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March 2025 by Laura Patzer
TL;DR - Overwhelmingly the teachers are amazing. Our experience started off great and for the first year we were mostly happy. But then things started to go downhill - first with small things and culminating in terrible communication with the front office about the waitlist situation. Also corporate Play & Learn's tuition schedule penalizes children born in the fall.
My full thoughts:
My daughter attended Play & Learn for nearly 1.5 years. When we first contacted them about enrollment they were very responsive and helped us get in very quickly. My daughter started in the 1 year old room and really thrived. Her teachers (Ms Alana, Ms Emily & Ms Lara) were all really amazing and I can't say enough good things about them!
Shortly before my daughter turned 2 we were informed that she would be moved to a transition room with other kids around her age. This is when we noticed some minor (but recurring issues). Of particular concern was the daily reports we would receive (using the Tadpole app) and how little information was in them. We had been accustomed to receiving a daily report with mentions of what she did during the day, when diaper changes happened, how much she ate and how long she napped for. Once she was in this new classroom the reports were seriously lacking with naps and diapers often not acknowledged. We assumed this was mostly due to the staff just not reporting things (not that they weren't happening during the day). However, my daughter's behavior after I picked her up started to indicate she wasn't actually napping during the day (she'd be very irritable and then would fall asleep during the 10 minute drive home). We brought this to the attention of the office staff 3 times (twice in person and once in email) and despite promises of them talking to the teachers and ensuring us there would be improvements to the daily reports, there weren't. It was also during one of these discussions with the office staff that we were informed her teacher had been fired - though we don't know why this happened. And to clarify, we still had issues with her daily reports after this teacher left.
But the real tipping point for me was when we tried to enroll a second child (I was still pregnant at the time). I spoke with the front office staff about being pregnant and asked about how to go about putting in an application. I was provided a form and told to put down a start date that was the absolute earliest I'd need care (I wasn't 100% sure of their start date since it depended on exactly the day I gave birth). I then returned my paper application - which was lost. So I was told to submit it again. I did this and requested a start date about 8 months from when I submitted it. At this time there was zero mention of a waitlist or that my desired start date was unrealistic. Several months later I gave birth and approached the staff about the actual start date I wanted. It was then I was told we were actually on a waitlist. When asked when my son could actually start I was told they needed to review their numbers and would get back to me. Several days later, and after following up, I was told he wouldn't be able to start until 4 months after my requested date. Given this significant gap in childcare (and communication), I decided to withdraw my daughter in favor of a daycare where both my children could attend together.
One other note about corporate Play & Learn (this is not unique to this location). Your child's tuition is NOT based on what classroom they are in or their current age. Instead it is based on what their age was as of September 1st. So my daughter (who has an October birthday) was being charged as if she was 1 year old despite being 2.25 years old and being in a classroom with other 2 year olds when we left (and she would continue to be charged that way until she is nearly 3 had we stayed here).
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December 2024 by Chanel Parks
Nice director but mostly for whytes and Foreigners
Very upsetting experience
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October 2024 by Justin LaRose
We have a daughter that attended Play and Learn and our youngest is still there. They do a great job living up to their name. My kids have fun and are getting a great education that prepares them for kindergarten.
As a parent, I have peace of mind knowing they are safe and loved.
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February 2024 by Caitlynn Broom
I toured this daycare and submitted an application back in early September, but I was never told we were placed on a waitlist. I emailed them in January that my return to work date changed to a later date, they responded that they updated it in their system and that we are currently on the waitlist. This was the first I heard we were on a waitlist, but I figured it wouldn’t be a problem. I just called today on February 7th to find out where we were on the waitlist and the woman said we will most likely be waitlisted for another year…. This would have been nice to know as I had not applied to other daycares as I assumed we would get a spot before I returned to work. They were not transparent at all about the length of their waitlist, this was something they should have told me when I toured it and submitted an application back in early September (when I even specifically asked about a waitlist). I am now scrambling 6 weeks before I return to work to find a new daycare. Seems to me they just wanted my $150 nonrefundable application fee.
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January 2024 by Scherrie Thomas
My daughter loves it here!
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December 2021 by Jasmine Barreto
The director of the facility Natalie Brown is very unhelpful and very unprofessional. I was told to call her to set up a zoom meeting. I called and their phones were down. I was told to email her. She then told me to call even though she knew the phones were down, she wouldn’t help me set up a zoom meeting via email for some reason. I then emailed asking if I could expect a call from her once the phones were up and running and she completely ignored my email. Two days later I called and spoke to Sarah who was able to set up a zoom meeting after looking at Natalie’s schedule. I was scheduled for today at 10am. I sat there waiting from 9:55am until 10:30am and she never attended the meeting. I am beyond disappointed in her behavior and expected better. I could have called and complained and I’m sure eventually she would’ve shown up but that was the last straw and I didn’t want to waste anymore of my time. I obviously will not be using this facility for my child. If this is how you treat the parents who are trying to find a safe and trustworthy place to leave their children, I can only imagine what kind of communication would be given when it comes to my child.
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December 2017 by Christina Smalarz
This is a wonderful child care facility with loving and attentive professions. We could not be happier.
