Appletree Learning Center

As a researcher and professor of communication sciences and disorders who specializes in child language development, finding a childcare setting that would facilitate my children’s cognitive, linguistic, and social development was a high priority for me. My husband and I chose Appletree for a number of reasons. First, the facility is beautiful- clean, bright, organized, and full of fun, developmentally appropriate toys and books. Second, the staff members are friendly, intelligent, and clearly spend time interacting with the children, rather than simply sitting there watching. The director, Lindsay, is so organized and is knowledgeable about everything that happens in the center. She is very approachable and does an excellent job.

Third, the webcam made me feel as though I’d never be unable to see what my children were doing. The webcam allowed me ask more informed questions about what they’d done during their day, as I had seen some of the activities and could inquire about them specifically, instead of just asking, “How was your day? What did you do?”

We have enjoyed all of the family events at Appletree, especially hearing the children sing at the harvest festival and winter festival. My two older children are now in elementary school, and are excelling. I believe that Appletree deserves much of the credit for their academic success, as they “graduated” from Appletree knowing all of their letters and numbers, reading and writing a few words, and completing simple addition and subtraction problems. Additionally, the experience in the classroom helped them to learn about following rules and interacting with classmates and teachers. Appletree provides just the right balance of structured and unstructured time. The children learn a great deal, but also have time to play and use their imaginations.

This year was the first year my youngest daughter was at Appletree without her siblings, and she was nervous about starting the school year after we took a summer break. However, on her first day, as soon as she walked in the door, all of her friends from last year and her teacher surrounded her and expressed their happiness to see her, and she realized that she was thrilled to be back! The teachers help the children to form wonderful relationships with each other. My daughter loves her friends from school. She also loves her teachers so much, as we leave each day she goes into her classroom from last year to hug the teachers in that room after hugging her own teachers. She is often disappointed that it is time to go home, because she has so much fun at school!

Our family has been so pleased with our experiences at Appletree. I would highly recommend Appletree to any family looking for high quality education and care for their children.

-Courtney Karasinski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP