KINDERCARE AGEE PRESCHOOL

Our daughter joined KinderCare learning Center a year ago now when she turned three. We are glad we made the decision to have her there. Every single person who work there is fabulous, the staff, the teachers, the direction! Always making themselves available to answer the questions we had especially during this pandemic. They successfully maintained a high level of health and safety, and made everything to keep our kids and families safe. We also appreciate the KinderCare app, which allows us to know what our daughter is doing every single day (which will be very difficult if we only had to rely on her ;-)). She is learning so much and so fast, it is incredible! It is so great to drop her off every morning knowing that she will have a great day playing and learning not only how to write and count (and some Spanish vocabulary!) but also other important things like healthy habits, confidence and respect.

This KinderCare center has been part of our family for almost six years now. We started our first daughter here when she was 3 months old. Four years later, our second daughter started around the same age. We were unsure of putting our kids in daycare at first, but after just a couple weeks we knew we'd found something amazing. All the teachers here are well-educated and fully trained to take care of children and encourage development and learning. I can honestly say that my children, now 2 and almost 6, are as well-developed as they are because of the expertise of the people at this center. When Covid hit and everything shut down, we were luckily able to keep our spots here as I had to keep going to work. I honestly couldn't find a safer place for our girls besides keeping them at home. All the safety protocols that were implemented are incredibly reassuring, and with the app and ability to call in whenever, I can tell they're actually being followed. They've been working closely with the CDC and state/county health officials to make sure they're doing everything possible. They stay late every day to fully clean the center once all the kids are gone. Our oldest was supposed to start kindergarten this year. With distance learning planned, KinderCare immediately announced a new school-age program with a dedicated teacher to help the kids get on their Zoom class meetings and do all their assigned work each day. They also add in their own fun activities and projects for when regular school is done. It's been amazing and my daughter has loved every minute of it. All of this is to say that I can't think of a better place or better people to help raise our girls. I have colleagues that go to cheaper daycares, but then they complain about how their child isn't being encouraged to learn or they're not open long enough hours. If you're concerned about throwing your kids into a large center like this, please don't be. I can affirm after all these years that these teachers genuinely love and care about all the kids here. They cry when kids grow up and move on, get so excited when they hear they'll gain another little one soon, and worry when they hear something is wrong. Any concerns about growth/development/behavior or even just someone having a bad day, they're always available to listen and help out. As parents, a lot is expected of us. They used to say "It takes a village," but now I feel like everyone has the pressure on themselves. Reading mommy blogs and looking things up online will only get you so far. I'm so glad we found UC KinderCare to be our village!

2020 has been a difficult year for our family both with Covid and with our sons health concerns. Kindercare has been our partner through every step and I know that I can count on them to support our sons needs and provide a safe environment during Covid. I don't know what I would do without them!

When Covid shut down our son and daughter’s regular daycare facilities in March 2020 we were offered a spot here since I was an essential healthcare worker and needed care ASAP. 48 hours after the entire state started telework our 4yo and 9mo started without even touring the center or meeting anyone in person! When our 9mo’s center reopened we sent her back there but after a few months switched her back to Kindercare after seeing the drastic difference in how they were handling Covid safety protocols. We get updates throughout the day and feel like we actually know what’s going on in school. You can send messages directly to the teachers and director through their app and they are always readily available by phone. All meals/snacks are provided which makes things so much easier! Safety protocols: when the mask mandate started in April they rolled it out very quickly and helped so much teaching the current kids how to wear a mask. All bedding has to be washed daily, temp checks on all the kids/staff, and you drop off outside the front door. My son knows he has to be “6 spots away” and has no issues wearing his mask all day and has really adapted easily to this new normal. From the pictures I can see they are strictly implementing the mask wearing and that they have markers on the floor to help the kids maintain distance. My son will be fully prepared for elementary in-person instruction social distancing because of how strict they do it here. The director has always been very transparent about any potential health/safety issues at the center and they go well above the required protocols. We all know protocols are only as good as maintaining them at home too and I have full confidence the other families attending are practicing social distancing on the weekends, which I wasn’t confident in at my daughter’s old center. Infant program: They plan amazing activities for them to help develop skills and have a great indoor/outdoor space from the pictures we get. Our daughter has developmental delays and since starting here her development has progressed so much faster. Preschool/Pre-K: My son has learned so much more here than at his previous school. He’s starting to read, writing has improved, is more inquisitive, relaxed and shares about his day more. They find creative ways to teach concepts and engage them everyday. My son had some behavior issues at a previous school and we weren’t seeing the same issues at home. Since starting Kindercare he hasn’t had any of the previous issues at school and I think it’s because of the structure, caring staff, and enriching environment. Everything that his IEP suggested his previous school do to help the behavior Kindercare does as standard practice for all the kids (structure, consistency, visual and written schedule for kids, flexibility during naptime for the non-nappers, lots of outside time, and positive reinforcement). Congrats for getting to the end of my review! I can’t say enough great things about the center. We initially never looked at this center because of the commute but with everyone teleworking because of COVID the time to get here is really good. The silver lining for this COVID pandemic for us was finding a better childcare option for our family.

Our son has been at this Kindercare for the past year and we have had a great experience there. He is excited to go each day and see his friends and teachers - we are impressed with the range of activities they do with the infants. Unlike a lot of places, this center is open until 6:30 pm, which is fantastic if your workday doesn't end in the early afternoon!