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.

This review is based on my experience with visiting various daycare centers and ultimately why I decided to NOT send my child to Little Marvels.I had heard from a few people of which daycare centers I should check out in the Lakeview area. Since I was still undecided, I checked out several and put down deposits. I wanted to make sure that I had secured a daycare by the time my daughter was 3 months old.When I went to check out Little Marvels, I liked the facility and thought since it was rather new, it was a possibility. That was until I heard I had to put down a full months tuition as a deposit! Thats $1850! And it wasnt refundable if I chose not to go! That alone seemed like a bad sign.When I did ask about the teachers qualifications, I was also disappointed with the answers I received. It seemed that basically they were picking people who had the bare minimum state requirements. Based on these two things alone, I decided to go with a school that required a $200 deposit that was refundable if I didnt go; plus, the teachers are way more qualified with a background in education.Recently, I heard from other parent about the high teacher turnover and the high yearly increases. Im so glad that I chose to go somewhere else.

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 its 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 dont 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 cant recommend them strongly enough to any parent looking to find that special place to care for their child.

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.

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 dont 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!

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE place behind the scenes!My daughter attended LM for over two years until she was abruptly refused service on 5/3/17 by Daniela Slepak because she had an issue with me. (I dont know why she thought that she could refuse service w/ no warning!) I was a huge supporter before this incident. My daughter was unable to say goodbye to the teachers and friends she has loved for two years.While the program from birth (infants 1& 2, toddlers and twos) is AMAZING and their app Tadpoles is impressive, there are significant problems with what happens after age 2. The pre-K room is small and supposed to be for ages 3,4,5, and 6??? As a first time Mom, I didnt realize any issues because I was unfamiliar with what a pre-K is supposed to be until my daughter has gotten older.I loved my daughters current and former teachers including Kassie, Lyssie, Jenn, Andy, Andrew, Rocio, Bessie, Alicia, the list goes on and on. Thats another problem; the list keeps growing on former teachers!!!I never knew what to expect; one day one of my favorite teachers Kassie (one of the only teachers who was there for 2 yrs) was fired for no reason; Daniela promptly sent out an email telling all the parents she was fired and to come discuss it with her! Um, no professionalism!It seems due to their incredibly low pay of $10 starting (most are $13 & up) with no benefits and the issues with the management, the teachers lately have been a rotating door.The center has been around since 2014; I watched it being built as my place of work is in the same building. I was beyond excited to sign my daughter up when I saw the facilities. The price point was so reasonable; the list of reasons to send my daughter there kept growing! I had an AMAZING experience for her first year... then the price increase for 2016 was 10%! Ok, I loved it there, so I didnt say anything.Come 2017, the price increase was another 6%; or translation; I am now paying $250 more a month then the prices that I had in 2015. Now Im realizing something is very wrong as most centers are 2-3%. I discuss the matter with other concerned parents (By this time the grumbling had started behind the scenes BIG TIME); and people are NOT happy. But, we are stuck; LMs policies basically make us stay for 60 days or you lose your full months tuition deposit; and the rent you pay a month in advance. (And, as of this writing LM has refused to pay me those 2 months when I was refused service with no warning!)Michael also sent out a rude form letter to any parents that complained about the price increase, insisting the teachers were benefiting from it. Not true.Big Brother is watching at LM; I received a call on my cell phone on 11/3/16 from the business owner Michael Slepak not about my daughter, but that I am making parents uncomfortable. He never of course stated WHAT I said but he continued to threaten me and when I emailed Daniela she not only agreed, but told me (in writing) that she had asked him to contact me!!!So much for the parent handbook about privacy and a mutually agreed upon time!I realized LM was not the right place for me to be, however, my biggest concern is my daughter who loved her friends, lead teachers (the floaters kept leaving) and the program so I bit my tongue and was holding out until she turned 3 in October.I continued to keep everything as normal as possible; on 5/3/17 I receive a call from the owner Daniela at 8:50am. When I stated I was driving, she kept talking because she needed to speak to me immediately??? Bluetooth; means my daughter is listening! I stated I had to drop her off and work, so I was refused service. I promptly called my lawyer and went to the competition, Gardner, who I had already reserved a spot there in October. So glad, I learned from what happened in November.We had a great time there until November 2016, the things I have learned from former teachers are SO disturbing, I will never again send my daughter to a place that is NOT corporate.

The LM teachers abandoned my daughter for about 15 minutes in summer heat when they left the park without her. Her fellow preschoolers were walked back to LM, and only then did someone realize my daughter was missing . Yes, my daughter couldve wandered out, been molested or killed, and the people we paid and entrusted with her safety left her behind. The error committed is the same regardless of the end result. Imagine the terror she felt when she sought out a stranger, crying, in search of help. She somehow found a kind mom instead of a predator. This incident cancels out any good I could convey. I could be arrested for child endangerment if I carelessly abandoned her in a park like LM did!LM had 27 DCFS violations in 2 years (look at DCFS Sunshine online), including 1 about background checks for personnel! She wasnt the 1st child to have a safety issue with LM in the park.Will LM find more cracks in their system after a mistake with your child, even if they corrected park issues?As a mandated reporter, the owner didnt give a clear answer when asked if she reported the incident immediately as required by law. So we reported it, especially since the 2 teachers were still at work the next day because the owner trusted them. Our trust was broken. It was business as usual; no other parents were informed. DCFS put in a PROTECTIVE order to force the teachers out for 90 days. It seems that one of the teachers (Sharon) is back teaching here. We asked the owner to let parents know immediately what happened, but she declined, referring to this as a one family event. Wed received plenty of emails about seemingly less important topics such as Chicago Fire filming nearby. We were misled to believe were all like a family and that LM would be transparent about problems. The sense we got was it was being treated more like leaving a purse behind in a park instead of a little helpless human.We never signed our child in/out in a secure manner. The attendance count was off the day my daughter was abandoned in the park. But they didnt look at kids faces or call names; my daughter was off somewhere unsupervised in this park since she clearly wasnt within earshot of teachers when they called to go back. She couldve been harmed in other ways since they werent always supervising her while still IN the park with her!The owner boasted that moms living nearby sometimes watch the park LM goes to. During our initial tour, she told us someone was concerned enough to call LM once about a child who was apart from the LM group. So, my daughter ended up being the 2nd child from LM endangered in that park! I incorrectly assumed they wouldnt repeat the same mistake twice!Previously, our daughter told us she was pushed by an LM boy at the park. However, upon check-out that day, none of the teachers reported this to us. The next day, my husband asked a teacher if our daughter was pushed, and he admitted that she was. The other teacher (Sharon) wasnt aware of this incident and dismissed it as the other boy being playful. What if your kid at LM isnt old enough to talk yet? My daughter would cling to me when Id drop her off and shed see this boy. We shouldve been informed, especially if a child put hands on ours and caused her ongoing distress!Our daughter doodled on the back of worksheets instead of being taught what was intended. I figured playing was the most important thing, but we saw such growth once we moved her to a new pre-K where most teachers have masters degrees (unlike LM). She was able to write her name within 1 month of switching.Other daycares fire teachers who commit such careless acts; then parents can be confident theres zero tolerance for safety breaches. LM welcomed Sharon back and dismissed this as an isolated event. Other families are relieved it wasnt their kid, but I ask them to imagine if it was. LM has their beloved teacher back, we found a better school, and I still have nightmares my daughter is lost.

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 2s 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 Michaels comments are false as the teacher turnover is worse than any other place Ive 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 LMs 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.