The interesting thing about drop-in child care is that some places are using it in partnership with a preschool to extend what they offer to a full-day of care. There are some concerns with this, but what do I know. Here are the partnership preschools to the three drop-in child care centers and one that could work: Blossoming Buds Preschool - Drop-In Partner Blossoming Buds Cottage Download Blossoming Buds Preschool Seattle Wedgewood - Review 2010 This preschool is on about 30 blocks away from the drop-in. This would require a parent to pick-up and drop off your little one. This... Continue reading

Drop-in child care is starting to pop-up all over town. This is a great resource for families that need the occasional child care during the week or need a consistent half day every week. The drop-in child care centers offer a great play space at a reasonable rate. What to know: Cost? Most are running about $8 to $9 an hour. Some charge an additional fee for diaper changes. How long can my child stay and play? The max time is 4 hours in a day. These are licensed preschools NOT CHILD CARE. That means that children cannot stay past... Continue reading

So, I go to a child care eager to hear about their program and the first thing they ask is, "Are you on our wait list?" I politely smile and say, "No, but I would love to get information on your program." They don't smile back, but say, "You need to request a tour on-line. Our wait list is over a year long." What is a family to do? Here is what I have learned about wait lists: Look for child care EARLY! If you are planning on having care in a major metropolitan area, I say get on a... Continue reading

Child Care Savvy's step-by-step approach to finding child care is about to go from great to amazing. Stay tune for how Child Care Savvy is going to be a MUST for every family looking for child care! Continue reading

Having been to over 70 daycares in the greater Seattle area, I love it when I enter one that feels different from the cookie cutter recipe on how to run a child care center. This is what I loved about Newport Children's School in Bellevue. While this is a very large center, the building is huge, the program seems to be well thought out and each child seems tended to. My last post spoke of the waddler transition. Newport approaches this transition slowly. While they don't take infants, they only take 6 12 to 18 month year olds at a... Continue reading

The word transition is on my mind. My family is in great transition right now. I am settling into developing my own business, being home with my kids and being "officially" unemployed. Gavin is transitioning into preschool and the responsibilities of being three. This includes cleaning himself after number two, dressing himself, taking his dishes to the kitchen, going to preschool and working on learning about our emotions. Xander turns one in a couple of weeks and is quickly becoming a toddler. He walks all over the place, we are getting ready to transition to big boy milk, we have... Continue reading

God and childcare seem to go hand-in-hand. For those with faith, this would seem like a natural fit. As members of a church, one is taught that God loves all children. "Let the children come." Versus .... My Catholic school upbringing is failing me. What has surprised me is the STRONG connection between child care and churches. My estimate is about 25% of child care centers are connected to a church. Many are considered a mission of the church. Some churches rent space to a child care, while other churches run the child care as a service of the church... Continue reading

"Back to school,"is in the air. Everywhere you go you hear people talking about it. For our family, this means preschool for Gavin. While for many this is a momentous occasion, for us it is just a transition for our family from me working full-time, to me trying to work for myself. Looking at daycares in the Seattle area, it is apparent that there is a preschool shortage. Many preschool programs offer full-time child care. There seems to be a two-pronged approach to child care; care from birth to age two-and-a-half, and from two-and-a-half years old to kindergarten. While there... Continue reading

There are many old churches near the University of Washington. As a student, they become part of the landscape. As a parent, you may be surprised to discover that four of these churches contain child care programs. I love any opportunity to wander the area around the campus. My mind quickly finds memories of my youth and the early years of my relationship with my husband. The area holds many stories for all different walks of life. These stories are a part of the four child care programs we reviewed. Seattle is proud of its earthy, accepting and artsy feel.... Continue reading

I was shocked to find how little infant child care there is in the U-District, even at the centers. If you are a family looking for infant care, it must be very difficult. Of the six full-time centers I have l reviewed in the area, only Bright Horizons and La Escuelita provide services for infants. Both of these are located near University Village. It is important to note that there are a number of child cares for University of Washington employees/students. There is also a center for Children's Hospital employees. These centers have long waiting lists. If you are in... Continue reading

Download Mustard Seed Review - Kirkland 2010 Mustard Seed Daycare is a small daycare on the campus of a Lutheran Church. This daycare has the feel of a home, with a communal learning space and general eating areas shared by all age groups. There are about 30 children who attend the center from age 1 through pre-k. When we visited, the older kids were outside painting with big sponges, laughing, and having a great time. Throughout this quaint little center, all of the teachers were busy getting things done. The director talked to us while she hurriedly did her thing.... Continue reading

Yoga is usually not on a parents' list of priorities when looking for childcare. If it is, Living Montessori and Goddard School are the places for you. Each offer yoga, while only one suggests that your little one will become more in touch with their inner self. Goddard School is a commercial chain that is new to the Pacific Northwest. While they have been around for a while, the Redmond location is the first in our region. It was started about 4 years ago. As a result, this is a nice new and beautiful center. The Director was polished, educated,... Continue reading

Entering the world of Redmond, I was expecting to be welcomed by wonderful and creative child care centers. Instead, I came across an odd collection of dirty, uncomfortable, closed, and delapidated centers. The shock is that these child care centers are flourishing near the Microsoft campus. I understand that not all Microsoft families are of the "nanny elite." Many Microsoft families need child care that is more reasonable, and like many families they struggle to find the right fit for their family. Since I have reviewed many of the commercial chains near Microsoft, such as Bright Horizons and KinderCare, I... Continue reading

Many families struggle with the challenges of allergies. While some of us are allergy free, others have one and some have many. When you send your children to daycare, how can you feel comfortable when your child has an allergy? What type of child care is better suited to deal with allergies? Which one is more likely to provide the food your child needs? Which will ask you to bring your own? In-Home Often I ask how an in-home provider will deal with allergies. They state they provide the child what they need and will keep the child separate from... Continue reading

I'm one-fourth of the way through 100 daycares! What an incredible journey so far. I am learning a great deal and can't wait to share my experience. When I saw Tree of Life Daycare, on the web, I thought, "This seems interesting." I will admit that I didn't think that in a very nice way. It seemed heavy on God and light on everything else. Whenever I judge a book by its cover, I always get a reminder not to jump to conclusions. Tree of Life was an impressive child care. This is a small program that is very focused... Continue reading

Reviews 22, 23, 24 ... Wow! I am so excited to be back on the wagon. After a week of personal upheaval, it is great to be refocusing on my personal career development versus looking at the past. Child Care Savvy has been a wonderful distraction during this CrAzY time. While there are a lot of similarities between centers, in-home daycares seem to have greater variety between what each provides. This review provides a glimpse at three child cares that are in the same general location, with three completely different qualities, feels and structures. OKAY ... The owner of Rainbow... Continue reading

As we start to review daycares in Kirkland, I had to check out Countryside Montessori. It looks great on-line, and I had called for a client, so I knew they had a wait list. This is a nice put together program. We always arrive to centers without a set interview. This is to preserve the element of surprise, plus I think it is important to see what a program has to offer without getting ready for guests. My house is always open, so should a daycare center. We arrived in the morning and got to look at their rooms and... Continue reading

Our family deeply believes in finding the humor in all situations. This has been a week of finding the humor. There is no other way to handle such emotional events. So, when I told my husband that they covered my story on NPR, he got a bit weak in the knees. He was even more excited that they said my name. We are big NPR people! Coverage on our beloved station was a kick in the pants. While my Lynnwood story is not as exciting as the recent NPR documentary about the evolution of the shoulder, I hope it continues... Continue reading

We find good child care for many reasons. One reason is so we can perform our jobs to the best of our ability. Many of us are SUPER WOMEN! We want to be the best we can be at all of our jobs: mom, wife, employee, friend, sister and rock star. When we experience workplace harassment, our lives are shaken to the core. Our ability to be a good employee, mom, wife, sister and friend is compromised. These abusive employers take a bit of our spirit. That is their goal. It is time to stop these abusive bosses. It is... Continue reading

If you decide to open a daycare you MUST use the word Montessori. So many daycares have the name Montessori attached to them. I have decided that the word Montessori must build credibility. According to www.montessori.edu The name Montessori is not legally protected, and can be used by anyone, for any purpose; it is vital that anyone searching for a good Montessori school or teacher-training center be aware of this. This has been very apparent when reviewing child care. The variety that is present in different "Montessori" child care is astonishing. Parents must be aware and understand that not all... Continue reading

Many families find cultural diversity to be important. No matter a family's color, religion or culture it is important to find child care where a family feels embraced. Walking into Whizz Kids, in Lake Forest Park, we were embraced by the smell of curry. This child care center is a collage of culture. It is on the walls, in the play, food and art. This is a busy center with stuff everywhere, but it was welcoming at the same time. This center is on the smaller size and starts at age one. I am often surprised how small the toddler... Continue reading

No matter how experienced you are in looking for child care, one can find themselves at the doorstep of the unlicensed child care provider. I am an advocate for using licensed care. I believe that oversight is important and that the rules are there for a reason. Licensed child care providers are accountable to more than just them self. They have structure and rules to follow, they believe in the well-being of children enough to follow these rules. Driving up to Jill's Happy Day Childcare, there is a sign just like any other child care provider. It was a cute... Continue reading

There are a few milestones in the world of child care that can impact a family's checkbook, one is being "fully potty trained". For many families, there is a cheer of joy, when their child learns to go to the bathroom in the toliet. The visions of no more poop squeezing out of the top of a diaper, poop adherd to buns and massive amounts of warm brown stuff jammed into the cute little crack delights a parent's heart. For a family using child care the joy includes a dance for lower child care rates. Being fully potty trained can... Continue reading

This in-home child care provider is young, artsy and hip. Her home and daycare are full of art and style. She has a calming way about her and seems to offer her kids a loving place to play. Megpie's Childcare, owned by Meagan Cordova, is located in Shoreline. The frontroom is used as a quite room with a few toys and books. Having a son that NEEDS quite time to collect himself, I greatly value this space. The playroom was large with lots of toys and activities. The outside area had numerous plastic play structures and a gardening area. This... Continue reading

Is good enough, okay? For this price point it maybe. This in-home daycare in Bothell area is only $160 a week for an infant! That is $100 less PER WEEK, than I was paying five minutes away. Small World Daycare, in Bothell, owned by Tanya Finnicum is nice and clean but doesn't offer much for the kids. Though this daycare owner has 18 years of expereince there were not enough toys or books. She could have closed the door to the play area, I can't call it a playroom, and never know that a daycare was apart of her home.... Continue reading