Rainforest Learning Center – Logan Square

So where to begin. We were at the Rainforest Learning Center in Logan Square for three months and without going into too much detail, there is just a lot wrong with the administration. From not notifying us when our son would get injured to having large classes with little staff, to putting together shows only to try and sell pictures and video of them. The straw that broke the camels back was when our son had a really bad allergic reaction, his whole body swelled up. We received a phone call where the person was extremely calm and asked us to come in. I walked in and the administration did not have a sense of urgency on the situation. I am not sure why, maybe it was because they didn’t want to alarm other kids or their teachers. We picked him up and rushed him to the hospital. I would have completely been fine with them calling the ambulance before I got there. Thankfully, he was OK.
The reason why we gave them two stars was because we actually thought the teachers were great. We enjoyed their interaction with our son and were the sole reason we felt bad about leaving. However, we just couldn’t look past the administration. Hopefully things will change and maybe it was just our experience, but we are so happy with the place we are at now. We originally left it for the convenience but quickly realized sometimes convenience is overrated.

We love Rainforest. My daughter started at the location on State St when she was 3 months old and transferred to the Logan Square location when they opened last winter. She’s two now and we have never regretted our decision. The staff is friendly and really loves our daughter. She has always had separation anxiety but they always have have tips, advice and patience as she and I both work through it.
When she comes home at night she talks about all her friends and what she did all day. We just had a parent/​teacher conference where they talked about her progress, strengths, etc. She is learning so much there and is really thriving. We just had a son and will be sending both back soon with no concerns.

My family and I love Rainforest and already strongly recommend it to our friends. Now that they’re on Unilocal,I can recommend it to you too!
We have one kid, a 5-​month old boy, who goes to Rainforest part time. I drop him off, and he’s happy. I pick him up, and he’s laughing. I also get written notes about what he did during the day — naps, feeding, special activities like yoga. I was nervous about sending kiddo to daycare at all. Would anyone play with him? Would he be a zombie? You know the drill. At Rainforest, I am completely confident that he gets attention, interaction, and that the staff truly care about him and his development. I’m really happy we found them and that my son’s able to go there.
Here are a few of my favorite things about Rainforest:
— STAFF KNOW MY KID. The director knows what he’s up to, comments on changes like his first teeth and growth spurts. The women in the baby room can all tell me what’s changed since the last time he was there.
— STAFF ARE FLEXIBLE AND DO WHAT THEY CAN TO KEEP OUR HOME ROUTINES GOING. When he first started, he had some trouble sleeping there, so I brought in his iPod for white noise in his crib. White noise helps at home, so I thought it was worth a shot. The staff tried it out and even asked about it the day I forgot. They were honest with me about how some kids sleep less because of all the stimulation but were also totally willing to try my ideas.
— STAFF COMMUNICATE WITH ME. We get regular email updates, but that’s not my point. Every morning and afternoon that he’s there, the teachers in his room talk to me about what’s going on with him. Did he sleep ok? Anything they should watch out for? Has his routine changed? They talk about what they’ve noticed while he’s there and how he’s changed since he was last in.
— PARENTS ARE WELCOME. During our tour, they encouraged us to stop by anytime and to even bring kiddo and spend some time in the baby room before we decided. Since he’s started going there, I’ve been in at lots of different times (you know babies and their crazy schedules), and I’m always welcome to peek in on him, even sit and play for a bit. Other places we visited seemed like buses where parents weren’t allowed passed the yellow line.
— SCHEDULES ARE FLEXIBLE. My son has an unpredictable nap schedule, especially this week with DST. Some mornings he doesn’t go in until 10am. That’s no problem at Rainforest since parents are welcome anytime, and they’re not obsessed with the clock. Other, even the more expensive places, we toured had set drop off times like 7−9am that wouldn’t work for an unpredictable sleeper and our work schedules.
And one least favorite thing:
— Traffic/​parking. Diversey has rush hour parking restrictions, so there’s no parking on the south side from 7 – 9 or on the north side from 4 – 6. Like most people, I’m going in those directions at that time and would love to just park on the street, grab kiddo, and head on home. There are a couple of spots in the parking lot reserved during drop-​off and pick-​up, but I don’t usually get one in the afternoon. I’ve never had to wait more than a couple minutes, but I thought it was worth mentioning.