Children’s Learning Adventure

The tuition is pretty high compared to other day care centers for the service they offer and the teachers seem a little overworked. That being said, my daughter loves it there and loves the other kids in her classroom. Her favorite thing is the thunderstorms and frog/​bird sounds from the big tree in the middle of the building. She looks forward to that every morning. For the price I pay, I hope the teachers are paid well or if they’re not I hope they hire more people to lighten the load. I would recommend it to anyone who can afford the higher cost.

Stay away. Unless you like to be lied to. They tell you your child will go into «speciality rooms» and learn yoga and sign language etc. My child never went into these rooms or learned any thing they promised.
The teachers always seemed over worked and the class rooms always seemed to have way to many kids.
Had to pull my child after a month.

THIS PLACE! After moving to Scottsdale and obtaining jobs, we knew we had to find somewhere for our daughter to go. She has always been at home with mom or dad, so to say we were hesitant and extremely picky is an understatement. If you still browsing places to view and/​or have yet to go on a tour here, let me paint you a picture…
From the time you walk in (mind you there is ALWAYS someone up front because you can’t open the door unless you are buzzed in) you feel welcomed. Whether they were on the phone or completing a task on the computer, they always pause to cheerfully welcome us. Not to mention, and to our surprise, it took what seemed like a day to remember our daughters name and use it every time they see her :) If it were just her teachers that would be expected, but the managerial staff?! We felt like we had been there for months already.
The tour was top notch. By the end we had viewed every inch of the building. The outdoor play area is fenced in completely and even has different areas for different ages. Also, they never go outside when the heat is too high. Bonus: they have an indoor (smaller version) basketball court area to get their activities in! We knew exactly where our daughter would go during the day and who she would be with. We had a copy of the classroom’s schedule, what she would be eating and when, the monthly newsletter containing educational information she would be introduced to (and why), a schedule of their dress-​up themed Fridays (SO fun!) and a brief educational background on her teachers.
BEST PART: before we were shown the price per plan sheet (3 days FT, 5 days PT, etc.) we both just thought «there is no way we can afford this». WRONG! We just about fell out of our chairs! Amazing AND affordable?! This wasn’t the first place we had toured either, so we knew other pricing plans in the area. Between what we saw and the price, this was a no-​brainer for us. It took us an hour of going over all our tours and our pro/​con list (yes, we were those parents who HAD to compare every inch and aspect) to call back and confirm we would be starting our daughter there the next day!
Fast forward 4 months and we are still as in love with CLA as we were on the tour! I waited to write a review until a few months had gone by to give a fair and accurate review to fellow parents whom are in search of a childcare facility, and I would 100% recommend this place to anyone! You get so much out of her care… our daughter brings home her artwork, has had school pictures taken, created Father’s Day and Grandparents Day gifts, and every day gets to bring home a «daily» explaining her day, when she napped, how much food she had, and any additional notes from the teaching staff. Our daughter has even moved up to a new classroom, and her learning just continues to skyrocket! Her new teachers were SO welcoming of her and she adjusted within 1 day of meeting them and her new friends.
The teaching staff and CLA managers are ABOVE our expectations and for that we will be forever grateful as this is such an important phase of her learning (21 months old).

I had high hopes for this place. My child has an allergy to food dye. I went to pick him up on the second day to find him crying and being comforted by being given skittles (which he is allergic to). I told the teacher personally the day before and written it on all his paperwork. They also said they didn’t give candy at school. The next day I went to take him and he was screaming and refused to get out of the car. I have never seen him be so scared to someplace. Needless to say there is an obvious reason he wouldn’t go in. He has been in day care I since 5 months old. He’s used to school and day care. I had a meeting with the director and she said she would get back to me. I want answers as to what happens and why he is so scared of this place. After a week I had to call her back. There is NO excuse for a place like this. Horrible communication, bad teachers, unprofessional. Highly don’t recommend this place.
**UPDATE: I am updating this review and adding a star based on the responsiveness of the regional director.
She was very apologetic and took care of the situation in a timely manner. If the day care was run with the same efficiency and care as the regional director I would consider sending my child back.

We moved to Scottsdale in need of daycare for our 18 month old. He came from a wonderful place in Chandler and our expectations were high.
The facilities do impress you on the tour and from walking in the front door. They don’t tell you the cost until the end of the tour in a separate room. Shocked at the «investment» (their words) of my child’s care at this place we decided to try it.
We attended from Jan 2013 July 2013 only. We got it as quick as we could find another location. At first the teachers werr great and kept the children engaged. Then the turnover started. In the 5 months we were there a shocking number of at least 5 teachers left in his class alone! Four of them were wonderful teachers that I wished would have stayed.
We also didn’t like that no one knew our child name and he would have his name taped to his back. Then there was always someone different from morning to afternoon that couldn’t give us a progress report of his day.
The director only acknowledged if she was giving a tour and passed you in the hall.
For the cost of this place we show have been very happy with thw care.
We have been happy with our new place that has genuine caring teachers and staff. …without the «smoke and mirrors» facility.

Update, thanks to this post our money was refunded. The people from the corporate office took this note very seriously and are making the necessary steps to ensue this never happens to another family. We are very thankful on their prompt response to this issue and hold no ill will towards The Children’s Learning Adventure. I am sure that there are many children and parents who are pleased with the measure of education and love that the faculty gives to their most sacred blessings, their children. This was just not a fit for our family. Other update, Unilocal removed this post, which makes me question if these posts are truly accurate

Being a new parent is scary in itself, but being a new working parent is an entirely different ballgame. When we realized that we would need to look for daycare, little did we know that we started our search a bit too late (our son was already 3 weeks old).
We interviewed several different daycare centers and they all had waiting lists! Plus, we just didn’t have that gut feeling about any of them. Well, then we discovered Children’s Learning Adventure. Wow! Talk about a breath of fresh air. We toured the facility with Selina in Scottsdale and fell in love with the place. As soon as you walk in, you feel as though you are in an aquarium. Although appealing to the eye, what is most important is the proper nurturing and care along with the educational focus. There is a library to the right and each classroom has its specific education plan; even for the infants! We thought immediately though (based on the location, beautiful facility and most importantly, the top level education) that it would be far out of our price range. We were pleasantly surprised. It was only $ 10 more per week than many of the other daycare centers that have been around for a long time! Unfortunately for us though, they had a waiting list as well. However, they were able to place us on the waiting list and allow us to enroll our son in a different location. Although this location was far out of our way from both work and home, we were 150% sure of our choice in the CLA company, so the drive was worth it because we knew our son was well taken care of.
He has made great progress and we know that he is loved. I think what is scary for a lot of parents in the student to teacher ratio. Yes, that took a while to get used to, but it is standard across the country (based on state regulations) for it to be 5 children to 1 teacher. This is my knowledge of the infant rooms anyway. Of course there are hectic days when all five babies need something, but I always know that my son is taken care of. He has never come home with a hoarse voice from crying too much or anything. I also believe that the staff truly loves the children they are caring for. We are so thankful for Stephanie for working with us and helping us enroll in the other location until our son’s place became available in Scottsdale. She is very accommodating and just a pure joy to have a part of our son’s life.

Like the previous reviews, I was truly amazed after looking at the facility. I give it that this place is new, clean and big, with many activity rooms (which your kid may or may NOT get to use, given his/​her age). I was going back to work so I wanted the best for my child and this place appeals to you when you first visit. The tuition is high, but we decided to give it a try.
Teacher/​Student Ratio:
For my child’s age group, I usually experienced that there was a fair ratio. Whether those teachers were attending to the kids as they should is a different story. There are always different teachers early in the morning and in the evening (when one of the primary teachers has either not arrived for the day or has already left)
Teachers/​Staff:
I feel like to any parent, teacher (s) is the most important selling point for a preschool/​child care. This is where I have been most disappointed. My child is not easy and had never been to a daycare before, so I expected some adjustment period. But after months, I still fail to see an improvement. The teachers seemed to care moderate amount for the first two weeks, but after that they just seem to ignore my questions when I ask for an update on the improvement. They just straight up end the conversation and no further details are provided. For as much money as I pay, I 100% expect better quality of care for my child. For me, it comes down to this (nurturing/​attention/​engagement) over those fancy rooms and aquarium. I am not some crazy parent, who expects to hold my child all day and give him/​her constant attention, but I also don’t accept that he/​she is ignored all day. I feel like if a child is upset, teachers could do a better job of engaging him/​her in an activity. Most teachers are below average — average, and I am sure there are some exceptions, but I have failed to experience it.
The director Stephanie has not engaged with me at all. She has not once asked me how my child is doing or had a friendly conversation with me. When I did have a couple of questions for the director, I received short blunt answers. If you are expecting a regular parent-​teacher update, forget it. Celena promised to provide an update on how my child is doing when we enrolled, that stopped after first day! She is there to sell. Period. Other staff is average. Front desk is always filled with people, not sure what they do.
Meals:
They are average. I see a lot of repetition. Nothing extra ordinary. My child has some dietary restrictions and I often see same thing for lunch many times a week. There are many days where my child comes home without eating anything all day. My child also doesn’t seem to be properly hydrated while there.
Activities:
They seem to be doing same stuff all the time. No special supplies (besides cheap paper plates to cut in to shapes) for the tuition amount. And they need additional $ 150 for supplies for the upcoming year?! By the way, we were not informed that an annual fee for the supplies will be collected, when we enrolled.
I agree with the previous reviewer that they don’t have their auto draft figured out. They frantically called me one day to let me know that my tuition was past due only to find out that they already have my credit card.
Overall, I am not happy with this place. They fail to meet my expectations for providing my child the attention and care he/​she needs for the price I pay.

I had such high high hopes for this place. Truly. I too toured the facility and I like Marc T was in awe of the facility and the cleanliness everything was so new and properly stored, I felt like if I had to put my baby somewhere this is what I would want. I did in fact enroll my child for the summer program the rates are high but I figured someone has to pay for the amazing aquarium that was mentioned in the previous review and it included snacks and ‘breakfast & lunch’ so I dove in!
With MUCH push my husband finally agreed to let me pay the fees which included a enrollment fee of 150 plus the first week, (you are charged weekly on Fridays) I chose to put my child on an easy-​pay system where they would pull out weekly for his tuition Mistake 1. The first week they charged us our normal tuition plus enrollment fee (183 for 3 days mon, wed, fri & 150 enrollment) then no less than 3 days later they charged us again! This being our first week my husband and I were a little taken aback but we figured eh maybe a fluke, after addressing the issue with Kaylee we were told «no worries, well note your account and we just wont charge you for next week» great I thought lets move forward then 3 days later ANOTHER charge now I was getting a little annoyed.
I don’t know your financial situation but the tuition is high so these accidental charges were starting to hurt after the 3^rd accidental charge. Again I went to the office and spoke with Angela the finance director and I told her we were a little concerned we had only been attending one week and already had been charged for 3 weeks plus enrollment. I kindly asked for a refund as I didn’t mind waiting for the first accidental charge to catch up, I was more than a little peeved about the other charges. I talked to Selena and she told me that I needed to bring in my credit card statement that showed the charges… Lol I wasn’t lying. Don’t they keep records of what they are charging peoples cards!
Angela tells me SUUUUURE you can have a refund in 6 – 8 weeks!!! 6 – 8 weeks because your finance department cant keep its records straight? I snatched up my easy pay document so fast she had a paper cut!!!
So I let it go AGAIN (really didn’t have a choice we were 3 weeks in on charges) I continued to bring my son. When I would pick up my son the room was so hot I could smell the children’s sweat but this is AZ heat so I figured man the AC must be working hard to keep this place cool and I would bring him at 8 so maybe they had just turned it on.
One of my biggest concerns was the child to teacher ratio, were talking 15 KIDS TO EVERY ONE TEACHER!!! Why? because that’s the minimum that the state will allow wouldn’t you want your child to go to place that goes above a beyond the bare minimum? It was a ZOO when I would have to get him early. There was no less than 35 kids in the class at any given time. Great! I thought a great way for him to socialize with children his age. They called me less then 1 hour into his class saying that my son had attacked a little boy, when I went to get him thinking my son had mauled a little boy I was very upset he had never hit before, when I walked in he was sitting alone (I assume time out) which I am okay with but when I asked if the little boy was okay I looked he had a scratch the size of a sewing needle, not downplaying what my son did he should never hit but they are 5!!! They are learning they are going to get into scuffs. My son came home on the 3^rd day with a large scratch on his forehead I didn’t say anything because I get it, they have scuffs and boys can be a little rough. After the 2^nd time I chose to remove him from the program, just in time in my opinion I just got a letter saying they needed another 150 for supplies. Lol
Across the hall from my sons class was the infant room, my heart would break to see the infants crying with no one trying to console them. As a mother I know that some have no choice but to put their child in daycare and work but would you want your baby to be screaming because they aren’t required to have more teachers in the class?. It just made me so sad to see this daily.
The staff is SUPER UNFRIENDLY I actually stopped smiling to them because you know that feeling when you smile at someone and they look a you like you have gone mad smiling at them!
In conclusion if you feel the need to enroll you must be okay with the following:
1. Your child must NEVER make a mistake like get a little rough with another kid, if you work plan to miss a few days because you will be asked to come and get him
2. Have an endless supply of money because they will need it. 150 enrollment, 150 for ‘supplies’ (must be for the starbucks) plus tuition
3. must be okay with unfriendly staff drop your kid and leave.
4.Must be able to figure out their plans they don’t tell you crap till day of!
UPDATE: The school asked that I remove this post… ugh I think not!!!

Let me begin this review by saying how HIGHLY offended I am by the review given by Marc. T — an Elite member. It is a glorified marketing pitch based on the tour. It is not based on the experiences of a parent with a child enrolled in the school. Previously there were two other reviews from parents of CLA — which have since been removed.
Marc is right about ONE thing. The facility and experience presented to incoming parents is nothing less than 5 stars. But I will break down my experience as a father of two children (2 and 4) enrolled in the school since the day it opened (and spent 10+ months there) — and how reality diverged from the sales pitch.
THE FACILITIES and SPECIALTY ROOMS: The accommodations are great — the execution is lacking. During the tour you will see many of the specialty rooms that your children will spend time in to develop a wide range of skills. You will be sold on the notion that each of these rooms has a «specialty teacher» that stays in this room and will instruct your child while their classroom teacher assists. However this was largely not true during my kid’s tenure. Two months after enrolling — all of the specialty teachers had been reassigned to the traditional classrooms. There is not an Art teacher, or a Science teacher, or a Gym teacher anymore. If the tour still claims there is… ask what their names are!
The school however is quite stunning, clean and very beautiful. Even the broken waterfall in the center of the school is cool — it broke the first month and was never fixed. (3 STARS)
PHYSICAL SECURITY: Physical security is lacking. All of the door handles in the school are at normal heights. They are not elevated. A toddler can easily open these doors and leave the classroom. My 4 year old did on at least 3 occasions. I have learned since leaving the school that on one occasion my child was «lost» for a period of time and found walking around by the front entrance to the building. On another occasion I was called and asked to come remove my child for the day because he had become a danger to himself by leaving his class and attempting to walk into the outdoor area known as Natures Nook. It was 100+ degrees on this day, and Natures Nook has no shade.
There is also a pin-​code access for the front entrance — this pin-​code door does not work and NEVER did in 10+ months.
The outdoor play areas also have gates that push open rather easily. I had to point this out to mgmt. — as one of the gates from the playground went out into the parking lot. Instead of addressing this will release latches that are out of reach — they paddle locked the one to the parking lot and put bungie cords on the other two that exit near the front of the building. (1 STAR)
EDUCATION: My children did seem to learn quite a bit during their time at CLA. However I don’t believe every detail the daily activity stated. (4 STARS)
TEACHER TURN OVER & RATIOS: The single greatest reason we pulled our two boys from CLA. With any new school there will be some turn over as those who are not cut out for daycare leave the school. However there is ZERO communication to the parents when a teacher leaves or is assigned to a different room. You show up to drop your kid off with the familiar face they know (and love) but that teacher’s no longer there. Drop-​offs can be difficult and stressful for both the parents and kids. My two year old lost 3 teachers; my 4 year old lost 5 teachers in less than a year. On only ONE occasion did we get any fore-​warning.
The loss of staff and increasing enrollment in the school has led to a child to teacher ratio that — to my second hand knowledge — has drawn scrutiny.
The staff levels, and ratios also leads to teachers not getting their breaks during the day. I understand this — second hand — to be one reason for teacher turn over. I love my kids, but they ain’t perfect — and Heaven help the person locked in a room with them all day long without an appropriate «Calgon moment» or two.
At the time we left — my 4 year old’s class had grown to 29 kids. Two teachers, and 29 kids in a 40×20 room. In the month before we pulled our kids my wife and I each had an extended visit to the school (1+ hours) sitting and observing due to behavior issues with our oldest — the tipping point for our leaving. Peacefully and quite it wasn’t. To adequately describe the environment I suggest you see the movie «Lord of the Flies».
Take your tour during nap time… you’ll see kids sleeping in the library because there is not enough room for them in their class.
We rarely picked up our two year old from a teacher who had been with him for more than 20 minutes due to kid reallocations in the PM. They couldn’t tell us how his day was. And the instructions you leave with the drop-​off teacher do not get communicated to the afternoon teacher. (1 STAR)
—
We paid $ 450 a week… and did not get level of care we were promised.

What does every parent want for their child? To offer them the best opportunity possible to have the most success in life, of course. Well, the staff at Children’s Learning Adventure have completely embodied this philosophy.
When my wife told me that she had found «the absolute best pre-​school ever», I was immediately skeptical. She spoke of a grand complex filled with numerous classrooms, a giant playground, and, essentially, an indoor sports complex. Who ever heard of such a place for children?
Not to be taken for a fool, I decided to accompany my wife on a guided tour of the facilities.
The initial reaction from my daughter was really all I needed. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in wonderment at the sheer awesomeness of the facility.
We met with Selena, and she proceeded to guide us on our tour of this brand new facility (construction was completed in early September 2012).
The first room we encountered was the library. As you can see from the pictures provided, the library was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! There were plenty of puzzles to keep the kids’ minds sharp, plenty of books, and there was an immaculate aquarium full of beautiful fish to enchant the children.
Selena took us from the library, and began the tour of the actual classrooms. The facility takes children as young as six months old, and has a fantastic curriculum in place for each age group. These curricula, as we learned, are developed by the staff, and delivered by the teachers. The concept behind this staff developed curriculum is to aide in the the happiness of both the teachers AND the students (by having a pre-​designed curriculum, there is less stress on the teachers, enabling them to fully commit to the educational development of the students.)
There seemed to be an endless number of classrooms to facilitate the various age groups represented within the building. According to Selena, each classroom has at least two teachers to accommodate no more than a dozen students. More one-​on-​one time with teachers can only be considered a good thing, in my opinion.
In the center of the learning facility, there is an indoor gymnasium. This gymnasium has a full-​court adjustable-​height basketball court which doubles as a yoga studio. Who wouldn’t want to expose their children to an early introduction of sound physical and mental fitness, right?
As we continued on our tour of the educational wonderland, we were introduced to an outdoor play area that would rival any indoor children’s park I’ve seen. This play area had state of the art padding to prevent scrapes and cuts caused by the inevitable falls of toddlers. There was a full court basketball court outside. There was also a full-​court tennis court, which also converted to a full-​court volleyball court. There was a tented play area complete with slides and other activities.
After completing our examination of the outdoor facilities (which were monitored by a specified physical education instructor), we ventured back inside to finish up the tour. We passed through the art room, the science room, and the media room. In the latter room, students are afforded the opportunity to mimic being broadcast journalists and other television personalities, all in an effort to overcome one of, if not THE greatest of all fears, public speaking.
To say that we were impressed by these facilities would be the understatement of the century. And, to top it all off, we learned that if your child is enrolled in Children’s Learning Adventure, they are enrolled in ALL of the Children’s Learning Adventure facilities. Which means, that should my wife and I decide to pull up stakes and head to Tucson, our daughter will be able to move seamlessly into a Tucson-​based facility, and continue her incredible education.
A child’s mental development is priceless. Any parent seeking the absolute best of the best for their children should look no further than Children’s Learning Adventure.