Rainforest Learning Center

we were just at the Spring Art Show. It was amazing what the kids have done there
this winter.

My toddler has been going here for about year. The place is ok. Not really impress by it. I haven’t had any real problems with any of the day care workers. Probably my only complaint is price but the franchise down the street was actually more expensive.

— First and foremost, your child will learning nothing here. This place is nothing more than a group babysitting.
— Used, unstable and often dangerous furnitures. Pianos that are so old and poorly taken care of. Doubt anyone’s ever played… yet it’s there… completely as a show.
— Very limited and torn books. Our daughter’s class (2 year old) had maybe 10. Often times one book gets torn in two and becomes two books. Most likely all second hand.
— Photo equipment in the common area (place is a dump). They use it like their storage space. Photography tripods, umbrellas, lighting gear… many with sharp edges and can be toppled over with ease. Very little regard to children’s safety.
— Broken doors that never get fixed. In my daughter’s class, they were able to just push the door open and wander into this common area filled with above mentioned photo gear. They only fixed it after 8 weeks and 6 complaints later. This would be unacceptable for an apartment complex, let alone a day care. Again, very little, if any, regard to kids’ safety. Every time I asked, they simply said the contractor is coming out next week. Got this same answer 3 times.
— Owner/​managers (Jessica and Jason) have very little understanding of kids and there’s a clear disconnect with parents. I’ve tried many times to ask for more open communication and transparency. Overall a very negative experience.
— They pretend to be art/​music education driven «program». This is grossly inaccurate. Kids are hardly ever exposed to art/​music. They use this simply as a marketing tool. Before every «art show» you can see the teachers working diligently putting together «kids» art pieces. Decorating them and hanging them. Then, those art pieces spend next 6 months on walls to mislead prospective parents into thinking this is a place of learning. Absolutely horrible.
— No wait list. They sold this to us as a good thing. It was nice to hear «if you want, you can start next week» but at what cost? They pre-​maturely shuffle kids around to make it fit. Our daughter was moved up twice in the span of 2 months to make room for other younger kids. Once again, looking after their profitability before the child’s well-​being. Making her adjust to 2 more new faces yet again. In less than a year, our daughter’s had 4 different «baby-​sitters». Have a hard time calling them teachers.
— My daughter cried every time I dropped her off… for almost a year… when speaking with other parents (from other day care facilities) their kids love their teachers and do not mind being dropped of in the mornings. I still know several people that currently go to Rainforest and … same deal.
— They closed for 2 days for Christmas. When asked why they were closing on Friday (day
before Christmas eve), their rationale was «we were planning on closing for 3 days (Friday, Monday and Tuesday) but we’ve shortened it» and «we need a vacation too.» Called around other daycares in the Chicagoland area and they were the only one to close. It was highly irresponsible and again showed their disconnect with parents.
— Their joke of an outside door. The outside door acts as a first layer of defense against predators and other elements. There’s no clear view from where they are buzzing people in. In other words, a guy wielding a *insert weapon here* would have just as easy of a time getting in as someone holding a diaper bag. On top of that, they often leave their «buzzing» post unmanned… leaving parents waiting in the rain outside.
— Once caught one of the «babysitters» angrily scolding a two year old. I told her to stop and that they are still just kids and she simply responded, «trust me, they understand.»
— I like watching my daughter interact with other kids. So, often times, I stand by the door and watch for a little while before going in to pick her up. This one afternoon, the babysitter was reading everyone a book. I can see our daughter was bothering another child. Without looking up from her book, the babysitter shoved our daughter onto the floor. Then, continued to read as my daughter fell to the floor crying. I don’t mind her telling my daughter to stop bothering others. I don’t mind her physically separating them. I don’t mind her giving her time out. But to separate them so violently and not bothering tell her why she was being punished is an assault. This is the same «babysitter» I caught scolding another child (previous bullet point). She really has no business being around kids… but what do they care. she’s minimum wage.

My 2 year old has been going to Rainforest for almost a year now. I couldn’t be more pleased with it! It is always hard to leave your child and go to work, but he is always happy to go to his classroom, the teachers are always tremendously welcoming and seem to genuinely enjoy all the kids, and he always comes home talking about going to the park or «doing art.»
They have really cute holiday shows, and their own art director who always comes up with really creative projects. A couple times a year they have «art shows» where all the parents can see the various projects. It is really impressive! It is still hard for me to drop him off each morning, but it makes it much easier knowing he is in such a happy place!

I have two preschoolers who attended Rainforest and overall the experience was really good. They started as infants, had loving care givers and had great exposure to a dynamic, complex, creative and social environment. It was safe and convenient to a South-​side dweller. At the time it was even less expensive than the other places we looked.
That being said, it certainly has it’s problems. It often was messy, there is a high staff turn-​over and it had a problem with consistently scheduling caregivers at specific times. Some classrooms would have the same two personnel from morning to afternoon and some classrooms would have a patchwork of people throughout the day. It was sometimes hard to get a clear picture of how your child’s day was.
Take a visit, meet the staff, check the place out and use your own judgment. At it’s best, Rainforest is a great place, maybe the best place in the City for the money, for your child to learn and interact with peers. Both of my kids have performed, on-​stage, in front of 50 people singing and dancing, they loved it and are better for it. My kids paint, draw, sculpt and have been given piano lessons. Conversely, it’s chaotic, disorganized and messy. Your Kids will get germs from their peers and they will get sick. They will never be in danger but they will get lots of bugs to fortify their immune systems. They will probably be bitten at least once. They will have to learn to deal with problematic classmates who hit, cry, act out and worse. There will definitely be times when you will be pissed off at the staff but I think it’s no worse than anywhere else.
In the final analysis, when I was touring childcare establishments, the other places made me run to the door. On one occasion I watched a caregiver actually drop a toddler on the floor. I saw cramped, boring, static, messy and expensive places all over downtown. Rainforest was the best of a sad lot.
Throughout my time there, I never had a bad vibe about leaving my kids at Rainforest. If I had to do it again I would not hesitate to go back– except that I probably can’t afford it now.

Rainforest is amazing! Our daughter attended from age 2 to 4.5, and our son attended from 4 mos. to 1 year. They are very professional and organized, and we always felt our children were safe and well cared for. But the wonderful thing about Rainforest is how much more they do: creative art projects; lessons in yoga, piano, and dance; field trips to museums. It’s so much more than just a great daycare. They have regular art shows and music and dance performances by the kids. All the staff enjoy their time with the students — they’re dedicated to teaching and having fun. The building may seem a little rough around the edges on your first visit, but they’re constantly updating everything with more murals and seasonal decorations to make it an enjoyable place for children. We also found it was less expensive than similar facilities in the area, but that was just a side benefit to all the other great things about Rainforest. We’re sad to leave as we are moving out of state — it’s the only way we’d ever leave Rainforest!

I have a toddler and an almost-​preschooler who are both at Rainforest, which has been a terrific place for them. They both started as infants and have thrived in the providers’ care. They experience the typical issues facing childcare centers, such as a relatively high staff turnover and a variety of minor illnesses that they wouldn’t have gotten should they be home with a nanny. However, the opportunities for learning outweigh the negative stuff. The administration really strives to do well and provide a great environment, and I am secure knowing that my children are loved in a stable environment.