Little Marvels Early Childhood School

We have been part of the Little Marvels family for over 3.5 years. We explored MANY childcare options before having our first daughter almost 4 years ago and nothing felt quite right until we walked into Little Marvels. When we were expecting our second daughter almost 2 years ago we completely re-evaluated our childcare options going on tours of other facilities closer to our home and interviewing nannies but nothing compared to the experience that we had at Little Marvels. We value that this is a sole proprietorship as the owner/director is on-site daily and puts her heart and soul into the business. Management knows every parent and child by name and has open communication. I trust that they not only have my daughters' best interests in mind from a health and safety perspective but they ensure that they are surrounded by developmentally appropriate activities to engage in. We are sad to be moving out of the city and losing the great care that Little Marvels has to offer.

Little Marvels is our kids' second home. We have been there for over 2.5 years now and have 2 children attending the school. We have experienced all classes from Infants through Pre-K and have had a fantastic experience at every level. I love that it's a family-run business with a goal of feeling like an extension of your own family. The teachers are genuine and care so strongly for my (and other) children. On top of that, there is no shortage of engaging activities - music, yoga, drama, soccer, Spanish, etc. (which means I don't feel as guilty about the lack of extra-curricular activities!) My kids are as happy arriving at school as they are when I pick them up - which is as comforting a sign a parent can get! I could go on and on about how much I love Little Marvels. Working mom guilt is real, but Little Marvels eases that feeling immensely by providing such a warm, loving environment. I can't recommend them strongly enough to any parent looking to find that special place to care for their child.

We love Little Marvels. Our daughter is going now for almost three years and she is excited every day. Even during family vacations she talks about Little Marvels and how much she likes her teachers and friends. It is a family business and they make the kids part of theirs- caring, loving and learning. We are amazed by how much she learned and we can objectively judge: at home we don't speak English but she speaks, sings, counts in English and surprises us with all the things she knows. So we know she learned it at Little Marvels. I recommend it to everyone!

First let me start this review with the ONE positive experience we have had at Little Marvels. My son started at Little Marvels at 7 months old and he is now turning 3. All of the teachers we have had from Infants 2, Toddlers, and 2 year old rooms have been spectacular. The bottom line is the issue of the "bait and switch" tactics that both my husband and i feel was used to get us in the door. The 16% increase of 2 years, coupled with the fact it did not add the promised programs listed on the website (gymnastics and foreign language). I also received information from the staff members that they did not receive any pay increases, which was one of the reasons given for the 2 large increases. The declining leadership of Little Marvels is evident by the way the business has been run since first opening in May of 2013. In the first year Little Marvels opened the price point for the infants 2's room was about 13% less than the average daycare. After 10 months there, my son moved to the toddler room where the rate went down by 6% like it is supposed to. The first tuition increase of 10% or $100 per month when the average is 2-3%. The late night note came with a detailed explanation as to what warranted the increase. 12 months later we received another yearly increase for 6%. Which is over the 2-3% Illinois average. When I questioned the Finance Manager Michael about what this large increase was for I received a form letter saying it was for curriculum, teachers etc. I know from other parents we all received the SAME letter no matter what the questions were. The response was not only aggressive towards us but, basically the "take it or leave it attitude". I know that Michael's comments are false as the teacher turnover is worse than any other place I've seen. I also know from the staff they never received any pay raises from either increase like management said they would. Also, the Little Marvels has had 3 different front desk people in the 2 and a half years we have been there. The average life span of a Little Marvels teacher is about a year or maybe a little more, but no more than 2 years. They leave to extremely low pay and no benefits. In short Little Marvels has become a training ground and then the teachers all leave for better opportunities or a better working environment. Lastly, I have found Micheal to be combative, condescending, and dismissive to any concerns I brought up. The Director Daniela seems to not want to deal with any conflict now that her school is currently full. She is in charge of the curriculum and the enrollment at Little Marvels. Curriculum wise LM is great up until 2 years old. In the last month of our enrollment at LM I found that the management was trying way to hard to be involved with the children and parents. I found it to be to little to late.While we did enjoy our time at LM's until the 2nd increase. The reason we left is there is no consistent pricing when it comes to increases, large teacher turnover and the lack of follow through with programs promised. I would caution anyone to go to this school based on the very inconsistent and large rate increases and lack of urgency from the leadership when a question is raised on their business practices. The management is very good at trying to turn it back on the parent to say you are the only one with a issue with this. Even when you come with statistics they will still say you are incorrect and they are on par with other daycares. We moved to a different daycare that is slightly more expensive, but they offer way more programs and their school turns into a camp in the summer.

We recently left Little Marvels due to a move and miss it like crazy! The staff was incredible, and we saw so much growth, development and (most importantly) happiness in our daughter in the time that she was there. I have no complaints, and recommend it highly.