Oaks & Acorns Montessori Ltd

I had been trying to get a call back for the last 2 weeks and nobody answers the phone, Selena sent me an email and I asked her to call me back but no-one does …. I am getting tired of this communication and my daughter hasn’t even started to attend to class yet

This is my honest review; I am surprised with parents that had given 5 stars. Perhaps they dont see what truly going on with this place. I agreed with one of the parents who left a review 4 years ago and said" They were unwilling to address concerns and flat out ignore emails if it was not positive". The owner does not care if you email your concerns to her. You will never see her btw. The whole place is run by the director (who is actually another staff with a title but no power). If you have a complaint, it will go nowhere. I think management is a huge issue in this place. The care taker are hit and missed. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. One has so much attitude towards parents. They prefer taking their time to write down your kid's arrival time to opening the door to you while it is a snow storm outside. My kid was there for 6 months, we saw more than 7 different staff there.
-They also take 1st month child care fee and the last month fee right off the bet ($1545 +1545 =$3090)
-They need you to give two months notice if you wanted to switch day care (once you are in, you are stuck forever!)
-Their building is old and falling apart (it was so hot this summer, 25 to 29 degrees and above; one teacher/care taker told me the A/C is not working properly)
-The whole place has no structure; staff is not trained and just put there to work.
-With the government subsidies, they have a 3% cap to increase price yearly (so they will increase that probably every year as they already did and explained this year, the increment is to cover their loss during the pandemic)
I think this place take expensive fees and not delivering the standard and services that it should be. There are lots of child care centers out there that take the same price and give a much better service!

I have sent both of my kids to Oaks and Acorn Midnapore and will be sending my third there as well. The teachers are amazing there and food is nutritious. One of my kids is severely allergic to Nuts and they were very responsible. When a parent brings food outside to share with the other kids, they would always check with me before giving it to my daughter. The kids learn lots there and they are happy to learn. They are sad when they can’t go.

Great daycare! Both my kids love it! They love love their teachers! The food is healthy and nutritious!
I’ll recommend it to anyone who seeks a safe and fun place for their kids!

You get a lot of packaging and sweet talking, but not that much services for the buck/money paid.
It is not a cheap daycare, but it is run “el cheapo”, with many corner cuts, starting with the staff and ending with amenities and toys, education available for kids.

Main issues:
Parking: always an issue, especially in the afternoons, as there are limited spots, many times used by the age care staff. You have to wait for an empty spot, sometimes up to 15min or so, parking at the curb can get you a fine (police station is next door, I have witnessed and discussed with the police officer about this).
Money cow thing: you are asked to pay extra for summer activities as trips and such. Money paid, no trips happened. Couple of times the kid got some sort of crafts, made in classroom, as beads and strings (like 50c value), crafts that are provided for free by other daycares, included in tuition.
Montessori: Montesorr… oh well. It is just an excuse do not provide proper toys and invest in other ways to keep the kids engaged and going on the cheap; with materials made of stained dry pasta, beans and such.
Daily report: no such thing. No online camera thing, no Himama app. You get by email some sort of generic copy-paste once-per-week report, but nothing personalized. It is just a copy paste, you can see that in the font used on the email. Getting something more personal it was a bit difficult, you have question and to relay on staff’s memory about the whereabouts of your kid during the day. Other daycares are doing better on this aspect.
Staff: hit and miss. The ones that are not “permanent” position are trying hard and are the best. The other ones… let’s put in this way: my kiddo got scared of the interaction with one particular person.
I was able to get a bit of response/reaction from the daycare staff, but generally the feedback was slow to come, I had to argue my case a bit too much in my opinion, generally speaking I would say the relation suffered a lot under this aspect.

Good things: nice yard to play outside. Too bad that the supervision is lax, usually you can see the ladies sitting down for a chat, not really watching the kids etc. I have seen a couple of incidents that were close-call to end in something very serious (as limbs dislocation for example).
Bright class room. The food appears to be ok-ish-good, institution grade but a bit over the average I would say. Maybe a bit too much sugar content for my taste, but this is just to be finicky.

There is potential there, but I got a bad vibe. When you leave your kid, your future on their hands, you expect a bit of dedication, this is part of the vocational professions etc. Neah, it is a business like any other business, they try to sell high and buy low and keep the cost down.
It is not a bad daycare (I have seen such), but it is far from being the best and the price paid is not reflected in the quality provided.

Oak and Acorns Montessori day care, Midpark location, is great for all parents who need a trustworthy environment for their kids. Both my daughters started to go there when they were 18 months old, my oldest daughter went to Kindergarten there, as well. As a parent, I am thrilled with how many knowledges the girls learnt from attending the facility. Also, the place is clean, the things are tidy up, because the children are taught to take care of things and environment. They do a lot of activities for kids and the children learn not only to socialize, but to be polite and respectful.

My child attended the seton location for a little under a year. A few of the teachers were amazing but they seemed chronically short staffed and short tempered. Countless times there would be myself and other parents waiting for staff to show up after they were suppose to open. They were unwilling to address concerns and flat out ignore emails if it was not positive. And the condescension from the director was shocking for someone who works with children and has scared off a number of colleagues who toured there. I hope it’s improving for the children’s sake.

My son has been going to Oaks and Acorns Montessori at Midpark since he was 18 months. In the four years he has been there, I truly has nothing to complain about the teachers or the school. The school is well-managed, and the teachers are very nice and responsible for the children. I am really thankful for their care and kindness to my son.
It was very surprising to read some awful comments below which was simply made on an observation from a brief visit to the daycare. Being responsible is not only about others, most importantly it is about ourselves. Please be responsible with your postings.

My son has been attending the daycare in Midnapore location for three months. He improved his social skills and he loves to go there everyday. The kids are friendly and happy and the teachers are amazing. I highly recommend this daycare for parents who are looking for a warm and welcoming environment.

My nephew was previously attending this daycare facility 14 years ago. My sister has recommended this daycare Midnapore location to many of her friends. I followed her suggestion and put my child to this daycare as well. I love how loving and caring all the staffs in this daycare. My son adores his teachers. Everyday, he talks about all the different things that he learned from teachers. Plus, fresh/nutrition food provides to children on the site. Different summer programs allow children to explore new things every week.

Very worst day care ever! The staffs are not professional at all. We had a tour at the new place but we were not happy at all with the food they serve. Its not at all healthy for the babies. Not enough toys and the person who gave us a tour is not at all Montessori trained. She doesn't even know the names of Montessori materials. We were so unhappy with this place: (