Bluebonnet School of Cedar Park

This morning I dropped off my soon to be kindergartener for her very last day at Bluebonnet Cedar Park and it was sad for me! Both of my daughters attended this pre-​k, and so we have been there M-​F for 5 years, I feel like this is the end of an era. When I shopped for pre-k’s for my then 3 year old daughter (now 8), Bluebonnet was my 3^rd to visit, and the other 2 were also great schools. But the thing that stood out to me was the administrator «Ms. Kristen» totally ignored me when we arrived for our tour which sounds bad but it was actually wonderful, she squatted down and spoke to my nervous little daughter, asked her questions, pointed things out to her, and I just tagged along and listened and then of course was able to ask questions. It was awesome, and that really sold me and spoke to the nature of the staff. And the water park sold my daughter. :) I have loved that all of the teachers know all of the kids by name, and they are free with the hugs! When there are class advances or teacher changes it makes it so much easier, because they are with someone who they already know. The education has been good, certainly some teachers are more education focused than others, but overall really good. Miss Rachel was my 5 year olds pre K Kinder teacher and is now her summer camp teacher and she is awesome! Her curriculum has been every bit as good as the public Kinder class, they do science experiments, hands on nature education, very focused on reading, writing, etc. I also like that they earn the tough industry accreditations because I know those groups «dig deep», so that makes me feel even more confident. I have always felt very comfortable leaving my children at Bluebonnet, they have good safety procedures, good class sizes, attentive staff, and I have recommended them many times. My oldest daughter said this morning «We may not be back here for a long time… not until I have kids to bring here.» :)

With a very active 18-​month old boy, rarely do I find (or take) the time to sit and write reviews on Unilocal.However, I take exception when there’s someone or somewhere that needs to be mentioned in hopes others take notice.
With that, I feel compelled to write about Bluebonnet. My son currently attends there and has since he was 12 weeks old. I’m a bit overzealous when it comes to planning and researching as well as a bit analytical (that’s the psychologist in me), so suffice to say, I visited numerous daycares as well as Montessori schools prior to deciding on Bluebonnet.
For a number of reasons, I knew that our son would be starting Montessori when he reached 18 months. There was one in particular that was a true accredited Montessori school rather than a «Monte-​something» school – schools that are free to use the Montessori name in their title minus the true teachings of an authentic Montessori school. I gave a deposit when Keaton was 9 months old, and in the meantime, we were completely content with the infant care he was receiving at Bluebonnet.
At 12 months, our son transitioned to the young toddler room. Ms. Melinda, Ms. Rachel, Ms. Edith, and Ms. Maybrit are the reason we ultimately decided to keep him at Bluebonnet (more on that later). As someone who works in education, I have an immense respect for all educators whether they’re teaching high school seniors or 18-​month old toddlers. You can certainly teach people basic principles of child development and have the education to enhance it; however, it’s a true innate gift when you have people who truly enjoy what they do and love the kids as if they were their own.
Why do I write all this? Fast forward to a few weeks ago. My son just turned 18 months and his time at Bluebonnet would soon be ending and he would be starting Montessori school. Intuitively, something felt ‘off.’ I asked my partner, «Are we making the right decision?» I chalked it up to change and something new, but my gut feeling was still unsettled. Repeatedly, I had to remind myself that he was going to thrive at his new school. We had a meet-​and-​greet soon after with his would-​be new teacher, got to visit the classroom and ask questions.
Our son started his new school and was there just a few days before we realized that Bluebonnet was ultimately where he belonged. There wasn’t ever a negative with regard to our son attending a Montessori, but at the end of the day, our feelings were aligned with the adage, «if it ain’t broke, why fix it.» While at the school those few days, our son was doing similar activities that he’d done at Bluebonnet. Yes, it’s summer and there aren’t «lessons» as they call them; however, our son is already able to wipe the floor of a spill, helps the adults put things away, sit at a table while eating, etc.
There’s certainly more to it, as not to discredit a Montessori education; however, what matters more than anything is that our son is happy when he’s picked up every afternoon and he has thrived not only from a social standpoint, but from a developmental standpoint as well. At Bluebonnet, it’s not «8 – 5 babysitting», he and the other kids in his class are truly engaged, whether it’s at the splash pad, running around and playing outside, learning sign language, painting with different sensory objects, being read to, enjoying music class, as well as being taught what is okay and what is not with regard to manners and interacting with the others in the classroom.
It turned out to be an expensive «learning opportunity,» and Kristen, the director, was gracious and supportive enough to allow our son to return right where we left off. As he progresses through classrooms, I know he will be continue learning, be challenged and, as a toddler, increase his frustration tolerance when he is introduced to something new all while being surrounded by staff who are patient, loving, and kind.
From a parental standpoint, there’s something to be said when your child is dropped off each day at school knowing that s/​he is in a safe and nurturing environment. As far as teacher turnover, our son has had the same head teachers in each of the 2 rooms he’s been in. Assistant staff turnover was a bit more frequent; however, it has stabilized over the past few months. Deciding who will care for your child is a tough decision with many emotional facets. Yes, there were a few turnover hiccups in the past that were of concern, however, in the grand scheme of things, no school is «perfect» and the few negatives have paled in comparison to the exponential positives Bluebonnet has been for our son.
If you’re reading this and in the process of visiting different types of schools for your child, I highly encourage and suggest that you visit Bluebonnet. They’re truly wonderful.

The Teachers and Administrators at BB are first rate! They have loved two of my children for the past 7 years, and my third child fir the past year.
They have an educational curriculum for all ages. This is a true preschool. The teachers at BB love my children. They are attentive to their needs and help shape the young people that they are today.
It is more expensive than other childcare centers, but you get what u pay for. To attempt at comparing BB to places like Goddard, Kids r Kids, and Children’s Courtyard, is like comparing apples to oranges. These places don’t measure up to the care and safety standards that BB holds it’s staff and facility to.
My children have enjoyed full-​time care, afterschool care, and sumner camp.
My youngest child is currently being cared for by the same teachers that taught my older children 6 years ago. BB is good to it’s staff and the staff take pride in their jobs. I don’t want to forget to mention the fabulous cook and nutritious meals they serve. They also have a pool and watermark onsite.
I love BB!!!

Pros: good teacher-​child ratio. 2 teachers per classroom. Ms Jo, who teaches 2 yr olds, is excellent
Cons: They used to have very low turnover, but that went downhill over the last 2 years. 3 teachers per year is just too much turnover for our kids. The head of school position has also been turning over. All of the «extras» teachers (spanish/​mandarin/​music) have also left in the last year.
We’ve been at bluebonnet since 2010, but recently withdrew for another school.

Childcare reviews have got to be the roughest. There really is no higher bar for services than the people you trust to watch your child. My daughter has been to 3 area daycares, and has been at Bluebonnet for about a year and a half. We started at Abacus when she was an infant, and liked it fine. I kept her home for personal reasons for a while, though, and couldn’t get her back in when we needed a spot. We then enrolled with Stepping Stone on Parmer, and pulled her out after 1 week, which is probably all you need to know about our experience there. We moved to Bluebonnet, and are very happy to be there. I think the quality is the highest we’ve experienced. The teachers have been great, and my daughter really enjoys going to play with her friends and showing off what she’s learned each week. The few concerns I’ve brought to management attention have been dealt with quickly and professionally. Perhaps most telling, we’ve shopped around some private pre-​K programs and decided that we’re most comfortable with the curriculum and comparable value we’ll obtain by staying at Bluebonnet.

Hands down the best investment we’ve made in our children. Both kids started at Bluebonnet at 18 months. They are now 7 and 9 and attend the after school and summer camp programs. The teachers throughout the years have all been stellar and constant. They hire the best. We will miss them when we leave.

Great facilities but questionable staff. My 2 year old returned with many mosquito bites after telling the staff multiple times to apply insect repellent. Finally I just made it a morning routine to add it myself before I drop him off.
Also they didn’t do room inspections early in the morning and one morning I found an extremely unsafe exposed sharp object that I told them about. Apparently there are inspections now. Unfortunately I don’t know if there are better alternatives in this area…

My daughter has been in the infant program at Bluebonnet for just under 2 months and we couldn’t be happier! She’s excited to get to school every morning, and receives wonderful, nurturing care. They have her room on a great schedule with fun learning activities and toys. I can focus on my job every day knowing she’s in great hands.

My daughter has been at Bluebonnet for 3 years. The teachers are great and the facilities are outstanding. There aren’t many preschools with a water park. Also, something most parents wouldn’t think to look for, but Bluebonnet is fully sprinklered which isn’t a requirement and most preschools are not. The security measures are great and there is always someone sitting at the front desk.

This has been a great place for our daughters. If you are looking for a caring staff then this is where you need to be. How often do you find a school for infants to kindergarten that has some of their staff on salary instead of hourly, that offers a 401K plan to their teachers. After having an experience with another facility that had very high turnover, this information was very valuable to me. They find great teachers that want to be teaching this age and do everything they can to keep them. That is who I want with my kids! Our youngest is about to go to kindergarden and it will be so sad for us not to go to The Bluebonnet School on a day to day basis. Although, the school age summer camp is GREAT!

We’ve only been at this school for three months, but so far we really do like it. We are notified about every cut an scratch, sad day, bad mood, or scary diaper. My older son is getting on very well with his new friends and exposed to quite a few students from varying nationalities. Loads of diversity. happy little faces. full bellies… love it!
Because of the parentwatch system, there is no ambiguity around what happened during the day. If there are any issues or concerns, the lead teachers are more than happy to contact us directly and let us know what’s going on asap. I’m always welcome to phone anytime during the day. Teachers are mature, polite, and professional at all times. Children in the twos class are taught to cooperate with friends and as well as be independent. The missing star is for the non electronic daily sheets (email), and not being able to contact teachers directly via email… otherwise, this place is the best in town!