Creative Minds Child Development Center

Reviews 3

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Jutta Gonzalez

My daughter has been at Creative Minds Preschool in the Blue Room for over a year now and we could not be happier to have found such a professionally run school with caring teachers who are very educated in their field and the Reggio philosophy. When you walk into the classroom, you are always greeted with a smile and the teachers are very engaged and in tune with the kids and their specific needs. They also have an open ear for any information I want to share in regards to my daughter, weather at drop off in the morning or at pick up time. The parents are welcome to stay and observe, participate in activities or help plan special days. Not only does this foster the positive relationship between the home and school, but it also aligns with the Reggio philosophy. You will find the walls filled with open ended, project based arts which is age developmentally appropriate and interesting to the children. The children are allowed to get messy, use art materials in creative ways, learn about animals by having class pets( butterflies, guppies, silkworms and birds) and are always encouraged to think outside the box. All this happens while the teachers create carefully thought through, thematic curriculums that are interwoven with different letters each week. You receive a monthly curriculum which highlights special days, cooking projects and field trips. The children are encouraged to share a special item from home every week and practice speaking in front of a group and the circle times are a wonderful time where the children learn to listen to each other, take on another perspective, have fun dancing together and being kids and explore new, meaningful ideas. I cannot say enough good things about teacher Kristina, who encourages the children to problem solve and become critical, independent thinkers by allowing them to explore, experiment and discover in a safe, guided environment. I am particularly impressed about how much communication happens in the classroom. My daughter is constantly learning new words to express ideas and feelings and the daily book discussions have increased her vocabulary tremendously. She knows that asking questions is always welcome and her confidence about her newly acquired knowledge shows every day. Mealtimes are also very meaningful as it is a shared, relaxed time where the children learn to serve themselves, help others and clean up by themselves as much as they can. My daughter has adopted this at home and it has become a routine to set and clean the table after meals, which makes us happy and she feels very accomplished at the same time. Also, having a mixed age group has taught my daughter much about cooperative learning and made her aware of her own role within the group. The older children have the opportunity to go to pre-k every morning where they are introduced to academics in a small group and a more formal way, preparing them well for Kindergarten. The parents also receive a thorough teacher parent conference once a year where the teacher goes over all developmental aspects. We feel confident that our daughter will have an easy transition to Kindergarten and has been taught important skills to become a lifetime learner. Finally, I am impressed with the programs flexibility when it comes to my daughters schedule. There have been days where I had to drop off my daughter earlier or pick her up later or even switch days and teacher Jennifer has always been more than accommodating about any changes. I wholeheartedly recommend Creative Minds to any family who embraces the Reggio philosophy!

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Anonymous User

Now that I am no longer taking my son to this daycare I feel like I can give a complete review of my experiences here. I did not have any problems with the teachers in the infant room/toddler room. At times, it would get a little hectic in the toddler room especially during lunch time. My son went half time here so I would come right around lunch time and notice that food was everywhere and kids were eating out of tupperware from home instead of on plates - just very disorderly. Toileting training was completely out of the question...they attempted with my son a few times but I felt like when I asked it was done as a "favor" for me so I just let it go. When a child goes to daycare most of the day or half of the day, it needs to be a priority for both the daycare and the parents. Especially, if the child is going through the potty training phase. It was not a priority here. They mostly only focused on diapering. This daycare was flexible with me in terms of adjusting my sons schedule/hours when I needed some extra time, but only when he was in the infant room. Once he was in the toddler room I had to be sure I was on time, which is understandable. The main reason why we decided to leave was because of the owner: Richa Kapur. We started at a very reasonable rate and as time progressed the price kept increasing. The first time she increased the price on us...she called my husband and said I noticed your son is coming in earlier and so she increased the price (he rarely comes in early, usually always late). Then, recently we had talks about transitioning him into the toddler room...my husband had a meeting with her and said that we were ready for him to start the toddler room. Usually kids start that room at the age of 2. At the time, my son would have been two in a month or so. The price drops once they start the toddler room since the ratios are higher. Since my son was almost two but not quite, my husband asked her to honor the toddler room price. It only made sense to pay the toddler pricing if we were going to put him in that room. She said thats fine after chatting with my husband, so we made the necessary arrangements for his transition (ex: I had to change my work schedule, our finances etc). The next day she talked with my husband and went back on her word saying that she is not making enough money on us and that she cant honor the toddler price for the next two months until he actually turns two. That is ridiculous, we were very upset that she decided to change the price once more us. We decided to research heavily for a week or two for nearby daycares and with Gods help we found a fabulous daycare with higher quality care, more professional in handling all the administrative issues and also provides lunch and snack. It was very unfortunate that it had to end this way because we built a relationship with the teachers and so did our son. But sometimes people need to learn the hard way.

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Sarah Mozelle

Creative Minds has been a glorious environment in which my daughter has flourished in so many dimensions - and its all happened in a way that respects and celebrates the brilliance of childhood with an emergent curriculum that still will cover her pre-k needs. The room has a sense of calm, even if there is an overlay of joyful kiddie noise. My daughter asks every morning if its her school day and has never ever NOT wanted to go. What also works is that Creative Minds and the staff works to hold the wellness of an entire family in their minds. They are marvelously accommodating with adding days, adding extra time but not in a cookie cutter way that breaks the bank. I feel really good writing my tuition check each month knowing it is worth every penny and that the staff works so hard in an occupation that is compensated at disgraceful levels. I wish BOTH of my kids could be somewhere like Creative Minds through 3rd grade. I feel a little heartsick when I think of my daughters last day at this marvelous school/community when she begins kindergarten. Im totally perplexed by any negative reviews and encourage readers to speak with the staff if they have concerns about those.

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