Honey Tree Early Learning Center

Is this center still there? I tried calling on the contact no provided on Unilocal,but it doesn’t exist.

I would have probably given this a 3 or 4 star rating as the place had some real positives, but I say «had» as we got 4 days notice that the place is shutting down for good this Friday Nov. 9^th. To say the least, parents were left in a tailspin to find alternate care for their children with no real time to do so. This is why I have to give it 2 stars and should only really give it one star for that. Parents need way more time to find alternate care. I feel bad for the teachers there.
So I guess there’s no point in talking about feedback since the place won’t be open anymore after this Friday. Some of the other negative reviewers were accurate so enough said there as again, what’s the point? Key thing was that my kids had fun there and seemed happy for the most part and learned a lot of things that surprised me. But, the location was fantastic, and my kids had a fun time there, and they had very low teacher turnover rate. In fact, I can only think of one teacher leaving that my little one had in four years. And the owner was on site so you could express any concerns to her. I will miss the place and am sad it’s closing as now we can’t see our little ones as easily during the day:((((((

A coworker of mine suggested the Honey Tree to us almost 7 years ago. It has proven to be a hidden gem. We’ve been there since our second oldest was 6 weeks old in late 2006, leaving another downtown daycare in the process. Our two oldest did well transitioning into «real» school thanks to their experiences at Honey Tree. They even took the optional gifted test from CPS and did well, as I’m finding classmates of theirs did too. Our son made the transition out while still in Pre-​K due to a great long-​term opportunity and he still talks about how he misses it (and hugs his last teacher there every time he drops off his sister!). Our youngest is still there. The staff are working with us now to get her out of diapers.
Although convenience is part of the equation, the people (both the staff and the other families who send their children there) have really made us feel welcome and at home. Over these past 6 years I can think of 7 teachers who have been with the facility the entire time. Teachers do cover each other’s rooms as needed. We’ve watched at least 3 teachers leave and return to the facility, one shortly after starting a different job, because flexibility was important to her.
Best wishes to you as you find the best daycare fit for your family!
PROS: Caring staff, downtown location, hours of operation, teacher length of service, open unless a seriously major holiday, reasonable price
CONS: Building sometimes has issues (heat/​air transition sometimes odd), notice of closing during bad weather (extremely rare – two consecutive days during that giant snowstorm a couple years ago), flasher parking hit-​or-​miss thanks to delivery trucks and police cars (thankfully, the daycare can usually send someone down to take your child/​children in)

This place is filthy. Toured it and I didn’t even want to touch the front door. The Director wouldn’t come out of her office to talk to me. There was a crazy air hockey table inside the front door, on a table, held together with duct tape… not very safe.
Teachers did not smile or say hi.
Not friendly or welcoming.

once our dd transitioned to the toddler room, we weren’t so thrilled. my husband and i thought she was not getting enough stimulation and the ratios were unacceptable. we decided to pull her and are happy with our decision. i stand by my previous review — the infant room is great, but the toddler room is just okay.

After two weeks in the infant center for our little girl, we had enough. Our daughter was left alone for long periods of time and her only real stimulation was when it was feeding time. The place has an odor and feel of a diaper prison. The care givers are nice, but do not give individual attention to the little people. We are not happy with this place or the administration. We may consider coming back when our daughter is big enough to run around and play with other kids because you can’t count on the staff to be the ones to really teach and stimulate your child’s development.

My son attended here from 3 months to 4 year old. The teachers have high school degrees. My son started speaking Ebonics, so I had to pull him out of here. The place looks like a dump and needs to be cleaned. I would consider my dog there if they would take him. The place is really bad.

My daughter started here when she was 12 weeks old. The infant room is separate from the rest of the kids, which is nice. Some of the teachers there are great, but some are a bit on autopilot.
For 1 –3 year olds, it’s great. Lots of learning, with themes for each month and each week. They learn words, sing songs, learn to count, etc.
At 3, my kid needed something more challenging, so we moved to a Montessori.
Overall, I was very happy with my experience and I would choose it again\. The location is a big plus, as you can commute with your kid and thus have a little more time with them.