Seed Of Life/Early Learn/Pres

My son started childcare at Seed of Life after being with my mom for the first year and a half of his life. As my first child, and him being with his Nani for so long, I was extremely nervous about putting him in a center. We actually tried another place first because it seemed more cost effective, and honestly that was a big mistake. Every day when we picked him up he looked like he had been crying all day and just wasn’t himself. It broke my heart. Someone recommended Seed of Life to us, partly because it was in a good location between home and work, but also because it’s Black-owned, which was really important to me. The transition wasn’t easy at first, but after about a week it felt like my son was back with another “Nani.” Teacher Azbeebe showed him so much love and patience, and he quickly became happy and comfortable again. When I got pregnant with Imani, there was never any question about childcare — we already knew Seed of Life was the plan. When my daughter started around four months old, and right away Teacher Angelina was amazing. As a working mom, getting little pictures of her during the day meant everything. As a breastfeeding mom, they also made it super easy to bring pumped, frozen milk each day without any stress. Now almost four years later, my daughter has the same teacher her brother had. When they see my son, it’s always hugs, because at this point we really feel like family. I’m so grateful to Seed of Life for the love, consistency, and care they’ve shown both of my kids. I honestly can’t imagine our journey without them. Thank you SOL for being that reassurance parent need ❤️

Our son went to Seed of Life for the past four years, and it’s been such a special place for him. We first chose SOL because it was convenient, but what kept us there were the teachers. Many of them have been there for a long time and I appreciated the consistency and near zero turnover while we were there. They are kind and nurturing, but also really focused on helping the kids learn and get ready for what’s next. Our son was always happy there and picked up so much—sometimes even ahead of what we were teaching at home (letters, potty training, you name it). The monthly field trips were a huge highlight too—he loved those experiences. Communication wasn’t always the most consistent and toward the end of his time there Elliott complained about nap time (he had trouble napping at a 4/5 year old), but we never doubted that he was safe and cared for. we’d definitely recommend it to other families.

⚠️⚠️⚠️My daughter has been attending seed of life for 2 years. At the beginning there was issues although a lot of it was suspicion and so there for not acted on. I had my daughter's licensed therapist sit in on a class there were she told me "your daughter did her best given that she didn't have any adult guidance" she informed me the only time she saw an adult step into a social situation was when a child was crying. She said there was multiple situations of bullying going on where the teachers did nothing. I brought this up to administration and there response was "we let the children figure things out for themselves" "it's a child ran classroom". When I informed them that my child needs structure and guidance and can't figure everything out for herself she recanted what she just said and tried to say that's not what she said. Very unprofessional environment. I pulled my kid out the same day as the conversation I had with the office. I no longer felt like me or my child was safe there.

We've had our children with SOL since 2014 and couldn't be happier. The administration and staff are all attentive, caring, and responsive to our kids needs (and our questions!). There is plenty of fun and games, but also a nationally accredited curriculum--I'm consistently impressed with what my kids are learning. The teachers have become like family--we will truly miss SOL when its time to move on!

*ABLEIST OWNER* *READ 1-STAR REVIEWS* *DONT TRUST THEM WITH YOUR CHILDREN* before i share what happened, i want to accept accountability and share that i made the mistake of pulling into the parking lot of this early learning center without knowing it was a dedicated lot and staying there for approx. 5 minutes. for additional context, i had just finished the school run picking up my 2 nephews with my sister and she needed to stop at the BECU next door for a moment. its also important to note that my sister is differently abled and uses a disability placard when necessary. an individual came out of the center and asked me to move my car closer to BECU and i agreed and told them i would. i then tried to reach out to my sister to let her know that i would be parked in a new location, come to find out my sister left her phone in the car. so i made the decision to stay parked there because i was unable to reach my sister, and also it was raining and i had my 2 nephews in the car so i cant just run into the bank and let her know. the same individual from before came out and i explained my mistake to them and explained the circumstances (sister is differently abled, i wasn't able to reach her, couldn’t park and go get her because i had my nephews with me) and they were extremely curt with me, and told me that they saw my sister get out of the car and that she didn’t look differently abled!! i was shocked they would say something so clearly discriminatory, being in the childcare profession. they then told me “i’m the owner, i can lock you in here (meaning in the lot) and have you towed.” which was extremely hostile and scared my nephew. i was not looking to communicate with this individual any longer after learning what kind of character they possessed. so we left and found a new area to park that was also not very good but it had to suffice in that moment. parking issues aside — i have a number of differently abled folks in my family, from grandparents to kids. and i want to share my experience so that anyone reading these reviews knows what the owner of this business is like and how they handle sensitive needs around accommodation. in a moment where they saw a carload of individuals who could’ve benefited from some compassion and understanding — they chose the route of ableism, and defended their parking spaces that they owns. i want to be clear that it was well within their rights to demand that we move. but the callousness and lack of understanding that they displayed over 1 parking space tells me that this is not a person that i would ever entrust my child’s care with. and if you value taking your kids somewhere with an emphatic staff, steer clear of this business. i’m open to hearing from the owner to better understand their perspective, but if i dont hear from them by Friday (10/6/2023) I will share my personal experience with Seed of Life LLC’s community partners to ensure that they are well informed about how the owner conducts themselves privately, and handles miscommunication.