My family loves Childtime! Our son joined when he was 12 weeks old and is now almost 4. He has…read moregrown up with his friends and his teachers. To say it takes a village is an understatement and Childtime is an essential part of our village. We do not trust anyone to keep our children, the fact that I can drop off my son and feel comfortable and confident that he will be treated and loved the way he is at home is amazing!

All 4 of my children have gone to this school in some capacity since 2015. The school is run by a…read morecaring, empathetic leader, Bethanie, who has always been approachable and supportive. She communicates well and helps parents feel at ease. Though my older kids only go for school days out and summer camp, they LOVE coming back to Childtime. It's a bit of a commute for us, but its worth it for my kids to feel loved and happy. Shout out to Ms. Janet, who has been there longer than we have. She is so kind, generous, and always gives us a nice anecdote about their day. Any concerns are handled quickly and I love that I don't have to pack them lunches! Thank you, Childtime, for being there for my family for almost 10 years! You are a part of my village and I couldn't do it without you!

Our family has had a great experience with the Goddard in Marriottsville over the years. When a…read morelast-minute situation arose, Ms. Sheeba quietly moved mountains to ensure our child was set up for success, and the process was seamless. It reinforced what we already felt: excellent curriculum, caring staff, and exceptional service -- definitely worth the wait.

Deciding who to leave your baby with is without a doubt the hardest, most stressful decision we…read moremake as parents. You just want them to be safe and comfortable. We chose Goddard after trying others and found that it, and owner Sheeba Mathew have no equal. Ms. Sheeba knows the name of every child, every parent, every sibling, and in some cases even the grandparents of every child who is currently or has ever been a member of the Goddard family. Beyond keeping our children safe and comfortable, Ms. Sheeba and her incredible staff of administrators and teachers provide a wonderful foundation for kids to learn and grow. There is very little teacher turnover, which is great because it gives stability at an age where kids tend to really need it. When you see your kids eyes light up as they run into the classroom and hug their teachers, you just know you've made the right call. The education provided at Goddard is also outstanding. My 5 year old son has learned not just reading and numbers but science and history. He's learned about the world that surrounds him goes well beyond his Maryland zip code. I've watched him thrive in this beautiful, amazing environment. It's been incredible. This week we say goodbye to the school we love. Next week he will start kindergarten. His years at Goddard have prepared him for this, and I am beyond grateful. He is ready to achieve great things. Though both his heart and mine break at the thought of leaving, we know that we will remain part of that special community Ms. Sheeba has created and we remain eternally thankful for it. So, if you're reading this and trying to decide where to place your child that is safe, comfortable, nurturing, educational and fun, look no further. You'll find a home at Goddard and you won't be disappointed. And Ms. Sheeba, if you're reading this, THANK YOU!!!

I love this school. My son has been there since Kindergarten and he's entering fifth grade this…read moreyear. My daughter is entering Kindergarten this year. There are really too many things to list, but I'll try to. First, arts are at the core of learning at this school. The arts are used as a tool for teaching and evaluating students' work. The school also ensures there's recess everyday which is so important at this age! I absolutely love the community of families, teachers and staff. We are always welcome in the school. The day starts with a community breakfast in which all classes eat together, hear morning announcements and say the school pledge. Parents are encouraged to be a part of that. The class sizes are small, which is great for students to get specialized attention. And there's no boring worksheets. Kids learn in ways that are meaningful and fun. I can't say enough great things!

My daughter is currently in fourth grade at Creative City. She has been attending Creative City…read moresince kindergarten. She has received wonderful instruction from Creative City staff and has made close friends at the school. Over the years she has participated in a number of great projects from woodwork, to pottery in the style of an acclaimed potter, to gardening, to a month long Black Lives Matter arts-integrated project. Her class has recess daily, which helps her to focus during the times of classwork. In the times that I have had concerns about her schoolwork or instances of kids being mean, the teachers and admin have been very responsive. I am glad that my daughter has had Creative City as her home for the past five years and hope that she will find as good of a school home for middle school.

Edit to add: isn't it funny how no reviews mention how nice the Primeron has been or mention the…read moredirector specifically until a negative review was posted regarding those things? I posted the same review in a military page as we are a military family that used a military subsidy. There were so many responses from other families going through the same issues. While the Primeron can reply to my review saying they've "strengthened and improved their communication" it is apparent from hearing from other families they haven't. Responses to Yelp reviews are purely for their image as admin at the Primeron does not respond nearly as fast or as professional to attending families.

I've noticed a few negative reviews here from frustrated parents, which is unfortunate. While I…read morecan't speak to every individual situation, I do want to share that our experience at Primeron has been one of the VERY BEST we could have ever hoped for. In particular, the director, Kaela, has been responsive, approachable, and genuinely invested in building strong relationships with families. She has taken the time to listen to concerns, make herself available when needed, and even helped establish a parent partnership group (similar to a PTO), which has been a meaningful way for families to stay engaged and connected. Like any organization, occasional issues may arise, but in our experience, the leadership team has handled matters professionally and with care. Some concerns (such as those related to voucher programs) may be tied to broader administrative systems rather than the on-site leadership. I have great relationships with many family members, and have never had issues making my payments, via the Daycare Family Works app. We can tell that Kaela and the leadership team prioritize and value family partnerships: this is why they have connected parents together through family days, created summer camps, spirit weeks, and a parent partnership group. I plan to be a part of the Primeron family until my child ages out! Overall, we feel supported, valued, and confident in the care our child receives. We appreciate the dedication of the staff and leadership team and are grateful to be part of this community.

My children have attended Childtime for almost two years now. I am pleased with how things have…read moreturned around from when we first started. The director is very active and engaged with our children and they even yell her name each day we walk into the building just to say hi! Now that says a lot and she is not my children's teacher. The teachers have taken the time out to hear my concerns that I have had a pervious child care centers and have listened and I see a big difference. Yes there has been turnover at the school but to me I feel it has been for the better. Everyone seems so happy, they speak to me and my children each day and I can truly say my children are thriving in this program. I definitely recommended Childtime of Columbia if you want structure for your little ones :) This is our families happy place!

This daycare was not ideal for my son at all. They painted him out to be an aggressive child and…read moreput him on a "behavior plan" at 2 years old. There were several times when I picked my son up and his diaper was soiled. Unfortunately, he wasn't getting the proper attention and care he needed. The quality of services/curriculum wasn't worth the price in my opinion. The best thing I could've done is take him out of Childtime. Since placing my son in a new daycare, he has been flourishing and not once have I heard from his teachers and dean that he's aggressive.

Overall: incredible experience, my son learned a lot, low turnover with teachers, well-staffed,…read morecalm atmosphere, excellent communication and organization, lots of fun and educational special classes and activities We spent a little over year at Goddard in Ellicott city 2 days a week and loved it so much. He spent time in the roosters and ponies classes. It's so clean, well staffed, decent staff retention, and I'm always wildly impressed with the behavior of the kids. My son has made a lot of adorable friendships. We've been obsessed with his teachers, especially Andrea, Kayla, Xhochilt, Mia, and Mackenzie. He's learned some Spanish, great classroom skills, and independence. Andrea has been there for 17 years which is so impressive to me. The communication with the admin is so fast and everyone always seems so chill. As someone who taught for 10 years, I find that to be incredible. That sense of peace really rubs off on the kids. They are a little pricier, but I think it's worth it. In the summer there is less consistency with the teachers because of vacations, but it is still well-staffed and they do so many events in the summer to make it extra special for the kids like tie dye, bubble shows, foam party, magicians, service dogs, bringing in reptiles, and musicians. On nice days they got outside 3 times a day. Their play areas are really nice. My son's favorite parts of the day were centers and playing in the sensory bins which changed daily. He came home with tons of art and meaningful knowledge about their weekly questions.

We love the Goddard School. Our daughter just completed the pre-K program and we are so amazed at…read morehow much she has learned and how prepared she is to join public school. She is ready for kindergarten. The staff and teachers are fantastic. We also love the safety. Could not recommend enough.

In the beginning of the School Year I trusted this place (The Director Michelle) to care for my…read morechild before and after care in my absence. This school does not have its own Bus or van so the kids use HCPSS School bus for the local school kids. The director stands at the stop while the kids exit the bus. My little girl who was 5 years old at the time (now 6) got left on the School bus because she said the other kids told her that my child wasn't on the bus. She didn't get on the bus to check for herself because she said that the bus driver doesn't allow her to get on the bus. I verified that with the bus company and the driver and that was a lie. I was told she never asked to enter the bus to check. Anyways, once the driver realized that my child didn't get off at the last stop, the driver returned her back to the school and in the care of the Principal. The Principal called me to let me know what happened. I was 30mins away at work. I was able to leave work, get my daughter from school and make it to the center and never received a call from the director to confirm or deny if my child was at School. When my child first started, I told her that I would always let her know if my child would be absent to avoid this traumatic situation. Once I got to the Center, I confronted the Director and asked her why my child wasn't taken off of the bus. Her response was. "Oh ___ was at School today?, the kids told me she wasn't on the bus!" I understand mistakes can happen but this is a mistake NO PARENT EVER WANT FOR THEIR CHILD! When I told the director that her response wasn't a good enough response and that I wanted an explanation for what happened. She told me in front of some staff "I mean it was a accident, I don't know what more you want me to say." It was so nonchalant. As I left the building there were other parents waiting on me in the parking lot because they had possibly heard what happened, as the director didn't even have enough courtesy to take me to her office and discuss the situation. As a result, I have since moved her to another before and after care where she was frantic riding the bus because of the situation. Now, she's in a summer camp and the first day I picked her up, they told me that she was very upset and crying on the bus because she was afraid she was going to get left on the bus because she wasn't sitting next to an adult. Although, this camp is amazing and they assured her they'd never let anything like that happen to her, this is a ongoing wound that continues to open for us. As it stands I'll have to put my child in therapy because this has been really traumatizing to her and those of us that love and care for her. Finally, I'll end this with, I NEVER GOT A LETTER, CALL OR EMAIL FROM ADMINISTRATION APOLOGIZING FOR WHAT OCCURRED. Instead they swept it under the rug but now that my child is still traumatized almost one year later, I'm going to contact administration or corporate for answers on why they never contacted me. Maybe Michelle never reported this situation. I'm going to tell all parents reading this to please look at other centers. I've been told other Brookfield locations are good but please stand clear of the one on Cedar Lane, under the Direction of Michelle. She is very heartless and should never be in control of keeping anyone else's child or children safe. This School failed us in a major way. I was going to post the email response I received from her, but I will stand clear of doing so for now.

This is not a "school" in the traditional sense. It is a daycare. The employees are not certified…read moreeducators, they have the 90 hour credit to work in daycare. All locations are not run the same even though there is one owner. We used this daycare for about a year. The employees were kind but there were a lot of inconsistencies. An example is two "teachers" in each classroom and one was very strict while the other was super lenient. The strict teacher did most of the instruction and the lenient teacher would let the kids have fun. That's confusing for small children because when they are disciplined for showing behaviors that were permissible by the lenient teacher, they did not understand why they were in trouble. There was a lot of turnover in all of the "classrooms" and when there was a "new teacher," parents were not immediately notified. This was a safety risk as the kids would not know all of the teachers names in case something happened. Also, you did not know for sure if all of the hired employees were vetted. At one point they would just ask if people were looking for a job. The employees were not dressed professionally. There was no way to know another child's parent from a staff member. Also there were times where the ladies were dressed inappropriately. Tight, short, and/or revealing clothing. It was disgustingly worse when the weather warmed. To be fair, the building was secure in terms of gaining access to the children. Also, one and only one teacher taught Bible verses. They did not enforce Christian principles in all classes because "all families were not Christian". That was strange that they would not teach these principles regardless being as though they called themselves a "Christian School." I mean is it not in their name?! Rhetorical. I want to give this place a one or two star review but I will give it a 3 because not all three locations seem to be run the same. Even though it's in Columbia, do not be fooled.

Just an excellent learning environment. Our daughter just LOVES to go to school each day and has…read morereally thrived at Hilltop. Staff and teachers are truly dedicated to the children and really strive to keep the parents informed about their child's learning and progress. We plan to send all of our children there in the future and highly recommend it!

I can't imagine there's a better preschool in the Clarksville/Columbia area. Obviously every…read moreparent has their own list of "wants" and "needs" when shopping preschools - their own list of the features that are most important to them. Most importantly for my wife and I was to find a school where our 2-1/2 year-old would be happy, learn social skills, and would learn the fundamental skills needed to function in a classroom setting (preparation for kindergarten). It was also critical that we find a place where we would never feel guilty or apprehensive about dropping our kids off at school. We found all this and more at Hilltop. The most important things to note about Hilltop are... Small School - There are two classrooms and each one has a max of roughly 15 children. Small classes means lots of one-on-one interaction with the teachers, which any educator will tell you is extremely beneficial (especially for young children). Learning Activities - It is a school after all - so it's pretty important that they follow a really well-conceived philosophy and educational curriculum. Every day we receive notes from the teacher about what our child learned that day, sample assignments he worked on, etc. Low Staff Turnover - At other schools and daycares we've witnessed a constant churn of teacher turnover. The teachers at Hilltop have been there for years and are part of the fabric of the school. Family Atmosphere - So many families have their 2nd or 3rd children enrolled, so we've gotten to know each other and have formed great friendships. When I drop my son at Hilltop it feels like I'm leaving him with close friends/family. Credentials - Hilltop is accredited by the MD Board of Education and each teacher and staff member has all their MD creds (I'm not that familiar with all the credentials, so you'd have to check with them for more info on this). Secluded Location - While the school is right off Rt 108 in Clarksville (near the River Hill shopping center) it's also tucked away behind a Methodist church. Its location is nice for security reasons - and there's also something nice about being on a church campus. What more can I say? We are a Hilltop family and absolutely recommend this preschool to anyone trying to make the difficult decision of where to send your child for preschool.