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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Best Daycares?
I think I am going to try to send Cole to daycare PT. He is getting sooo bored at home and loves interaction with other kiddos. If you were to send your child to daycare (not in-home) where would you send them? I do not care about cost at this time, just want to find the best place for my child! I would even drive a little out of the way (not as far as Ankeny though!).
Small class size & cleanliness is high on the list too!
Thanks for any recs!
Re: Best Daycares?
What side of town are you on? Also, if you are looking for a daycare center, most of them are not going to have small class size- they usually max out to the state limits for teacher:student ratio.. For example, Aubrey is 18 months and in her toddler room, there are 3 teachers and 12 kids..
edit: the above being said, we really like our daycare and like our prior daycare center too.. The kids are always all happy when I get there.. We have used both Childtime (downtown) and Traditions (the one in Urbandale) and liked both of them. If you are open to church daycares, I have heard great things about Hope Lutheran & First Assembly of God (on Merle Hay)
We just did the whole "find a daycare" expedition as I recently went back to work. We live in Ankeny, but I work in Urbandale...so we toured just about every center in both cities.
We settled on Generation Next in Urbandale. They only have one other location in Johnston and have now opened their new center in Urbandale. I was focused on 3 things: Structured Curriculum, Smaller Class Sizes and Cleanliness/Professionalism. I feel we found all 3 at Gen Next. Because it's a new center - the class sizes are small (DS has only 3 kids in his class and DD has only 6). However, we know that will change but it was nice to know that while the kids were still adjusting to daycare they'd be in a smaller classroom and receiving more attention from their teachers.
We toured the Johnston Center as I wanted to get an idea of how the Urbandale Center would be ran once it was completed - I feel like in terms of staff, cleanliness of the center and curriculum, it was the best I'd seen.
My kids have been going there for 5 weeks now and they truely do love it - it was the best decision we could've made and I grow increasingly more happy/content with our decision as the weeks go on.
Good Luck - this was the hardest decision we've ever made. I can say that picking a daycare is similar to buying a house where you just kind of "know" once you find the right place...or atleast it was for us!
We've been really happy with Apple Tree on 86th Street (Urbandale).
I just wanted to chime in and say that sounds like a great decision. Michael has gone to daycare about 16 hours a week this summer (even though I am off/on maternity leave) and it really saves my sanity. I think he really enjoys being in a different environment and playing with other kids. He goes on an in home but they are pretty structured...and it is cheap!
)
Good luck!
Neena Mae. 1/7/10
"A baby nursing at a mother's breast is an undeniable affirmation of our rootedness in nature." - David Suzuki
You have one back!
This is actually what I was going to suggest as well, just from the little bit I know about you.