Blakemore Children'S Center

As parents and educators with a combined 25 years of teaching experience, we embarked on the journey of sending our son to Blakemore for ten months. However, our experience during this time was disappointing. For the initial six months, we felt a significant void in communication with the school and his teachers regarding our son's progress and well-being. Feeling the need to bridge this communication gap, we reached out to the school to schedule a meeting. During this meeting, to our surprise, we were informed that our three-year-old son was deemed a significant concern, and we were advised to seek professional help. We followed this advice by consulting with various therapists and doctors, all of whom disagreed with the school's assessment, deeming it unfounded. We then communicated our disagreement with the school's diagnosis, only to be met with a startling response – they claimed they "don't listen to doctors." This exchange was understandably disheartening, leaving us in a perplexing situation. Despite these challenges, we persisted in our efforts to understand our son's experience at the school and sought information that would enable us to support him effectively. Unfortunately, our requests for updates and insights about his progress and interactions at the school were repeatedly met with stonewalling and a lack of cooperation. Another consideration is the size of the Blakemore building - it is quite small, when it rains or is cold all the children are contained in a very small space for a long time. Our initial excitement at securing a place for our son at Blakemore was overshadowed by the manner in which he was treated each morning, the quality of communication we received, and the overall professionalism we encountered. Despite these difficulties, it is important to acknowledge that there are some dedicated and caring teachers at Blakemore who have made a positive impact on our son.

If you're looking for a unique, creative, and loving environment for your children, Blakemore is it! Both of my children have attended Blakemore. My oldest child started when he was 3 months old, and he just finished Kindergarten. He was incredibly prepared for school because of Blakemore - academically, socially, and emotionally. I also love the multi-age classrooms. The younger kids learn so much from interacting with older friends. As the smaller kids grow and become the "older friends," they learn leadership, empathy, and responsibility. The play-based learning is incredibly conducive to early childhood education. There are no workbook pages, coloring inside the lines, or screens - the children learn math, science, reading, and social skills through hands-on activities (cooking, nature walks, art projects, water play, pretend play, music, etc.). During our time at Blakemore, the kids have gone on a field trip to the Frist Center to see the Eric Carle exhibit, had a scavenger hunt at the Farmer's Market, and attended a play at the Nashville Children's Theatre. The teachers at Blakemore have loved my children as if they were their own. When my son left for Kindergarten, his teachers made a scrapbook of his time at Blakemore filled with photos of him, sweet messages, and his artwork - my heart swelled! We love Blakemore, and we're very thankful for all they've done for our kids and our family!