Day Care in HoCo

DaniDuran

Does anyone have any experience with day care centers in Howard County, especially Knowledge Beginnings in Laurel and The Young School in Kings Contrivance?

I am trying to decide which one may be a better fit for my LO and would love to get feedback from other moms.

nutmegger

My LO goes to TYS (other Columbia location, though).  Feel free to PM me with questions.

snoopy5512

We looked at both and were really thinking about The Young School since we have a friend who uses them and they are closer.  We are in Kings Cont.  But in the end, while we liked the infant rooms a little better, overall Knowlege seemed way more organized and focused.  Knowlege Beginnings is NAEYC and MD State Accredited and the staff seem more personable.  Plus, we liked that it seemed more structured and they had more family events and plus more classes you could pay extra for.  The Young School told us they primary teach through play, which is nice, but for a toddler and preschooler we wanted something more, and don't want to have to switch after our baby gets older.

 We are going with Knowledge Beginnings.  They also allowed us more times to visit without them hovering so we could get a good feeling of the place.  One last thing, after the kids are eating solids, they provide meals which is huge to us, and they are open more.  The young school closes more often and is closed for a whole week between christmas and new years.  I do however think that The Young School is really nice and it was a hard decision. 

Go with your gut!

DaniDuran

Thank you, Ladies!

I visited both schools and liked them a lot, but have to agree with Snoopy about the staff at KB being more personable. I visited the center four times, at least twice unannounced and they were very nice and allowed me to tour and visit the infant room again. I had not thought about the meals, but that's a great point. They were also nice enough to ask me if I wanted to start taking my LO there for a couple hours a week before his official starting date so that he could get acclimated easier.

I loved the philosophy at The Young School and would love for my DS to experience it (I went to a Montessori school myself), but my gut keeps pushing me toward Knowledge Beginnings for some reason, so I guess I will go with that. Plus, the location is a lot better for us and I have already paid the nonrefundable fee.