Just wanted to say many thanks to Mr. Jim, Ms. Sarah and the other staff. Since our son has been at KinderCare since October 2015 we have seen changes in his behavior, for the good. He is mindful of how he is supposed to play with others. When needing to be redirected I appreciate how the staff will speak with him, helping him to see the outcome of his actions and help him to use his words when expressing himself. Academically, our son is learning addition and also to read which an awesome milestone, he loves going to the library to checking out books. He reads to me and my husband almost every night. He is always eager to go to school. So thank you for all your hard work! The Dorsey Family.

My son Amari has been attending KinderCare since 2014. He started off in the Pre-K classroom. When it was time to send him to Kindergarten, I didn’t have to think twice before picking KinderCare. I liked the fact that he already knew the teachers and his fellow students, but the biggest selling point for me was the small class size. He gets a lot more time and attention from the teacher since there is such a small class. I can only imagine how much easier it is to work with a kid that needs extra help with something when you don’t have 20 other children that need your help as well. I feel very comfortable with the teachers at KinderCare because they really see to truly care about my son. Amari absolutely loves Mr. Jim and has even said he wants to be just like him someday. He said that he wants to be a teacher just like Mr. Jim. Ms. Sarah is so sweet to the students and I think her and Mr. Jim make a great team. I think they come up with great lessons for the kids including the garden that they planted in the spring, the baby chicks that they watched hatch from eggs, and the pumpkin volcanoes they made in the fall. . The kids seem to be much more involved ad active in the lessons as opposed to just listening from their seats. They even had a field trip to the Carnegie Science Center. My son loves science and Mr. Jim seems to be the perfect teacher for that!! They also taught about real life things that are going on in their community such as the Hulton Bridge coming down. Another thing that persuaded me to pick KinderCare was the before and after school care included, and they have a summer program as well. I wouldn’t have to worry about him being transferred from school and to school throughout the day. He can stay in one place with his friends and have the same teachers. I am very happy with KinderCare’s Kindergarten program and I wish they could expand to elementary school (a girl can dream, right?!)

After reading off the enrichment program options at our center, which included cooking, math, and phonics, my four-year-old son said, “Well, I’d really like to learn how to read.” I enrolled him in the phonics program at East Pittsburgh Kindercare the next day, September 23, and was excited that he was so excited. I figured he’d talk to me about the letters and words he was perfecting with his new teacher Ms. Laurie for at least a few months and probably by Kindergarten next year be able to read some short books. On October 7, Ms. Laurie told me he had a surprise for me. “I can READ you dis book, mommy!” he said to me with a big smile. “Sit. I can read it to you!” He read me “You can, too” proud and perfect. His little voice barely stumbled on words like ‘paint’ and ‘jump’ as he confidently read the little story. “I read dis with Ms. Laurie!” Ms. Laurie worked with him for just two weeks, and she had him reading a book. I so appreciate the work Ms. Laurie does. She’s happy to see my son and work with him. She takes the time to understand what he knows already and how to use that to get him to learn more. Also, and most important to me, she took the time to understand how he learns. It’s so wonderful to see individuality recognized and supported. Not all kids learn the same and can become frustrated with techniques that aren’t quite what they need. By getting to know him and working with him one-on-one, Ms. Laurie identified how my boy ticks. I feel that’s what got him to read a book at such a young age in such a short amount of time. I applaud all the teachers at our Kindercare. They’re all wonderful, caring, smart, special people that I know will only enrich his and his 10-month-old baby sister’s little lives further than they already have.