and efficiently, and have the most loving staff. Bowman has created a culture of teachers and caregivers that excel at making the children feel comfortable and loved, while the parents feel supported and "heard." I'll never forget the first day of school for my daughter, who was of course crying for me not to leave, and the teacher (whom I simply love and trust, as I do all of them) looked at me and said "the faster you make your departure, the more easy it will be for her." I trusted her, I kissed my daughter and left (and of course cried my eyes out in the parking lot). She was right, and my children have always felt safe and protected there as a product of that compassionate and confident leadership their teachers exude. You won't find a better preschool... just hope you can get on their list.