Our little one is wrapping up her time at NWM, and we're going to miss this community so much. It…read morehas been such a sweet little haven for her - a place where she's built so much confidence, learned and grown tremendously, made wonderful friends, and truly become ready for kindergarten. We've had experience with two other Montessori schools in both South and North Austin, and NWM was by far our favorite. The teachers and community have made her time here incredibly special, and we're so grateful for the care they've given her. We would wholeheartedly recommend NWM to any family looking for a warm, nurturing, and enriching preschool/Pre-K experience in the area.

Both of our kids have gone to NWM and have absolutely thrived! The program somehow manages to be…read moreplay-based while still being very academic. Both kids graduated able to read and write well beyond grade level, add and subtract small numbers, and count to 1000. They've been over prepared for Kindergarten. The staff is lovely, kind, and enthusiastic. They do lots of hands-on crafts and STEM activities that the kids come home talking about. They also do occasional theme weeks/days like bubble units or bring your pet to school day which the kids look forward to. It's a wonderful school and we couldn't be happier with our experience.

My daughter started at Twin Oak Montessori School when she was 3 years and 10 months old and has…read morenow graduated at 5 years old. Our family moved to the US from another country, and her English level was very basic. I was worried about her adaptation without knowing the language. I'm so happy that I found Twin Oak because, over this period, she has quickly become fluent in English, made many friends, and looks forward to coming to school every day. The wonderful people from the school helped my daughter adapt to a new culture so easily. All the teachers, especially Miss Chuti and Miss Alina, have been incredibly kind and friendly to Nika. They really love children, and this is incredibly valuable to me. My heart always swells with happiness when I see my daughter smiling and happy after school. I love the educational program, which includes many topics such as science, math, new vocabulary, creative projects, and physical exercises like bicycling, splash days, and dance. Additionally, I appreciate how they support parents and lift my mood every morning when I drop off my kids. I'm so grateful to the Team! Sofia, mom of Nika

I love the Twin Oaks Montessori experience for my child. She joined at 18 months and just turned 3…read more She loves going to Twin Oaks every day, loves her teachers, and loves her friends. They may be more traditional (no screens, no digital communication), but I actually enjoy that. I don't need photos of her everyday. I can tell she's learning and engaged by the things she tells and shows us at home and how happy she is to see her teachers and friends each day at drop-off. I appreciate that the teachers are spending their time with my child actually teaching and guiding. My daughter knows her numbers, colors, shapes - even a song that names all the planets. She gets exposed to foreign languages (Spanish, French, Japanese, ASL), music, yoga, other cultures and countries, and so much more. There are some older reviews that mention coloring sheets, but we haven't experienced that. One of the teachers who has been there for roughly 2 years is an artist herself and helps the children with a guided (every child makes their version of the same image) or self-expressive (every child creates what they would like) each week. We even have some framed up in our child's room. I highly recommend Twin Oaks.

Our daughter joined the Peace of Mind family two years ago, and from day one, we truly felt like…read morepart of a family. As parents, the peace of mind we felt knowing how loved and cared for she was by every member of the staff and her classmates brought us so much joy. Now that our time at Peace of Mind has come to an end, it's hard to say goodbye. You know a daycare is special when farewells are this difficult. If you are looking for a place where teachers will treat your children with love, care, compassion, and will embrace the very best parts of them--this is the place. The owners pour their hearts and souls into creating an environment that feels magical. From petting zoos and bounce houses at family events, to splash days in the summer, to the endless pictures that make you feel like you never miss a moment--it's clear how much thought and love goes into every detail. We are so grateful for our time here, and if you are lucky enough to get your child into Peace of Mind, you will quickly understand what all of us parents already know: it's a truly amazing place.

We toured Peace of Mind a couple of months before I gave birth and intended to send our son when he…read morewas around 5 months old. They were very helpful, gave us a tour, and essentially confirmed our spot. If they had given any indication there wouldn't be space I would've lined up backup daycares. A month or so after I gave birth I reached out to them to check in, and got no response. After a week I emailed again, with no response. I started panicking a little (my son was supposed to start in just a couple of months) and called frequently. No one answered or returned my calls or voicemails. Finally after a MONTH of reaching out, they emailed back and said they wouldn't have space but would reach out when they did. It's been a year and they've never contacted me. Not that I would send my children here anyways, I'd prefer a daycare I can actually get in touch with if needed... Update: It appears the owner responds via Yelp much faster than their email. And also, even though they didn't officially confirm our spot during the tour, they gave no indication there would be an issue with the approximate start time we were desiring. We were not the only family we know of that tried to contact them for weeks and got no response.

Great kids, great teachers and great parents make for a great environment to learn and socialize…read more A great lead into kindergarten, school and life.

Amazing school that centers the child's learning experience and prioritizes community!read more

School too old nothing new we went on tour and we really didn't like it it is anticuadra as they…read morewould move but they canceled the plans and this school is really all old, carpets the painting of the rooms blue things on the blackboards nothing nice. I would really recommend remodeling and that there is more space in the classrooms that there is modernity really having that old-fashioned I would not feel comfortable leaving my daughter there if you see that there are good teachers but I really make too much money for the school look like this. Apart from going through the middle of a "living room" and now there will be 2 rooms in the middle I really don't recommend it for that

Avoid this childcare center. The director, Jasmin, treats staff with zero respect, creating a toxic…read moreenvironment. The owner, Monica, allows it to happen without addressing it. When my child attended, they were unhappy about staying--likely because of the negative atmosphere. Until leadership changes, this is not a safe or supportive place for children or staff.

Wow, what can I say, I feel like we won the jackpot when we found Magellan. our daughter started in…read moreKindergarten and although she isn't very good at adapting or transitions, she immediately fell in love with her teachers and school friends.. There are no cliques and no bullying and when we have had issues we have raised them with the teachers and they have jumped on them to solve them immediately, and unlike other private schools there's no sense of entitlement from the parents or students. Also, because the school is so good at awarding scholarships not everyone is 'rich'! The school also has a great parent teacher association which offer weekly meet-ups and play dates as well as adult only events. Each class also has a WhatsApp chat group so parents can easily communicate with each other. If it sounds like one big happy family you'd be right, that's exactly what it feels like. In terms of academics my adhd child has thrived. Diagnosed at 4 we thought she would struggle but the school has been amazing at supporting her needs and accommodating her. They also offer many different seating types from a bouncy ball chair, to cushions on the floor and other such. It's very holistic and non political and offers many diverse ways of learning. They have a calming corner, encourage reading and emotional open communication as well many other ways of teaching emotional and academic intelligence. They teach in Spanish from day one and introduce Mandarin from 3rd grade, they also teach following the international Baccalaureate which is amazing. It teaches the children self confidence through weekly presentations and teaches them autonomy. Honestly this school is amazing and now it goes until 12th grade we are obsessed and so you will be too. But, sshh don't tell anyone about our secret slice of heaven.

My son has attended Magellan since the age of three years old-- he is now in second and we have…read morealready registered him for third grade. Hands down, my husband and I feel it is best decision we have made for his education. Although it can be a bit pricey, we have felt that it has been worth every dollar. He is growing up to be a well spoken, well thought, caring little human. I love that he is bilingual, but I really love his open minded views and his eagerness to learn. The teachers... the teachers have all been so amazing. They are loving, caring and really take each student's personalities and abilities into consideration as they grow from year to year. As I said, it's not the cheapest option and we do discuss yearly if we will be renewing his tuition-- and, with each year this answer comes easier and easier with an astounding "YES". We love the school, the community, the parents and look forward to many more years at Magellan!

There are a lot of issues with this daycare facility which is why we took our daughter out at the…read morebeginning of the year. For the sake of brevity, I feel that the most important thing that parents considering this facility should know is that it is no longer a Montessori. None of the teachers are Montessori certified so they're essentially charging Montessori prices for standard daycare. The owner, Jennifer was dishonest with the parents when they moved to this location from the Jollyville location where our daughter attended so I would recommend taking anything that she says with a grain of salt.

TLDR: We had some wonderful/loving experiences with Ms. Cynthia and Ms. Mayada, but have zero trust…read morein owner Jennifer Weerasuria and her husband Matt Nachreiner (COO). The way they handled our kid was completely inappropriate and painful for our family. We attended IMHOC for 2 years, and when we left our kids were 2 and 4 years old. We had slight red flags about the school here and there, but for the most part our kids were happy and seemed to be learning a lot. There was a high rate of turnover with the teachers and staff, and we experienced 3 different directors in the time that we were there. We brushed this off as par for the course at a preschool, but I really wish we hadn't. These things were symptoms of mismanagement and poor judgment on behalf of Jennifer Weerasuria and Matt Nachreiner. A few weeks ago we noticed that our 4 year started having more emotional tantrums and started expressing that he didn't want to go to school. This was unusual behavior, but we chalked it up to being a new developmental stage. We were called in for a meeting with Jennifer Weerasuria to discuss our son's challenging behavior. We worked with her on a really solid plan to help address the behavior, and for the first time felt like we were working with a real partner in helping our son grow. He was exhibiting behavior at school that we weren't seeing at all at home, so we were happy to have the insight and ready to help mitigate. That meeting happened at 2pm, at 5pm we got a call that we needed to pick our son up because he was having a huge tantrum. When my husband arrived, Matt brought our son out and said, "He's not welcome to come back here, man." He said this right in front of our son, and we were expelled from the school on the spot. The other thing Matt said was that the only thing that he could do to "calm" our son down was that he told him that the sirens they could hear were "the police coming to get him". When I asked Matt and Jennifer why we weren't given a chance to work on our son's behavior plan before being kicked out, they said that his behavior had been concerning for weeks. If they were so concerned, why didn't they tell us weeks before? Instead of taking accountability, they blamed the Director they fired the previous month for blocking the teachers from giving us feedback. When I expressed concern over Matt's inappropriate communication with our son and lack of credentials as an educator, he said (happy to share the email): "I'm not sure why you continue bringing up that I'm not an educator, I believe we all are aware this is a fact. However, I can share that I am a parent of 3 and if one of my children ever acted the way we allowed XXX to for so long I would be embarrassed." Please think twice about whether or not you want your kids to be immersed in an environment with this kind of "leadership". Matt is frequently on campus and often working directly with the children. Our son is wrapping up his first week at a new Montessori school and he is a completely different kid. He's back to his happy/positive self and recovering quickly from being redirected. When we ask him how his day was, he chatters away about all the things he got to do at school. When we used to ask him about his day at IMHOC he would kind of clam up and not really say anything. Today he accidentally broke something at the new school, and he immediately ran away and hid. He was terrified and wouldn't come out. When the teachers finally coaxed him out and told him it wasn't a big deal, he said that at his old school he would get in a lot of trouble by "a man" and be sent to the office. Matt is the only man that works there, so clearly our son was intimidated and scared by him. This isn't how a 4 year old should be made to feel in order to help them learn.

I have noticed that increased security sometimes frustrates new members, but that's the…read moreuncomfortable reality of Jewish communities throughout the world. That said, Austin is an exceptionally kind and welcoming place -- with members and instructors of all backgrounds. And the security staff is both diligent and professional, as one would expect.

Wonderful programs. Clean. Safe. High caliber members and staff. Awesome classes. Fantastic…read morelocation.

We live in Central Austin and have sent both of our children to My Friend's House since they were…read morebabies. Our oldest is now 4 and in the "big kid" classroom and will be starting Kindergarten next year. They've responded exceptionally well to the COVID19 situation and have been handling it incredibly well. Organized, efficient, and with a sense of community. We cannot say enough great things about this daycare. It's a tight-knit group of kids, and you feel the warm, nurturing, and supportive environment the moment you walk in. Our daughter is very outgoing, happy-go-lucky and well-rounded thanks in large part to the staff and upbringing she has experienced at My Friend's House. The classroom sizes are small enough where the teachers get to know the kids well and do a great job keeping an eye on them. There are activities each month, age-appropriate curriculum to help support them and the hours are great. The school is part of the campus of the church, and it is a very welcoming environment for everyone of all faiths and beliefs. A warm, welcoming environment. They also offer extra-curricular activities that should start back up once things settle with COVID. If you have any questions about whether you'd like to send your children to My Friend's House, I would be happy to speak more about it. Feel free to reach out to me and I can share more.

My daughter (who is 20 months at the time of this review) has been at MFH since she was three…read moremonths old. The Good: - The teachers have a genuine love for the kids and really nurture them. I see it in every teacher who has watched over my daughter, and for me, that kind of genuine affection was the deciding factor when I did my (exhaustive) childcare search. - I find a non-profit childcare setting to be a more positive, personal experience as compared with the for-profit centers I toured. - The majority of the teachers have been at the center for years -- many have put their own children through MFH. They're treated well by the administration and repay it with loyalty. The only comings and goings my daughter has experienced have been due to chronic illnesses or someone moving away to be closer to family. - The typical ratios are actually a bit lower than the state mandate, and the center is diligent about maintaining them. - There's a strong sense of community. There is a fall festival, class parties for major holidays, and the kids get little events like a pony rides and fire truck visits there at the church which they really enjoy. There are school-wide work days where parents and teachers alike pitch in to spruce up the center, and it feels good to be a part of that kind of cooperation. The Not So Good: - The administration is terrible at communication. If you want to know something, you have to bug them repeatedly and proactively seek information. Twice now my daughter has been bumped up to the next age group classroom and I was lucky to get a week's notice that it was happening. Not cool. Likewise, I have had several times that I've had to get personal contact information for my child's caretakers because the administration wasn't bothering to tell them what was going on when I called in sick. - The menu could be greatly improved from a nutrition perspective. Granted, I'm a bit of a nut on that point, and technically their food program meets federal nutritional guidelines. But the canned veggies and fruits and the pervasive eggos/french toast sticks/hot dogs/quesadillas bug me. I feel that the "give 'em what they'll eat" approach has really hampered my efforts at home to expose the munchkin to a wider variety of foods. They also basically require the kids to be on the meal plan, and there's not a storage option for bringing your own food. I had to get a DOCTOR'S NOTE just to request that my daughter not be served juice. It's quite silly. Overall, I'd recommend MFH. I've been happy with my experience there despite the occasional frustrations!