Bloomingdale Children's House

Our child has been attending Bloomingdale Children's House since he was 6 months old, and he is now 2. First of all, I cannot explain how fortunate we feel that we were able to find such a wonderful place for our son when he was an infant. I was terrified by "daycares" that we visited when we were trying to find a place for him. We knew immediately that Bloomingdale Children's House was different. The same teacher remained with our son all day, every day, and has a strong bond with him. I feel that when they are that young, a trusting relationship between the teacher and the child is extremely important, and our son has had this all along. Also important to us were the facts that they allowed him to use cloth diapers, and that they are supportive of his vegetarian and mainly organic diet. When our son was little, his teacher would carry him in a sling if he was fussy, because he was one of those little ones who just had to be held a lot. I love the family atmosphere at the school. Three of the teachers are relatives, but they treat us all like family. The children are very well-behaved and polite. This is a montessori school and class is structured in a different manner than traditional public schools, and I would recommend that anyone who is interested in having their child attend should at least have a basic understanding of montessori education so that they can understand why the school is structured the way that it is. That said, my child is only 2 and I can tell that he learns a great deal from his time at school; this includes things like colors, shapes, the alphabet, different animals, etc as well as acceptable social interaction. He loves the garden they have on the school grounds, and more than that, he loves the animals. (They have chickens and rabbits, among other things.) I feel that there is respect among the children, teachers, and parents. The montessori work is very interesting to my son and I can tell that he loves learning, which I believe is their main goal! Overall, we highly recommend this school.