Canterbury Schools Canterbury Preparatory School

Before I had my baby, I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. My opinion of daycare wasn't terribly positive, but as we all know, every family has to do what works for them, and so I decided to give it a try. Now that my son is almost 2, I have come full circle on day school, and couldn't imagine our lives without the lovely people at Canterbury. The director has been so helpful to me and is an absolute expert on early education. She schedules regular meetings with me to discuss his progress and milestones. He is physically and developmentally leaps and bounds ahead of many kids his age, and I think Canterbury has played an instrumental part in his advancement.



Infant Room: I toured several other daycares, and this was the only one where the ladies were heavily engaged (i.e. talking, singing, patting, holding, rocking) with all of their babies; not just one at a time. My two favorite caregivers have been there for years, and are so wonderful and genuinely loving. My little boy used to refuse to nap for me, but one of them showed me her secret patting trick and it works like a charm to this day! The infant room was the hardest for me at first, but I really can't speak highly enough of the women in there. They've become like family to me, and still come to my son's room to say hi to all of "their babies." All the toddlers stop and look up at them like little flowers to the sun, just beaming. It's so cute!



Toddler Room: Turnover is fairly common in the daycare industry. It's full of college kids and girls who are get engaged and move away. We had a bit of a rough patch last summer when my son first moved to the toddler room because he had a couple of different teachers in a row, but the director quickly sorted it out and hired two fantastic girls in his room. They are smart as whips, sweet, and endlessly patient. I remember thinking that daycare wasn't "school" and scoffing at the idea. 4 weeks into the Toddler Room, I changed my tune. My 1-year-old began signing about 20 words, identifying animals and making their sounds, and naming face and body parts. The Montessori program in the Toddler Room is no-pressure and largely play, but he is absolutely getting something from the little lessons. At 22 months, he speaks in sentences, can say his ABCs, count to 10, and sort and name shapes. He also made a best friend, which is super hilarious to me. :)



Twos Room: We haven't moved to this room yet, but it is a "pre-pre-school" room with one of my favorite teachers at Canterbury. The curriculum really picks up, and they begin working on potty training. One of my son's friends has moved over to that room, and in the last month, her language has exploded. She is speaking so clearly and singing songs. It's awesome!



In short, daycare is a very hard thing for us moms, but if you have to do it. this is a great one and I'm very happy with Canterbury.

I am that crazy Mom who thinks everything must be perfect for my baby. (She's 4 now!) Canterbury gets me, and they are as close to perfect as anyone could be. They take such good care of me and my little girl. Since she was six months old, and I had to go back to work (as a pediatrician), this school has been a godsend. We have attended both the Olathe and the Overland Park schools as I transferred between offices, an both are amazing. I loved having the online access to Sophie as an infant, but what she can tell me herself now is even better! She is so smart and Canterbury can handle that. She is always challenged and I am forever amazed by the knowledge she comes home with. And whenever I have a "crazy Mom moment" the staff know just what to say. I have learned so much from this school, and I can help my own patients better now. I tell my patients that Canterbury is in a class above, everyday.

6 years of awesomeness! I just brought my baby to kindergarten this morning, and I knew I had to take a minute to let everyone know how amazing Canterbury is! Six years and two kids later, I have been in every age group from babies to grade school and the staff are the best I could have hoped for. From academics, to charity work, to giving me lots of feedback, this school is absolutely the best there is. Their program has made my kids, now 5 and 8 years old, the best prepared and most capable students in their class. Ask any kindergarten teacher in OP whose preschoolers they want, and you'll hear Canterbury every time. Thanks for EVERYTHING!

This organization has very bad communication and will change their policies as they go, without notifying you and without giving you a chance to change your decision to stay with them. We signed up in December for August time frame at the OP prep school. We called a week later and asked to move our reservation to Olathe because we were moving. They confirmed we had a spot in Olathe and that they moved the reservation. As it turns out, they did not understand or miscommunicated internally and put us on a wait list in Olathe that doesn't have a spot available until February of NEXT year and we weren't notified until they called us in August asking us where our kid was and why they weren't in Overland Park. They have now decided to hold our deposit ransom and refuse to refund us because "there is a spot available" even though we clearly stated back in December that the Overland Park location wasn't going to work for us. This "policy" was never in the contract we signed and we weren't told that they were putting us on a wait list and/or that we wouldn't get back our deposit if that spot in Olathe wasn't available when OP did have a spot. We had to go out of our way to find a new provider now LAST MINUTE and on top of that, they won't refund us the deposit. Unbelievable. And this is coming from their DIRECTOR!! If it's that bad at the top, I can't imagine how bad it would have been if we took our kid here.

Love having my kids here. Everyone is so nice. My preschooler is learning so much, especially manners and how to shake hands, etc. The teachers rock, and they are always there, even when everyone else has a snow day! Preschool is so important, and I looked everywhere. This is the best school by far.



My baby just started (with a sib discount, yea!). I love watching her nap online, and they even gave me one of their monitors so I can be sure that she is sleeping safe at home and at school. They really care about my kids.

This preschool has the most original and relevant curriculum I have ever seen. My kids have attended prestigious (expensive!) preschools on the east coast, and we were looking for something smart and competitive for developing our sons' potential. Canterbury has got it. The teachers are degreed, the administration is onsite every day, and the teaching materials are state-of-the-art. There is nothing else of this caliber in the midwest.

My child is 5 years old and was in a class of 3 and young 4 year olds. She was the only 5 year old and was placed in that room because "Montessori requires kids of all ages in each classroom." I was told they would work one on one with her to make sure she would learn at her level. That lasted one week then the excuses began. "Too many kids for one teacher."

I watched as my child regressed and soon began acting like the 3 and 4 yr old children she was with all day long. She was called the "big helper" and was supposed to be the model of the classroom for the other children. Many times she would be punished (time outs) beauase of behaviors that they younger children were getting away with. She was told she is older and knows better.

I was also told that at least one teacher is licensed and the second is certified. I have seen a number of new faces in the last year..as well as the last few months and seem less than qualified.

And the never ending fees and fundraisers....need I say more?

They claim the focus is on education, but their actions show to be more about receiving the tuition and EXTRA fees. They have been through 3 teachers for their grade school room and settled for a new comer with no experience and absolutely no communication skills. Public School is more suitable than this establishment.

We couldn't be happier. Their focus on education combined with a loving environment makes me comfortable leaving my children at the school. We've attended other schools but will never leave Canterbury.