Our son has been at Jardin Longfellow since he was an infant, and we have nothing but the best…read morethings to say about their incredible care team and facilities. As a first-time mom who struggled with postpartum anxiety, I was so nervous about sending my baby to daycare. But right away, I could tell Jardin was a wonderful place for him to be. Ms. Maria, Laila, Melizza, and Minny in Infant Room B were so incredibly loving and caring. I could tell from the start that my son was getting so much love and attention throughout the day, which brought me so much comfort. He's now in the toddler room with Marisol and Dianna/Julia, who are equally amazing teachers. Even now, when he sees his former infant teachers, they all light up -- it truly feels like one big family filled with love and connection. We've also been so impressed by how much he's learned, especially his Spanish! He was saying "hola" and "agua" before he turned one, and now at just two years old, he can count to ten in Spanish and knows so many words -- numbers, letters, colors, shapes, animals, and body parts. It's incredible to see how much he's grown in their care. I also love the app they use to share updates throughout the day. The teachers are so good about posting photos and noting naps, meals, and activities -- it really helps ease any anxiety and allows us to see how happy and engaged our child is. The directors are also amazing and always available to help with translation when needed. I don't speak Spanish and my husband only a little (and he's rusty!), so I was initially worried about communication. But it has never been an issue -- there's always someone ready to help, and everyone is so kind and patient. The enrollment team has also been fantastic -- prompt, organized, and easy to communicate with. We love Jardin Longfellow so incredibly much. It's such a nurturing, supportive, and loving environment, and we feel so grateful to have them as part of our family's village.

Absolutely love this location. The staff are wonderful and communication is prestige.read more

Our son attended Casa de Corazon Kingfield on Nicollet for almost 1 year, starting in Infant A and…read moreending in Toddler B. I wanted so badly for Casa to work for us, unfortunately, we just never were able to make that happen. I know that this review is in stark contrast to every other review, but I'm hoping to give one perspective so that people can make a truly informed decision. The benefits are pretty clear: organic food, multicultural curriculum, Spanish language immersion, and for us, it was close to home. Here are the downsides and why we chose to move to a different childcare center: 1. The program is not only Spanish immersion for the children, but also the parents. The teachers speak little to no English which makes communicating about very basic things like how our child's day was, did he eat, how is she sleeping, etc. impossible. The directors do speak English, however, they are always running around highly stressed talking on walkie talkies and do not have time to communicate. I understood when we chose Casa that it would be Spanish immersion for our son, I didn't realize communication as a non-Spanish speaking parent would be so incredibly challenging. It's entirely possible that if we, as parents, spoke Spanish, we would have had a very different experience. 2. They take the maximum number of children to teacher ratio allowed by the state and always seem overworked and very stressed - especially the directors. Voicemails and emails went without response for days - sometimes not responded to at all until I emailed or called again. The app that they use to communicate to parents about their child throughout the day is perfunctory at best. While it gives a general overview of what the kids are doing, you will get no specific feedback on your individual child and any message you want to send to the teacher through the app goes without response. 3. The parking situation is a nuisance at best and incredibly dangerous at worst. There is only parking on Nicollet Ave with zero crosswalks to the school. Parents jaywalk, block traffic, and are ridiculously aggressive for parking spots. I was almost hit multiple times by other parents swerving into or cutting me off for parking spaces - imagine Hunger Games but with over caffeinated, under appreciated and sleep deprived caretakers to little Id driven beings - it's not pretty. 4. Lastly, the teachers are inconsistent. It's luck of the draw if you get a kind caring teacher. Our infant teachers were amazing but his morning toddler room teacher was a bit of nightmare - cold, defensive, never once said even an "hola" to me when I dropped off my son. Coincidentally, my son started screaming in the mornings on school days and would latch onto me when I brought him into his classroom shortly after he transitioned to this teacher's room. Thankfully, the other teachers later in the day seemed much more pleasant and caring. The point is, there's really no consistency in the quality of teacher you will get. They also transition in and out of classrooms frequently so the good news is that if you do not like the teacher, they will probably change. Take all of this for what it's worth. There are many reviews to the contrary, this is simply one perspective based on our experience. Hope it helps give a more 360 view of Casa.

We were very interested in considering this school for our infant son, however, they only offer…read moretours one day a week at 9:30 in the morning. When I wrote to inquire as to whether there is an option for an afternoon tour the Director responded and said "it would be unsustainable to meet every family's schedule." She acted like they were setting the bar in accommodation when all they do is offer one rigid tour time once a week on a specific day. There's very little about that, which is accommodating. The feel that was given off is you're a burden if you can't fit into their very narrow box. They gave off a bad vibe. There's too many other good places out there to settle for unaccommodating service. Plus it makes me nervous that they would apply the same style of inflexible thought, to the care of the children.

We love Tierra!…read more Cloth diapers, organic food, solar energy and a happy baby makes mamma happy! I wish they had a bring your parent to lunch day because the menu looks fabulous and my little cleans her plate every meal, every day! The teachers and staff are all super great and friendly and love on all the littles! Plus they learn Spanish, so hopefully one say we can have our own personal translator to a Spanish speaking country

Fantastic Spanish immersion child care center and preschool. My son has been going here in their…read moreinfant room for 3 months now and loves it. The staff always greets him and us with a big smile. They are friendly and take great care of our son. He is always bringing home little projects that they use his hands and feet for. the staff provides excellent updates on his day and well being. They also just put on a wonderful picnic for the children and parents with lots of great games and activities for the kids, a jump house and awesome food. I would recommend this Spanish immersion day care to anyone looking for a safe, caring and fun environment for their young children to learn and grow in.

We enrolled our only child to Primrose St. Louis Park when she was 3 months old and we were…read morefortunate enough to have her in this specific location Until she turned 17 months old. Being a first time parent, I wasn't sure what to expect with a public daycare.. having my daughter essentially cared for by strangers for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week was worrisome as thats more time than I even get to spend with her.. however, Saira and the team of teachers and even Chef, have made a huge impact on our life in such a positive way That I will forever be grateful for!!! From day one of our orientation with Saira, to the first day we brought our daughter into the Infant room, all the way to the last day, when we had to take her out due to a family relocation/move...every day with Siara and her team, felt like they were my family! Not only did The staff/teachers make sure my daughter was cared for with love and care but they spent one on one time with her, teaching her a wide variety of categories that were essential for her core development at her age. I owe her confidence to every teacher she engaged with! There was never one second that I felt worried about her and that is the ultimate feeling any parent dreams of when others are caring for their children! Long story short, Primrose St. Louis park was a true blessing and are some of the most impactful people I have met This far in my life. That said- THANK YOU... Saira- for everything!! thank you for being a wonderful person and leader in a field so demanding and challenging. Thank you for helping me navigate my first year of parenthood outside of your everyday role. Your medical field experience, kind heart, and profound memory made a huge impact on me, and is a big factor in the trust I felt leaving our daughter everyday! You deserve more credit and acknowledgment than I'm sure youre currently receiving and hope your know you made an huge impact on my life! Thank you to the Infant room teachers - those who have been there for years (Ms. Joelle) and those who have moved on. you help care for these babies in such a nurturing way, helping them adjust into the world of chaos in a warm and loving environment! And thank you to the toddler room teachers- those who stepped in to help out and those who hold the ground in that room (aka ms. trinity "titi")! you all have made our daughter feel loved everyday, the second she walked towards her classroom, she would light up and be so excited to see you guys, even calling YOUR names out in the morning in the car on our ride there! and she only Knew about 10 words at that point.. 5 of them were your names!! And To Chef- thank YOU! thank you for keeping the kids belly's full with nutritious foods and most of all, thank you for your continued smiles and greetings in the morning hallway pass through. you always brightened my day! All in all- I can't say enough positive things about the staff, process, care, and overall atmosphere at this location. If you're lucky enough to get a spot, i promise your children will be in great hands! Forever grateful for all of you! THANK YOU For all you do! -Grace and her parents miss you dearly!

As assistant director here, I get to watch many teachers fall inlove with their job. Here are a…read morecouple of reviews: I am here to collectively collaborate to share ideas and to help children become self-confident, cooperative, and ready for school age learning in elementary school. To teach children and help them learn the curriculum. To assess students in their academic levels and assist them and challenge them. To be positive, help students to be self-confident, cooperative and ready for future school experiences! I work here to grow my knowledge with kids. I welcome families with smile on my face to show the kids parents that we are reliable and loving teachers. I am working here to gain experience in teaching and childcare. I believe that children are the future and we must allow them to grow and learn to their fullest extent. The opportunity to help shape the generations to come is a huge honor and an equally huge responsibility. I believe that I am here to provide the future generations the best care possible so that they can carry the torch of problem solving and innovation as they grow into adults. I do this job because I have a passion for working with the kids. I love the early stages: seeing them develop their sweet/funny/all different and unique in their own ways. They are truly the best to be around. I think together as a community we should get to know our teachers more in order to make this family a community. I love seeing the continual growth of my students both in academics and social-emotionally and being able to share my love of learning in hopes to have them become life long learners. I want to provide an educational, safe and loving environment where they can thrive. Early Childhood Education has a huge impact on future success and I want to make sure that my students have access to that. I love my job because I love and teach kindness, to learn and help others, and to grow my knowledge about the career path I want to follow. I also love to encourage and help our students reach their full potential. I myself had a most amazing daycare lady, Barb. I always knew I had a safe place to go where I would always be loved right from the start of my life. I've always wanted to be that person like she was to me. Children are our future. They are among the most engaging and most intriguing audiences one can work with. They bring out my own creativity. I want to help steer children in a positive direction.

If you love 7 a.m. meetings, rigid staff, and be assigned homework to talk to your three-year-old…read moreabout being a three-year old, this is your place. (e.g., "We really need you to discuss the importance of naps with your child.") Ed, the head of the place, has caused high staff turnover and is unreasonable. He also subjected our kid to pseudo-interrogations. This is the place where the Valley of the Dolls Stepford children go to not learn anything. No thanks. It's less work to watch your child at home than to deal with these folks.

Have a back up plan for this Montessori school. I was so shocked by our experience that I had to…read morewait a week to calm down and write this review. When I was pregnant a year and a half ago, we toured all the Montessori schools near our home and work. We decided to enroll our son in the fall of 2015, once he was over his stranger danger/sensitive period. We hired a wonderful nanny in the meantime. She and her husband planned the birth of their own firstborn around our son's 2015 fall enrollment. Mayflower was our top pick and their toddler teacher came highly recommended by an old friend, another Montessori teacher and Children's House owner in the community. We signed up when our son was a newborn, 14 months ago, and waited. We were excited for visiting day this past month, but shocked to learn we were not actually enrolled. I'm a first time mom, but based on my own research and tours of other toddler programs, this was highly irregular, so I reached out for confirmation. The response from their director Nanci was very canned and left me stunned, "Thanks for coming to Visiting Day. Our application process is continuing and we will be making final decisions for enrollment in the next few weeks. There are many factors we take into account to make our decisions and we balance the classrooms by age and gender. You will hear from us by Friday, March 27. Thanks, Nanci Olesen Director Mayflower Early Childhood Center" Rumor has it there were only 4-7 openings for fall 2015. The visiting day we attended last week was an absolute carnival with 40 families and toddlers! I feel the number of attendees was very misleading for so few openings. I hope that this was an isolated incident. We may have fallen through the cracks since we signed up on recommendation from a Montessori teacher before the toddler program even began at Mayflower. We are still really disappointed and terribly inconvenienced by our experience. We are now scrambling to find an acceptable daycare for our happy, healthy 15 month-old boy. Every place has a year wait. Any insights or advice are most welcome! Our amazing nanny will be on maternity leave and we are really stuck!

I have a child one of the 2 infant rooms, and I am so incredibly impressed with the…read moreprofessionalism, friendliness, and generosity of the staff at St. Peter's. His two lead teachers are former elementary teachers and the environment is inviting AND ridiculously clean. Everyone I have come into contact with at St. Peters has been both competent and kind. I also really appreciate their high-tech security/check-in system. I would not hesitate to recommend St. Peters for anyone looking for child care.

My child recently started in one of the infant rooms. We signed up when I was in the first…read moretrimester and the wait was 11 months but it was well worth the wait!! If you are pregnant, get on the waiting list asap. When we toured St.Peter's we knew right away this was where we wanted our son. The facilities are beyond anything you will find for child care. It is clean. They have a HUGE gymnasium where the kids can have recess in the winter or when it's rainy. There are balls, toys, trykes for them to ride, etc. This is something we didn't find ANYWHERE else. And in Minnesota, a space for kids to run around indoors is so essential. They also have a muscle room for the kids who are just learning to move around. There are safe objects for them to climb on. Often times at pickup I will see kids riding around in the buggies down the halls just for a change of scenery while they wait for their parents. I think in the summer they walk back and forth outside on the sidewalk out front. The infant room has volunteer grandmothers that come and rock babies, our son gets a ton more attention than he did at the daycare we used while waiting for his spot at St.Peters. The grandmas enjoy holding him when he naps at times, even though it's not necessary, they just like to. I drop in sometimes and visit my son. Most of the times I've come he's being held or he's playing and happy. (they do not ususally know I'm coming) The atmosphere is inviting and the staff and volunteers display so much love for the kids it makes my heart happy to witness. In the short time he's been there they have done multiple art projects. The kids go to chapel on a regular basis as well. Tonight is a christmas concert that the children are putting on for the parents. They have parent aware nights where you can meet other parents and everyone does some type of volunteer activity together. The last one was making meals for people less fortunate. When we started we received a welcome bag with lots of fun stuff including a hand made knitted blanket. I mean I could go on and on all day. This place has exceeded our wildest expectations and knowing what childcare can be like elsewhere I sometimes have to pinch myself that this is real life. Since starting, my baby boy has not giggled and smiled so much in his entire life. I can tell he is truely happy here.

We love Casa! It's a big warm family, and I know my children are exceptionally taken care. On top…read moreof learning another language, they learn about different cultures and countries, eat fresh and organic meals, make art projects and have a ton of "fun days" like water days outside or dress up days. And most importantly, it is clear that at Casa they are loved. I wouldn't send my children anywhere else.

Our son has been enrolled at the Centennial Lakes location for about a year and we have been SO…read moreimpressed by the care he's received. As a first time mom, I was anxious about bringing him to daycare but, right from the start, the teachers and center leadership showed amazing attention and care. The teachers are dedicated, the leadership team is strong, and the center itself is beautiful and engaging for my young child. Everyone knows my child's name and is so welcoming. I know that he loves to go to Casa and I feel relieved he's enjoying his time there. I truly cannot say enough good things about the Centennial Lakes Casa team! We are switching to a new location for convenience am I am hopeful he will have the same, amazing experience there. Gracias, Casa!

It was a really bad first daycare experience. They were not child-focused, family-compassionate,…read morecommunity-oriented or organized. They treated our family with very little regard. For a center that advertises working with each child based on their unique needs and welcoming communication with parents... They fell way short. Red flags started during the paperwork process: contracts stated different things than what they told us. This included a much higher daycare price and a large yearly fee they never told us about. No explanation was given for major inconsistencies. Our toddler had a hard time transitioning into this daycare, struggled more than other kids. Her demeanor changed drastically within days, and it concerned us. On day two, they shared that their strategies did not work on her. They had no other plans to support her. They asked us to pick her up hours early daily due to her crying. We agreed to do so. We never got access to teachers so we cannot speak about the teachers. Only access to the daycare head. We had to repeatedly, kindly ask for school info they sent other parents and didn't send us. We tried to ease our toddler's transition from home, wanted to help her understand what was happening and who her teachers are but couldn't because we didn't have basic info, not even teacher names. They eventually sent us some (not all) of the info, but seemed inconvenienced. We worked with what we had. They did not seem interested in learning much about our kiddo or taking a unique child-centered approach. They did a cry it out method, leaving her to stand alone at the door for hours by herself. Our child became somber and looked defeated. It broke our hearts. Getting dressed in the morning resulted in panic and crying. She became terrified of leaving the house, even to play. This was not normal. On Friday morning, I informed the school we would be a little late because she was having another tough morning. They did not care and would not take her after the 9:00am exact cut off. I found this to be unreasonable when they knew she was struggling and asked us to accommodate them picking up hours early daily. But they wouldn't accommodate even being minutes late. Corporate rules came before child needs. I messaged them that I was losing trust in their willingness to work with us to help my struggling child. The lead of the center called and claimed I called her and her staff "not human". The texts show that never happened. It was about having a human-centered, child-centered approach to my child, but she made it about herself. The conversation was not child-focused at all. She spoke down to us: accused me of expecting her to tend to me all day every day. Accused our family of expecting special treatment. Said she didn't have time for basic admin tasks even though that's her job. Gaslighted me: said she sent teacher names in the welcome packet. Acted like I was overly demanding for wanting info. We checked our emails, we never got a welcome packet. We were just a family new to daycare with a struggling child, wanting to know who her teachers were and other basic info, wanting to support our kiddo. It wasn't an unreasonable ask. It was info they already sent other parents but resisted sending us. She painted us as a demanding, difficult family instead. Our child did nothing wrong but the daycare lead suggested that we withdraw her. We took her up on this offer.  Our parent friends were shocked hearing our experience, never saw this in their daycares. A child social worker expert & friend said my child's reaction was concerning and should have been taken more seriously by the daycare. Don't know if they are understaffed or mismanaged. Don't know if she treats other families this way or if she just had something against us. She didn't even know us. We left after the first week. Though they did not care how this affected our child, we do. She has trauma-like symptoms now. We are undoing the harm with intention and care, she is slowly thriving again. We wish we paid attention to the red flags in the beginning. Stay away from here if you want a child-centered, family-friendly, compassionate, culturally-competent, noncorporate experience.

La Petite Academy is a great daycare. My daughter who was in the infants and toddlers right now…read moreloves going here, the teachers are amazing, I can say my daughter has learned a lot from here. I will never remove my daughter from this wonderful daycare.