Daycare / Pre-K Options in The Edmond Area? (Yukon, Bethany: how much, attorneys)

[yelenayudina]

RE: my small wonders
We have attended my small wonders for a while and for the price I would have expectations higher than that. They actually don't have a dietician on site as they claim and their curriculum actually doesn't even exists. Never once I saw they teach anything to children and my son did not improve in anything while going there, so I felt like it was a waste of money. Besides feeding toddlers sandwiches for lunch every day is not a great idea. I am a nurse and I feel like kids that young should be fed quality foods which obviously my small wonders lacks. Also when I left them for a while, went out of state and came back, needed daycare fast the owner said you have to pay them to be on waiting list. Forget that!! I would not even imagine anything more rediculous. I definitely would not return my kid there..

[AFwife04]

Originally Posted by yelenayudina

RE: my small wonders
We have attended my small wonders for a while and for the price I would have expectations higher than that. They actually don't have a dietician on site as they claim and their curriculum actually doesn't even exists. Never once I saw they teach anything to children and my son did not improve in anything while going there, so I felt like it was a waste of money. Besides feeding toddlers sandwiches for lunch every day is not a great idea. I am a nurse and I feel like kids that young should be fed quality foods which obviously my small wonders lacks. Also when I left them for a while, went out of state and came back, needed daycare fast the owner said you have to pay them to be on waiting list. Forget that!! I would not even imagine anything more rediculous. I definitely would not return my kid there..

We toured MSW last week, as I am going to start looking for work and paying $50 to be placed on the waiting list rubbed me the wrong way too. Seeing as that I haven't even landed an interview I have some time.

[DrinkGreen]

Although I'm not from Edmond, I have recently become interested in the Goddard School. My coworker's daughter is a Goddard Graduate and is finishing up 1st grade in her public school. He says his daughter and the other girl in her class who went to Goddard are both top in their class, and reading at a MUCH higher level than the rest of the class (Harry Potter novels). However I've seen mixed reviews about Goddard on GreatSchools.org, including the one in Edmond on Western.

My daughter will be ready for Pre-K in the Fall. I know Goddard is pricey but that's not an issue. I just want to know is my daughter getting a higher quality education and will be that much further ahead when she starts regular school. If anyone can verify that this is true, then it's worth the money to me.

[proudvoterofObama]

Originally Posted by elquesogrande

1/4 of our family (well...just me) moved out to Oklahoma City in early February. First impressions are that OKC is a solid, friendly midwest city with a nice pseudo-southwest flair. The city appears to be on the rise with new developments, a revitalized downtown and a surprising music / culture scene. It is looking pretty good so far as a place for a young family to live.

DAYCARE

The Oklahoma Department of Human Resources has a great service where they evaluate and rank daycare programs. Their website includes a searchable database that includes reports on each daycare provider:

Oklahoma Department of Human Services - Oklahoma Child Care Locator

I downloaded all of the 2 and 3-star Edmond daycares off of the site and began visiting them last week. Here are some of my own personal observations:

NOTE: None of the Edmond daycare options I have seen so far are fantastic. On a scale of 1-10, most seem to fall in the 4-6+ range for quality of care, cleanliness, age of equipment, scholastic program, security, et al. If you are an entrepreneur, please feel free to set up a high-end daycare here - there is a real void in the market.

First United Methodist Church - Seemed like a well run place. Unfortunately, they do not offer a full-day program; so this would not be an option for a family like ours where both parents work full time.

The Goddard School - Nice, but not fantastic daycare with an international staff and more of a mainstream feel. Clean and well organized. The most expensive place I have visited to-date, but also one of the better Edmond options.

First Christian Church Daycare - The oldest daycare in Edmond with solid facilities. The place has a good word-of-mouth reputation and an amazing 1-2 year wait list. (!) I kind of expected something spectacular for that kind of a wating period - this was "goodish" but not really worth that kind of delay. Hmm. Does not really matter what I think - my kids would be out of daycare age by the time I could get them in anyway.

New Horizons / The Depot - Seemed sightly above the pack. The Director was sharp, the facility was clean and the teachers seemend very capable. Not bad.

Kids Ink - An OK place with another long waiting list. Kind of odd, but the facility is actually two buildings with two independently run daycares. They had no space for infants and a lot of room for Pre-K / Kindergarten.

Child Time - Not sure how this one got the Oklahoma three-star rating. Cluttered building with very worn equipment and cheap cribs. Fancy high-gloss fliers, though. This is a corporate owned facility vs. a franchise or privately owned daycare.

La Petite Academy - I have yet to visit any of their three Edmond facilities. Of all the daycares, the "La Petite" name seems to be the one that comes up in a negative light through word-of-mouth, though. Not sure why; so I'll stop by and see for myself.

Oklahoma City YMCA Daycare - Located downtown and not in Edmond. I was amazed at how nice the facility was designed, run and maintained. The classrooms and playground were clean and professionally designed. Definitely worth a look for the downtown crowd.

...anyone out there have comments or opinions around Edmond area daycares?

I hated Goddard... My son was there for a week before I pulled him. They just weren't friendly - the teacher never introduced herself to me, and I heard her call my son by the wrong name... Don't think so!!
My son is now in Childtime in North Edmond. It's okay, but he goes to school at Northern Hills and it's the closest daycare around and I needed that because the thought of him on a school bus alone terrifies me. But, the best daycare around, in my opinion, is Village Montessori. My son went there from infant to pre-k and he learned so much. They have lessons/classes as well as recess and all the other fun stuff for kids as young as age 2! Great school, great teachers, and the Director is sweet and knows every kid by name!

[proudvoterofObama]

Originally Posted by DrinkGreen

Although I'm not from Edmond, I have recently become interested in the Goddard School. My coworker's daughter is a Goddard Graduate and is finishing up 1st grade in her public school. He says his daughter and the other girl in her class who went to Goddard are both top in their class, and reading at a MUCH higher level than the rest of the class (Harry Potter novels). However I've seen mixed reviews about Goddard on GreatSchools.org, including the one in Edmond on Western.

My daughter will be ready for Pre-K in the Fall. I know Goddard is pricey but that's not an issue. I just want to know is my daughter getting a higher quality education and will be that much further ahead when she starts regular school. If anyone can verify that this is true, then it's worth the money to me.

I think it's overrated. My son is also above average when it comes to reading/writing and he didn't attend Goddard. He was sounding out words and figuring them out by age 3.

[AFwife04]

I have a job interview on Friday so I thought I'd try to have a tentative plan should I get offered the job. Many of the daycares have waiting lists here in Edmond, FYI. I toured Santa Fe CDC today, not impressed. The director never introduced herself by name. I did not care for the open layout. Then today as I am coming home from taking my daughter to pre-k I see the bus driver talking on the phone. The bus was empty, but this is an absolute no-go for me. My husband and I do NOT text or drive while behind the wheel. I see so many people do it here and I almost got rear ended by some jerkwad texting and didn't see me hit the brakes. I called the center and the director did not seem too concerned about it. Although they had immediate openings for both of my kids they are OFF the list.

[proudvoterofObama]

Childtime - the location off of 2nd and Bryant is good. My son goes there - they also provide transportation to Northen Hills Elementary (really good school in Edmond and about a block away from the daycare... I'm kind of overprotective and wasn't crazy about him riding a bus at age 4, so the closeness eases my anxiety. )

[AFwife04]

I am so nervous about my 4 year old getting on a bus! That makes me feel better, I toured that particular Childtime and I liked the director and the infant teacher. My little man is pretty attached to momma and I saw that the babies had lots of attention. My 4 year old would be riding the bus to John Ross, a little further than I'd like but it's not terribly far. It just so happens I called them today, they have openings for both kids if I do get the job.

[proudvoterofObama]

Good! I'm glad you like them. The director is very sweet - they just revamped the whole facility and gave it a makeover, including getting rid of teachers they didn't see fit, about 2 years ago. All the parents rave about it. Good luck on the interview, and maybe our kids will meet!

Also: The bus driver is very nice and Landon talks about him all the time. He doesn't have time to be on his phone while driving b/c he is constantly singing the kids' songs!

[AFwife04]

Thank you! I'm nervous.