Vasaio Atelier 357 Jungermann Road, St. Peters, MO 63376

"This school is truly one of a kind. The owners put their heart and soul into their work and it shows. My son went here 8 years ago when it was formerly HCA and my daughter was here as well. I don’t have one bad thing to say about the school or any of the teachers over the past 8 years. I never had to worry about my kids when I dropped them off and being a working mom that is so important. Both of my children thrived while being here, their curriculum is unique and truly creative. From the decor to the activities-it is cozy, it is artsy and it’s definitely not your average “day care”. I will continue to recommend this place over and over."

"We have sent our children to Vasio Atelier and its former iteration for over 5 years. We pass several other daycare centers on the way to and from Vasio every day. We have checked into other places from time to time to make sure we are doing right by our kids, but continue to determine Vasio is the better school. That should tell you all you need to know - but for those who have to know more, here it goes: Vasio is very non-standard. Visit the vast majority of daycare centers and you'll find some cookie cutter wall art and logos and it all feels very corporate and cold. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these people who hate corporations, they have their place - but I like the day-to-day at Vasio. For instance, the kids play outside - in real grass and dirt and with real trees. Do I love putting filthy kids in my car? No. Do I like it better than my kids playing on AstroTurf and a plastic jungle gym? Absolutely. Watching them play with each other when I pick them up is a real treat. They are almost always in some elaborate imaginary scenario that the playground is conducive to. Now for the food. To the best of my knowledge, the food is made in their kitchen every day with groceries - from a grocery store. (I have seen the owners bringing in groceries some mornings). Your youngsters won't get dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets from the Sysco truck here. They post plenty of pictures throughout the week on the app they use. I can count on one (maybe two) hands the number of times they watched TV there in 5 years, and it usually revolves around a holiday of some sort combined with the always-popular "Pajama Day". The owners don't seem to put up with any BS from the teachers/staff, which is really refreshing. As I write this there is a pretty good crew at Vasio, I must say. The actual preschool program is very much non-standard. They seem to follow the Reggio program to the best of my knowledge. We work with our kids in the evenings with more structured letters/phonics/reading/math (depending on age), so it's hard to say how much they get in school, but we look to school for the socialization and learning to play and discover things on their own. Home is the structured place for us, school is fun. (We have them fooled!) Which brings me to the other kids there. As new parents years ago we were worried our kids would make friends with other kids who are not well behaved and learn their bad habits, but those worries are gone for the time being (until they start Kindergarten). In summary, we are very critical parents but we keep with Vasio and the crew there through the thick and thin. They were very accommodating during 2020 and the owners are transparent with what is going on, as best I can tell at least."