The Learning Circle

I’m going to be the voice of dissent here. My daughter went to The Learning Circle from 8 months to almost 3 years. We only pulled her out because we moved.
I did find the owner to make questionable decisions, I did not like her at all and was glad that she was rarely there and in that I agree with the other reviews. There were several policies that I thought were great though: No sugary snacks, and no clothing propagating violence (including superhero clothing). The kids go outside every day — all ages, weather permitting. They also allowed cloth diapers.
We loved all the women who worked there. Whenever we came by the infant room, there would be someone happily sitting under an adorable small pile of babies, reading or doing some sort of activity. I don’t recall our daughter ever being strapped in a bouncer — certainly not every day. She was promoted to the toddler room before she was able to walk (she walked late), and did well there. She was certainly not discouraged from learning.
In the toddler green room, we especially LOVED Erica. She seemed to just adore her kids — she would actually cry when the kids left or were promoted to the other rooms. We always got daily updates on our daughter’s progress. Whenever we came, they were always drawing, singing, playing with legos or engaged in some sort of activity. A lot of times, we’d meet Erica out on the street when we were coming by early, and she would be carrying our daughter, who was always the smallest (she carried some of the other smaller children sometimes too) while the other kids would be strapped in the carriage — because «they were too cute not to carry.»
Were there things other daycares did that I thought were better? Sure, and sometimes I was jealous. Do others have more space? Of course. Was I a fan of the owner and front desk staff? No. But I always felt like I was leaving my daughter in a stimulating, kind, caring environment, and for that I am thankful.
I don’t really understand the reviewer who says that kids don’t hit for no reason, and accused the daycare provider of lying — in fact every parent I know had a kid who went through exactly that phase at age 2 or 3. Mine certainly did (it sucked).

My husband and I just moved to the area, and being first time parents, we were completely hesitant on putting our child in any form of daycare. We heard many good things about this particular place from friends, and decided to give it a try. The staff was always warm and welcoming, and everyday my four year old had a story to tell about how much fun he had through out the day. As a mother, I could really see him growing and developing as a person despite our working schedules, and I have The Learning Circle to thank for that. Highly recommend! :)

Our daughter was here for a couple years, but once she got old enough we pulled her. The infant care was good– Joan was great. But we found that there were number of problems. In many cases, it seemed just like glorified babysitting. Many staff members were quite nice, others seemed to care less, and the owner didn’t really make good choices, in my opinion. She hardly ever seemed to be there, actually.
1. Our daughter was slow to begin walking and crawling. I blame that at least party on the fact that she was always strapped in a bouncy when we came to get her. It was as if, because she couldn’t walk, or wasn’t crawling well enough, she wasn’t even allowed to try, because it was inconvenient for the ‘teachers.’ Once we pulled her out her development sped up noticeably.
2. Every time it snowed, they cancelled. And made us pay for those days anyway. And later I found out they did not pay their own employees for that time. So it was in their best interest to cancel school as much as possible, which they did. Snowfall=windfall.
3. We did not, at first, realize that we needed to pay for the days when they did not provide care, so we didn’t. They never mentioned anything until months later, when they suddenly announced that we owed hundreds of dollars, all for the days they were not open. When we told them we did not have the money at that moment, and tried to arrange a payment situation, the owner had her husband, who does not work there and is a cop, call to pressure us to pay. Unprofessional, annoying, insulting, and just wrong.
4. When we toured the place, the owner told my mother-​in-​law (a pediatrician) that she had a PhD from Harvard in early childhood education. Later we found out she did not actually have the PhD, but was actually currently enrolled in the program. Probably at the Extension School.
Also, the parking situation is a nightmare.
All in all… go somewhere else, if you can manage it.