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Recommended daycares in Main Line / KOP areas?
Hi everyone! I just found out I'm pregnant! I'm in the process of finding a reputable, trusted daycare in the Main Line / King of Prussia areas. Unfortunately, I will have no family to help out and will most likely return to work immediately after my leave is up. Please let me know your experience..especially those that have had to leave their 3-4 month old at a daycare facility. I appreciate your help!
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Re: Recommended daycares in Main Line / KOP areas?
congrats-
I am a SAHM- but I did look into daycare in KOP.
By far the best in my opinion and the only place that i was willing to leave my DD with was the Malvern School. 2 neighbors have their children there since they were little and they don't have any complaints.
Bright Horizons in KOP is also VERY highly recommended- but $$$
GL with your decision-
I am a SAHM now, but looked at daycare for DS before I left work.
I had called the Malvern School 3 or 4 times when I was researching and didn't get any kind of response. That turned me off right away.
My second choice was the KinderCare in Bryn Mawr (it is located on the Shipley School campus).
My favorite, though, was Beautiful Beginnings (I think it is technically in Wayne). It is a non-corporate run out of a church on Swedesford Road (If you go toward Trader Joes, there is usually a sign saying "Child Care Openings Available). The director is so amazingly sweet, she is a grandma who started the center after she saw her kids go through a tough childcare search. They are a Christian day care. The teacher retention rate is amazing and when the kids actually move through the different "classrooms" they keep the same teachers throughout their whole time there. I liked that. When I go back to work, DS will be going there. It might not be as glitzy as some of the corporate ones, but I could just tell that all the kids there were totally adored!
I live in KOP and my 22 month old son has been in a day care center in KOP since he was 10 weeks old. We use For Kids Sake, and I would never put him anywhere else. We are lucky because the center we liked the most also happened to be the least expensive in the area. There is so much diversity, such an emphasis on education (no tvs in the center, etc). They are infant (8 weeks) to full day kindergarten. Because it is an independent center and not a chain, they are so accommodating. I was laid off when DS was only a couple months old and without question they let me pull him out and they held his spot for months while I looked for another position. While I was off I took advantage of their 'drop in care' rates when I had appts and interviews. There is so much more I can say! I now have a little girl on the way and am so pleased she will use For Kids Sake too.
If you have any specific questions, PM me!!
I HIGHLY recommend Bright Horizons in KOP. I know it's $$$ but, I worked there (actually at several BH centers) and the staff is AMAZINGLY kind, the director and assistant director are energetic and LOVE their jobs. And honestly, if the teachers and staff are happy, they make sure the kids are too! The center is located in an office complex so the biggest negative is lack of playground space; but the center is relatively new (built in 2006 I believe) and being a BH center, it has a larger budget for supplies than other privately owned centers.
I also personally know the owner/director of Beautiful Beginnings - she was my younger sister's Nursery or Kindergarten teacher. I'm not sure about cost.
Thanks for the recommendations - you have given me several great places to contact and think about! Child care is soo overwhelming. It's great to hear recomendations from other moms.
Another question - is it better to have a daycare that is close to your work or close to home? I work in KOP, but live in Philadelphia (minutes from Havertown, Wynnewood areas). My husband works in Wilmington.
So a place that is closer to our home: Bala Cynwyd School for Young Children. I used to pass by that facility a few years ago and liked the location and the building was very nice from the outside. I was wondering about their Infant care...has anyone looked into this daycare?
Have a great day!
it is amazing how we have all had different experiences- For Kids Sake was the ONLY place that i saw that i absolutely ruled out from the first visit.
GL in your search. I was looking in the same area and saw many of the places people have listed so here is another opinion ...
For Kids Sake - the staff seemed great but the facilities seemed a bit run down.
Beautiful Beginings - I enjoyed my conversation with this facility but saw on their website they have strict staffing rules due to the religious connections... will not employee who have premarital relations or homosexuals and so on. I don't want to get in a debate but it was not something I was comfortable with.
Have you checked out Launfal in Wayne (right on KoP border.) I really liked them but we ended up going with a place closer to my work in Oaks.
As far as location being close to home/yours/SO's work... who's schedule has more flexibility in it? There WILL be days that your child gets sent home sick (especially the first 2-8weeks of group care - I hate to say that.. but it's true). Are there days that you work from home, but still want your child to go to the center?
If the center is close to your work - you will be the main person dropping off/picking up your child. Which is great in terms of getting to know the staff well and getting the physical connection there. But that also means you have to be there to pick up before the center closes - ie no late work meetings, etc.
Having the center halfway between both of your works, or closer to home, means you can split the responsibility of drop offs/picks ups, but would require more coordination of schedules.
It's a personal choice, obviously.
My review of KOP centers that we visited:
Malvern School - completely hectic the day I went to visit. food everywhere. hated the parking lot and that intersection at Henderson. The place is nice though.
Kindercare - Opens at 6:30, nice and clean. This was our second choice.
Margaret George School - okay, don't like the playground - the kids have to cross the parking lot to a playground covered in yuck from the trees above.
For Kids Sake - Awesome people, great price, terrible facility. The nursery is in the dark basement. They have 80 year olds watching babies. We just felt like it would be a problem if there was an emergency.
Bright Horizons - Love it. This is where we are now. It's the most expensive, but love the care she is receiving.
Thank you for your suggestions! I hopefully will get a part-time job in the main line area soon, so I am starting to look for daycare.
About how much do you pay per day for daycare at these locations? Does anyone put their child in daycare for 2-3 days a week?