Open Arms

"Warm, welcoming, loving atmosphere. This is a great place to send your little ones for pre-school. Pros: 1) Caring, attentive teachers and administration. I feel my kids have been fully cared for there. I'm impressed with how much my children have learned, how much their handwriting and knowledge of letters and numbers improved doing the 3's class and the 4's class. My son was 100% ready for full-day kindergarten after doing the 4's class at Open Arms. 2) Love the hours. Flexible drop off any time after 7 AM. Pick up any time before 6 PM. Perfect for working parents. We did not have such flexible hours at our previous pre-school, so this is really appreciated. 3) Catered, organic meals and snacks. So I don't have to pack lunch or snacks. Makes my life easier. 4) This is a very good sign- my 3 1/2 yr old son asks me to NOT pick him up too early from Open Arms. He likes to stay until the end of the day so he has extra time to do arts & crafts, free play, and gymnasium time with friends. 5) You can never go wrong in having your child learn about Jesus and God. This is the big thing that was missing at our previous community pre-school. My kids have learned that God is our creator, to treat others as you want to be treated, how to say prayers, etc. The kids put on a Christmas pageant (also missing at our previous pre-school). 6) Very impressive, HUGE gymnasium for indoor play and activities, especially when the weather is bad. Our previous pre-school didn't have this. 7) You can sign your kids up for optional activities at Open Arms such as Soccer Shots and Kido Kinetics. We have taken advantage of these extra activities. 8) The school is regularly updated- new playground equipment, brand new flooring on the lower level, new lighting, updates to bathrooms, new toys and books for the kids, etc. 9) Massive outdoor play area with wide open fields for games and sports, blacktop area, and new playground equipment. Our previous pre-school didn't have this. Cons: can't think of any. We drive from 20 minutes away for my kids to attend this school. We even started attending the adjoining church, Immanuel Lutheran (and I was raised Catholic, not Lutheran). The new pastor (new in 2023), Pastor Matt, is really engaging and welcoming. Very impressed with him!"

"My kids have been at Open Arms for several years and we feel blessed to have them as an extension of our family. I've always felt that my children were safe and loved while in their care. Raising kids is tough and I'm happy to be part of the Open Arms family."

"The Director is in over her head here. The 2's class has a great teacher but the 3s is a revolving door. There is one good teacher in the 3s class and a "Lead" which I use lightly that clearly hates watching kids and often disappears throughout the day, has left kids unattended in the bathroom or even soiled because she doesn't like to do her job. They absolutely hate being held accountable or asked about what the kids do at school. I'm sure they will respond to this as "we" we're difficult but all we really want is what is in the best interest of our kids and others. We provided pumpkins during Halloween, and had characters for a birthday for the whole school! All we asked is for updates on the progress of our child, to be informed and for them to hold themselves to a high standard as promised in our initial visit. Instead, a "teacher" was involved in a DCFS investigation, who was still in the school after shaking a child! There are still unresolved violations, just contact DCFS to verify. If this school sounds familiar it was involved in a lead contamination years back that they neglected to inform the parents in a timely manner and had news crews crawling all over the place. Take what they say as a grain of salt, they don't even follow their own Christian ways. We really had high hopes for this place, there have been many families that have left this place and more on the horizon. Be very weary until they hire the right people here!"

"Our child has been at Open Arms daycare for just over a year now and we love it! The teachers and staff are very attentive to the needs of our daughter and love her unconditionally. She is learning, growing, and trying new things and Open Arms provides a safe environment for her to do so. We would highly recommend it for any family looking for a daycare."