Kindercare 534 Northgate

This review is based off the tour I that I took. Upon entering I was not greeted, there were teachers milling about but no one said anything. When the assistant director approached she did not introduce herself, just asked what I was there for to which I said a tour. She handed me a question form and said it may be a minute. I filled it out and waited. When she approached again, no introduction. I asked who she was and she then told me her name and role stating she doesn’t often introduce herself. It was off putting but through the tour she was kind. The infant room concerned me as diapers are changed every tour hours unless poopy which is normal, but when asked what if the diaper has the blue line indicator or feels full I was told regardless they will wait. I’d rather my child not sit in a soiled diaper. Following this when asking about their licensing information, which was not clearly displayed, I was told “we have a number to call” I asked if they had their license ID number, again as it must be displayed and the director shouted very rudely from the office they only have a generic number. Having worked in this field for over a decade I know they an ID number and hiding it is a red flag. In terms of tuition the infant rate is $3,020 per month with diapers and wipes not provided by school. I was told it increases annually but they don’t often provide much notice to parents prior.

We had 3 children attend Northgate kinder care, all three started at about 4-6 months old. Our oldest was 4 when we moved across the country, and our younger twins were 1.5. Our experience was overwhelmingly positive. The leadership of Jenny gave us confidence that if any issues or conflicts were to arise, she would handle them properly and keep everyone safe and happy. Then, the teachers were extremely caring and invested in our children. As our oldest went from classroom to classroom, her previous teachers were always interested in saying hello to her and showing her love and support. Specifically, Ms. Rahel in the infant class was so great to all of our girls, Ms Laila in toddler class was always there to give a hug for our oldest, Ms Samira started working on the same day our twins started, and she had an obvious bond with them, Ms Katie and Ms Maddie in psb really made our oldest love coming to school every day, and Ms Tay, who always welcomed us at the front door with a huge smile. The hardest part of our decision to move away from Seattle was leaving behind this network of people who cared so deeply for our kids. I highly recommend this place for childcare because of their director, and compassionate, caring teachers.

We wanted to share our appreciation for Ms Rahel (and the other misses). Our little boy has only been going to KinderCare for a month, but he already loves Ms Rahel. She is always sending us pictures and videos that show us how he is doing, and we can see it in his face how comfortable and happy he is there. She talks to him, describes the things he's playing with, encourages play with other kids. We're really excited to see how our baby keeps growing there. She is also extremely nice to us. Dropping him off is always tough but made much better by greeting Ms Rahel in the morning and knowing he’ll get to spend another awesome day with her. An additional big thank-you to Ms Jenny and Ms Tay, who were the first we met at KinderCare and made everything super simple and easy for us. Thanks for all you do Ms Rahel, Ms Jenny, Ms Tay, and to everyone at KinderCare Northgate, we are super happy with our decision.

Pros: warm teachers who truly care about the kids, schedule is great for working parents, lovely outdoor space. We love seeing in the app how our girl is absolutely having a blast with story time, arts and crafts, outdoor playtime. The classrooms are diverse with many kids and teachers who speak different languages at home. During the summer the kids had so many awesome activities like Firemen visiting, yoga, a magician, playing with water. There was even a carnival that parents could come to, super fun! 🤩 Cons: this applies to any Kindercare location (I was in Kindercare when I was a kid as well), the food is prepared by an onsite cook but (in our opinion) the quality of ingredients could be better. As a kid I even remember how a lot of the fruits/veggies were previously frozen (ex: steamed green beans) or canned fruits. We would pay extra for better quality food if we could. Like with many daycares, aligning on potty training can be a challenge. We’ve had great open conversations with the teachers but hard to potty train the kids if they can’t use the bathroom easily once they are outside. Teachers have done a great job with encouraging our girl to use the bathroom inside, but outside potty training is a challenge.

My children both attended Northgate KinderCare from 8 weeks old to 5 years old. We loved the staff and management at the center and felt like our children were well taken care of. The teachers were attentive and kind, and our children formed great relationships with them. Our children were always happy to go to school in the morning, and excited to tell us about their day when we picked them up. If you are looking for a center with caring staff who will prepare your children both socially and academically for elementary school, I definitely recommend Northgate KinderCare.