Waverley Square Daycare is amazing! My son has been enrolled since he was 8 months old; currently he is in Pre-K. In all that time, I feel that he has been very well cared for and liked (even loved) by his teachers. Yes, this place has great hours, and there are tons of daily activities for kids, but it's the nurturing staff and teachers that makes this place amazing. I know my son is in good hands, and he genuinely loves going to his daycare. read more

Our family had such a good experience with Waverley Square Daycare, I can't recommend it enough! Both of my children attended this program as soon as we moved in Lexington. My Pre-K son, blossomed literally. The ratio student/teacher is low, the academic side is taught in a sensory way. Children learn at play. Every children is considered as a special person, they learn how to manage their emotions and how to interact with others. My daughter spent 3 years from toddler to Pre-K. Waverley Square was a second home, teachers were so kind that she even asked to go to school on week-ends and vacation. When entering into Kindergarten, she was emotionally and socially ready for this big jump. The little friends she met there, are still very important for her she is very connected with them even if they don't attend the same school. More than leading a classroom or a day care, the staff organizes many events through the year : Halloween, St Valentine's day, sports support (Go Red Soks! Go Patriots! Go!), St Patrick's Day, Dr Seuss' week, Mother's Day,.... As a parent, I felt as belonging to a great festive community!! I feel very grateful to Monoshini and her team for everything they have done for our children and our family. read more

I never said I worked there. Nor would I ever. Just gave an opinionated review from what I've witnessed. Best of luck to your business

this place gave me a wonderful impression when I went to visit it, but along the way, i became fully disillusioned and disappointed. There were a lot of changes that happened as soon as we joined, and right after my first visit, and it seemed that they just can't get it together. Very disorganized staff and leadership. A month later, we are still waiting on our deposit balance back, promised to be sent to us 2 weeks ago. If you have your child on a specific schedule, don't count on them to follow it, regardless of what they say. Most concerns I've brought up were met with passive-aggressiveness, excuses, or something just not helpful, and with time, i just lost all the trust. Also, there is no guidance for new parents. And do not expect for them to take care of your child's things - it will be lost, destroyed, used by other kids; this includes diapers you must bring, wipes you must bring, utensils, bibs, toys, sheets, also all of this you must bring. When we were leaving the place, a crib sheet lost a while back never been found, and it took us a while to get our bib back (ikea full cover bib with sleeves, awesome thing, I just dropped it off, so I wanted it back). When we finally got it back, it was crusty dirty, ripped on the bottom - how were they not embarrassed to return a brand new bib in this kind of condition, i have no idea. We left because my daughter increasingly started to hate coming there, and bawled her eyes out when I was dropping her off. And she is the most adaptive child otherwise, very social and outgoing. I don't know what started happening there, but she just wouldn't want to stay. As soon as we took her out of there, it NEVER occurred again - she is happy and waves bye bye to me at her new place. They are pretty good in keeping your child alive, and the gross motor room is great for kids on a move, so if you don't have much expectations beyond that, it's worth considering it. read more

This daycare was amazing. We left in August and we still speak of the teachers often and fondly. Where to start? When we first enrolled, my son was just 3 and my daughter was on the way. Frankly, it was the fact that they could also accommodate my daughter in the infant room four months later that made us choose them- but we were extremely glad we did. We stayed until my son started kindergarten, and my daughter began a daycare near his new school. Therefore, we have experience with the full range of teachers- infant teachers, toddler, preschool and preK. As other reviewers have said, Monoshini is an excellent administrator: communicative, open, and transparent with parents; warm and familiar with the children, and sets a good culture, as far as I could tell, at work itself by training a teacher to take on more administrative roles- something we saw this teacher, Daniela, grow into over the course of our time there- and did a very good job with teacher retention. I'm pretty sure Sue taught my son to read, but what really mattered was how she- a former kindergarten teacher herself- made my son feel special. She knew him, knew his quirks, and made him feel safe and secure. My daughter was lavished with affection and she's an incredibly confident toddler now. The space is also great. Monoshini keeps the playground up to date, this spring installing new equipment for both little and bigger kids, and the gross motor room is perfect for getting the wiggles out. Seemed like they were always ordering new engaging toys for the classrooms too. Also, just to say that when things *weren't* perfect, we were able to have open and constructive conversation that made us feel heard. If you are used to combative situations with your daycares, know this is the polar opposite. We'd definitely do this again; if it were closer to us, our daughter would still be there. Thanks for providing such a great space for these little people. read more

Stunned by anyone who has had a less-than-amazing experience at WSDC. My preschool and pre-K aged son has been in the program for over two years and I have had zero issues. The team is professional, friendly and caring. The director is hands-on, very reachable and friendly as well. It makes an impression on a parent when you see that the kids feel comfortable around the director of the center (i.e. she spends time in the classrooms) and that she knows each kid by name. You'd be surprised - this isn't always the case. Consistent communication from the director's office and I've been pleased with the updates provided on the curriculum that is being used in my son's classes. We've felt so fortunate - both of the lead teachers that my son has had (pre-school and pre-K) have been amazing. These are not glorified babysitters, rather they are competent professionals who understand children. Very appropriate balance between social learning and core/school curriculum (colors, letters, numbers, etc). My son comes home every day telling me all about dinosaurs, outer space, plants, maps and his new favorite book. My son has thrived here. Pulled him out of a more expensive and more "corporate" center (also in Lexington) and have loved the feel of Waverley Square - smaller, more intimate and more interactive for children. 5 stars all around and a huge thank you to everyone at WSDC who has made such a positive impact on my son. read more

My daughter, now a 4 year old preschooler, has been attending Waverley Square Daycare in Belmont since she was 1. She looks forward to it every morning, loves her teachers especially Ms. Monoshini, Ms. Helen, and Ms. Claudia. The teachers truly care about the kids there, and they always keep parents well informed of everything that goes on in the center. This gives us a peace of mind when we are away at work. The daycare is well-run, always clean, and properly staffed. I find it to be the perfect balance of playing, learning, and social activities. I always see improvements in my daughter's vocabulary and language skills, writing skills, and social skills when it comes to interacting with others. Overall, I am very happy with the daycare and plan on enrolling my second child there next year. read more

My husband and I would give Waverly Square Daycare 10 stars if yelp would let us. Our son started attending at 3 months and he thrived under their care. They were very supportive to us as new parents and made us feel comfortable. Our little guy was enrolled until 3 1/2 and all the teachers throughout the years were amazing. He LOVED his school and teachers. So many fond memories!! If we didn't move our little guy would still be going there!! If you are looking, you must consider Waverly Square Daycare for your littles! You won't be disappointed. read more

My daughter started at Waverley Square Daycare when she was 2 years old and I couldn't be happier with her and my experience there. She not only was taken care of well, she also evolved tremendously in the time she's spent there. She loved her routine and always had a big smile when I dropped her off in the morning, and was always happy and well fed when I picked her up in the evening. She went there all five days full-time for three years. She is now a 2nd grader and is among the best of her class as far as her reading, math and social skills go. Monoshini's ability to connect with the kids in the daycare was astonishing. My daughter loved all her teachers at the center and talks about them time to time to this day. The kids are given activities to do through the day, and she always came home with a piece of 'artwork'. The teachers are great with their communication about her activities, social behavior that day and anything that's needed for the next day. Monoshini is a genuinely honest person, and very easy to communicate with. Thank you for being there for us and being a great part of my daughter's life during her early developmental years! read more

We are very pleased with the level of attention both our children have received at WSDC. We have a child in the infant room and one in Pre-K. The infant room is stocked with stimulating toys and activities, and the teachers do an excellent job with managing their daily schedules while incorporating new and different sensory activities on a daily basis. Their level of involvement goes far beyond what I've seen at other daycare centers I have found the staff to be very accommodating and helpful when I've had questions regarding my child's development and needs. As for the Pre-K room, all I can say is that my daughter looks forward to playing with the other kids and teachers every day. Regularly she tells me about something new she learned in class, to me that says volumes about how well the Pre-K class is organized and the quality of the staff. read more

The review below is for the Infant class staff, as well as the management. I do not usually write reviews because typically reviews have already been provided and it would be redundant. But in this case, I see very few real reviews that bring to light the problems at this daycare. We could not wait to get out of there. This daycare has a long way to go before they're comparable to other schools in both their ability to care for the babies and the professionalism of the staff. The staff refuses to enforce removing of the shoes policy. Parents stroll in with their filthy outdoor shoes, walk all over the floors where my baby and others' babies (including their own) are crawling and picking debris off the floor...and put it in their mouths! This is a sanitation and hygiene issue that we brought to staff's attention but nothing was ever done about it. They don't even have a sign or disposable booties for parents to wear. They all walk in and do not remove shoes. Disgusting! SAFETY RISK: They constantly leave the doors wide open so ANYONE can enter off the street and access the infant room!! There are combination locks but they have one design flaw...the door has to be shut! The daycare is attached to a church so the church staff is given the passcode. I don't care if Jesus himself wants to enter...no one, except for daycare staff and parents should be allowed in! We live in a world where you can't be too careful, and leaving the doors wide open is not acceptable. We feel fooled by the management and staff, who initially seemed cooperative, understanding, and generally nice. Shortly after we started there, our concerns were dismissed and we felt they were defensive and disrespectful towards us. Especially one particular infant room caretaker who consistently defied our instructions and suggestions on caring for our baby. She was confrontational and rude! They have a poor organization for feedings and sleep/nap. Babies are all put down for a nap and fed at the same time. Naps are in PITCH BLACK, which really ruined my son's night time sleeping. It was horrible. Babies played in the dark if another was sleeping. Very poorly structured. They don't know what they're doing and do not understand infant sleep patterns and basic needs. The list of grievances goes on and on...if I think of more, I'll add to the review. The infant room staff will make OK babysitters, but for 2K a month, they're not worth it! I hope this helps even one parent to not make the mistake we did. read more

My children spent the last school year at Waverly Square in Lexington. Upon meeting Ms. Monoshini, I was impressed with her knowledge of early childhood education, and her compassion and genuine love of the children in her center. Our experience was split, with respect to my two children: one in the PreK class, and one in the a Toddler 1 class. Our daughter absolutely LOVED her PreK class. Ms. Ann works so hard to ensure that the kiddos are busy, doing hands on work, and are having fun. When the class found a general love of planets, she worked to create age appropriate activities, to help students create a beautiful play for parents at "Moving On," with 4-5 year olds, not an easy task, for sure! We love hearing our daughter talk about the planets, giving facts she knows about each one. We really couldn't have been happier with her experience. Unfortunately, our toddler's experience was not as positive. For starters, there was massive staff turnover in his classroom. I believe 3-4 main teacher changes in total, as the year went on. His original teacher was promoted to Assistant Director (which is great for her!) when the other left for a position closer to home. Within this time my son was repeatedly bit by another student, and each time I was told that it was because "he moved too fast." Well, he's a big boy for 1, I can't control his physicality. And, these were bites with bruises and teeth marks, not little nips. I was confused why there wasn't more of a physical buffer between my son and the other little boy - and when it happened, my son was the one who was separated, not the boy biting. In addition, we often received incident reports that stated he had fallen, but that no one had seen what actually happened, just that they noticed bumps or bruises, or that he fell off equipment (how was this not monitored before hand?). Monoshini, you can rebut this statement however you like, however we both know that this was what was presented to me on multiple occasions. As an educator, I am unsure how a 1 year old could have possibly not had a set of eyes on him for a long enough period to warrant an incident report for an injury. As a result of the multiple staff changes, my son experience extreme anxiety about entering the center. I have no doubt that once familiar faces were seen, or other friends entered, that his demeanor changed and he was able to continue his day happily, but screaming and crying and fighting to get away from certain adults ensued daily. I was always so thankful when Ms. Yan, Ms. Melissa or Ms. Gabriella were present at drop off, as he genuinely trusted those women to take care of him. When he made the transition to toddler 2 at the end of the year, he was immediately thrown into potty training, which he was NOT ready for. I came in early one day to pick up my children, and heard a toddler from the potty, screaming to get off the potty, with a teacher standing in the doorway telling them to sit. My son, who didn't see me, was sitting in a chair at a table, the ONLY child tethered to a chair with a strap, and had his head in his hands, looking down at the table in distress. Not sure why my son needed a tether, or if that's even legal. I immediately asked them to untether my son, as he saw me and was trying to get up - instead being held down by the tether strap, and to be sure to NEVER potty train him, or tether him, ever again. What was happening was NOT developmentally appropriate for a child his age (or humane for a child any other age). I was mortified, my blood was actually boiling, and I am so incredibly sad and sorry for that child and family. Bottom line, had I been able to find a childcare that would have been able to take both children, they would have been gone, but with my commute and time restrictions, I will have to live with the mommy guilt I feel for keeping my son there for the school year. I was grateful that my older daughter could give me an exact rundown of what she saw each day - I was heartbroken that my son wasn't able to do the same due to his age. I know Ms. Monoshini wants to run a solid daycare. I hear great things about the Belmont location. And heard great things about the Lexington center at its start. But, it seems that increasing enrollment, class sizes, and class additions, from what was supposed to be a small child-centered daycare, clearly took over. Maybe it was financially motivated, I just don't know. But, I hope that she is able to find a solid staff, with more experience and compassion, and our family wishes her all the best moving forward. read more

I feel compelled to comment on the care at WSDC after seeing a recent review with what I feel is a vastly inaccurate portrayal of the infant class. Our daughter attended Waverley Square in Lexington for about a year before we relocated and had to pull her out. She began as an infant and received absolutely excellent, attentive care from her teachers and was given opportunities to grow through sensory, creative and gross motor activities. The other poster had concerns re: sanitation. The place is cleaned every night and I was never concerned - at all - with the cleanliness of her space. (I should also add that a hyper-sanitized environment is actually not considered healthy if you look at the research, so if I was him/her, I'd consider that to be a blessing if there were indeed a few germs around). The situation regarding an unlocked church door with access to the shared hallway was accurate but not unknown to parents who chose to send children to WSDC and was consistently monitored by staff. We felt comfortable with the setup and security. I can also speak to our experience in that our daughter went through a period similar to what the poster described - crying, resistant and generally anxious about the separation after having been at WSDC for some time. This was not due to the care - it was due to a natural developmental period for her that passed. We were more than pleased with her infant care at WSDC. As she moved into the toddler room, we had a bit less rapport with the teachers and there was an unfortunate period of turnover that made our communication more challenging. However, the Director and Assistant Director were always responsive to our concerns and always put the children first. When you choose a daycare, you are entering a relationship. You need to assess your needs and what the center provides for your child socially and environmentally before you enter the relationship, as the poster clearly had not done. And, as with any good ongoing relationship, it requires managing high expectations on both sides, good communication and a general desire to mutually provide care. After all, your kids can be with his or her provider more than they are with you, and those providers are other humans. You have to work to ensure you are co-parenting your children effectively and remember that they are also caring for other children and must do that effectively also. If you can't handle that, you should consider a nanny or a lifestyle change that allows for one parent to keep the child at home. read more

I was schocked to read the negative review of the WSD infant room as it is completely at odds with my experience. My daughter has been there from the time I went back to work (3 months old) and she could not be better cared for. The infant room staff are loving, responsive, caring and they absolutely encourage the infants to bond and play with one another. My daughter lights up each time I drop her off and could not be happier to be swept up by any of her teachers. They also make a huge effort to teach colors, shapes, textures and words and it is clear staff efforts have made a difference as my daughter is well ahead of the standard developmental curve. I would not hesitate to recommend the infant room and would ignore the previous poor review as the one sour grape in the bunch. read more

Our daughter attended Waverly Square in Lexington for over 2 years and loved every day of it. She enjoyed playing with her friends and adored all of her teachers. The preschool and Pre-K teachers do a wonderful job of engaging the children in learning and playing. They are able to maintain a safe, structured, and friendly environment and take interest in individual children's needs and abilities. As with any center, there were a significant number of staffing changes throughout the years; however, with the exception of one single teacher (who is no longer there), I found all of their employees to be friendly and engaging. Even the teachers who don't work with my child know her name and interests and greet her welcomingly at every opportunity. In more than two years, my greatest dissatisfaction with WSDC was the winter weather cancellation policy. I would recommend WSDC to anyone! read more

As a former employee, Assistant Director and a parent of two children whom attended WSDC, I would like to say that this is one of the best daycares I have ever been in. All the teachers love what they do, care for the children as if they were their own and most importantly respect each and every parents wish or concern. WSDC staff work above and beyond what is expected of them and it shows! It shows in every aspect of their work and I am happy to say that I was a part of such an amazing team. I would absolutely recommend this daycare to any family in need of outstanding, loving and passionate care. read more