06/30/09

excellent staff, great atmosphere

by huntnbromansmumma

The staff here treats my children as individuals and recognizes my children's individual needs. The teachers love their students and look out for them. My oldest son who is now three and a half had alot of problems learning to share and making friends. He now loves all of the kids in his class and has developed great social skills. His favorite song is "Jesus Loves Me." Too awesome:o)

At a time in my life where I had no one to watch my kids and had to work, Noah's Ark was there. I would definately reccomend this daycare to anyone who wants to instill good values in their children and are looking for a christian based curriculum.

• Pros: staff, attitude

03/04/09

LOVE NOAH'S ARK!

by sirpugsgirl

I enrolled my 15 month old in Noah's Ark after having him in a home care setting for his first year. After having a not so pleasant experience with the home sitter, I was a little apprehensive when we began at Noah's Ark. Now at 19 months, he has absolutely loved it there. His vocabulary has excelled and so has his fine motor skills. He has learned things like saying "please" and "thank you" and his ABC's and Follow the Leader. I have also noticed that he has become more interactive with children and plays well with others outside of Noah's Ark. He absolutely loves his teacher, who is wonderful with his age group and rarely ever fusses when I drop him off. Their smaller, quaint building is a wonderful setting for a loving and caring atmosphere. The staff is very friendly and very attentive to the children and parents. The decor is a little outdated but the lessons learned at the center completely make up for what is lacking in physical beauty. I highly, HIGHLY recommend Noah's Ark.

• Pros: staff, lessons, activities
• Cons: decor

03/28/08

Great teachers; small class sizes; happy kids

by ilovepsutoo

I am so glad I found Noah's Ark. The teachers are very attentive and loving - more than the "other" daycares around town that are "supposed" to be the "best". Most of them have been there for many years. There's not a lot of turnover. The teachers are all trained appropriately in child development/first aid, of course, but you can't train patience and love of children, and that's natural for all of them.

The class sizes are relatively small compared to other daycares, so the kids get a lot of attention. The activities are great- I think just as good or better than what my other child who goes to one of the bigger/major daycares gets - lots of cute arts and crafts, share day, movie day, lots of special things on holidays and religious curriculum. Plus regular preschool preparation (ABCs, letters, numbers, etc.).

The teachers use the right kind of "discipline" for the age range - lots of patience but firmness as well. They play and interact well with the kids too.

What impresses me the most is how genuinely happy my child is - and the other children - he breaks out in a grin from ear to ear when he walks in there every day. My other child didn't do that at this age at the daycare he used to attend (another "major" daycare in Richmond - supposed to be one of the "best"). He didn't want to go to daycare.

The facility is clean, safe and fun for the kids. I will say it is not brand new or really fancy, but it's a Christian daycare, and a fancy building isn't the most important thing. It is a neat, older building with a lot of character. A lot of people might be put off by the building being slightly outdated (older flooring, mismatched bookshelves/decor inside) and parking lot (lots of potholes) but it's what's inside and the people that count.

It just goes to show you that just because a daycare is supposed to be the "biggest" or "most expensive" or has the fanciest new building (like Goddard School or others) it doesn't mean they are the best.

• Pros: staff loving/patient, low staff turnover, small class size, lots of attention, happy/gentle kids
• Cons: parking lot is rough, decor outdated