Child care (cedar park / leander) (Austin: daycares, house, schools)

[tannerduke]

We've taken a tour of all the child care places in the Cedar Park/Leander area, and wondering what people's impressions are of the different places. (We have a 2.5 year old and a 9 month old).

Places we've looked at:
Bluebonnet
Montessori
Primrose
Stepping Stone
Children's Courtyard

We're coming from the Boston area, where they were in Bright Horizons ... we loved those facilities, but are struggling a little bit down here finding a place we love.

Any thoughts on the locations above?

[Trainwreck20]

We currently use a BH in S. Austin and really like it (7.5 month old). Our original first choice was a Childrens Courtyard (CC), but we could not get in. BH and CC are very similar, although the CC we looked at had a much more (pick one: antiseptic/sterile/clean) play area, where BH had a more (pick one: organic/natural/dirty) play area.

Also, although both CC and BH are pretty much identical in price (or so we found), we have heard that CC will nickle and dime you for things. Not big bucks at all, but friends found it annoying. BH has some voluntary donations, which other people may find more annoying, don't know.

As for structure, BH goes from infant directly to toddler (usually ~12 to 14 months for most kids), whereas at least some of the CC are instituting a 2-level infant program that separates the small kids into two infant levels. Not sure of where the break is, but I think the sitter/crawlers get separated from the non-mobile babies. Sounds good in practice, but adds a new layer of uncertainty in timing when trying to get a child in the daycare.

On that subject, all the daycares in S. Austin have waiting lists, usually around 9-12 months. Not sure if that is the case in N. Austin.

As for the other schools, I hear (this is all hearsay) that Primrose is a little too proud ($$$) of itself for what you get, and somewhat elitist. Stepping stone tends to be a littel less expensive, but have not heard anything bad about it either.

'Montessori' is a style, but not sure about any of the specific places that practice it in N. Austin. Austin Motessori is quite seriously 'organic' and anti-TV, etc. No pre-packaged food (make your own baby food), etc. Not all are like this, though, so depends on the specific Montessori school.

[gigi927]

I just toured the Primrose and CC facilities right near my house in NW Austin (not Cedar Park) and I have to say I was actually more impressed with the Primrose facility than the CC. It's not to say that CC was bad, it just seemed a bit more chaotic and less organized. It could be the time of day I was there - at CC they had just finished recess, and at Primrose they were in the middle of story time. I have friends with children at both schools and both have spoke highly of each.

You might also investigate the Goddard School for Child Development. There is a new Goddard opening up in Cedar Park, right near El Salido I believe. I am on their waiting list to get additional information from them.