Academia De Mi Abuela

When I toured schools and day care centers for my 2 year old boy, no place seemed to have everything I was looking for. That's until we came to Academia de Mi Abuela. Surrounded by woods in the Montclair area, AMA has a play-based style and offers lots of outdoors time. It's a mix of daycare with preK, so they're very flexible with age but still have a structure that kids can rely on. The groups are smaller than in a school setting (10-12 kids at the most). And having a bilingual immersion environment was a must for my family but at AMA, more than just Spanish, they have a multicultural immersion program with access to many international cultures and diverse lifestyles: kids play soccer, dance capoeira, practice yoga, celebrate St Patricks day and they were the ones with the most cultural mix of students (not just white kids wanting to learn Spanish, but Indian, middle Eastern, Latinos from many countries, and gay/bi and single lifestyle families). When my boy did his first tryout week, I saw another child who had just started and, of course, was crying missing his mom. But he never cried alone: he was always being held lovingly by the teachers who reassured him that mom would be back and that made me feel great. A week later, he had integrated just fine. The love the teachers have offered my son is second to mine and he loves his maestras and going to escuela. They helped me potty train him and they're part of the team that makes it all possible for my kid. It was the best choice for our family. We can't be happier!