The worst experience I’ve ever had! I also agree with Melissa Gault. Had I had an option, I would not have even given 1 star. The directors are unprofessional and grouchy with parents and children. I was informed by my child in attendance at the Crystal Lake Learning Center that the director was gossiping about me to other staff members loud enough for my child to hear her. Prices too high for poor quality care. The hours they promote are false. I would never send your child to this daycare center after the way my child and I were treated! I would not want anyone to have to go through what we went through. Extremely disappointed!

This center is a great place! I currently have my 3 yr old going and she has been coming to this center since she was 3 months old. I could not imagine bringing her anywhere else. The directors Nadine and Sherry are wonderful caring people, they always have the children in their best interest. My daughter has learned so much while being at this center and i have her teachers to thank for that! All the teachers are great, they know how to keep the children interested in learning new things while having fun at the same time! She is always so excited to come to school to learn new things and play with her friends. I highly recommend the Crystal Lake La Petite Academy to anyone that is looking for a great educational, fun and friendly providing daycare!

The Crystal Lake La Petite Academy is not a good place to leave your child. I agree with Melissa Gault that this place is below average in teaching and caring for kids and it deserves zero stars. I also have to mention that this is not a very clean facility. I know the guy that does the overnight cleaning here, Jim Beyer, and he has told me several times how this is the second messiest day care that he cleans(the worst being the La Petite in Lake in the Hills). He also said it takes his company an extra hour to clean each time because of how dirty the rooms are. Jim is right. This place is a pigsty.

ZERO STARS, DONT DESERVE ONE This was the worst daycare my daughter had been to! They switched her teacher 6 times in 3 months and as a parent I was never informed of the switch (to help my daughter get used to the switch). I would drop off my daughter and there would easily be 20 kids in the classroom to one teacher who was incapable of easily standing and would never be standing or moving (not being rude its just the facts and if an emergency happened shed have struggled to get there... and being the only adult in the room). My daughter kept saying that the one teacher stepped on her foot, I blew it off at first but then she wouldnt let go of it, so I asked the teacher and she didnt remember, which it totally fine. but then my daughter would come home saying that teacher told her to shut up and they would put my daughter in a room alone. then my daughter is throwing tantrums. I called DCFS and they were found to be guilty, were fined and the teacher was gone for a week. It was a horrible experience, the administration was terrible and rude. It was rare to get a glance nevermind a hello or goodmorning.

Working at this child care center I did have the opportunity for my children to also attend to the center. I knew my children loved their teachers and their classmates. As a mother and a teacher myself I know that stability is important for a child. When I decided to pursue another job opportunity I gave my letter of resignation and asked if my children could still attend the center to keep that stability for them. I was told “of course” from the director.A week into my new position I realized that La Petite Academy in Crystal Lake, IL was not following certain DCFS regulations. Not knowing if these were intentionally known violations and feeling that as a parent I had an open door policy that allowed me to bring these specific concerns up to be addressed. A couple of days after I addressed these issues I received a call from the director stating my children could no longer attend the center and effective immediately they would be disenrolled. The reasons she gave me were absurd and La Petite Academy refused to give me a written statement why my children could no longer attend. When I arrived to pick up my children the director and another employee became verbally abusive to me while following me through the center in a threatening manner. My youngest daughter left in tears realizing she could no longer return since I was taking all of her belongings, which in turn brought me to tears. Ater the director and the other employee saw my reaction they started to laugh at me in frot of other parents.I believe La Petite Academy disenrolled my children as a form of retaliation for my concerns over DCFS violations and ending my employment there based on my dissatisfaction regarding employee benefits. They may have thought they were retaliating against me but the reality is what they did had a negative emotional impact on my children. My youngest daughter constantly asks if she “could go back just one more time.” The effect this has had on my children breaks my heart. When I gave my two week resignation notice I specifically asked if my children could still attend the center and was told yes. If this was an initial problem they could have made me awareat that time so that I could prepare my children for such a change. Instead my children were thrown out like garbage to them.I love working with children and I assumed that people who also worked in the childcare industry wanted to make a difference and be a positive role model in children’s lives. Unfortunately I learned this was not true for all child care workers. I care deeply about all of the children at La Petite Academy in Crystal Lake, IL and these are not people who should be caring for children. I entered a career in education to make a difference in the lives of children and as teachers we teach children what is considered right and wrong and this cannot be achieved unless teachers and child care providers practice what they preach and understand what is right and wrong themselves.

Loved this daycare and I’m sad my son is no longer attending but the teachers were all great with him!