Feedback on Hearts Leap & HL Beginnings for active 1-year old?
Hello! We are considering sending our 1-year old to Hearts Leap Beginnings in the fall and would love to hear more updated feedback on Hearts Leap Beginnings. We are deciding between keeping her with a nanny for next year versus transitioning into daycare, so any feedback on making that decision in general also is welcome (she is a super active, somewhat demanding, and very outgoing toddler and we think she might thrive in a bigger community). We're also open to hearing experiences with Hearts Leap preschool program, since we would likely keep her there through preschool.
I'm especially interested in your experiences with the teachers, the space itself (especially outdoor space/time, since she is used to spending lots of time at the park), and anything else you might think is useful. There are some great reviews but none are recent, so we'd love to hear more recent experiences.
Thanks!
Parent Replies
Both my kids attended HLB starting around 1 (and continued on to the preschool). HLB was a really good experience for my older kid, and fantastic for my younger one (last year and the year before). The teachers were just so thoughtful, kind, really present and dedicated and good at what they did—sometimes I wished I could just hang out and learn from them. :) A couple of the specific teachers who wowed me are no longer there (I think one started her own school), but the director is the same, and I would have a lot of confidence in the people she chooses. I think the school has a great institutional culture going—heart firmly in the right place, and so much accumulated knowledge and skill. (I remember chatting with one of the directors who said one reason they started HLB was so the preschool’s teachers would have a high-quality place to send their own babies. She said they thought, “let’s show people what emergent curriculum can be!”) Each year they try to have one of the teachers move up with the kids to their next classroom, which was great for my kids.
The spaces are really nice, with high-quality and well-thought-out materials and things to explore. The outside space and the Willow room might be considered on the smaller side. That said, there was always lots to do outside (I remember sand, a platform to climb up to around a big tree, a couple low swings, and rotating things like art and sensory tables and things to roll or push around). They would also take the kids in small groups to play in the dance studios downstairs, or go for walks or visit the nearby park. The Aspen room (for the older toddlers) feels quite spacious.
Good luck, hope this helps!
If you like the nanny, then I would stick with the nanny. There's pretty decent early childhood research to back up the idea that for toddlers under ~2.5, their primary socialization is other adults, not other kids. Toddlers at this age have not really learned, let alone mastered, skills like sharing, taking turns, etc, and then benefit from an adult being there to reinforce those concepts. They also benefit from lots of direct adult interaction - someone who is talking with them, observing their activity and describing it, observing their emotions and naming them and helping to comfort them, etc. That just can't happen at the same level with group care for a child who is so young. If your nanny is taking your daughter to the park daily and for a good stretch of time (where they are almost certainly seeing other nannies and kids) and going to other free group activities in town, then she is almost certainly getting the developmentally appropriate amount of socialization for her age.
That's not to say that group care is inherently bad, and many people need to use it. However, if you have the choice, I would stick with the nanny, who will likely provide more developmentally appropriate care until your daughter is a bit older and can start preschool.
We had a really wonderful experience at HLB with our older kid a few years ago. We started in the Willow room and moved on to the Aspen room. We loved all the teachers and our kid thrived. He got a lot of one-on-one attention from his primary teacher, but also enjoyed playing in the larger group setting. The kids spend a lot of time outdoors, and also go on walks around the neighborhood. The administration is also great and very responsive. Overall, its a really wonderful community and we still keep in touch with some friends we made at HLB. We ultimately switched to a different school for preschool but that was entirely due to things (like school hours, school holidays, etc.) that were more convenient for us. We were very sad to say goodbye to HLB!
Hi, for the parent who posted about the benefit of early childhood benefit of adult interaction, do you know what age that cutoff is (is it 2.5 or later?). Do you have any links to research? and perhaps if this age cutoff differs for neurodivergent kids? Trying to make a similar decision for my 3.5 yr old autistic child, thank you (hope it is ok to reply to this post this way)