My son attended The Sandbox from 13-months old until 4-years old. We had a great experience and I always felt my son was loved and cared for while there. He rarely was upset with drop offs but when he was the teachers did a great job redirecting him and providing him love. My son also made some great friends at the Sandbox that have been a strong foundation to his confidence and happiness and I owe this to the wonderful teachers and staff at the Sandbox Early Learning Center. I am so thankful my son spent his early years there. read more

In the beginning I loved this place but a lot of good teachers were leaving. Also since a certain teacher left they stopped doing gardening class. Then another teacher left and they stopped posting pictures and videos to the app daily which they were doing and it was great. I'm not sure about the other classes but we went through a couple teachers. They have a big playground my child loved to play on. A lot of toys. Art class. Science class. They had a lot of fun stuff to do there. The have fun extra things on some weekends. They also worked with the school district to get my child eval for an IEP. At the end of the day I went there after a week vacation and my child no longer had the same teacher again. So I didn't really know the new teacher at all. The guy working on the playground was also new and other new staff I just took that opportunity to just take my child out. I also wanted to mention I posted a review previously here when my daughter was still going here and just mentioning a "few small complaints but over all that I loved this place." And 3 stars. It was followed by the Risa in the front office calling me and screaming at me for about 20 minutes. Followed by nagging from other staff to take the review down. Also my complaint was about like basically all my child's teachers leaving. Obviously left a bad taste in my mouth. And the fact that my name isn't even on here and neither is my child's. The call was a bit surprising. But also eye opening. read more

Unfortunately I didn't have the best experience. I tried ignoring all the warning signs that my kid wasn't being acknowledged there. First I never got communication at all on how my kid was doing. I always had to ask and the teacher always seemed annoyed or stressed. I believe that we should at least get weekly updates on our kids and I never got anything unless I asked. And all the information wasn't useful or personal. It didn't seem like they were getting to know my kid. Also, they said they would make a Facebook page and post pictures of what they do in class because I complained. That never happened either. Then if my kid was absent they never called to ask why he wasn't coming in that day. One day he came home with scratch marks on his neck from another kid, it was legit claw marks. They didn't tell me anything until I asked. They tried to ignore it. My kid was there for 4 months twice a week for 4 hours and the week of parent teacher conferences the teacher said she just found out my kid could talk and was shocked. How convenient that the week of parent teacher conferences they decided to get to know my kid and found out he can talk, know his colors and shapes. They just got to know him probably because they needed to give me information on him. They tried making excuses that he doesn't go to school that often or maybe he decided to join the group activity that week. I don't believe that is true. I have taught kindergarten- third grade and I was an instructional coach at schools. Teachers should be reaching out to parents weekly and trying to get to know their students. I don't like writing bad reviews but they tried making me feel bad taking my child out. read more

Love this place! Our daughter went here from the age of two and a half until 4 and a half and we are so grateful for The sandbox for those two years! We always felt she was well taken care of and she loved going to "school" here. She made so many good friends and loved all of her teachers! We also loved the structure they set up for each age group! All age appropriate curriculum and she actually learned a lot here. A couple things that really make the sandbox stand out are the amount of extra events that they do! I feel like at least once a month there was some sort of family fun day or party they were hosting and inviting all the families to come out for! I was also always impressed with all the staff. Not only were all the teachers great but every single employee knows all the kids and their parents as well. The only reason we left is because we moved to the other side of town otherwise we would've kept our daughter there until she was to go to kindergarten. Highly recommend The Sandbox! read more

My daughter has been at this preschool for 2 months now, and has just blossomed so well! They provide such a wonderful space for learning, and it has just the right balance of structure and self-direction. We are working on potty-training now, and the teachers are a great support and reinforcement (she actually does better at school than at home!). The amount of personalized feedback has been a nice change from the last center (more of a daycare) that we were at. I love this preschool!! read more

We have been adoring the Sandbox so far. My son had a hard time adjusting and the teachers continued to work with him the best that they could each time he was there. They communicate daily through an email to update parents about what happened during the day, sometimes there is more info than other days. The staff is helpful. With covid we havent been able to go inside to spend time in the classrooms. I'm looking forward to that. We love the Sandbox and are glad our son is there. Pros: Attentive to schedule changes, teachers/staff will take the time to listen to you, the owner is usually available, my son comes home and seems like he has learned sooo much! Cons: Can't enter school yet(vivid- not their fault) sometimes end of day report doesn't have too much info about the day, not sure how many diapers is usual per day at most places at first we were surprised at how many were used daily but at least we know he isn't left dirty read more

Really great safe and educational environment!!! Star are really engaged and care. I'm very impressed and have been in social work for families and children for over 20 years read more

Best daycare in town we love it and our daughter loves is too what's even more important!

We toured the place and then decided on another place for our toddler. Main reason is that this place allows unvaccinated kids in their facility. The owner tried to convince us that it is against AZ regulations to ask for a vaccination card, and that she cannot do anything about it- which is incorrect, for many daycares in Tucson, vaccination is "mandatory". Anyway we found another place we like. read more

I tried to like sandbox as much as possible but my 3 month experience with my 2 year old and my 1 year old was horrible. The owner did warn me about my children getting sick and I kid you not the moment they step in there they were sick the whole three months from everything you could possibly think of. Flu, pink eye, strep etc. The next big problem they could not have consistently with the caregivers/teachers. I noticed a pattern with super young women kept quitting and the problem was it was to overwhelming for them the ratio was too much. On the other hand no one could tell me how my child's day was how and to further their learning at home. Next, There was always scratches on my children and no one could tell me what happened. I honestly felt they were never properly taken care of. We recently moved them to Brichta and my children have never had happier because they now have sincere experienced teachers. Since then they both have much better speaking and a broad vocabulary. The teachers actually sit down with them and have lots of one on one. Oh and get this they haven't been sick once and the place doesn't smell rancid. On the other hand the ratio is Great and they each get so much attention. read more

The Sandbox is more than a day care/preschool, it's a community of caring teachers. We started sending our daughter to the Sandbox three years ago and there hasn't been a single day when she did not want to go to school. That says it all. She brings home art and sings songs from school every day. We get daily emails with photos and videos telling us about the curriculum and activities that occurred. The Sandbox has made our lives easier in so many ways and I am extremely grateful for everything that they do! read more

My son has been going to Sandbox all year and I absolutely love everything about the school. I feel that he is more then ready to start kindergarten with everything that they have taught him. He learns so much every single day and is always telling me all of the fun things they do during the day. I really love that the school focuses on teaching through play. There are so many fun opportunities that the children have at the school from music, art, introduction to literacy and mathematics skills, a STEM Lab and helping the children to develop their social emotional skills. They work really hard on helping children "get out of their shell" so to speak and be ready socially for kindergarten. I would HIGHLY recommend this school to anyone looking for high quality childcare for their young ones. read more

Yikes -- Be VERY CAREFUL sending your child here. Sandbox/Sandbox^2 is a privately-owned daycare. As such, they have a fair amount of latitude when it comes to choosing which children are enrolled. Admirably, they accept children with special needs, including children with emotional/behavioral problems. However, the problem is, they don't provide the necessary direct 1:1 supervision that these special-needs children need; the result is an alarmingly unsafe environment for the other children there. My wife and I enrolled our (normal) three-year-old son there, only to discover later that he shared a class with two special-needs children, one with violence/agression issues. The staff there had mentioned that the child with violence issues (and apparently his mother) were both in counseling. Concerned, my wife and I both took turns observing the classroom and playground environment on different days, and found that the level of supervision given to this special-needs child was alarmingly low. Rather than be directly supervised 1-on-1 by an adult, this child was allowed to openly agressive, acting out against the other children at random, to the point of physically harming them. At one point, within the span of two minutes, my wife observed this child trying to shake another child out of swing, hitting another child with a tree branch, and picking up a half-broken brick and throwing it at another child. There's actually more along the same lines we observed from the second poorly-supervised special-needs child, but, I figure for the sake of this Yelp review that the above story alone illustrates the point we're trying to make--their management/staff's heart is in the right place, but in practice, the lack of supervision given to such children puts the other normal children at risk, and does a disservice to the special-needs kids themselves who would benefit from the guidance such 1:1 supervision provides. Sadly, children who come from physically abusive homes are often subject to other forms of abuse. The lack of proper 1:1 supervision of such children in the classroom means every other child in that classroom will be potentially subject to the inappropriate behaviors and acting-out of that child. No environment is perfectly safe, and children shouldn't be constrained by overprotective parents who want to keep them in bubbe-wrap, but you get the point..This is an accident waiting to happen, particularly in an environment like Sandbox where the children are allowed to do things like go into bathroom areas out of line-of-sight to caregivers by themselves. The risk of a sexually abused child acting out or re-enacting that abuse with a classmate is alarmingly high. In any event, back to the story--when bringing this to the attention of the owner, her suggestion was not to arrange that the aggressive/violent child be closely supervised by an adult, but to offer to move _our_ son to a different classroom(!). Sure, this would solve the problem for our son, but what about the safety of the other children still there?! If that's the approach they wish to take, that's their choice, obviously but upon finding that out, we made the decision to withdraw our son from Sandbox immediately. It may be a wonderful learning environment, but without proper consideration given to the children's basic safety, it's meaningless. My wife and I both believe that the folks who work there genuinely care about their kids, and we both admire their openness towards children with special needs, but how they're going about it is frankly dangerous to other children.. With that kind of policy, it's not a question of _if_, but _when_ something bad (and completely avoidable) is going to happen there. read more

Our child was on the waiting list for a couple of months due to being full. We were excited when The Sandbox called us to let us know that there was an opening. We went down to take a tour which was going good. We were walking out of an area with the front office lady when I noticed a teacher grab a child forcefully by his armpit and pull him violently. He had his back toward her when she put her arm across his body, yell at him at the top of her lungs "YOU DO NOT HIT ME!!" right in his ear (he never hit her). She took a step back and slammed him on his butt while standing on concrete. She turned around to yell at him again and thats when she noticed we were all standing there watching the whole incident. The front office lady giving the tour had just assured us that they redirect rather than discipline, which was CLEARLY not the case in this situation. She apologized to us, said she was "embarrassed" and that it was "excessive". We all went back into the office to talk to the director because we felt that she should know what was going on and were curious if she planned on informing the child's parents. Unfortunately, after we told the director about the incident, her reaction was "well, I'll have to go ask what really happen". WHAT?!? WE ALL SAW IT WITH OUR OWN EYES! Her own employee told her exactly what we saw and the director's response was "I know you all saw it but I have to go ask the teacher what really happen because I wasn't there"....UNBELIEVABLE! In other words, "we're gonna sweep this under the rug and pretend it didn't happen". After attempting to talk sense into the director, we realized that it was a lost cause and DEFINITELY wasn't where we were gonna leave our child. The next step is to contact the state to inform of this behavior and leave it up to them. DONT LEAVE YOUR KIDS HERE!! read more

I chose this daycare because of the good reviews. My son is hard to get to sleep and, on days he went there, he wouldn't fall asleep until 11:30pm, which was way later than usual. I picked him up at about 3pm one day, and they said they had to wake him up, I said doesn't your schedule say that nap time ends at 2:00pm? They literally argued with me, I told them I needed him woken up, no later than 2pm. They argued with me and told me he is hard to get to sleep, I told them "I know, you can imagine what I'm dealing with at night", I also said I would rather him have a shorter nap, during the day and sleep well at night. They said back to me "we have to give him a nap" I said yea, but stick to the schedule you gave me, which says nap time ends at 2. There just should never have been a back and forth discussion about it, I want my kid up when nap time ends, end of discussion! He normally fell asleep around 9:30 and on days he would go there not until almost midnight. Another thing that bothered me was that no one was really overly friendly, they all seemed overwhelmed and stressed. I called to see how my child ate, one day, and the teacher said "I'm sorry, I didn't really pay attention I had 10 kids to myself today", 10 kids ? In the 2 year old class, there should only be 8 to one individual. My mom picked him up one day and he had a bad screams on his knee and elbow, with no explanation whatsoever. I picked him up another day and he was so dirty, I asked the lady "What happened to my son? This isn't ok for him to look like this" he also had two scrapes on each side of his neck, the teacher came out and said he fell into a tree and she would be writing an incident report, which she never did. I have him in a smaller daycare now and immediately I saw the difference in the attitudes of the workers, they are so nice and really enjoy the kids. I think, since Covid, the sand box has gotten lazy with nap times and not sticking to schedules. read more

Our family has been at The Sandbox for more than five years, and the program seemingly gets better every day. Our two children have progressed wonderfully through their curriculum and have made great friends while becoming well prepared for elementary school through the skillful instruction offered by the teachers and staff. The personnel are all very sensitive and responsive to the needs of all of the children who attend. Every Sandbox employee with whom we have interacted is great at their job. The teachers, all of whom have been at the Sandbox for many years (which indicates great stability), have expertly guided our children's early education. This includes comprehensive semi-annual parent-teacher conferences with the teachers. The professional/educational assessments given for each of our children are always very helpful and well informed. Perhaps most revealing of the Kottabi's innate understanding of education and the needs of their students was how they have handled the pandemic. Like most other Tucson schools, our kindergartener's education went virtual last March. As an optional part of their program for which we signed up, our son was being transported by the Sandbox from his school to their facility each afternoon. Once the schools closed, Sandbox instead allowed him to attend daily, and they repurposed part of their space into a classroom for the dozen or so K-2 students who were now populating their program. Sandbox assigned one of their teachers to be the instructor who assisted all of these students while they wrestled with their online assignments. Not only did this take some of the teaching pressure off of us, it also allowed our son to learn in as close to a real classroom--with classmates and a teacher-- as was possible given the virus issues. The Sandbox's prudent safety protocols have kept COVID at bay, and the children have been able to continue their educational growth with as little disruption as possible. Kudos to the entire staff of the Sandbox for their diligence, kindness, flexibility, and most importantly, the love that they have shown to our children. We highly recommend this program with absolutely no reservations. Shu ching Cheng and Edward Reid read more

Outstanding! I have been taking both of my children here for a year now (1 full time and 1 part time) and they both love it. We went to two other daycare facilities in town that had great reviews but turned out to be inferior. Our girls have made lots of friends here and look forward to going each day. I have been very impressed with the attentiveness of the caregivers and educators. The facility is always clean and inviting with no apparent shortage of resources for the children. I definitely recommend checking this place out if you're looking for quality child care. read more

We've had our child at the Sandbox nearly two years now, and couldn't be happier. Communication from the owners and teachers is great, with numerous progress reports and parent/teacher conferences over the year. The learning environment is impressive, and we've watched our child grow and learn beyond our expectations. The teachers are always willing to talk and discuss everything they're learning in class, and are beyond patient with all of the children. No matter what the children are doing, the teachers make every interaction a learning experience. All children attend art and music classes on a daily basis, which we're very happy with. With much of today's education system not even offering art and music to students, we think that giving our child a foundation in the arts is just as important as learning to spell or count. The play opportunities are fun, with multiple, well-maintained playgrounds available to allow the children to climb, slide, dig, explore and learn. The classes rotate with outdoor fun so the children are always with their classmates of equal age and size. Summers are especially fun, as the kids all get to enjoy some "pool time" in a very shallow and well-supervised splash pool. The playgrounds are also well shaded by awnings and well-established trees. That is something that any kid in Tucson needs during the hot season. We all know that with that many children, "boo-boos" tend to happen. In one of the younger classes, our child was the unfortunate recipient of a bite or two, and admittedly, was the giver, too. That's what frustrated kids do when they can't communicate otherwise. That said, the teachers are always on top of it, report all instances to parents, and encourage children to express themselves in more positive ways. Same with other small accidents and scrapes. We've never felt our child was under-supervised or allowed to get into danger. Security includes strong gates, locks and cameras, and only approved people can pick up children. The only way in is through a strong, locked door past the front desk. The owners, teachers, and other parents are very involved, and we feel our child is just part of a big, extended family. He's made a wide variety of friends and we've been to many outside birthday parties and "play dates" with children and parents from the Sandbox. We have seen a very minor turnover with teachers but that tends to happen in this field. For the most part, our child has been around and grown accustomed to a very stable set of teachers. There is no "revolving door" here. Prices are very reasonable, though you can find cheaper daycare facilities in Tucson. But considering what we get for our money, and seeing how much our child has grown emotionally and intellectually, we wouldn't go anywhere else. If you're interested, make sure to call and get on the list. Sandbox doesn't have a high turnover because it's so popular, so it sometimes IS difficult to get your child enrolled. read more

We enrolled our daughter to Sandbox through a recommendation & I must admit we wished we enrolled our son to their preschool program & knew about Sandbox before. They prepare kids for kindergarten so well. My daughter is so ready & excited & I know she will not have any problems. The teachers are amazing; the education process is serious, organized & includes lots of fun. I HIGHLY recommend Sandbox to any parent who is considering preschool for their kids. We will miss them greatly. read more

I have worked with The Sandbox for many many years. My children are all grown up, but if I needed child care this would be the place to bring them to. One visit will tell you the amount of care and professionalism that is poured in to each child. You owe it to your child to check out the facility...it's awesome. read more

The sandbox is the best in tucson child care. The owners are caring, the staff attentive and the teachers exceptional. Everyone goes out of their way to make sure everyone is taken care of. This is the only place I would ever send my kids!! read more

I would never think of sending my son anywhere else!! I love the Sandbox!! As a child in the 80s my mother chose to send me to the Sandbox because of the excellent curriculum, environment, and owners. Now 30 years later, as a mother, I knew there was no other place I would want to send my two-year old son. I could not be more pleased with the attention and early education my son has received thus far at the Sandbox. Every day we are greeted by several smiling, caring faces that know my son by name. His teachers genuinely care about his development and health, and take the time to communicate with me exactly how and what he has done during the day. My son is in the 2-year old class, and I am amazed on a daily basis with the patience his teachers constantly exhibit. I have full confidence that my son is in the very best hands, and that his time at the Sandbox is filled with enriching educational experiences. read more

Teachers at Sandbox encourage parent participation in the program and serve infants to school age. Education of the staff is important in this family run business. read more

Please ignore the other negative review on this site. The Sandbox is a wonderful school!! My daughter has attended the school for two and a half years and my infant son is also enrolled. After trying another "chain" daycare finding the Sandbox was a breath of fresh air. The Sandbox is extremely clean and well cared for. Their facilities are top notch, their teachers are caring and experienced and their philosophy and values are intrinsic throughout the entire school. They take great care in planning the learning activities for the children in every age group and monitor each child's success. Any and all issues in the class room are given immediate care and attention. My daughter blossomed and flourished at the Sandbox and I can only hope that her Kindergarten classroom and Elementary school experience will be equally as wonderful. The owner and staff at the Sandbox set the bar high!!! I cannot imagine a better school for my children! read more

We had our son at the Sandbox for 3 years. Our experience there was positive. We had been through a few daycare centers before the Sandbox, and I have to say for the money it was good care, and the staff seemed to really care about the kids. We had some previous nightmare experiences at other day care centers, so we were happy to find them. read more

I was sadly very disappointed in our experience at this daycare my son lasted about two weeks there. The one-year-old classroom where my son was had a veteran teacher who had decades of experience. I thought all this was a good thing. Unfortunately she became very passive aggressive toward me stating I wasn't appreciative. I went the extra mile and had flowers delivered with a card stating how appreciative we were of her. Sadly, two days in a row my son had "incidents" One where he was bit by another child, and the next day he literally fell off a piece of playground equipment. I had a direct conversation with the teacher calling out the passive aggressive behavior toward me and it did not change. I went to administration and pulled my son out. I had much higher expectations of this facility given the reviews and their first things first status but above all I had to trust my son and my experience at the facility. read more

I highly recommend The Sandbox. It's more than just a "daycare". It's really an early childhood education center. My 5 year old and 7 month old both attend here. My oldest has been coming here since he was three. They more than prepared him for kindergarten. He was ahead of his other classmates when he started in kindergarten. He attends The Sandbox after-school program and also their summer program, which he love because of the daily swimming and field trips. Like I stated before, our seven month old also goes here and the teachers in the baby room are amazing and caring. We have been very impressed with the amount of care, education, experience, and professionalism all the teachers and staff have shown to us. They have always been friendly and very attentative to the children and parents alike. The staff puts on various events through out the year where the kids get involved in shows and plays which the kids love. Just a wonderful atmosphere for the children. I highly recommend The Sandbox for quality care and early education. read more

We decided to send my 2 year old to The Sandbox after looking at several other daycares/preschools in the area. My daughter had a hard time adjusting (she would have with any school) since this was her first school experience. Her teachers were understanding and patient and in no time my daughter was running into school each time and sometimes wasn't ready to leave when I'd pick her up! She talked about her teachers lovingly and sang us new songs she learned in music. We also chose The Sandbox because they have full time art and music teachers. The kids get to go to art and music class at least once each day sometimes twice if the kid is there late enough. The Sandbox is clean, caring, and looks like a child's dream in terms of activities, supplies and outdoor activities. We are moving out of state and are very sad to leave The Sandbox behind! read more

My son has been attending here since he was 9 months old, and he is now 3 1/2. I did extensive research into daycare centers, and toured 12 of them, before deciding on The Sandbox. I have never regretted my decision to send him here. He loves school and his teachers. All the staff knows him by name and interacts with him daily. His teachers are wonderful and all of them have always kept us in the loop and communicated what's going on with him regularly. If ever a behavior became a concern, they were very prompt in discussing it with us and working out a plan to help both at school and at home. I know that he is in great hands here. I am now expecting baby #2 and will definitely enroll the next one here as well. read more

My daughter has been at the Sandbox since she was 5 months old and is now going on 2. I was so nervous to leave her to go to work but the staff there did so much to help me feel confident at the beginning. Over time, taking her to school got so much easier because it was clear she enjoyed her time there and got a lot out of it. She is now in the toddler room and is learning so much--signing, singing, talking, dancing and problem solving. Having peace of mind that she is in a high quality setting is so valuable to us working parents. The staff has been wonderful and genuinely cares about and is deeply invested in our daughter. We love the Sandbox! read more

My daughter has been attending Sandbox since she was an infant and is now 2. Words cannot express the appreciation that I have for every teacher she has had so far. They are caring, intelligent, structured, fun and focused. Every child's well-being and learning progress is a priority. My child runs into her teacher's arms when we go to preschool and that makes me feel very comfortable knowing where she spends her day. Thank you. read more

Our oldest son has been attending for about a year, and he loves The Sandbox! He has so much fun and has learned so much - his verbal and social skills have developed greatly since he began. The teachers are all knowledgeable and caring, and the setting is very warm and homey. I would highly recommend The Sandbox to anyone looking for excellent child care. read more