Books And Rattles

My son is very well cared for and loved and on several occasions the teachers talked about him being “hungry” as if I wasn’t feeding him, despite the fact that on one occasion the staff let my one year old go from 12pm to 5:30pm with only crackers and oranges and not because he refused the food but just because they did not try to give him a meal. This last thing was by far the worst, when I picked my son up I noticed that the way he pronounced mommy was in a way that might indicate that he was having a hearing problem. I took him home and mulled over it before deciding I would reach out to his teacher about if she too noticed what I had. I texted her asking if she’d noticed if the way he was learning to pronounce things might be like a child that was experiencing a hearing problem and just being vulnerable about the ring incident letting her know that being a black single mom can be a challenge and that she could text me about things so I did not have to mull over anything I’d noticed around or concerning Naasir … AND instead of Heaven(this particular teacher) responding at her earliest convenience about if she noticed if my baby might be having a hearing issue, she had Stella( flippant Director) say “don’t text my staff that late. Side note, it was late but it was after I had decided to ask and didn’t want it to slip my mind as I was deciding if a hearing test was necessary for my baby. This particular teacher had already been texting me and let me know that she prefers to communicate via text with the parents in her class. I let Stella know that I did not have to text that teacher ever again and reiterated my question when she hung up on me. I then emailed my question and when I did not get a response a day or two later I called and let the staff know that they needed to pack my sons things up because he would no longer be going to Booked and Rattles. The next day another staff director Joanne called me to apologize and offer an screening for my son and at no point in the conversation did she answer my question about his teacher observations and she also did not invite me to be present for screening. I thought about it over the weekend and decided that it was not in my nor my sons best interest for him to continue with Books & Rattles and I let her know that there is a lack of diversity and I think it attributed to how they treated me one of two black mothers in the entire school. She made a general statement about their diversity and then when I picked up my sons things. They didn’t back his wipes and his wipes holder with them. They also did not start sending home my son’s daily reports until the week before I decided it was time to find another daycare option for him. If you are considering enrolling your child with a books & Rattles here are some of my experiences you can consider. (Part 2)

I was really excited because the teachers that were with the class my son’s age were warm and seemed to be really loving with the two toddlers they were with. The front desk staff was more welcoming than the previous school I had been vetting to have my son attend. I was eager to get him started and when I let them know I wanted to move forward with him attending they highlighted to me that he would need to get a flu vaccine for the season saying that it was a “requirement” from the department of education. After reading a little closer I found that it was a not a DOE requirement but a suggestion, so I highlighted that detail to them and let them know that was no problem and I would bring the paperwork back as soon as I could get him an appointment. I returned a few days later with all the required documents. A few hours after dropping off the documents the front desk girl at the time Ariel calls me and says “you didn’t give me the paperwork when you came.” And since that was the whole point of my trip to the school and I had spent 5 consecutive days at the voucher office getting my child care voucher transferred it was insulting for her to lie after I personally had handed her the paper. Luckily for me I’d made a copy of the paperwork and after letting her know that she could not lie to me and that she could just say that she misplaced the paperwork that I would be happy to email her a copy. Once he was fully enrolled there were other occurrences that made me uncomfortable and ultimately made me decide to take him out of books and rattles for a different daycare option. A month after he started there was a school picture day where I worked hard to pull the funds together from family members so he could take his first school photos and after dropping off the money order in the designated envelope indicating which package we were getting I got a call the next day from the other front desk person, Rebecca saying that they had not recieved his picture day package and did not take photos of him. When I sent them a copy of the Reciept and let them know that I handed them the packet on picture day myself, the director Stella who had already been dismissive of me made a comment “the photographer is my friend if we didn’t take your sons photos I will just have him come back and take another of him.” But the package we ordered included a class group photo which could not be retaken. As a parent picture day prep, from choosing the right outfit to making sure my one year old was well slept and picture day ready was not just we can call him back and retake them thing. A day later they called and apologized and said they did take his photos. When we got the photos they chase the one where my son looked like he was on the verge of crying and in the class photo my one year old who is the only black child in his class was the only infant without a teacher next to him. When I asked why I wasn’t given the proofs to choose which one I’d liked best, they said “we don’t give proofs.” There were several times when I would pick Naasir up and they had been feeding him from other kids sippy cups instead of the ones I brought and left there for him. They told me they’d run out of diapers for him and had not, they were just in. Another kids cubby. They were using diaper rash cream on him when he did not have diaper rash, just because I’d left one there for him. When I picked him up once one of the teachers had stuck her fake eyelash on the inside of my one year old back pack. Despite having an overflow of diapers I’d provided I picked him up and found that they had put another kids diapers on him and when I asked about it they said there was “nothing in his cubby” despite me having left him with everything he might need for school and more. One of the teachers was flashing an engagement ring at me and when I asked her about it she corrected me and said she wasn’t engaged and I realized the ring she had recently began wearing was not on her wedding finger. However, the gesture she made was without a doubt a microaggression. (Part 1)

I would like to write a respectful comment to set a few things straight regarding some of the negative comments posted about Books and Rattles Preschool. Children are not served tap water to drink. Individual servings of mini bottled water are delivered weekly so each child has a personalized bottle of water. Teachers receive supervision and are required to attend professional development and training in "Best Practice" for Early Childhood. Supplies are ordered monthly so there is ample supplies. Books and Rattles is devoted to the growth of children's cognitive, physical and social/emotional development.

Books and Rattles has a philosophy to treat every child as if they were their own. The staff is loving nurturing and responsive to all parents. All staff receive ongoing staff development and early childhood initiatives to develop our preschool population. Children learn how to thrive in their environment

My daughter has been in the daycare since she was about 4 months, the infant room teachers have always been amazing with my daughter, they take care of her really well and always keep me informed of how she does. Teachers and staff that I have met in the daycare have always made us feel welcome and safe. I am definitely very happy with my decision to have my daughter in this daycare.