This review is long overdue but I feel the need to share. We first discovered MKA when my…read morepreschooler was having issues at his original preschool. He started regressing in potty training, was having behavioral issues and it began to be evident that those teachers simply just didn't like him. We found MKA and immediately upon our walk thru I knew it was the place for him. He fit in immediately and his behavioral issues and potty training regression immediately became a non-issue. We brought our younger two kids in (a 2yo and 3yo) and our kindergartener in for the morning and after school bus. All 4 of my kids have flourished here. All of the teachers have showered my kids with love and discipline. I can not recommend this place enough. In addition to having wonderful teachers and a phenomenal directors the daily updates and ability to watch live feedS of my kiddos during their day makes MKA really stand above the other facilities in the area. MKA has become a second family for us and I am so grateful to have found the best place for my kiddos!

Avoid Midlothian Kids Academy at all costs…read more This daycare has extremely high staff turnover and poor supervision of the children. When my son moved to the two-year-old classroom, we were told they would help with potty training -- but within a week they began complaining about accidents and even suggested we bring in Pampers. It was clear they just didn't want to do their job. I refused, and ironically, my son's potty training improved right after that. The food they serve is subpar -- my son comes home hungry every day. Classrooms are often combined because they're short-staffed, creating chaos and disorganization. When incidents happen, they rarely communicate unless you call to ask what happened. One of the most concerning experiences was when my son came home with his face visibly swollen from crying. We were told he had a hard time going to sleep at nap time -- but we picked him up at 5 p.m., which means he was left crying unattended for an extended period of time. That's completely unacceptable and heartbreaking for any parent to hear. Worst of all, the director is dismissive and gaslights parents instead of being transparent or taking accountability. If you care about your child's safety, nutrition, and emotional well-being, run far away from this place.

We've been with this daycare for 4 years, and I cannot say enough good things about the care my…read morechildren have received. Monica (the director) and Veronica (assistant director) go above and beyond in every way -- they've supported our family in ways no other daycare would, and they've always done it with kindness and understanding. The level of care here truly starts at the top and flows down to every classroom teacher. Teaching 3- and 4-year-olds is no easy task, but the staff handle it with such patience, grace, and love. My children have grown so much academically, socially, and emotionally during their time here, and I always feel confident they are safe and cared for. If you are looking for a daycare where your children will be treated like family and receive top-notch care, this is absolutely the place.

My son has been attending Brandermill KinderCare for 8 months now and I can't say enough positive…read morethings about this school! He loves his teachers Ms. Haley and Ms. Dana. I believe my son has learned so much because of the two of them. I would not be able to express the amount of gratitude I have. We also love Ms. Becky (cook) who is there most every morning when we arrive with a welcoming smile! So happy we found Brandermill KinderCare!

We have had a wonderful experience with this daycare! From the very beginning, Director Sue and…read moreAssistant Director Christine made us feel comfortable and valued. Before transferring to Child Time from another Learning Care Group facility, I would call Child Time and ask questions that my current facility couldn't answer. Both Sue and Christine were incredibly open, welcoming, and patient in taking the time to answer my questions and address my concerns. Their warmth and genuine care gave me confidence that this was the right place for our family. I am so happy we made the decision to transfer! A special thank you to Sue and Christine for making the enrollment process such a positive experience and for always being approachable, supportive, and caring. Your kindness and dedication do not go unnoticed, and we truly appreciate everything you do for the children and families in your care. I highly recommend this daycare to any family looking for a supportive and caring place for their child!

We relocated to Virginia from another state and this Childtime location was between our temporary…read morehouse and the home we were buying. Since our daughter started here, we have always felt overjoyed with the amount of care, encouragement and support the entire staff has given our family. Our daughter is happy and thriving from her time spent with Ms. Julia, ms. Sue and ms Christine, although every single staff member has been instrumental in guiding our girl. Although we are sad that her time at this Childtime is coming to an end (she is starting kindergarten) we're so thankful for everything this facility has done for her. Simply incredible humans that deserve and have earned our upmost respect. Thank you will never be enough.

I really cannot say enough great things about the day care. My son has attended since he was 8…read moreweeks old and is now almost a year and a half. The bonds that he has developed with the teachers and management are not like any other I have ever seen with other children in other facilities. The teachers truly care about the children, even checking up on them when they are out sick. If/when behavioral issues arise, they really partner with the parents so the child has uniform expectations and consequences of action. The facility in the West End is top notch. They are regularly inspected by the State and have not had an infraction since I enrolled my son over a year ago.

Children are abused here. They are bitten, pinched, forced to sit in chairs, cursed at and…read moredegraded, they are threatened. The teachers know which kids they can do what to; for instance, they know where the cameras are, and they know the 1-2 year olds won't repeat threats. Management is complicit, and they turn their eyes to the abuse because they are afraid of their family-owned business being under scrutiny. One of the members of management told a one year old girl she needed to lay still so she could get her "pussy" cleaned. Kids are regularly told, "If you were my kid, you wouldn't sit down for a week," things like that. I reported the abuse but they did nothing because I didn't realize how widespread it was; multiple teachers laugh when a teacher is "fed up" and threatens a kid. They all do it. It is terrifying. These kids can't defend themselves, and they can't tell us that it's happening, but it is awful and they need help. ​

It's been 3 weeks since my son went to school at Chesterbrook Stony Point, so far we've been very…read morehappy and lucky to have super nice teachers. They're young, bright, and very energetic. I get a report every day about his eating, sleeping, diaper changing, and various activities he's done through out the day. I call EVERY single day, and the principle Sara is super nice, and always give me a snap shot of what my son is up to. She told me I can call as many time as I like, she's super supportive and understanding. They update the app often so I can see the pictures of my son doing his little activities. Infant 1 only has 2 teachers, so there was only 8 children. They had a system, somehow whenever, I come, it was nice and quiet, and the children look BIG, clean, and content. Their curriculum is great, they'd tell us what we are working on with our son so we can also implement at home also. We're going to have more children, and I'd send them here too so we can go through we their programs. I like how there are 200 acres of wood Park right behind the school so the children would get fresh air circulating around.

My son began at this preschool this past April. I must say this Preschool holds quite a few tenured…read moregems within it. My son was privileged to have Ms Amanda of the intermediates and also Ms Tori. They are an awesome team Tori took him in as her own and loved him. They were both so patient and loving!! He is now in pre k with even more vetted teachers one of whom had been there since 86. Ms. Tucker is extremely hands on with her curriculum and we get updates as far as activities my son participated in. She challenges him to make him better with retaining his lessons. He has made friends and I'm able to see him active and engaged each day on the playground and in class. My son has sensory setbacks, so my fear was always leaving him alone and being away. Since having him there, I don't want him ANYWHERE else. Bobbie and Sarah are amazing Directors and have both been so so accommodating. All of those ladies are like family. It's really touching to me during a time when childcare is hard to come by and undervalued at times, they always ensure my little boy is okay. That he is learning and not left in the shadows or ostracized. I'm forever grateful for the staff there. Thank you all!! I Absolutely recommend as a phenomenal facility to send your child!

When my wife and I moved to Richmond from Raleigh in 2010 in some ways it was like starting over…read more We had both lived in North Carolina for 17 & 14 years respectively and the change while welcomed presented many challenges, especially with 2 young children. One of the first things we did when we arrived was to seek out recommendations for a good pediatrician. From that point we had the amazing fortune of being given the contact information for Joan at Open Arms Christian Preschool by our children's new doctor. The pediatrician we ended up seeing knew that with a diagnosis of autism and being on the spectrum our son would be in great hands and care at Open Arms Christian Preschool. The nervousness we felt while driving to meet with Joan for an initial tour of the preschool was immediately forgotten as we were greeted with the kindest most genuine energy and welcome. Within 5 minutes of touring Open Arms we knew we had found the right place. In our time spent at Open Arms we had both of our kids enrolled. Even when we moved to Glen Allen after the first year I fixed my work schedule to be able to drive 40 minutes back and forth for drop off and pick up. Our oldest child is on the spectrum and has been diagnosed with autism. He is high functioning but to this day has sensory issues as well as social issues. Joan went above and beyond to work with us day in and day out, gave us guidance, put us in touch with different professionals and organizations and always made herself available. She was always a phone call away and as with any situation involving children the communication factor was key. There was even a point where an additional staff member was brought in to help. For all of these reasons my wife and I will forever be grateful. I could really go on and on raving about this preschool as we had a 4 year run there. There is not one negative thing I can say about our experience at Open Arms. If there was I would be honest and post it. There were times when we had reports come home about our oldest and quite frankly a few times where we thought, 'that's it they are going to ask us to leave'... but that never happened. And I believe the communication between the school and us was a vital part of our unique situation. Communication is always key. The tuition is very reasonable for what each family receives. Activities, special trips and guest 'speakers' just to name a few of the things which go on. Art comes home regularly and the kids are also in a true learning environment which is such a plus as they get ready to make the transition to elementary school. If I could give this preschool 10 stars I would. If I could give Joan and her amazing staff 10 stars I would. I have given Joan permission to give out my phone number to anyone who has parent to parent questions. We will be forever grateful for the foundation which Open Arms Christian Preschool has given both of our kids. And we will especially be forever grateful for the added support we received to help us set our first born and only son on the path to being able to deal with his autism related issues. While Open Arms was just one piece of the support chain we received it was a vital part which helped us truly make the difficult and important decisions about our situation without added stress. Without the positive reinforcement and guidance this would have been a much more difficult road for us. Reach out to Joan with any questions about this program. She is always eager and happy to meet and welcome new faces and families. Cheers! And thank you for reading my first novel! (sorry I got carried away...) -Michael Soekawa (yes my full name)

The post previously made is inaccurate and incorrect. We toured several schools and chose Open…read moreArms last September because of the attentiveness, love and professionalism of the teachers and Director. In January of last year, our son began having seizures - the first in his young 2 year old life. We were terrified and concerned about the present and future health, well-being and development of our child. Not only did the team at Open Arms show their love and support for us, but the families surround us with friendship and prayer! Our son Eli had a rough 4 months; spending over 80% of the time in the hospital. During that time, we received weekly emails and texts from the Director, Eli's teachers and parents checking in and asking how they could help. When Eli was stable enough to return, the entire team at Open Arms worked with us to give Eli a chance to come back to school - even part-time. I met with the Director, Joan Brennan, and his teachers regularly to discuss his development, areas of challenge and prognosis. They worked diligently to ensure that Eli had a supportive environment where he, and the other children, could thrive. They took care of our son and our entire family during one of the most traumatic times in our life. Eli has now been seizure free for several months and returned back to school full-time this year. Before starting the year, Joan and the teachers worked with my husband and I to determine where Eli might best thrive (in the older 2 or younger 3 classroom). They have walked with us over the last several months as we have evaluated his growth and development. During parent teacher conferences this week, his teachers shared with us areas of challenge for Eli and some options to help him thrive. While it is always tough to hear that your child may not be thriving and may need additional evaluation, the way that they lovingly and supportively discussed the challenges with me made me quickly aware that they were on our team. They wanted what was best for Eli's development and wanted to provide the right opportunities for he and the other children in the school. As a parent who is diligently involved in the well being of her child, I feel like I have a team of support at Open Arms. It is a community! I learned about Open Arms from a friend that entrusted the development of her two children to the school. Having now experienced the great support and student-to-teacher ratios she encountered, I have openly recommended the school to other families. Including families that have been dealing with issues such as epilepsy. While the school is not a school for children needing one-on-one shadowing or those with aggression and anger issues, it is a school for families that need a little extra support or those that simply want the best environment and greatest opportunity for the growth of their children. I love Open Arms and am saddened by the libelous comment below.

We recently enrolled our girls into the TLE in Bon Air and so far it's been wonderful. Owners and…read moredirectors are very caring, and their teacher Ms. Heather and all the other supporting teachers really work hard and do a wonderful job with all the kids. The TLE we came from in NJ was very different and the contrast is night a day. Thank You all for your hard work!

Safe daycare with great teachers. Priced right too! I would definitely recommend this daycare.read more

They lack site and sound supervision! Poor execution if services. They do not have a standard of…read moreprocedure. My child was bullied and harassed and I was asked to be patient. Kids and staff targeted my daughter and they did not provide a safe environment for her. When I asked for things to be reviewed they were not!! When my daughter defended herself they had a problem. In an incident where it was clearly documented and seen on the camera to show she did not hurt a child they still blamed her. Lack of motivation and consistency at their facilities is dangerous. Do not send your child or children to these centers. They need additional training. I'm a child therapist and I wish I hadn't been so patient. Avoid the damage that I wish I had avoided. Keep them safe by utilizing a better place to provide care.

Caring, loving, healthy and happy!! My kids preffer Kids World over the YMCA for their summer's and…read moreyoungest is ahead of the game as he heads into Kindgergarten thanks to the fabulous pre-k plan.