Garrett Forest Playhouse, Silver Spring

We are so appreciative of the two years we have had our daughter in daycare here and are only now switching so she can start a Pre-K program. Our daughter love the staff, you can tell the staff love her. They go above and beyond to make the kids feel special on their birthdays and whenever they greet them at that door each day, etc. You can tell they love what they do and have shared their experience to help us through potty training, transition times, etc. We started taking our daughter here right as we were moving and had a lot of family change and it became her little anchor and she LOVES her friends she has made there because of the intimate environment. She is 4 and now also knows Spanish, her alphabet (recognizes letter and writes them), her drawing has improved, and we've seen many other advances. She also seems to eat a much larger variety of food for lunch than she does with us at home! We would absolutely trust bringing any future children to this program as well. The staff are equally great with the parents as they are with the kids!

I cannot say enough about this wonderful place with the most wonderful caregivers I could dream up to take care of my daughter. The caregivers are professional, nurturing, organized, kind, responsive, loving and have an incredible knowledge in what young children need to be healthy and happy. When I had to go back to work, I was so sad at the thought of leaving my baby with someone else. They were so compassionate to me in the early weeks when I was weeping handing off my baby. They knew exactly how to help our whole family adjust and provided so much reassurance and communication. Now that our daughter has been there for a while, I can honestly say that she is thriving because of their excellent care. They plan days full of what all kids need: play, music, books, individual attention, rest, delicious foods and lots of connection and laughter. The space is bright and cheerful and they have an incredible outdoor space for the kids to play. Whenever I pick my daughter up, she is happy, well fed, well rested, with clean clothes on(I don't know how they do it!). You can tell that they truly love the children like their own and their whole business reflects that. I am so grateful that we found such a special place that treats our daughter like family. We are so lucky!!

We know when we drop off Lincoln every morning, he will be taken care of. Our son is excited to go everyday. We received daily report cards. Communication with staff is always open and easy.

My son absolutely LOVES this daycare. As a first time mom in the midst of a pandemic, I was really nervous about sending him to daycare at 4 months. After the first week all my jitters were gone. He warmed up so quickly to his teachers and now at 10 months gets very excited to leave the house on weekdays and see all his friends :) He is happy, healthy, hitting all his milestones, and has a great and safe place to socialize with other kids during this difficult time. I could not be happier with the care he's receiving.

The daycare is run by an excellent mother/daughter team who are both so kind, gentle and attentive to needs of each child. Prior to bringing our son to the daycare, these providers took time to explain how their program works. Since bringing our son to this daycare (and I was a VERY nervous mommy), I can say that the level of care our son has received was above and beyond our expectations: they greet our child with a smile and hugs every morning, they are extremely organized and provide a space for your child's belongings, they provide a very detailed report of what happened with your child throughout the day, i.e., activites, diaper changes, mood, etc., they make gentle recommendations for your child based on what they have observed throughout the day, they both have a great attitude every single day, and they genuinely like what they do and you can tell. It should also be noted that they have proof of their certifications of which they have several (I've heard this is something childcare providers aren't always honest about). All in all, I can't say enough about this place, it's really great!

The owner is lovely. Very sweet and takes good care of my baby girl. Among other things, she plays with her, reads to her, and puts on music so Aliana can dance. I feel very comfortable with my daughter in her care!