Goddard, anyone?

blushado

A little background: My DD is 9.5 months old and started in a home daycare at 3 months.  It was a nightmare.  She wailed every day she was there (3 days a week) and after 5 weeks we removed her.  I think it was just a bad fit and the provider did not understand infant needs and had overestimated her own abilities in trying to care for a newborn and 5 toddlers, in addition to her own children...

 So at 4 months, my mom watched her and at 7 months, we had the opportunity to hire a nanny who has been coming to our house 3 half-days a week.  Well, my neighbor offered this girl a full-time job and now we are stuck having to search for daycare yet again.  This is exactly what I didn't want to happen too--my DD having so many caregivers. 

There is a Goddard school near my workplace and from all the daycares I've been in in the past 1.5 years, I am most impressed by their program.  I just wanted to hear from others whose kids might be going there how they like it, though.  I am so nervous to transition my DD anywhere, as separation anxiety will surely surface...she'll be 11 months when she starts somewhere new.  We have not had great past experiences and I just don't want this to be a bust as well.  

So how do you like your Goddard school?  What makes their infant rooms so much better?  How have they helped in dealing with separation anxiety? All advice/info is greatly appreciated!

 TIA!

sara1104

two of my friends use Goddard Schools and they LOVE it.  We weren't that impressed with the one close to us -- they are a franchise

tinytot_924

We switched from one center to Goddard and I couldn't be happier with the change.  With our old center, it was more of a babysitting service where the kids were in exersaucers or swings all day.  With Goddard, they read books and sing and do art projects, yoga, sign language, etc.  DD has so much fun, there have been times when she cries at pick up because she doesn't want to leave. 

We haven't made it to the seperation anxiety stage yet, so I can't say anything on that.  We didn't have any issues with the switch from the old school to this one, but at the time, DD was only 5.5 months old.  They are always willing to work with us on whatever we have concerns with.  It may seem like overkill, but they even have parent-teacher conferences in the infant room and give progress reports as to what the kids are achieving at school. 

The teachers in our infant room are great.  All of them have a teaching degree and one of them is a former pediatric nurse.  They have lesson plans for each day so it is a bit more structured. 

 I am so glad we switched when we did!  I would recommend Goddard to everyone.  Like the PP said, it is a franchise, so locations and prices will vary, but I definitely think it is money well spent! 

vagirl06

DD goes to a Goddard school.  She started when she was 7 months old and although it took her some time to adjust, she's now doing great.  They do a lot with the kids as far as reading, buggy rides, and exploring senses. 

I know you are concerned with all the changes for your child - one thing you may want to ask is when your child would be moved into the older room.  At our school the kids move out of the infant room anywhere around 11-12 months, depending on how well they are doing developmentally.  The older room usually goes from 11/12 months up to 18 months.

Bride2b2004

We recently transitioned DS to Goddard School.  We thought it was the best of the many places we visited.  I'm sorry that I can't speak directly to infant care, since DS is a toddler, but I can see that the infant rooms are MUCH better than other places we saw.  First, they wear booties over shoes so people aren't tracking in dirt the baby will crawl in.  Second, the babies seem generally happier.  Fourth, there is a good breakdown of ages.  IMO toddlers should NOT be thrown in with infants, their needs are MUCH different.  I think your decision to move to an environment dedicated to DD's age (by room) will be a good one.  GL!!

 PS. as a pp mentioned, the Goddard School is a franchise, which means that an OWNER runs the school (not an employee who just reports to corporate) so they have a vested interest in the operations.