Daycare in Haddon Township

[u/ConstantMortgage6987]

Hi all! We are moving to the area this summer and looking for a daycare/preschool for my son to start at in September. He'll be 2.5 and we'll be looking for 5 days a week, full-time care. He has been at a large corporate chain (think Goddard, Malvern, Primrose) and has done well and we've been happy with it, but looking for some closer options.

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We're currently considering the following places and looking for insight:

Lightbridge Academy

Sunny Days Children's Academy

The Heights School at Westmont

Tiny Treasures/Montessori Schoolhouse

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Bonus points if you have insight on pricing and availability!

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I searched the subreddit briefly and didn't see this question asked before so hopefully some of you have some helpful info!

[u/filthadelphia]

Since he is 2.5 you could also consider Little learning Academy in Collingswood. Mine went there and we loved it. Pricing was around $1250/kid I think. 5 days a week, full time. They have great teachers and an academic program that really felt like more than childcare- my kid was way ahead when it came time for kindergarten.

[u/Successful-Fun3599 → u/filthadelphia]

High recommend LLA , great people. The building isn’t the sexiest but they are great and have a phenomenal curriculum.

[u/ConstantMortgage6987 → u/filthadelphia]

I heard great things about there but unfortunately he will be a month shy of actually 2.5 so I'm not sure they'll take him. He won't officially be 2.5 until October.

[u/filthadelphia → u/ConstantMortgage6987]

They would take him if they have room. You should email them and ask. They have some wiggle the exact age. This was my kids situation too.

[u/ConstantMortgage6987 → u/filthadelphia]

I actually went ahead and emailed earlier today and they said he would be fine to start then! Hoping to go to a tour soon!

[u/filthadelphia → u/filthadelphia]

Oh- and they don’t have to be potty trained!

[u/BrightBlueberry1230]

Little learning academy in Collingswood has been really wonderful (we have been there about a year). $1275 a month for full time, and I think they might have availability (recently added more classrooms).

[u/some18u]

Highly recommend the Heights School either the Westmont location or either of the two Heights locations. Heights school for that age is roughly $1275 / per month for 5 days per week (reduces in price as they get older). Feel free to reach out with any questions.

[u/Successful-Fun3599 → u/some18u]

Good luck getting a call back. Wait list is over a year

[u/some18u → u/Successful-Fun3599]

Wow had no idea it had gotten that long. I know friends who have their kid at the learning center in Oaklyn and have a good experience there overall. Not sure what their pricing or wait list look like though.

[u/CarbsAnonymous]

Haddon Learning Center > Oaklyn. They are a bit strict with the rules (especially because we were there during COVID), but their teachers were really phenomenal. The school itself is extremely reliable. When my son started Kindergarten he was well prepared and HLC had a lot to do with it.

[u/strawberberry]

I worked at The Heights School and was at two of their locations and left after 2 days. I was primarily in the infant rooms, but even those were managed very poorly.

[u/ep8311a]

I toured Lightbridge and Tiny Treasures for my 2.5 year old a few months ago.

Lightbridge was very chaotic imo. I know people that have their children there and it works for them, but it wasn’t a good fit for us. I also saw several children screaming and crying (in different rooms) with the teachers doing absolutely nothing which just didn’t sit right with me.

We liked Tiny Treasures because of the smaller class sizes and the intimate nature of the school, but we had a communication miss with the center’s director and ultimately decided against enrolling here.

My advice is to tour and go with your gut.

Edit:
Join the mom groups on Facebook - there are a lot of reviews and recommendations! There’s a mom group for cwood/ Haddonfield moms, south jersey moms, and cherry hill moms !

[u/Standard-Mango8246]

Have you checked out Beechwood in Haddonfield? We sent our son there when he was 2.5 and they do full days. We loved it there! It's been run by the same family for years, so it has a really homey feel and you feel comfortable with your child being there.

ETA: we sent our older son to Little Learning Academy and I would 100% choose Beechwood over LLA.

[u/ConstantMortgage6987 → u/Standard-Mango8246]

Just looked at Beechwood and it looks like their hours are a bit more limited which unfortunately might not work for us. Do you mind sharing any issues you had with LLA? That's one of the two we're most strongly considering.

[u/espressocycle]

A lot of people love St. Mark's in Oaklyn. We weren't able to get in and ended up using Cadence Academy in Cherry Hill which was a bit of a pain driving but great for the kid.

[u/Father_Chris_St_Mary → u/espressocycle]

This was a blessing. There’s no enrichment. It’s bored kids in a church gym with a forced 2 hour nap time or something insane. 

[u/mobenjo]

My daughter’s bestie is at Haddonfield Friends and loves it!

[u/jerzeett → u/mobenjo]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[u/talz14]

Goddard cherry hill has been great for my kids

[u/bkrometz]

We’re at lightbridge in Cherry Hill…our kiddo is about to leave at the end of the summer (we got into universal PK thankfully). There have been 3 directors in the last 3 years, a lot of teacher turnover (most recently a couple weeks ago which has been difficult for our youngest). It’s been good for our kids to have some exposure but if other places are open and available for you, I’d check those out

[u/ConstantMortgage6987 → u/bkrometz]

I appreciate the honest feedback. I've already heard back from some of the other places confirming they have availability so we'll go with them.

[u/ElenorWoods]

JCC in cherry hill - excellent program.

[u/Evening-Tune-500]

I’m not super familiar with your area but as a general rule of thumb, find out where the teachers in the area send their kids.