Detour 2 Discovery Day School

We are so happy with D2D. Our son, loves his teachers, and Ms. Jeni and Ms. JoAn are so welcoming and are available to answer any questions we may have.
Thank you for being the most amazing place ever!
We came to D2D in an urgent situation, I walked in with my 4 month old son, and immediately felt as if I was at home. To see an incredible diverse group of children in every single classroom made my heart smile.
My son has been at Detour since Oct. and he smiles as he sees his teachers. The women who care for my son are like mothers to him while I am away. They support me with questions I have and my kid is learning so much from being with his teachers everyday.
I can’t thank you enough Detour for the amazing experience you are providing my son!

This is really a fantastic place like all the other reviews say. My kid has been there four months and seems thrilled each time we drop him off. It’s definitely a school-​like atmosphere with 10 or so kids in a classroom, but they are so personal and friendly. Lots of other teachers know my kid by name throughout the school — everyone seems to work as a team. I see teachers walking around with little groups of kids doing errands, visiting other classrooms, etc. I think they really make an effort to have creative, varied, active play and learning, and to treat teachers with respect and support. I looked at other centers in the neighborhood and none came close (and all were more expensive). I’m grateful for Detours.

It has been several years since my children went here but after moving and experiencing much better daycare I thought to share. When we were there we had lots of issues from aggressive teachers who actually pushed my child (I saw it on the camera with a director) to not changing dirty diapers to teachers always absent. In addition, there was a huge chunk of ceiling fell right on the table in front of my child and I was there. The couple of teachers that we loved left. The hours are not very work friendly either.

We’ve been here for over 6 months. We love it.

Our daughter was at Detour from 3 months old until 1.5 years and we absolutely loved it. I cannot say enough about the compassionate teachers and staff, and their dedication to the children’s well-​being. I think our daughter was happier on the days she attend Detour than on the days she stayed at home! It is such a cheerful and friendly place, and ALL of the teachers knew my daughter by name, not just the ones in her current classroom. The rooms are very spacious, with enclosed walls so the noise is kept down, but they have skylights so they are still light. I was impressed at how much she learned there — beginning words, colors/​shapes, but most importantly manners! The children go outside on walks or to parks every day if the weather allows, and there is even a ball pit for the older ones to play in. Best of all, the tuition is cheaper than other comparable places in the south loop. We love Detour and were so sad to have to take our daughter out when we left Chicago!

We’ve had three kids at Detour. The owners are professional, flexible and very in tune with family needs. Most teachers are warm and helpful, and Detour supports the team’s ongoing professional development. The facility doesn’t look like much from the outside but the kids love it, especially the large motor area and the ball pit. Detour does a good job of getting the kids outside to nearby parks. Indoors, the skylights provide nice light. The 5:30pm end time was a bit tough for us but overall, we loved Detour and would go back in a heartbeat. We’ve been at two other South Loop facilities and Detour wins.

Half year has past, my baby is so happy here. Everyone from the directors to the teachers is super warm and caring. I feel so good everyday knowing that my baby is in good hands. I’m always amazed for a little guy how much he learns at school — At 16 month or so, one day when we came back home, he showed me yoga poses! Not mentioning he constantly surprises me with «thank you» «please» etc. The babies in his class are all so adorable and well-​mannered. Love the vibes there! Compare with other daycares in the city, I like D2D’s school layout the best. It has high ceilings and skylights, each classroom has walls that high enough to be a room but not completely isolated, babies don’t have to walk a long way to training toilet. These little details shows how much effort the owner and designer had put in.
If a center that don’t charge a fee for putting on the wait list, you know they are not all about money and have confidence in their quality.

I looked at several daycares for my son and D2D stood out head and shoulders above the rest. I’m so lucky a spot opened up on their waiting list in time. You know what kind of experience your child will get at a daycare by looking at the workers. At D2D, the workers are punctual, professional and most importantly, friendly, smiley and HAPPY! They genuinely love what they do and love the kids in their classrooms. Another telling sign — I checked the Illinois inspections for daycares and you would be shocked how «normal» it is to have multiple citations from cleanliness to adequate staff (I highly recommend a search like this as part of your research — it takes a little digging). Well D2D has never had ANY infractions! This is a testament to how seriously the owners take their business and the safety/​happiness of your children. I am a picky first time mother with high standards and I highly recommend D2D!

We love Detour. We have been with the Detour family for over three years and have sent both our son and our daughter here. The teachers at Detour have worked with us through every stage of our children’s lives. Potty training — done. Pacifier weening — done. Transitions picking up/​dropping off — done. With each struggle, the staff has been kind, compassionate and simply amazing.
The facility is clean, inviting and conducive to learning. When we arrive each morning, there’s always several different activities immediately available to the kids to immerse themselves in. Puzzles, books, trains, sensory table… it really runs the gamut and the kids are genuinely excited to start their day at Detour. They understand the need to have physical play (in large motor and ball pit) as well as more structured time with academic pursuits. Our daughter is now in Kindergarten and I know she was both academically and socially prepared for the next phase in her life with the help of our our Detour family.
Our son has about six more months left at Detour and I’m already sad about saying good bye. The staff is fantastic, the leadership is committed and I cannot say enough good things about it.

We love D2D! After our daughter spent her first two years at home with an amazing nanny, we moved her to D2D based on a referral by a good friend. This was a tough transition for all of us, but the staff at D2D took great care of all of us (parents and tot). They have amazing teachers who really care and love our daughter. I have been thrilled that I haven’t seen any teacher-​turnover in our daughter’s classroom (something I was nervous about). They also maintain a great (low) child-​teacher ratio.
Our daughter blossomed after starting at D2D. She went from being a shy, quiet little girl to very chatty and socially active. Every day she comes home and teaches us something new — she truly learns a ton from all of the experiences and activities at D2D. The staff is always warm, welcoming, and the center is clean too! They don’t charge all kinds of extra fees and their monthly fees are reasonable. And the other families enrolled are so nice and down-​to-​Earth.
Honestly, I am so happy with our experience at D2D. I highly recommend them! Special thanks to Miss Christina, Miss Tricia, Miss Tisha, and Miss Tawana — amazing teachers who have taken such great care of our daughter!

My son started here at age 3 after being watched by my Mother in Law full time. We searched around for a place that offered part time care (MFW) which is very hard to find and found D2D. I was worried about the transition but he did great and has been going here for almost a year now and we love this school so much! It’s not just «daycare» he learns a lot and does many interesting activities throughout the year, they send home his curriculum for the month so we know what he’s working on, they provide notes about his day through a secure website that teachers load to from an iPad and we can see pictures of his class through the notes site or the FB page, it’s great!
As South Loop residents who work in the Loop, the location is great. It is very diverse with well rounded curriculum. The teachers and staff are wonderful and caring and my son’s teacher, Ms. Annette, has been there for 19 years! She is wonderful and my son loves her and is also comfortable with any other teacher there.
We are going to start sending our 6 month old daughter there in April 2013 as well and know that she too will be safe, well cared for and learn a lot as she grows with the D2D family.
I highly recommend D2D!

My daughter began attending D2D a few months ago, and so far I could not be happier! When it came time to choose a daycare, my husband and I were most concerned with finding a place that employs fantastic teachers, is centrally located, is safe & secure, and is reasonably priced. D2D satisfies all of our requirements, and then some.
The teachers (Miss Jackie is our daughter’s teacher) are all certified educators, and it’s clear that they care deeply about the kids. Miss Jackie is very communicative and seems to really enjoy her work. The school is in the south loop, and the kids go on walks and field trips quite often. They seem to take advantage of the urban location, and I like that my daughter will experience what Chicago has to offer. She is in the infant program now, but we plan on keeping her at D2D through preschool. And we couldn’t be happier about it! So glad to have found this place.

This is the best daycare in Chicago, hands down. We visited several top daycare centers before choosing this one over 9 years ago for our first child and saved this one for last, because we had heard rave reviews from friends. When you walk into D2D, there is a totally different vibe than at other centers. The teachers and administrators really love the kids, and the kids are happy and nurtured, and look forward to school every morning. We consider the staff to be part of our family. We sent our three kids here all the way through from the infant classroom until they were 3 and left for private preschools, so we were there for almost 9 years. The kids have fond memories of their time there, and we miss it too. Thanks to excellent curriculum and teachers, D2D kids are quite advanced in social skills, speech/​vocabulary and general knowledge (alphabet, colors, numbers, writing, even Spanish words) and come into preschool far ahead of peers who attended other daycare centers or stayed home with nannies. (D2D goes up to age 5, but we had to transfer to private school for preschool in order to secure a spot for elementary school, otherwise we would have preferred to stay at D2D thru preschool.)

I can honestly say that I love this place. Our daughter is now 3 and has been going here for a year. She loves «school» and has made some pretty great friends. the teachers are all fantastic and you can tell they really love the kids. My daughter HAS to go to each classroom when I pick her up to hug all the teachers good bye, it is the cutest thing in the world and you know she wouldn’t do that if she wasn’t having a blast. She is learning so much as well. It will be tough when it’s time to go to real school

My daughter has been going to Detour 2 Discovery for almost 2 years. We love it. I was skeptical and wanted to find a reason not to like it when we first started coming here but I have never had a complaint. We also used a nanny prior to daycare and I assumed that I was not going to like the transition. The turnover is low here and we have really appreciated every teacher she has had. She loves going to school every day and it’s hard to get her to leave. I have chaperoned on field trips and I have never had a concern for safety. We plan to send our younger daughter to D2D also.

At first we were nervous about sending our daughter to daycare as neither my wife or I knew what to expect or what it would be like for our daughter. We evaluated a bunch of daycares in and around downtown Chicago, but we got the best feeling from Detour. We went with our instincts and we couldn’t be happier. We’ve been taking our daughter to Detour for a little over a year and we love it. The care takers and administrators there are friendly, helpful, and love the kids. Our daughter constantly surprises us with things that she’s learned at school — she’ll come home and point out colors, count to 10, start singing the ABCs, etc. We also believe that the interaction she gets with the kids at school is invaluable. She loves going to school in the morning and always talks about her friends and teachers when she’s at home. My wife and I are moving to California this summer, so unfortunately we won’t be with them much longer, but we’ll really miss them.

Excellent school. We have had our 2-​year old here for more than 1.5 years, and she loves it, and we love it. The teacher retention program is wonderful, and ALL of the teachers she’s had taking care of her since she was 9 mos old are still there. They have an indoor ballpit, large motor skills room with trikes, soft climbing toys and room to play. For activities, our daughter does crafts and art projects, goes on walks to nearby parks or doggy centers. Parking in front of the building for pick up and drop off is never a problem. I highly recommend this daycare for any age!