King of Prussia Area Child Care?

Tarene · July 2014

Hello!

I've been lurking for ages, but as I'm in full blown daycare search mode now - I have to reach out.

I live and work in KOP and am looking for a daycare for three days a week.

So far I've looked at The Malvern School in kop, Bright Horizons and the Margaret George School. I tried For Kids' Sake but they have no availability for March of 2015 which is when i would need to start.

I LOVED Bright Horizons, but it is the extreme top of the budget - we can make it work but I would like to find another place with comparable care.

I did not like Margaret George - for many reasons, none of which are price related.

I was ok with the Malvern School but they didnt tell me until after the tour that they don't do part time care for infants.

I'm scheduled to tour Goddard School in KOP and Kindercare on Renaissance Ave in KOP - but I need to know - do you all have any experience with these places or others close by? Any thoughts? Any advice? Anyone have any experience with this area and childcare providers?

I've even gone through old posts but the most recent ones mentioning this area and these schools are from at least 3 years ago so anything anyone has to add would be helpful.

pachelbel9 · July 2014

I live and work in KoP. My daughter goes to Beautiful Beginnings in Wayne (near Gateway Center). We toured Bright Horizons and the Kindercare on Renaissance (I work in that complex). Both seemed fine, but that's it, just fine. Very sterile and corporate. We went to Beautiful Beginnings, and it was so different. It just felt more homey, the staff was so warm and kind with the kids. My LO has been there for 2 years now, and #2 will be going there in Feb 2015. It's been my experience that the teacher turnover there is very low, which is important to me. My daughter has had the same 2 main teachers for the past year (the entire time she's been in the toddler room). She loves them and talks about them at home too. When she was in the infant room, 2 teachers left, but that was due to out-of-state moves. And there were still 2 other teachers that were there the whole year she was in that room. They also have a huge playground, and the 3 yr. and under kids play in a gated play area inside the larger gated playground (so double safety there). When it's too hot/cold, they can do recess in the gym inside. While the infant room doesn't really have much of a curriculum, now that my daughter is in a toddler room she is learning so much. It definitely isn't glorified babysitting. They have themed lesson plans that they do every day for a week, and it switches every week. We work with our LO a lot outside of school, so she was the first one in class to know ABC's and counting, but we still find ourselves amazed when she says something that we know we didn't teach her. Ok, I sound like I work for them. Truly I don't. I just hear so many of my friends complain about their daycare, and I'm so happy I found a good one.

While money didn't factor into our decision, it was a nice bonus that BB turned out to be the cheapest of the 3. They just released the rates for the next year, and they're very reasonable. We'll be paying $1165 for 5 days/week for the infant room. According to the price list I have, 3 days/week is $785 for infants.

Oh and one of the teachers there babysits for us. I know some centers don't allow that, but BB is ok with that. We're very thankful for that, because we have no family in the area.

Tarene · July 2014

Thank you!

I looked through their website, I realize it's in a Church - but do you find that they are overly heavy handed with religious undertones? For example, we are Catholic, do you think that will be a problem since that may or may not align with their teachings?

Thank you again though, much appreciated!!

pachelbel9 · July 2014

They are in a church, but I don't think they are affiliated with that church per se. That being said, they definitely do have a Christian influence. I was raised Protestant, so I'm familiar/OK with it. My husband is agnostic, and he has no problem with what they teach. I wouldn't say it infiltrates every aspect of care. When religious holidays (Easter, Christmas) are part of the weekly curriculum, they teach the religious aspect, not the secular aspect (i.e. no Easter bunny or Santa). If you have concerns, best to discuss them up front.

I will admit that I did struggle a bit with the fact that they make potential employees sign something that says they won't engage in homosexuality or premarital sex. I am firmly in the "God loves all" camp, and I think a person's sexual orientation is irrelevant to whether they would be a good caregiver for my child. And heck, my husband and I lived together before we were married, so no judgement on that either. But again, having been practically been born in a church pew and spending K-12 in a Christian school, I'm used to this kind of rhetoric. Brings me back to my "holier than though" high school days. But now I'm going off on a tangent...

King of Prussia Area Child Care?

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