Kids at Heart Daycare & Preschool

My daughter has been attending Kids at Heart since age 2 and she's now 4 & 1/2. We absolutely love this place. The teachers are amazing with the kids, they really work with them in all areas (emotional, cognitive, etc.), they are caring, attentive to their needs, patient, but also strong on rules and careful that every kid strive at learning. I'm really thankful that our paths crossed with KAH, Kim Ogle (the director/principal) and all the teachers.

My son has gone to kids at heart for 6 months now. From the start this place has been great. They worked with me on my concerns about moving him into daycare part time. They allowed me to shift the days he's watched when they are closed for the day (for holidays and such). They provide daily reports on his eating, what he did and his mood. It provides insight for his mother and I to know how long his nap was that day, how much did he eat, etc. Kim and crew do wonderful. My son enjoys going there and has grown socially as a result. If pressed for a con of this place, I would say the food they eat isn't the best. They do follow state recommended standards but it does tend to be sugary and not the best stuff for kids. For 1 meal a day, I'm not that concerned. It's much more important to me to know that they care for their kids and take good care of them. And here they do just that.

I'm only putting one star because it is required to post a review. This place is APPALLING. It is one building that has haphazardly put together "sections" for each age group. Rickety wooden fences that are not secure or stable grossly section off each age group. The "daycare" is clearly at its max as children were on top of each other. I didn't have time to count the child to teacher ratio but I would guess it was minimum 15 to 1. Speaking of "teachers", a 2 year old was crying on her mat and the teacher walked over, stood above her (didn't get down to her level) and literally yelled at her 'Stop crying, I told you to stop crying right now!'. This "teacher" had ZERO empathy or patience. It was only when she noticed me that she then said to the child, "Oh, are you okay". I couldn't believe it and the Director was standing right there! Completely oblivious to the situation and clearly the norm for her day-to-day. To top off the poor conditions and borderline child abuse, the place was horribly depressing with poor and dingy lighting. The playground was a joke with cheap plastic equipment. Finally, the real deal breaker was the hygiene of the facility. The smell of urine greets you at the door and almost knocks you over with its potency. The floors were filthy and at this point I couldn't bring myself to look at the mats the poor dears were laying on.Bottom line this place is filthy, unsafe, and has abusive "teachers". It is the worst daycare I've even seen.