University City KinderCare

“ We have now been with KinderCare for nearly 5 months. We have been very pleased with all Carter has learned and how his class has been managed. Additionally, we have been very pleased with the meal plans, nap schedule and enrichment classes. His teacher has worked with us in encouraging Carter to eat in their family style mealtime and has had a lot of success – one of Carter’s new favorites is now veggie soup! At one point this fall, Carter decided he didn’t want to nap any more. We worked with the teacher and had excellent results – not forcing nap, but allowing quiet time. We can’t believe how much he has learned in such a short time.

“ Our son Briggs has been enrolled in KinderCare since September of 2011. He loves his music class he’s enrolled in, as I hear him singing his favorite tune of the day on our ride home. He also loves to play outside with his friends, sing his ABC’s, count to 10, read stories and relay anything new taught to him, all of this due to his teachers here at KinderCare. I could name those individually and list all of the T.L.C shown to Briggs in his 9 month experience but, I would be naming everyone because the entire staff has shown care, unwavering patience and an interest in making him comfortable. For that I will be eternally grateful.

“ I have been with KinderCare since Wyatt was under a year old and my experience has been wonderful. Wyatt is always happy when I pick him up and has been learning more independence and enjoying playing with the other children. Although, Wyatt only attends part time I can see the advancement in his day to day activities. The toddler room is always clean and I feel my son is in a safe environment.

“ Our daughter has attended University City KinderCare since she was 15 months old. We have watched her grow and thrive under the supervision of wonderful and caring teachers. The Management staff has always been very positive and helpful if we have had concerns or questions. It is a relief to know that when I drop her off in the morning she is in a safe and nurturing environment with individuals who truly care about children.

“ Dear Prospective KinderCare Parent: I recommend KinderCare UTC without reservation! My daughter has thrived in the Prekindergarten classroom with Ms. Amanda and Ms. Gladys, and she adores the other teachers and staff too. As for results, she has just slam-dunked her Kindergarten assessment for Fall. I know with certainty that this is the result of her having been at KinderCare since last September because the trajectory she had been on would not have been so successful. I came to KinderCare as a skeptic of centers, and yet I have been thoroughly satisfied with the abundance of the very qualities I had thought I wouldn’t find: personalized, loving, thoughtful care; skilled, knowledgeable, and patient providers; an engaging, orderly yet varied and stimulating environment; and consistent peers for friendships and social skill learning. Since she was a baby, she had been in very small and good caregiver situations, but I had clung to outdated myths about larger centers and as a result, I gradually tolerated more and more aspects of her care that were less than ideal. Then, one week my caregiver situation abruptly fell apart. I am so glad that moment brought us to KinderCare UTC! I only wish we’d come sooner. Before she started last September she had been spending her days with several children significantly younger, from six months to two years younger. As a result she wasn’t being challenged by peers and was still just scribbling on paper and making the best of playing “big sister.” Within about a week after starting at KinderCare she was writing her name! She loved being with kids her own age, made friends, learned from them, and adapted to and even seemed to like the structure and the classroom, meal, bathroom, and playground routines. She seemed happier and more capable every week. She has benefited from genuinely caring relationships with her teachers—not only her classroom teachers, but also the other caregivers, teachers, and directors, all of who I have observed to be resiliently consistent with compassionate, friendly, caring approaches to the children. My daughter is a handful! She’s high energy and remarkably tenacious with pursuit of her ideas and preferences, and yet they have welcomed her and helped her to bloom into being herself, as well as acquiring and practicing many new skills for getting along, participating with peers, and communicating respectfully and effectively. I also have been grateful for the excellent, responsive center management of Director Beth Hall and Assistant Director Celida Diaz de Leon. When my daughter had a bout of naughty behavior with a friend, they heard my concern, took it seriously, and took swift action to minimize and extinguish it. Another time, staff managed to accomplish giving her doses of horrible tasting medicine (despite the flavoring) with exquisite compliance with the detailed needs like refrigeration and specific times for doses. Requests such as setting up to pay online or scheduling vacations are handled promptly. They have accommodated my daughter’s ovo-lacto vegetarianism. Plus the entire staff stages wonderful annual musical recitals, truly going above and beyond “just” providing good care. Good luck with your decision. It takes all of us in the village to raise our next generation!

“ Our daughter has been coming to UC KinderCare since she was 21 months old. She will be five and entering Kindergarten in September 2012. She has gone from the toddler to prekindergarten classroom. UC KinderCare has provided a safe and nurturing environment for our daughter to learn and grow both socially and independently. All of her teachers have been great educators and take extra steps to care for their students. They put in tremendous effort in helping each child explore and develop various skills. We are very happy with the education and care that UC KinderCare has provided. She is now ready for Kindergarten. We have also started our three-year-old daughter at KinderCare a year ago to join her big sister. We found the flexible schedule of UC KinderCare extremely helpful as our work schedule and other obligations change occasionally. Also, the numerous KinderCare centers throughout San Diego helps make an easier transition if we were to move to a different area in San Diego. We hope this note will help you with your decision to come join the KinderCare family.

“ Now that our son is entering his final few months at KinderCare, I’d like to let you know how much he has enjoyed the programs, and how much we have appreciated the effort of all his teachers and the rest of the staff to keep him safe, happy, and stimulated over the past three years. The decision to hand over to another person or institution the responsibility of looking after your child is a major one, and one that is fraught with much anxiety. Our son started out in the toddler room, and the teachers there did an excellent job in helping him get used to saying goodbye to me in the morning. He was soon eagerly running in to play with his new friends, not minding when I left. The teachers talked to me every day about his activities and interests when I picked him up, and when I dropped him off in the morning I could tell them about any issues I wanted them to watch out for or be aware of. I really felt that although I was away at work, I was still very involved with his care and activities during the day. Our son has done so well while at KinderCare, both socially and intellectually. He has made lasting friends who he misses on the weekends when he is not in school, and he is bursting with new things to tell me that he learned during the day when I pick him up in the evening. He has been fortunate to have had some outstanding teachers who have stimulated his curiosity and creativity, especially Ms. Brittni, Ms. Erica, Ms. Gladys and Ms. Amanda. I know that he will miss his KinderCare teachers and friends when he starts Kindergarten in the fall, but I am sure that his experiences at KinderCare will enable a smooth transition to Kindergarten in the fall. He is very well prepared to face new challenges and meet new teachers and friends. I would be happy to discuss our experiences at KinderCare with any parents considering placing their children there. Thanks again for providing such a warm and stimulating environment for our son.

“ It is our great pleasure to write about our experience with University City KinderCare. Our daughter has been learning full-day, five days a week in the infant class since February 2012 when she was five months old. Based on the four months of experience with University City KinderCare, we highly recommend the center to those parents who are looking for a responsible, loving, and quality care provider in La Jolla/UTC areas. First of all, we are happy with KinderCare because our daughter looks happy with them. Every morning when we drop her off at the center, teachers give us friendly greetings, and my daughter smiles back to them. We regard this as a sign that she receives loving care at the center. Caring infants requires energy, patience, and skills. We believe that it can only be achieved at high levels based on love to children, and that it is what all the cares given at the center stem from. It is worth noting that since she started to come to the class she has been learning from the same teachers. This not only allows her to be familiar with and to trust the teachers, but also allows them to know her well enough to offer personalized care. Second, we like their flexibility on the curriculum. Every family and child is different, especially when a child is young. Therefore, their ability to accommodate a wide range of drop-off and pick-up times, meal plans, sleeping schedules, and so on, is invaluable. Teachers here strive to find the best solution for every child so that each child enjoys comfortable and enriching days for his/her development. They pay careful attention to our daughter, have good knowledge about child health care, and are always happy to tell us how our daughter spent her day. Because she is our first child, their suggestions as well as their openness to our requests and concerns have been particularly helpful for us. Overall, we feel that our daughter is in a safe, healthy, and joyful environment.

“ Our son has been at KinderCare since he was three-and-a-half years old. He is now in Kindergarten and we use KinderCare for before- and after-school care. Carter loves the site and the staff. I have been very impressed with the daily homework help. Carter is thriving.

“ My memories of this place are blurry pictures associated with happy feelings. I went to KinderCare in the early 2010s. I am writing this now as a 21 year old in Art School researching for a project about growing up. I feel an intense amount of nostalgia when I drive past this place on my way to Middle School, High School, to now just living as an adult in San Diego. From looking at the classroom photographs online although they are new I still feel and remember the joy I felt in this place. I remember my teachers Mr. Nick & Mrs. Daniella. I remember the blue grey snack carts rolling in and how much I loved the juice. I remember the fun holiday events like graham cracker gingerbread houses. I can smell the cardboard plastic of the game Sorry! my friend and I would play. I also remember the rubbery smell of the buses. I remember watching the muppets and the road to el dorado on the old school rolling cctv. I remember the one computer we had and played this drawing game on for hours. I remember the kitchen for the brief moment we were allowed in to see. I also remember sitting in the office playing cool math games on the computer because I was dropped off way early before the classroom was opened for older kids. I remember putting on talent shows and playing basketball HORSE in the playground. Overall I have many great memories here filled with joy and laughter.