RESULTS Of My dayCare Search - North Chicago Suburbs

OK mamas, here's what I saw in the past three days, my grades, and what we're doing here in the north/northwest suburbs of Chicago. I hope it helps you find a good place. All rates are for FT 2 year olds (some call it toddlers, some pre-school, some other things), so a little more for infants usually, less as they get older. We live in Mundelein, so proximity and suggestions from here and other online sources is how we started our list. Everything is MY OPINION, so if you have kids at one of these places, I'll assume you are happy with the program. These are IMPRESSIONS, so I could of course be wrong.

BEST:
Big and Little in Mundelein.
Surprised at how clean, fun, and happy it was. They are attached to the Mundelein Parks department, on Midlothian, so they go to the spray park right next door, which is a great bonus. LOTS of art on the walls, colorful, friendly, great director (27 years in the business) who actually wants LESS kids in the rooms then law allows (12/16). Staff has been there for 5 years and 12 years respectively, in the 2-year old room. A neighbor of ours who teaches elementary ed during the year teaches in the summers there, a very nice lady, whose daughter we use for babysitting (and she is a great girl - tennis, show choir, etc.) Nice outside for play - and the spray park I mentioned. Catered meals. AND the kicker, the CHEAPEST of all we saw. About $712 a month for one ($1364 for two). We're wait listed, but will most likely get in, 99% chance of success I'd say. Grade: A.

GOOD-FAIR:
Young @ Heart Center in Libertyville.
Nice, but expensive and some things we didn't like. Attached to a retirement community, which you either like or don't. Great playground. Director complained about large percentage of Spanish speaking kids. OK classrooms, but felt like a hospital environment. $940 a month for one, plus $65 in fees ($1740 for two plus $130 in fees). Grade: B

Bright Horizons in Waukegan
Was disappointed in it, compared to the one at CDW, where we put our kids as infants, which is now closed to the public. The building was very OK, great playground, huge. VERY expensive ($1092 for one plus $100 annual reg, $75 in fees, so for two NO DISCOUNT just double to $2184. I mean, JEEZ, the Montessori School of Lake Forest, one of the best around, is $2700 for an exceptional program). Not worth it for the money. Grade: B

Mundelein Montessori on Lake
I really like the Montessori approach of teaching the kids the basics (letters, colors, language, math, shapes, etc.) through whatever the kids are into (ie, trucks, dinosaurs, dolls, etc.) but the center, in a church, felt very cold and sterile. The kids seemed dulled, sickly at times, and one was screaming not to come in (and he was 5). Tiny playground for 2 year olds. Director had some VERY strong opinions about Mundelein - poor school system, lots of Spanish speaking people distracting the teachers/lessons, drugs, teen-pregnancy and gangs in the high school. And she also didn't like any of the private schools due to religious differences. That bothered me, not because she had a strong opinion, but because I've heard the opposite from every other teacher/parent/student I've spoken to out here. I think they have some great ideas here, and some great programs for extra $ (computers, dance, soccer, art, spanish) but my wife left very upset thinking we might have to put our kids someplace like this. The two year old room stunk of poop. $900 a month for one, $1783 for two. Grade: C-

WORST:
Children's Center of Lake Forest (on Ballard)
Don't let the Lake Forest name fool you, located in an industrial mall. Wow, this place scared me. First, I knocked on the wrong door, and a woman let me into the infant room. Good thing I didn't want to steal one. Bad security there. She barely spoke english, and had Spanish music playing loudly. The director looked high or drunk, both eyes bloodshot (or maybe she's just tired). The staff seemed lethargic and slightly delinquent. The place was dirty, smelled in places. They had a big room, which used to be a loading dock. So much was done haphazardly and seemed very random and amatuerish. The outside area was a bit of a mess, and stunk of a rabbit and poop. And the kicker was that she charged $200 a week. I didn't let my wife even come in. They just had a case of lice, and problems with biting. As she was handing me her card, she was scratching out the name of the assistant director. So cost at $800, she said she'd do $1360 for both. If you have a child here, PLEASE, there are other options out there for a similar price. Grade: F.

Hope this helps. Hope I didn't offend anyone. I'm sure there are other great options out there too.

Peace,
Richard