Our Precious Creations Child Care, Fort Washington

I discovered Our Precious Creations Childcare on the Maryland Excels website after having my first child in 2016. Before visiting the center, I visited several other childcare facilities, however, none of them felt like the right fit. When I visited Our Precious Creations Childcare and met with the owner Ms. Zenia, I was immediately met with warmth and felt her true dedication to the work that she was doing. When speaking about being an early childhood educator, the passion with which she spoke was palpable. My 6-month-old, at the time, was immediately drawn to her, her staff, and facility and at that point I felt it was a good fit for my family. My child stayed with OPCCC from 6 months old until she was 5 years old and enrolled in school. In that time, I had another child, who also attended OPCCC from 1.5 years old until Pre-K. OPCCC, and especially Ms. Zenia, has been like a family to us. She is incredibly kind and loving to the children and instill values in them that I am proud of. Both of my children left OPCCC prepared with the lessons taught and have excelled in the classroom beyond their current grade levels.

My granddaughter has been attending the center for 5 months. She has learned so much in this short period of time. Zenia has an outstanding curriculum and touch with children. She genuinely loves the children and its evident in her teaching and care she isn't in this for the financial benefit. Sarai is 2 and has homework 4 nights per week. I have recommended OPCC to family and friends.

Exceptional service.

My daughter has been attending here since she was 6 weeks old. She will be 1 in a few weeks. Initially I felt Mrs. Zenia was a great childcare provider and I still feel she is however the way she runs the business is not good. When it comes to taking care of the children, they are safe, clean, and generally very happy. When it comes to the administration of the business it's just a mess. First, she charges random fees as she sees fit. That is not ok for working parents who really budget child care weekly and monthly. She charged us a second registration fee for summer camp which I questioned because my child had already been attending there and I paid a registration fee when she first joined. For the entire summer we paid an additional $15 on top of the regular weekly rate. When I questioned why she says there is an additional fee for infants to help pay for the gas that goes into a beat up truck that she now calls the school van. Also before she got the van she was renting a vehicle multiple times a week to take the kids out on field trips and that would cost the parents additional money to pay for the rental fee. I researched other childcare providers and no one charges these additional fees for a 6 month old. I literally was paying for my daughter to ride in the van because they places they attended on the field trip did not charge infants an admission fee. In the start of the school year she gives the school handbook that she does not stick too. Last year she was closed on her birthday and now this year she is closing on her birthday and her husbands birthday but yet the parents still have to pay for a full week of child care. None of that was outlined in her handbook. She expects a lot from the parents but she does not give it. She asked for supplies and things throughout the school year and my family never mind donating but then she asked for an additional fee for supplies and then $15 for a book fee and this is on top of the school supply list that I had to buy when i first started my daughter at 6 weeks. I had to often ask her for my daughters daily sheet that wasn't completed. I had to ask her when was the last time she ate or had a bottle. She would just forget to fill it out on the sheet. There were times when she would leave the center for a day and the children would be there with Ms. Dymond (the other teachers) and her husband Mr. Cooper who I do not feel is considered to be a teacher. I have witnessed her husband kissing the children on their foreheads to comfort them. While I understand he just wants to console a child I still don't think it's appropriate to kiss other peoples children at all. Zenia sent me picture of her husband sleeping in a chair with my 6 week old daughter in his lap as if it's his baby and my husband was not happy about that at all. I had to ask her not to text me pictures like that. Mr. Cooper seems to be a nice man and I have seen how the kids show affection toward him, but for the most part he is the groundskeeper for their home. He does a beautiful job fixing things and keeping the yard maintained. He serves as a backup when Zenia isn't available but Zenia does not always communicate that to the parents. If I drop my daughter off with her, I expect her to be taken care of by Zenia and Ms. Dymond. If she is not going to be at the center it would be nice to know in advance so I can decide if I want my child to be with Mr. Cooper all day. For these small yet big things, I will be removing my daughter from the facility just because I do not like the way the business is ran. It shows that she operates on her convenience. She charges random fees at will, she closes when she feels like it, and often she does not take the working parents into consideration.

OPCC is a wonderful center. The staff treats your child as if they are your own.

Was not the right fit for me nor my child.

A wonderful experience for my child as well as myself.

My husband and I absolutely made the right choice in placing our daughter in the care of Zenia and Dyamond! This is not just your average day care or child care center! It really should be a pre-school! There is a lot of pride put into the work here and it really shows! Daily reports are sent home on how our baby's day was, her feeding schedule, and if there were any issues. I can't wait to see my baby's growth through the care and curriculum they provide! I wouldn't send her anywhere else!

Zenia is a great daycare provider. I wouldn't send my kids to any other place.