Stepping Stones Academy

So I am currently in Pediatric Rotation for my nursing program. Doing a observational project that basically requires us to sit in a classroom environment and observe how children play/​communicate/​interact etc. and relate it back to what we are learning. After calling a few preschools and waiting for call backs, Stepping Stone Academy was able to accommodate me and allow me to sit in one of their class rooms. Upon arriving, the staff greeted me and was very friendly and helpful (even though I was just a student and there solely to observe and learn). The director, Miss Kiran was such a nice lady and introduced me to one of the teacher whos class I was to observe. I was there for 3 hours, I was amazed at how the teacher handled her class of 14, three, four, and five year olds. She treated them with care and respect and you could see that reciprocated right back. The children were encourage to use their imagination through play, reciting songs and listening to audios of their favorite stories. Of course, play time in the playground was their favorite! Anyways, I had a great experience here and grateful that Stepping Stone Academy was able to help me with my project. I would definitely recommend this preschool to anybody with young children. I would definitely send my own children when the time comes to choose a preschool.

The caregivers are wonderful, hardworking and attentive. They genuinely love children and I could not ask for more.
You can really tell that the caregivers are awesome by the way the children adore them… kind of makes me jealous sometimes, haha!
At first I wasn’t comfortable sending my LO here, because it wasn’t the «Mercedes» of day care facilities (and being a first time mom, I only want the best!), but after touring some of the bigger name places (ie Cole Academy), and even some of the lesser known ones, I chose to send my LO here because the facilities are bright and CLEAN and the children all seemed happy!
I’m so happy we chose Stepping Stones because my daughter is happy, healthy and always pooped out from having too much fun!

My son J seems to love Stepping Stones Academy. He started there in the infant room in February 2014, when he was six months old. My husband’s work schedule had changed, and he was no longer able to care for J during the day while I worked. Both my husband and I felt we had let our son down, somehow, by not being able to care for him ourselves, ²⁴⁄₇. We were so wrong to feel that way!
Stepping Stones Academy has been a great fit for J (and for us, as parents). The hours are great– 7:00 am to 5:30 pm. We never feel rushed dropping him off or picking him up. When we pick him up, J is always happy and clean. The teachers there fill us in on what J did that day. They give us a written summary of when he ate, napped, peed/​pooped, etc., even what book they read to him or what sign language sign they taught him that day. They’ll also verbally update us on what he’s done, whether it’s cute (laughing with another baby as if they’re having their own conversation), or a little bit naughty (stealing other babies’ snacks).
The teachers in the infant room (Miss Cheryl, Miss Lynn, Miss Lei, and Miss Jane) are so good at what they do. I can’t imagine how they juggle three or four babies at a time, but they do it, and they do it with finesse. They seem to genuinely like the babies, and we feel so fortunate that J is getting very loving care. Even teachers from other rooms (the Toddler/​Wobbler rooms) say «hello» and «good-​bye» to J and play with him throughout the day. He loves it.
J also really seems to like the other babies in the infant room. When he started Stepping Stones Academy, it coincided with a point in his development where he appeared to crave interaction with other babies and kids. Stepping Stones Academy has fulfilled his social needs well. He comes home at night satisfied and tired from playing all day long.

Our baby started at Stepping Stones a few months ago and we are so pleased. You will not find caregivers who are more genuine and caring anywhere else. Stepping Stones is so clean, well-​managed, and the children always look so happy when I go to pick up my baby from the Infant Room. Ms. Kiran is the director and is always responsive with our questions and communications with her. Our baby seems genuinely happy with Ms. Cheryl, Ms. Lynne, Ms. Lei, Ms. Jane, and the whole team in the Infant Room. I don’t know how they do it, and like the other reviewer said, we couldn’t ask them to do anymore for our baby than they already do. We know it’s a scary process trying to find a place to trust for your little one. We are very happy with Stepping Stones and glad we enrolled our baby here.

2 years into it and loved Stepping Stones every step of the way! My son has been with them since his baby days, went through all the rooms in the toddler side, absolutely loved his teachers through out. Big kudos to them for their loving and honestly caring ways!
Stepping Stones is not only an appropriate, clean, well organized, safe and peaceful place, it’s an ohana, the village it takes to raise a child, and an awesome, positive, good-​hearted, considerate, social child especially. I know it’ll sound a bit cliché, but they really became a big important part of our life and i’m forever grateful for this new extended family we gained.
It goes without saying that Stepping Stones will be my choice for my future little ones as well.
Practicalities: low staff rotation, good staff-​child ratios, good parking, great parent-​teacher communication, awesome engaging activities, excellent care!

My daughter started in the infant room at Stepping Stones several months ago. I’m sure that when she started, I was looking for things to be wrong with this place because that’s what mothers do when they think that nothing can ever be good enough for their little person.
What can I say? I love Stepping Stones for my daughter. In the months that she has been here, I honestly have never once walked in when she was crying, which sort of leads me to believe that she just never cries because she is really happy there. Moreover, I have also never, EVER walked in and felt like the teachers could have been more than what they were doing. They are ALWAYS working hard – changing diapers, warming bottles, feeding the babies, or rocking them to sleep, and there is always at least one teacher who is literally sitting on or crawling all over the floor interacting/​playing/​talking with the babies. I have to hand it to them. I’d go nuts hanging around so many babies all day. And I’m sure they don’t get paid enough for what they do.
My daughter is graduating out of the infant room next week, and I hope to see her do well in the next class, too. The teachers from that room asked me to fill out a questionnaire about my daughters likes/​dislikes/​what I want her to learn this year/​concerns, etc. They immediately read it and approached me to talk at length about how they were going to work on the different things I had mentioned, which indicated to me that they had read it pretty carefully and cared about what I said. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I also got the impression that they were genuinely glad to have her moving up into their class. What more can I really ask?
Stepping Stones is still a daycare and your baby will definitely pick up all the bugs s/​he can, esp during those first few months. We were in the drs office all the time! But you know, they either get sick now or they get sick when they go to kindergarten. So they end up in the drs office at some point or another in any case.
Additionally, I will admit that the parking situation is tricky on occasion. I sometimes park in front of a fire hydrant and run in and run out. I’d say this happens about every 1 in 8 visits. If you’re not in a huge rush, it’s okay. I can imagine this being super annoying, though, for parents trying to get to work in the morning.
Still, it’s worth it. Hope this helps you feel at ease about bringing your child to daycare.

Positives:
1) Some caring staff
2) Clean facility
Negatives:
1) Parking is bad
2) They are often short-​staffed
3) The director is hard to get in touch with and does not do a good job of addressing parents concerns
Overall, I would not recommend the daycare portion of Stepping Stones and feel that there are better places for the amount that they charge.

My son started in the 3’s class a little over a year ago and has moved into the 4’s. What I love about the staff is that they are so loving. My son went to another school that was the exact opposite (chaotic and stressful), so I definitely know what a bad preschool is!
The teachers write reports everyday that are sent home with the child that explains what they did all day and if they ate well and napped. (As if they don’t have enough to do already!!) It is a great thing that you can use to prompt your child to talk about what they learned as 4 year old like to say they did nothing!
They have thematic curriculum’s that incorporates reading, writing, math and hands on activities. They also include the parents in lots of activities for Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patty’s day, Easter, etc.
The facility is at the bottom of an apartment building and is very convenient if you work in town. The facility is fully enclosed and air conditioned, so it can get chilly. There is a nice indoor play structure that is kept very clean and a bathroom with lots of little toilets! Only challenge is parking! There is a marked zone at the curb to park, but the stalls are sometimes taken by residents leaving parents to circle the busy block for parking.
Cleanliness: two thumbs up
Professionalism: two thumbs up
Facility: two thumbs up
Curriculum: two thumbs up
Overall: Very happy parent