REVIEW OF The Learning Nest Academy - North York BY parent, Valentin Sotov

(5) Student Experience

I think the best part about the daycare is the educators. My child was surrounded by so much attention and care, and that made all the difference. It took less than a week for my daughter to get used to the daycare, and since then she has always been happy to go. The bulk of the educators stayed the same through out our time at Learning Nest Academy, so my daughter was cared by the same team and it was great to see. I like the huge amount of safe space that the daycare provides. My daughter couldn't crawl at first, but once she did, I could see her utilizing the entire space that was provided to her. I like that the children ate together and played together, and there was a big effort to make sure that everyone was involved.

Why The Learning Nest Academy - North York?

At first, it was the only daycare that had availability to take our daughter. Later on, we did receive offers from other daycares, but ultimately the location was fairly nice for us to commute to, and we had gotten used to the space and educators. I specifically liked that the infant room was not in some basement like in many other daycares, but had a lot of light and a lot of space for the little ones to explore.

Expectations vs. Reality

Overall, Learning Nest Academy exceeded all of my expectations. My daughter was cared for; she slept well and ate well, and I felt safe leaving her at daycare every single time.

Your Advice

I honestly have little to offer; I think the daycare is great. The educators are amazing; I like that we have access to the cameras, and I like the space. The only downside is that it's not CWELC-approved and thus fairly expensive.

(5) School Leadership

Again, I think the leadership and administration are great. Everything was communicated effectively; whatever question we had was answered immediately. Administrators knew us by name, and we felt like there was a nice human element to it; we were not just treated as paying customers. In fact, we had some issues with the new daycare where our start date was delayed, and Learning Nest Academy really worked with us to keep our daughter for an extra month, which saved us a lot of trouble.

(5) Teaching

Teachers are the best part of the daycare. The majority of teachers stayed the same throughout our time at Nest Academy, so our daughter was always cared for by the same people, which is really important. Teachers had gotten to know my daughter and knew her schedule. It was nice to receive photos on a daily basis, and every time I looked at the camera, I saw that my daughter was cared for. She was always happy and smiling; she slept better at daycare than she did at home, and overall I felt like teachers really got in tune with my daughter's needs. Whatever request I had (nap timing, eating habits, or whatever) was accommodated really quickly. I don't think there is a way to top what's already in place.

(5) Academics

My daughter is only a year old, so it's tough to say exactly how much she is benefiting from Academic culture. That being said, I do like the fact that Nest Academy has a philosophy and an approach chosen for kids to adhere to. I think it's good to have a structure from a young age, and teachers did a lot to make sure kids thrive. I like that there was an emphasis on STEM; I like that the kids draw and look at photographs. I like that there is a tank that sometimes is filled with water, sometimes with sand and other stuff, and kids get to explore different textures and play with different toys. I don't think we could replicate any of that at home.

(5) Extracurriculars

My daughter could barely sit by herself when she entered the Nest Academy, and now, five months later, she is almost walking. Again, as an infant, it's hard to say exactly what kinds of extracurriculars could be offered for her, but in general, I am confident that my daughter has benefited a lot from going to daycare. She is a social baby and a well-rounded student.

(5) Students

She is 1 year old, so they don't really interact too much. But I saw a real effort from the teachers to make sure that everyone is involved. I like the fact that all students eat together using their little tables; I like the fact that everyone is playing together or at least near each other. Again, all of them are really young, so there is no real interaction between students yet, but I do believe that there is a certain social culture that babies are involved in, and they seem to be doing quite well. Not to say that there are no incidents, but it's just babies being babies. Overall, I like the atmosphere that was created by Nest Academy, and my daughter really thrived in it.

(5) School Life

It took my daughter about a week to get used to being dropped off at daycare. I actually was a little bit worried, because she was going through a "stranger-danger" phase during that time. But all the teachers are really professionals with a lot of experience caring for young children, and it really shows. Even from the very first day, I could see that my daughter was very active; she slept well and ate well. And honestly, I don't really think there is much else I could hope for. Teachers always give me feedback on how my daughter was doing at daycare and how her day was. You guys are doing great. I don't think I can offer any other insights on this particular matter.

(5) Community

Nest Academy did a really nice job of involving parents. For a lot of the holidays, kids are making crafts to take home, and as a parent, it's really nice to receive something like that. On Mother's Day and Father's Day, there are breakfasts and kind of get-togethers for parents to take part in. I'll be honest, because I work downtown, I never had time to participate in any of those, but I did appreciate the gesture. I like that there was a photographer on site to take pictures during those holidays, and I do like the fact that now you can get a coffee after a drop-off. I think those are really good ideas, and it really feels like daycare is going an extra mile for us parents.

(5) School Location

The location is nice as it's on a subway station. I don't think there is much around it. I know there is a music school for kids nearby, but again, our daughter is too young for now to do any of that. I like the outdoor part of the daycare, and it's utilized a lot. Our kid loves being outside, and I felt like it was important to spend a lot of time there.

(4.5) Admissions

Everything was really straightforward. That being said, we didn't know if we got the spot until we toured the facilities. I think it would be nice to issue a waiting list number or something like that. Back at the beginning, we were scrambling to find a daycare and if we knew beforehand that the space was available or that we were at least close to getting it, that would eliminate a lot of stress on our part. But I also understand that the situation with daycares is complex, and it's not always straightforward who is getting a spot and when.