Tree Tops Learning Center

At first our son was only going there twice a week, but ended up enrolling him full time. My son loved going there and just wish he could go back for the summer. He will be 6. I would and have recommended Tree Tops to my friends.

I’ve been taking my daughter to Tree Tops for a few years now for drop in care, and now my son is old enough to attend. They love going there, always have a good time and everyone seems friendly and attentive. It’s in an older house with character, much like the central part of Austin where it’s conveniently located. They have great extended hours and it’s nice to just drop them in if something comes up.

I really wanted to love this place but my experience was way less then ideal.
Why did I want to love it? Location, location, location. It’s the only central drop in day care type thing that I’m aware of and the rates are decent.
Why I didn’t love them. When I arrived it was at the end of their normal day care. The place was dirty even after seeing one of the workers mopping. The kids did not seem happy. The workers did not seem happy. One of the «teachers» put one kid in time out and wouldn’t let him play with Legos. He cringed as she went to touch him and she says I haven’t even done anything to you… ummmm that exchange did not sit well with me. But I’m trying to keep an open mind, I mean I can feel grouchy after a long day with the kids and I’m sure they are no different. Plus my kid was going to only be there an hour or two absolute max and it was during the time they were suppose to play outside. Well, it sprinkled a little so they kept the kids inside and sat them in front of the TV. Boo! The whole point of bringing my kid here was for him to play outside with other kids. (I had a new born and he was getting cabin fever bad) Once his hour or two is over I pick him up. I hear another teacher yelling at a different group of smaller kids (12−18month year olds) for running in circles in their pin area. Again didn’t set well with me. Went to wash our hands before leaving, totally dirty bathrooms. My son got strep soon after playing here.
My conclusion from this place is its a great location, great business model, but poor execution. It’s dirty, the workers are grouchy and seem like they are over worked. Wouldn’t recommend, don’t plan on going back.

We have been using Treetops for drop-​in care for about a year and a half now. A lot of the staff know my child by name and sight by now.
We found this place after a frantic google search one day when I was suddenly very ill and my husband couldn’t take a day off at such short notice. My son, who was 3 at the time, was not used to a daycare setting and is very shy. When my husband picked him up at the end of the day, a staff member was sitting with my son because he would cry when she got up to leave the room. So, she stayed with him most of the time, giving him individual attention.
Another occasion when dropping him off, we overheard another child say something very mean — I don’t know if it was directed at my son or another kid, but in any case, it bothered me, and I brought it up to the staff. They had caught it as well and addressed it directly with the child.
As for keeping the kids clean and the actual care, before my son was potty trained, there were a few occasions where he had a major mess. I packed extra clothes for him, and when I picked him up he was cleaned up and they had even washed his pants. They didn’t always wash, which is perfectly fine, but I never encountered any issues with that.
So, I’ve always found staff to be attentive and watchful, and their online reservation system is so convenient. I have no complaints.

I really like Tree Tops. The staff is very friendly, and the hours are great. As a nurse working three days a week and long hours, they work with me to accommodate my schedule. My son loves it there, and is usually excited to go. I have never found the door unlocked like someone else mentioned. I have used Stepping Stone in the past and this is roughly the same price, but in my opinion way better.

My experience with Tree Tops has been with drop in care only. One of the primary reasons I chose them was that they were the only facility that took drop-​ins in central Austin and that were open fairly late.
The first time I left my daughter there was while I had an hour long appointment. When I came back, he was just sitting by the teacher watching the other kids play, but she was so relieved to see me that she burst into tears. Fine, she’s a shy kid that is not used to being separated from his mommy. That caretaker seemed caring and qualified enough.
My second experience was not as good. This time I trusted to leave my daughter from 4:15 — 7:45 PM. I could get passed the fact that when I came in all the kids were just watching some cartoon on mats, but I didn’t like how there seemed like there was so little security at the door. Of course I knew the code so I just entered a dark room and it took me a minute to find out where they were. Something just didn’t sit right with me after that and we haven’t been back since.
Unfortunately, I bought a $ 100 childcare package, but the bad feeling I got after leaving that night has prompted me to simply leave it be.

We’ve used Treetops for drop-​in care on occasion and have been pleased. The teachers are always pleasant and made sure our little one was taken care of. She was between 1.5−2.5 years for most of her visits so far, and was frequently the youngest one there, but because the teachers made sure she acclimated/​seemed to take her under their wing, I was never concerned. (She is in daycare elsewhere during the week, so she is used to the general daycare setting.)
As someone else mentioned, it feels homey. If you are looking for a giant corporate daycare with fancy facilities this might not be it, this is more of a personable, funky, Central Austin place.
As we’ve only done drop-​in here, I can’t comment on the «normal» daycare curriculum. At drop-​in she has done simple artwork, been playing outside, etc. on previous visits. They also sometimes do movie time in the evening. Drop-​in is convenient and reasonably priced (at least for one child).

I really wanted to like this place. Actually, I needed to like this place because taking care of an autistic child is difficult and sometimes you need a relief. We’ve used TTLC for drop in only and from the start, I have to say I did not like the place very much. First, I the place looks dirty. Yes it is cute because located in an old house, but the dirty rugs to hide the broken tiles… no thanks. The hallway leading to the kitchen? No better.
We took the kid there and mentioned his autism and they were like «oh yeah, we’ve had kids on the spectrum before». We left pretty confident that it was going to work. Well no. Phone calls whenever something was wrong or extensive reports on how difficult he was when we picked him up. (Now I realize that the bad reports only came from two specific people there) LAst time we dropped him off, the man was like (after being rude on the phone too, when we told him who we were dropping off) «eh he had a really difficult time last time so…» I could not believe it!!! The previous two times had gone wonderfully! The lady who was there said he was great and that she had had no problem at all. Why say that then? If you are tired of taking care of kids, then you should go find something else to do. After we had left, we realized we had forgotten to give the child his water bottle. Sure enough, we got a phone call literally 5 minutes later ordering us to come pick up the kid, and that bringing his water bottle would not be enough. Of course they ended up telling us that the child was not welcome anymore.
Wow, I’m glad you said you had experience with autistic children. It is just not true. I did not expect them to provide special care, but I expected them to:
1. not be rude
2. communicate with each other about the child, since some of them clearly just did not want to see him anymore
Also, I forgot to mention that once, the child wet his pants. It smelled when we got there. There was no way you could not notice it. His pants were dry too, which means it had happened a while before. Did they take care of it? (we had extra clothes in the bag) NO. Did they mention it? NO The place was not crowded that night so if you truly did not notice, then maybe it means you are not made for this job.
Yes, I’m angry

I have only used Tree Tops for drop-​in childcare. I wanted to like it more than I did because it has two advantages over other drop-​in childcare places in Austin: it is centrally located, and open until 11 p.m. on weekdays.
However, the center was too laid back for my comfort. The front door was unlocked when my child and I arrived (a staff member told me it isn’t locked as a regular practice), and I stood in the front room for awhile before anyone acknowledged me (a man saw me walk in but waited a few minutes before asking if I needed assistance, I didn’t know to ask him for assistance because I thought he was a parent), and another staff member stood on a stool painting trim on a door way while children moved underneath her. While I’m sure their motives are pure and no child would ever be intentionally harmed, I just think their policies are too lax to make me feel comfortable about my child’s safety. Because they are the only location near downtown, I may use them again if I find myself in a pinch, but I wish they would put some security procedures in place.

My daughter has been going here for since June 2012, and we really love it! The staff are very communicative and caring. There’s 2 playgrounds one in front and one out back; both are clean and attractive. It’s in an old house, and the insides each have built-​in tree fort areas for the kids to play with. The kids do art, dancing, singing, and more curriculum based studies too. My daughter really loves it here. Mr. Chad is a fantastic and very personable daycare director.
My daughter’s fav thing here is Treasure Box where each Friday each kid gets to pick a little plastic toy to take home and keep! They did have a spot of high teacher turnover during the summer, but this happens at every pre-​school at some point. I never feel like I am bugging them when I call in to check on my kidlet, and my child really enjoys her time at Tree Top. I haven’t used them for drop-​in, but that is available too. For the price (which is very reasonable), you really can’t find a better placement for your toddler.

I have used Tree Tops for drop-​in care several times for my 18-​month-​old and was very impressed with the facility and the care he received there. I like that there are outdoor play areas and nice indoor play areas as well where he can climb and be active. The people watching him have handled him well and he has seemed to have a good time when he goes, even though he is the kind of kid who gets upset when mommy and daddy leave him places. I plan to use Tree Tops on a regular basis for drop-​in care.

I use this place for drop-​in care, and my 3 yo absolutely LOVES it. It helps so much for to know that her daughter is happy and excited to go there. The staff is very attentive and great with the kids, even singing to them — I have never been to another place where I felt more comfortable leaving my daughter. The two outside playgrounds are clean, and the insides are visually stimulating — lots of toys and activities. I don’t live anywhere near the area, but will drive the distance to drop her off just for the peace of mind of knowing she’s safe and happy.

We are so happy that we found Tree Tops Learning Center! Our son loves going there. Very grateful.

My daughter has been attending Tree Tops for over a year now, and we are planning on keeping her in until summer of ’12.
The thing I like most about this place is that it is NOT what I call a «Kentucky Fried Chicken School», aka a school you can find on every corner that’s exactly the same. Tree tops is small (1 class per age group) and cozy. It’s built out of an old house in the Bryker Woods neighborhood and has a real down-​home feel to it. When I walk in, I know where everything is. There’s not a maze of hallways and classrooms and parents and teachers coming and going all the time. Everything is well-​organized and very quaint.
Here’s more of my favorite parts: TREES shade the playground, not a tarp. The playgorund is made of WOOD, not plastic. Kids are allowed to take their shoes OFF (emphasizes the sensory experience). They do SIMPLE activites: fingerpainting, collages, etc. instead of complicated crafts. Each classroom has an upspace and a quiet corner. And the best part? They have an INDOOR play area for when its raining or 110 degrees outside! How awesome is that?
I’ve also NEVER seen Tree Tops put on a movie, give out sweet snacks, or constantly give children juice. Everything is at the child’s level, including the bathroom sink, so the place really feels made for them. The staff, especially director Mr. Chad, are so friendly and kind and I’ve never seen them act inappropriate towards any child.
There has been a bit of a teacher turnover which is normal for daycares, but here’s the best part: they tell the kids beforehand! Very rarely do you see a school take the children’s need for routine and structure into consideration. Kudos!
This is a great place for your young one. And you can’t beat the drop-​in hours. We’ve needed emergency childcare for my daughter and Treetops is always there for us. What a great place!

This place is a dirty cespool. Everything is old and used. All the clean places you see on the tour are never used. The entire building it riddled with mold… might have something do to with the TREE growing through the midie of the building. The ground cover in the 2 year old ourdoor area is pebbles… not the best choice. The teachers are inactive and do not engage the children at all.

I enrolled my 4 year old at Tree Tops for a few different reasons:
Curriculum meshed with my ideas
Location
Price
Cleanliness of facilities
(just to name a few)
It was a rough start from the get-​go with him being enrolled there. He is a rambunctious 4 year old, but not a bad kid and I’m the first parent to admit when my kid is being a total hellion. The staff did not work with him properly in my opinion.
They were unwilling to listen to me when I explained to them that he does not take naps anymore and that being forced to lie on a mat for 1.5 hours is virtually impossible for an adult to do, much less an active 4 year old. Instead, he would be punished for not doing it. Because of how they treated him and were so narrow minded and blind to different approaches in handling him, he would act out, disrupting class time and being punished again. I met with them several times to provide different ideas on how to handle him and they were all met halfheartedly and with much hesitancy.
They called me for every little upset and made me take him home several times when it could have been avoided; causing his father and me to miss a lot of work. His father and I were asked to provide a notebook for the teachers to write how his day was, so as not to be discussed in front of him at pick up time and it was used all of 3 times in 2.5 months of enrollment. One, part time, asst. teacher would try to reprimand his father and me on how we handled our child, like she was an expert, although she was merely a young college student with no children of her own.
I found them to be lacking in warmth to our son and lacking in understanding of any child who did not fit into their mold of what they considered ideal.
When my son’s father returned to pick up tax information from them because they refused to mail it, they did not even inquire about the well being of our son. An interesting observation since the school director of his first day care still inquires when spoken to.
I do not recommend this day care center at all. I believe them to be overrated and lacking in many ways, which is unfortunate because I really wanted to like them.

I use Tree Tops for their drop in care only. They are open late on the weekends and the hourly rates are very reasonable; $ 5 an hour for one child or $ 9 for two. You can pay less if you are willing to buy a block of time.
The Center is NAEYC accredited so I know the employees are well trained and qualified to care for my children. Maybe I’m over protective, but it gives me peace of mind to know my children will not be mistreated in any way while they are under Tree Top’s care.
Tree Tops has allowed me the freedom to enjoy my night out without worry and the kids always have a good time too.
I subtracted one star because you are not allowed to reserve a spot even if you have bought a block of time. Some times I have event tickets and I would like to be able to make sure my kids can get in.