We absolutely love the Children's Workshop. Our kids adore their teachers and classmates and truly…read moresee it as a second family. The teachers are kind, thoughtful, and incredibly attentive, and they do a wonderful job nurturing each child's individual personality and interests, something that means everything when you have multiples. Communication is excellent, and we're always grateful for the small, meaningful observations they share about our children's growth. Our kids attend both the morning program and after-school enrichment and are thriving. We wouldn't consider sending them anywhere else and plan to stay all three years.

Our son is going to public kindergarten in the fall, we were are so sad he's leaving after a…read moreWONDERFUL year at Children's Workshop! The creativity, appropriate (and fun!) activities, outdoor play, focus on kindness- with the approach this Montessori takes, my son has grown leaps and bounds. He is learning about his emotions, how to express them appropriately, how to handle conflict, and we are all so proud of his emotional development. He's writing, reading books well above his grade level, and I've come home to him explaining some math trick I've totally forgotten! They are also learning so much art and music. The kid isn't even 6 yet. Sounds like a brag, but EVERYONE in his class is doing awesome at those things too. The kids are loved by the teachers and I've never, ever witnessed such a good environment for pre-K in all my years of my kids being in any various daycares/Pre-K (4 others). Ask any Marblehead Mom or Dad (or Grammy!) who has a child at Children's Workshop and she/he will likely tell you the same. Kate Birtwell has been running the center for many years. She's more responsive and organized than 95% of any early childcare workers I've ever dealt with. All the teachers are just fantastic! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Cambridge Montessori School embraced both of my children and placed them at the center of the…read morelearning experience. They love going to this school and their CMS experience has taught them to love learning. My second grader interacts with adults gracefully and articulately because of the skills and confidence this schooling experience has given her. CMS has an excellent arts, music, and drama offering and the teachers encourage academic excellence. I would recommend CMS to any parent looking for a school that supports a curriculum that encourages independence and confidence in addition to accelerated learning.

The school culture is rigid and judgmental, with a culture of pathologizing normal toddler…read morebehavior. Some of the things that made us withdraw our 3yo mid-year: Despite a stated open-door policy, parents were actively discouraged from involvement in or visiting the classroom. In March, a formal school memo forbade parents from speaking to each other at drop-off/pickup, asked parents to drop their children off at the front door instead of at the classroom door, and instructed parents not to carry their children or their children's belongings. The memo specifically suggested that any discipline problems at home were caused by not following the same rigid "expectations" as the school. When our son was afraid to use the toilet at school, the teacher forced him to sit on the toilet for 45 min while he cried in frustration. He was criticized for not doing work exactly the way the teachers wanted (e.g. sorting puzzle in the "right" order). In a parent conference, we were told our son was "too literal" because asked where rain came from, he said "From the sky," not "From clouds." He was already reading and adding at 3, but we were told this, along with his shyness, were signs of a possible psychological problem. We were bullied to take him for autism screening, even after a specialist and our pediatrician said he was likely fine. Administration, up to the head of school, either ignored problems or blamed us. When we sent a formal letter detailing our complaints, the school offered us a partial tuition refund if we signed a nondisparagement agreement. We refused. We've since learned other families had similar experiences. If you click on Yelp's "non-recommended reviews"--which are weeded out by algorithm--you'll see that other families have made similar complaints.

Full disclosure: I was an employee of the Highrock Covenant Preschool, now the New Covenant…read morePreschool, for the 2010-2011 academic year as an Assistant Preschool Teacher. I have a bachelor's degree in Child Development from Tufts University, and am Preschool Lead Teacher and Infant/Toddler Teacher certified by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education & Care. That said, this preschool was, by far, the most dynamic, caring, and stimulating preschool I've ever had the privilege to work for! New Covenant is a preschool motivated by the Christian faith. Grace is said before snack, and positive Bible stories are often shared in the morning circle. The Christian faith inspires the school's dedication to thanksgiving, forgiveness, and honesty. The classrooms are well-equipped with a variety of stations and activities. They are clean, meticulously organized, and children-focused. The schedules are intentionally built to foster creativity and support learning while maintaining a four-year-old's attention span. The teachers are extremely well-qualified and deeply compassionate. There is intentional and frequent communication between teachers and parents, and teachers are seen as partners in the development of the children. Academically, the school thoroughly prepares its pupils for kindergarten and beyond. Besides the essential social skills that every kindergartener needs in order to succeed, New Covenant teaches age-appropriate mathematics and literacy, adapted to each child's individual level. Student progress is recorded and analyzed to maximize the efficiency of lesson plans. The arts are a priority, and music is often included as a tool in the lesson plans. I would highly recommend this school for parents of all faith backgrounds.

Our son started in the toddler class a little over a month ago. So far, we love CCLC. We feel that…read moreour son gets a lot of attention from his teachers - you can tell by their familiarity with his personality quirks and favorite activities. Each of the teachers know my son by name, even the ones in the baby classroom who don't interact with him as often. The facilities are brand new and beautiful. The director picked out every piece of furniture and every toy herself, and it shows - each classroom has an indescribable homey feel. Our son loves the fish tank right in the foyer. The toddler classroom windows are higher up by the street, so you can easily look down and wave to your child after drop-off and on your way in to pick-up. It's very sweet to peek in and see our son. On the way home each day, he and I stop at the window and he waves "bye bye" to his teachers and classmates from the outside. I have also been very pleased by the variety of activities. The teachers take the toddler students to the park, create age-appropriate art projects, and sing songs during circle time. CCLC provides a morning and afternoon snack for the day. The children have an afternoon nap, and the teachers make sure our son has his "lovie" and favorite blanket. Finally, I really appreciate the level of individualized communication from the teachers. We get an information sheet about his day at pick-up. In addition to what you might expect (times of diaper changes, length of nap, etc.), there is always a full paragraph that begins "Today, I....." written from the child's perspective detailing some of the highlights of the day. My spouse and I love reading through these paragraphs in the evening - the teachers clearly pay attention to our son. I love hearing about him stepping in green play-dough, wandering away from the circle during singing time, and playing with the toy cash register. We also receive emails over the weekend describing our son's week (sometimes pictures, too!). One weekend a teacher emailed to check in and see how our son was feeling after he wasn't quite himself on Friday. I very much appreciate how he is treated as an individual and how much his teachers clearly care.

AMAZING teachers & staff who treat children as their own. Such a loving & supportive environment…read morewhere I trust the care of my child for nearly 12 hrs a day, 5 days a week for over 1.5 yrs! (And I am a picky person, so that's saying a lot!) they integrate activities with structured play with just good old "dance parties" for the toddlers to get them laughing and moving. In the infant room the babies get to have sensory play and fun as well. Parents get pics and detailed info daily, throughout the day. In a city with daycares on nearly every corner, CCLC @ School St is the treasure that puts your child first!

My daughter has been goin to Little Star for a year now. This is one of the best daycares she has…read morebeen to. They have a great schedule for the children and do not shuffle them around into every classroom like I've seen other centers do. Pre-Pandemic, my daughter would get dropped off at 7am, always the first child there. I would see and smell how clean it was. I even smelled bleach so that informed me that my child was in a safe and clean place. It is now 6 months Into the pandemic and she just is just now returning to school. I feel comfortable because I KNOW what kind of setting I'm sending my child so I have no worries. The director is great and patient and has taught me a lot. I'm a first time mom so I get nervous(it's normal to have these feelings) but I feel very reassuring about this daycare.

I love this school for my little one! It feels like an extension of our home instead of feeling…read morelike I was sending her to elementary school early.

Two of our kids have moved through Rockland Montessori Academy for preschool and had excellent…read moreexperiences. The teachers are amazing and so dedicated. The curriculum is fantastic- our kids learned so much! They also get outside everyday and do awesome crafts. The school offers many special classes (our kids' favorite was cooking class, from a real chef!) They really create a community for the families, and have many special traditions and events throughout the year. They also offer a great summer camp program that is very well run and convenient. The leadership team is excellent to work with and they run a tight ship. I wish we could stay there forever! But they have given our kids an excellent social and academic foundation for their elementary years.

Our son has been at Burlington Montessori for two years. He is extremely happy there, and so are…read morewe. He's made wonderful progress academically, socially, and creatively. The staff at BMS is incredibly diverse, which contributes to a rich learning environment for the children. They are exposed to different cultures and are developing a world view that is larger than their block. Miss Rubina takes a close interest in our son's progress, even suggesting curriculum and activities to keep up through the summer, which he has shown a keen interest in. The staff are incredibly involved and considerate. We are so grateful we have a wonderful school that we have confidence sending our child to. The only thing we are sorry about is that the school doesn't go beyond grade 1, we would stay as long as possible in this rich, nurturing environment.

Absolutely wonderful school. Our son has attended for two years so far and we are so excited to be…read moreable to send him for a third year. His little sister can't wait to start as well. His teachers are warm and caring and also challenge him beautifully.

I just got back from one of the final events our son will attend at HSCS as a preschooler, and I…read morefelt compelled to share the great experience with others. Our son attended for 2 years, 1/2 days four to five days per week. We greatly appreciated the schools' approach to introducing the children to school and learning. As our son is an only child, we were especially interested in socialization aspects of school, and they do a really nice job helping children learn to socialize, follow rules, etc. without being too rigid. B. leaves school well-prepared for kindergarten and very much looking forward to it. Our son has several serious food allergies, and we also greatly appreciated the schools' approach to safety on this matter (it is a nut free school and they are very good about managing allergy issues). I especially recommend the school for parents of kids with food allergies. Business info at http://www.yelp.com/biz/hammond-square-childrens-school-woburn#hrid:oU2YXB3x3-2xehAI3O4JqQ

HSCS is a great preschool. My daughter attended this school for 3 full days a week for 3 years…read more My son attended for 1 full day and 2 half days for 2 years. I needed a preschool with extended hours to accommodate my work schedule. The best things about this school are the staff, their developmental, child-centered approach and the flexibility in scheduling. Both of my children have very different personalities and both flourished at this preschool.