Our Beginning

I had considered enrolling my children here, however, after hearing from a past teacher and experiencing an extreme lack of professionalism from another, this is the last place I would entrust the care of my children with.
The previous teacher had quit and stated it was a horrible place to work. There were many violations, kids left unattended, or teacher/​student ratios too high. The workplace was not healthy and teachers not appreciated.
Our first experience with a current teacher was outside of the school. She came highly recommended by a different former teacher and current school family for childcare. After confirming day and time for care, she failed to show up and did not respond to messages (text or voice). We were concerned something may have happened, but learned that she had was out with friends. It was absolutely appalling to experience such disrespect and would have appreciated at minimum a communication that she was unable to make it. Knowing this now, I’m glad to not have my children in the care of someone so irresponsible.
Having unhappy and overworked teachers and teachers that lack in professionalism makes me very wary of this place and will look elsewhere for childcare.

We are very happy with Our Beginning. Taking our 5-​month old to a non-​profit (preferably unionized) childcare facility was our first choice, but OB came in a close third after the two non-​profits. I’m glad we got a spot here and we eventually turned down one of the nonprofits who had a spot for us when he was about 10 months because we like OB so much.
The two lead infant teachers, Rebecca and Dina, are spectacular. The support staff is also generally great, and I really like the diversity of the teachers as well (men, women, people of color, etc.)
As for the days they’re closed: Yes, they have a lot of professional development days. But I, for one, am happy about that. Any additional training they can provide just translates to better care for my child. Having said that, I’m lucky to have a flexible job with lots of vacation, so this isn’t really an issue for us, but I can see how it would be for others.
Regarding the turnover: This is a very poorly-​paying industry (which is a tragedy in itself, but that’s a different topic), so turnover is not shocking. I doubt they have any higher turnover than other daycare facilities.
I also thought the communication and organization was decent for such a chaotic atmosphere, and it was much better than the place he was in before he got into OB. Swatika, the admissions coordinator who has been there almost since it opened, has always been wonderful and communicative. They also have lots of parent meetings and opportunities for parents to get involved, although it’s not a requirement.
The food is fantastic and relatively adventurous — I routinely tell my now-​1-​year-​old that he eats better than most grown ups. And the art, dance, and music programs are awesome. It’s expensive, but totally worth it in my opinion.

I recently visited Our Beginnings and must warn parents to really look at what’s going on. The center is really cool looking, but the teachers looked stressed. I witnessed poor behavior from one teacher and a confusing situation in another classroom in less that 10 minutes. In the 2 – 3 year old room, a teacher pushed a child out of the way by putting her hand on his face. She was the only one in the room and looked tired. In another preschool classroom a girl was crying by herself, clearly isolated from the rest of the group that was having story time. We were all just watching her cry and the administrator didn’t seem at all concerned by the situation or offer an explanation why she wasn’t being attended to. I agree with other posts that I do not think this school is well run. I don’t think I saw any smiles on the teachers faces. I know it is hard work, but it just felt like something was wrong.

The actual care providers are great (although the turnover is alarmingly high). As is the food, which is all prepared on site. The administration is fairly unprofessional and obviously disorganized, but they manage to limp along and I’ve never been concerned that it impacted my son’s safety or well being. The real rub here is that (like other posters have noted) they close for an extraordinary number of self-​proclaimed «professional development days.» And this is in addition to every holiday on the books and the week between Christmas and New Years. I’ve compared notes with friends with children in other programs, and Our Beginning is the leader in days closed by far. So if you’re thinking about enrolling your child here, get a copy of their calendar first and make sure you’re able to take time off (or arrange alternate care) on all of the random days that they’re closed or close early. Otherwise, you might be surprised at how much work you’re missing for daycare «professional development.»

I’ve really loved some of my child’s teachers and the food is great, but this school is so poorly run that I’m surprised it is able to continue functioning day to day. It’s sometimes almost amusing how much of a disaster it is. Communication is awful. I don’t recommend it.

I want to preface this review with the fact that my experience was 7 months ago.
That being said, I applied to work as a lead teacher at Our Beginning after reading stellar reviews from different news sources. After an incredibly unprofessional interview, I was given the opportunity to work with the kids in a young toddler room. Hoping my interviewers were just having an off day, I took this opportunity, and I am glad that I did so I can tell you what I saw.
First, I was left unsupervised with young children. I have several years of experience of teaching, but they had not checked my references or even done a background check on me yet… They had no way to know I was not a danger to the children. These were one-​year olds that had no way to communicate any danger to parents or trusted adults, but management decided it was a good decision to have a stranger supervise them.
Secondly, I was there during snack time and when other teachers were around serving snacks they went DIRECTLY from changing diapers to serving snacks. No hand washing. No whining their hands. No disenfectant. NO GLOVES. This was absolutely disgusting and dangerous.
There were so many other things that from a teachers viewpoint makes this organization unsafe and I urge all parents to drop in unannounced to make sure you know who is in your child’s classroom and that the teachers are following the basic sanitary rules.
This is not a unhappy «I-didn’t-get-the-job» post =, by the way. I got the job and after turning down the job due to my complaints above.

I would not recommend Our Beginning to any parent. As a working parent, it is important to choose a daycare where you feel that your child will be kept safe and happy. Our beginning is not that daycare. My 8 month old son was left unattended on a rocking chair by one of his teachers. He fell off the chair and bumped his head. This was poor judgment by the teacher. The teacher, per the daycare policy, was supposed to write up a record of the event and call the parents, but this never happened. I found out about the event 3 weeks later. The other teacher in his classroom who was not present during the incident had brought it forward to the nurse, and the nurse and director informed me of the event. I was told that the policies and procedures were not followed. The infant classrooms always have 2 teachers present, so I think it goes beyond the policies not being followed. They do not have a culture where they feel safe reporting issues. Another person was aware that my son had been hurt, and I was told after the fact had been monitored for a concussion, yet that person never called us, the parents. The director informed me when she found out, and told me I could take him to the doctor and they would pay for the cost. I called my doctor, but he said three weeks after the event there was not a lot they could really check out. I would have taken him to the doctor if I had found out immediately, but not three weeks later. My child was put at harm, and I felt that I could not leave him at this daycare another day. Not only had something awful happened to him, but it was kept a secret for 3 weeks. I used up all my vacation and sick time while on maternity leave, so I had to take two unpaid day to stay home with my son, and then my husband and I had to try and locate an alternative daycare situation for that Monday. We had put ourselves on the waitlist in our beginning while I was still pregnant, and selected it based on touring and visiting many sites, but were forced to make the same decision in a quick weekend. In the end, Our beginning really soured me to the daycare experience and made me much more cautious and nervous. I regret sending my son to this daycare.

My family loves Our Beginning and I feel very much at ease having my child attend. He started at the school at 6 weeks old and now is a happy and healthy 6 month old who is advanced developmentally for his age– sitting unassisted at 5 months and already putting the components together to crawl.
My partner and I, as well as my son’s grandparents have spent a lot of time at the school just hanging out. We enjoy the atmosphere so much, when we drop him in the morning it’s hard to leave. Rarely are the babies crying –there are 6 babies and two teachers and they are amazing at getting them all coordinated and sorted. All the babies are so different, but our teachers are supremely attuned to their needs and provide a fairly detailed report of daily activities each day.
The school provides food for the kids and purées for the babies. Our son is enjoying trying new foods as he just started to eat solids. They have art day, music day and dancing day with special teachers who drop by each week. They go outside, they practice experiencing new textures like snow and water and sand. Seriously, my child is getting such amazing developmental support. We are lucky and blessed to be part of the Our Beginning community.

This is a lovely child care center. I have direct experience as a parent with several centers in the area, and this is a special place. It’s a beautiful, calming environment, caring and devoted educators and staff, AMAZING food (USDA certified organic!) and a terrific location. My preschooler is happy to go here every day and is full of stories of their adventures. I have been really impressed with the Reggio approach as well. Highly recommend.

We’ve had a really positive experience at Our Beginning the past year. My toddler has had caring, well-​qualified and hard-​working teachers. The space is good and the organic food offerings can’t be beat. The Reggio Emilio philosophy appears to be working well for our son. He also enjoys music time with Mr Ben on Wednesdays and dance time with Joselito on Fridays. We’ve enjoyed getting to know the other parents too. It’s a great community that I’ve seen come into its own over the past year. We plan to keep our son here for preschool.

I enrolled my daughter into the infant room at 3.5 months after having a horrible experience elsewhere. The big smile my daughter has on her face when she comes to daycare just melts my heart and makes me know that I made the right decision. She has excelled in this environment. She is cared for as an individual, what she needs. Anything my daughter needs, she is attended to per my instructions. When we had trouble at home with sleeping, a diaper rash, and introducing solid foods, the teacher was a valuable resource for us.
To address the ratio concerns, during drop off a helper comes in until the other teacher arrives, so there is always 1:3 ratio. They just got new cribs. And are up on high chair regulations too. They have high chairs that are low to the ground so they can eat by the other «big» kids eating at the table.
She is taught sign language something we are also working on with her at home. She has a giant smile when she goes to music class on Wednesdays. I am very much a part of the classroom experience and stop by frequently for music, dance class, and just to say hi.
I also have to mention that we did baby lead weaning approach to food and this daycare has done a phenomenal job allowing my child to eat whole solid foods and I especially love that the food is all organic. I want to eat their menu!
My daughter is now 8 months and we are really looking forward to her transition to the toddler room when she is twelve months old.
Before you dismiss this daycare, read the some 20 off filtered reviews that give raving reviews of the daycare.

First, please read the filtered reviews (if this review isn’t filtered…). This center definitely has a higher rating than listed here.
Our 2.5 y.o. son has attended Our Beginning for close to a year now. We were very pleased to not only find Our Beginning, but to get in without a waitlist. I have not had a child in one of the infant rooms, but have never personally witnessed any of the issues below– the teacher/​child ratios have always been at or under state requirements. Turnover is typical of a daycare center.
It offers many of the aspects we loved about our old center: homecooked, organic food (the menu is fantastic, and encourages the kids to be adventurous eaters), a focus on exploration and learning, wonderful teacher/​parent communication, and a homey atmosphere. All of the teachers we have worked with have been great– they plan activities and outings along with the kids to keep them engaged in their explorations. Most days our son does not want to go home, and he often talks about his teachers on weekends. I’m not sure how closely they actually follow the RE philosophy, but frankly, I don’t care. I have been very impressed with the level care at Our Beginning, and plan to keep our child at this center through preschool.
The only complaint I have is that the center closes at least one day per month, and thus all of my vacation days have been spent this year without having taken a vacation.

My experience in the past year with Our Beginning has been very positive. We (my wife and I) appreciate the personal daily accounts of our child, the consistent, open communication, the community feel, the positive environment, great food, and the parent/​teacher approach to working through phases and issues. I love that they spend time outdoors, work on group, craft projects and teach the kids through experiences and consequences.

We started our son when he was 3 months at Our Beginning (in the fall). As any new parent can relate to this, it was an emotional transition for all three of us. However he has thrived at Our Beginning and I find the reviews extremely unfair.
When you put your child in the care of strangers, you need to know that they are in good hands, nurtured and stimulated. I feel confident that he gets all of that at Our Beginning. My son is happy when I drop him off in the morning (and loves seeing all of his teachers) and is happy when I pick him up in the evening. This is my only daycare experience but I do know that one thing is consistent with all daycares: babies don’t sleep well and they get sick easier than if they were at home. However my son is very social (albeit with a runny nose) and enjoys himself.
Everyone has a right to their own opinions but I just feel like there are scathing things being said about a place that has wonderful teachers. I have been frustrated by the many days off the daycare takes but haven’t done my research to see if this is the norm.
I would recommend speaking with parents at the school. We’re all going to be honest and forthright when it comes to the best situation for our own children. I speak to a lot of the other parents on a regular basis and the consistent issue I hear is that the daycare takes too many days off. Beyond that everyone is happy, including us!
There are few options out there for infant care and I feel confident that we made the best decision/​investment for our son.

I have visited Our Beginnings on 3 seperate occassions and have not witness any child being treated unfairly or without supervision. I have seen children playing, enjoying the day and learning. The center is clean and the staff appears very informed. I’m interested in those with poor reviews to provide feedback on what exactly you witness. I am new to the area and don’t have the «bias» opinions of friends. From what I’ve seen, witness and the laughter and learning of children. Our Beginnings is high on my list of possibilities.

Unilocal filtered out my detailed review for some reason. I am posting again to simply say: Our experience with this center was not good and we would not recommend it to any parent. Our daughter is in a wonderful facility now and the difference is amazing– on every level.

I can’t believe Unilocal decided to filter the other reviews which I frankly thought were very imformative. I highly suggest looking at the filtered reviews in the lower portion of this page because they echo basically what I have heard through my mommy online discussions.
My complaint was in the director’s lack of communication. I contacted them several times trying to get information regarding my child’s enrollment and they could not give me a direct answer. I called frequently and was promised responses… nothing…As I asked around in my community since it is a fairly small community, my experience was echoed in several other mom’s who experienced the same thing. Enrollment was promised, deposit collected and they didn’t follow through.
I will give them benefit of the doubt. They had just opened so perhaps by now they have figured out what they are doing but at the point of my interaction, their customer service was unacceptable.

We started our children at Our Beginning after having attended another pre-​school for a year. We are so pleased with this environment. Our children are finally doing well and given appropriate attention at this new school. There are several reasons why I would recommend Our Beginnings to prospective parents: 1) the quality of teachers is above that of other schools (at least in the pre-​school classroom); 2) the environment is calmer and more organized; 3) the owner proactively asks for feedback on how the center can improve and receives it well; 4) everyone is so kid friendly — even the chef and the cook are so cheerful and playful with my children when we arrive each morning; 5) the center is kept very clean and we have had less issues with illnesses than our old preschool; 6) amazing, organic food prepared each day for the children (no more cheese sandwiches!); 7) individual attention and smaller class sizes (at least for pre-​school children) — the teacher spent an hour with me and my children before my children started to get to know them individually and to make sure they were comfortable when they started (tailored approach); 8) ultimately, my children went from stressed out over attending pre-​school to actually wanting to stay later and go to school more days. It has been a really great transformation for us and we couldn’t be any happier. I do agree that the center is new and has some kinks to work out from a logistical standpoint, but the positive experience my children have greatly outweigh that.

DO NOT ENROLL YOUR CHILD HERE!!!
We have a 5 month old who currently attends the Our Beginnings daycare center. Based on our experience, I would strongly suggest you look elsewhere for childcare. We are in the process of interviewing nannies so that we can find an immediate alternative to this daycare center. We have repeatedly witnessed the daycare center far exceeding the legal child to teacher ratio. One day there were 10 infants in the room with only 2 teachers! Our Beginnings promises a 1:3 ratio however this is not the reality. In addition, we have witnessed blankets over children’s heads and had to rescue a hysterically crying baby because she was wedged between the crib bars and the mattress! To put this in perspective, 4 of the 6 families in our infant room are actively seeking alternate care for our children. For what it is worth, we did call the state and report this to the Department of Early Learning in the hopes their license will be revoked. I am concerned greatly for the safety of our child and of all of the children in the center.
In addition to witnessing the center breaking the law and putting our children’s safety at risk, our infant (who is the world’s best sleeper) routinely only gets 40mintes to 1 ½ hour of sleep per day. He is so exhausted and overtired it takes an entire weekend of him sleeping constantly in order to catch up. At home, our little guy sleeps 10 – 12 hours a night and typically takes a 2 – 3 hour morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap! We can’t understand why he doesn’t sleep when in their care.
As indicated by the other posted review, the owner of this center is unresponsive and non-​communicative. She does not care about the well being of the children. She routinely chooses to skip parent meetings and has not been replacing staff, even though the turnover rate is extremely high. Sometimes the teachers don’t have a replacement available in order to take a lunch break.
The list of issues could go on and on but I’ll stop here for now. We greatly regret placing our child at this center.