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infant/toddler childcare help
I live inside the loop and am looking to transition from our nanny to a daycare/montessori school somewhere inside the loop while I'm at work. The nanny is wonderful and will continue to work for us until I find something, I think it will be really good for my son to be able to interact with other kids and have more experiences.
I've already placed LO on the waiting list at Kipling Academy and Esperanza School... but the wait lists are nearly a year long at each place.
Can anyone recommend their daycare??? Or does anyone know of another family who is happy with a daycare inside the loop? (or centers to NOT send him to) There are just SO many and I want to make sure I send him to one that is safe and loving.
TIA!!! 
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Re: infant/toddler childcare help
I was not at all impressed by Kipling Academy. In the same general area I've heard very good things about Montessori Country Day in the Museum District but we didn't consider it because of the price. We looked at St. Andrew's on Buffalo Speedway and liked it very much. If downtown is convenient, I'd look at Cathedral House School at Christ Church, it's Montessori based.
We love The Big Little School but it's outside the loop, on Wirt.
I actually felt a little uncomfortable with Kipling, I felt as though she wasn't answering my questions honestly about how often things are cleaned, etc. But I put LO on the wait list "just in case" (kind of wishing I hadn't now).
Those two you mentioned look really great, I'm definitely going to check them out on monday when I can call and get a bit more information, I especially loved the St. Andrews and have heard good things about them for other people as well.
Thank you!!
When we were searching we ended up not even touring Cathedral House because they quoted us a wait list of 18 months (for infant care, though) and because they only offered tours at 10:30am on Tuesdays or some other weird time.
We were/are very limited in the areas we could look, so we ended up at Avalon Academy and on the waitlist at Kipling. We weren't happy with Avalon - I liked the main teacher in his room, but when I stopped by in the middle of the day I was uncomfortable with some of the teachers doing small things, like using his pacifier when it wasn't nap time despite our instructions to the contrary. It also seemed like he was in his swing a lot.
So we switched to Kipling after about 6 weeks at Avalon. I love his teachers and his room and have been very happy there, but we don't like Jenny and Jennifer in the office. They're very poor with communication and do come off as evasive. How long we stay at Kipling will really depend on how we feel about his teachers in the next room when he moves up next year.
BFP #2 5/27/12. EDD 2/1/13. m/c and D&C 6/21/12.
I have a friend who is also transitioning from her nanny to a school setting. She is looking into The Serendipity School off Wirt Rd (not ITL). She seems really impressed with the owner and her teaching philosophy.
https://theserendipityschool.net/Home_Page.php
Depending on where you are inside the loop, I wouldn't rule this school out. My older son goes to School of the Woods, which is just a block up from BLS. My husband brings my son to school in the morning and then goes downtown to go to work and the commute is easy. If there is bad traffic inbound on 10, he just takes long point. Getting there from the Heights is about 10 minutes.
Recent discussions on the Heights Kids Group forum about the same thing had several people commenting on really liking Cathedral House. I know a couple people whose children have really thrived at Creme de la Creme downtown, as well. Then again, I know 2 families who have loved Kipling as well.
Is this school new? I had no idea it was there. Hmmm... maybe I just didn't look into it because they don't take infants. Interesting, and cheap!
To echo Rayskit10, depending on where you are, I would not rule out some of the outside the loop choices just because they are not ITL. There are also schools in Meyerland and the Galleria area that are supposedly great if those areas are more convenient to you.
To clarify, my issue with Kipling was A) the large rooms with many kids. I prefer smaller groups, 4 kids one teacher rather than 8 kids 2 teachers, because it results in less chaos, quieter nap times, and fewer germs and
the lack of outdoor play space. They do have outdoor space but it's very small and wasn't "enough" for me. C) I won't lie, I'm super duper picky. 
The teachers did seem nice and the facility was new and clean and pretty though.
Yes, she is just starting it up, and from what I gather is more of a preschool rather than infant care. I am hoping that it is as awesome as it sounds on paper, although my friend and her kids have spent time there and they all seem to really taken wirh her.
Yes, she is just starting it up, and from what I gather is more of a preschool rather than infant care. I am hoping that it is as awesome as it sounds on paper, although my friend and her kids have spent time there and they all seem to really taken wirh her.
OH MY GOSH - the montessori country day school was AWFUL!!! I would strongly suggest you send your child anywhere else... within the first 5 minutes of our conversation with the director SHE asked ME what "tummy-time" was and she said the infants sleep on their stomachs!
shocked is what comes to mind. It was by far the most expensive school we looked at and it was very old, and dirty. Horrible experience!
On the other hand, Kipling is definitely our front runner... long wait list but hopefully something will open up. We went back for a second interview and I was much more impressed with the director, and both times I've gone all of the children and happy and engaged.
Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions!