My son has been going to Ella's for about 14 months. (As I am writing this, it is his last week as he is moving on to pre-K.) I was super worried about leaving my son with someone I didn't know, so deciding to do daycare was a HUGE stress for me. After the first week at Ella's, I knew this was going to be a really great place for him. As time went on, and he made friends, started coming home telling about their soccer games on Fridays, and bringing home his artwork (some of which was actually kind of amazing!), I knew this place was really helping him develop in many ways. What makes it great? — I like that they actually have rules, a timeout policy, and I feel they are consistent with the kids. — They sing and read a lot. My son came home knowing tons of songs. — They often played soccer in the backyard on Fridays. — I see them getting new playground toys regularly. And I have never seen any broken or run-down toys there. — They do arts and crafts weekly. My son now really enjoys painting. — No TV or movies (aside from security monitor.) — They often sent us pictures and videos of our son playing, or singing along during a birthday. — They really know how to throw birthday parties! And they are accommodating for when your kid(s) has a birthday—we dropped off a box of donuts and some fireman themed plates, favors and such, and they took care of the rest and sent us pictures. He had a great time! — Ella is upfront with you, and likes to nip things in the bud. If things are not going well or there are problems, you hear about it the moment you pick up your child. No waiting for it to happen a few times. It was hard at first to hear this, but I grew to really appreciate it and be able to work on any issues with my son before they got out of hand. — (When time permits during drop-off and pickup) they like to fill you in on who is friends, and who likes to eat breakfast together, and things the kids like to do. They told us one of the kids would wait to eat breakfast until my son arrived so they could eat together—and he got so excited when we showed up. How awesome is that! I HIGHLY recommend checking out Ella's for your under 3 year old. They actually engage with the kids, not just pen them up and hope for the best. My son learned a lot in the past year, and made some friends too.