The Vine Preschool at St James in Alexandria, VA

I switched my son to the Vine Preschool at St James after we had some issues with potty training at his old daycare. The teachers helped my son adjust to the school but also helped him get potty trained pretty quickly. I like the fact that meals are provided at a decent rate and they also provide gymnastics class once a week.

We switched our daughter to The Vine at 15 months after having her enrolled at a separate day care center in Old Town, and from the start the transition was amazing! The staff guided not just her, but also us parents through the transition. 10 months later and we could not be happier with our choice to switch to The Vine. We look forward to enrolling our next child in the infant class. You can’t beat this neighborhood daycare!

The Vine staff consistently go above and beyond when taking care of our children! They update us regularly with pictures, texts, and stories of what has taken place during the day. They have taught our children how to be kind, caring, and thoughtful and have more than prepared our son for kindergarten. Our daughter has to say goodbye to everyone—adult and child—before she leaves each day. I cannot imagine a better place for children to be if they can’t be at home. Kim and the rest of The Vine Preschool staff are hands-down the best!

We have been a part of The Vine Preschool family for over 5 years and it's truly been a wonderful experience. As new parents we were so anxious about finding just the right caregivers for our newborn son. We did a lot of research, interviewed nannies, visited centers and numerous home day cares. We initially chose a center but I wasn't confident that it was the place so I continued to look. Somehow I'd missed The Vine Preschool in my initial search. Thankfully, Kim's website gave me the information I needed to know about who she was and what her background was. Her background helped me know that she would be more than a babysitter, she would educate my child. Kim opened her doors for me to visit one afternoon and I knew right away that this was where my little guy should be. The environment was welcoming and it clear that the children loved Kim and her assistant and that the feeling was mutual. It wasn't easy leaving my son that first day but Kim put me at ease. She reminded me that she has an open door policy so I could visit any time; which I did many times at the beginning. My son flourished at The Vine Preschool. Both his emotional and educational needs were met in age appropriate and positive ways. He went off to junior kindergarten ready to listen, learn and play. He continues to love Ms. Kim and excitedly shares details about his life as a kindergartner when he sees her. 3 years into our time with Kim, there was no doubt that our little girl would attend The Vine Preschool. She's now 2.5 and loves her teachers, friends and school. She requires speech therapy and Kim is more than happy to support her by welcoming the therapist twice a month. She's great about communicating our daughter's successes and areas for improvement. We're so happy to have found The Vine Preschool! Its role in our lives has made being a dual working family so much easier. We routinely talk to others about what a great experience it's been and will most certainly shed tears when it's time for our daughter to move on to the next stage in her young life.

I am the proud mommy of an alumni "Kim's Kid". I love, love, love The Vine Preschool. My youngest son attended from 6 months old until he turned 4. This school was the best of all worlds, Noah was loved and nurtured as well as given a great education. I really appreciate the care and attention to detail that Kim and her staff take. Knowing how challenging traffic and commuting can be in the Metro DC area, I commuted from Woodbridge, VA to The Vine Preschool in Alexandria, VA to work in Maryland and back daily. I would do it again in heartbeat!!! There is is no short cut in my day that could measure up to the peace of mind I had knowing that my child was receiving the best care daily. Being an educator myself, I at times wonder if I have unrealistic expectations of what school and childcare should look like for my kids. But our experience at The Vine Preschool proved to me that excellence in care and education should be the expectation, not the exception. From an infant, Kim provided my family with developmental reports on how Noah was growing and learning. She also provided invaluable information on how we could use our time at home to create a learning continuum. I am a believer and advocate for small home learning environments, especially when children are young. It was a rare and awesome experience to find Kim and The Vine Preschool. Even to this day, I have a sense of "family" with the special group of people that we have been afforded the opportunity to share this very important time in our lives with. When people comment on how articulate and smart Noah is, I smile and remind myself it's because he was one of "Kim's Kids".