Enchanted Little Forest

*I would like to preface this by saying YES, I did file a formal report on this center with Everett Police and with WA State Dept of Early Learning and I do not believe anything has been done.
The director Kelsee is nice and seems pretty smart, but aside from her and the cook/​float, Eileen, there is not one other teacher I met who I felt comfortable with. Their prices might seem reasonable, but they are FAR too high compared to the level of care the children are given.
The infant room’s lead teacher is Georgianne. She apparently has been caring for children for a long time which to me a little scary. In the months that my son went to this center i never once saw her actually playing with any of the 4 babies. It was either feeding them in a high chair, sleeping/​crying a crib or setting them on the ground to play by themselves. Never sang any songs while I was around. She isn’t really capable of holding a conversation either. The one time my fiancé went in and was unhappy with something, when he asked her about it politely, she was very timid as usual and hardly said a word, not to mention the problem was never resolved. (Problem being the Infant Room should be open at 7:30 and when we dropped him off at 7:45 she was never in the classroom which resulted in us always being late for work).
MEAT AND POTATOES:
In late Dec. 2015 I went to drop off my son and as usual she was not there. We walked over to a window that looks into one of the other rooms where older kids play. I couldn’t see his teacher but I did see the assistant director, Tina. Right then a little boy runs past her and she grabs him by his FACE, his FACE! And starts yelling at him saying «What the Hell? Can’t you see there’s a baby there!» (I could not see form where I was standing but I can assume her baby daughter who was in my son’s class was laying on the ground…) The little boy began crying and she then placed him in timeout for crying.
We immediately pulled our son without notice. I am not one of those parents who complain to the daycare about every little detail but i could never send my baby somewhere if there was even a shred of a chance that i thought one of the teachers would lay their hands on my child.

I must qualify my review by saying that I only visited this daycare center. I was really hoping that it would be great because it’s close to where I work and live. So, I took my almost 22 month old to visit and meet with the director.
I am being generous by giving it 2 stars. It should be noted that I set up an appointment of sorts so they were fully aware that I was coming. That said, the entryway was dirty, the entire building seeming dirty and it obviously hadn’t been updated in years. There was a folded up stroller with crumbs all over it and around it in the entry way. As most two year-​olds do, mine was trying to eat the crumbs when the director came out to greet me. She noticed and did not attempt to clean up the mess or have someone else do it, she just corrected my daughter (as I was already doing).
She made no effort to introduce me to the staff (she did point them out) and said that the lead teacher in the 2yo classroom was working on her early childhood degree or thinking about it… honestly I don’t remember but the point is, she didn’t have it and had been working there for years. The director’s son was the cook and driver. He seemed gruff and unfriendly and so it creeped me out that he would be around the children all day. You know when you are thinking about entrusting your children to people all day every day, you want to feel like these people are going to be friendly and caring.
The outside and inside of the building could have been made pleasant with some paint, cleaning and a few flowers, but it just looked neglected.
The reason I’m giving the place two stars is because the director was friendly and obviously made an effort to make us feel welcome. Also, I don’t know the quality of care for certain since I didn’t take my daughter there for one single day. But it says something that I didn’t get a good enough feeling from the place to give it a try. Instead, I take my daughter 15 minutes away for care.

I’ve only had my children in the infant room so I can’t comment on the other classrooms, but I have had a great experience so far. The main infant room caregiver, Georgianne, is a doll. Every time I come in, she is on the floor, actively engaging the children. I’ve never seen either of my sons in a swing while at ELF. They were always either playing or being cuddled in the caregiver’s arms.
The center is run by a mother-​daughter team, and I can tell you that they GENUINELY care for the children and their families. I have been to large corporate daycare centers, and I get the impression that the management was more interested in my check than my child. That’s not the case at ELF. They want the families to succeed. Definitely recommend ELF.

Enchanted Little Forest is like an extension of our own home and our family. I am so grateful to have a place where the caretakers take as good of care of my child as I would take care of them myself (or better). I highly recommend this family owned business to anyone looking for exceptional care for their child (ren). Having to leave my child in daycare while work long days, I wouldn’t want to leave them anywhere else. Thank you so much to everyone at Enchanted Little Forest!