Carousel Child Care Ctr

Let me start off by saying neither of my sons have ever been in any daycare facility, unfortunately since going full-time I needed something reliable for my youngest and thought since my niece was attending it couldn't be that bad..Man was I wrong. Within the first few days he received a huge bump on his head and believed what they told me was the result of falling on the playground. More recently I witnessed one of the male teachers grabbing my 3 year old by the shirt and forcing him to the chair because he wasn't listening to his liking. On top of that he was left outside ALONE by himself for a length of time in which I?m hearing 2 different stories about how long he was out there (he couldn't have been out there no more than a 1-2 minutes; well it was about 5-10 but don't worry it wasn't like he was out there 2-3 hours), and according to one of the ladies this has never happened before, this coming from someone who's been with the company for 12 years. How sad is it that it took m more

I have two children who go to this childcare center and they both really enjoy it. My son is in 3rd grade and they take him on a different field trip everyday, he really looks forward to coming here. My toddler was a little reluctent at first, but has she grown to lover her teachers and now she never wants to leave. The staff here are friendly and many of the teachers I have been told, have been there for years. The office staff are also very nice, and have always addressed any of my concerns. The building is older than most other centers that I have looked at, but overall I would recommend this place to anyone! more

I had made arrangements for my son to attend this Center. I receive child care assitance, so I made my arrangements well in advance. The day before he was scheduled to start I went in to pay may monthly bill. Hannah told me that I could pay "tomorrow" and I left. 10 minutes later, while I was driving, Hannah called me to say that they had made a mistake in saying that my son could attend.\r \r Are you kidding me? They had already received all of my vouchers, and had confirmed enrollment a month ahead of time. Overall I would say that I'm glad that my son didn't go there if this is their common business practice. But the courtesy of knowing before 5:00 the day before would have been really nice. more

My goodness people! Has Carousel really changed that much?I remember growing up at Carousel as a kid and never wanting to leave at the end of the day. I started going there when I was about 6 months old until I was 12. Carousel is truly a home away from home and the staff there became part of my family!\r \r I remember taking trips out to Mrs. Terry and Mr. Sid's lake house and having a blast with all of my daycare friends. They always planned such great field trips that always left the other kids and I wanting more! And the play ground! Oh how can anyone forget the gigantic orange pumpkin and the tunnel and that wooden pick-up truck?! So many great memories there!\r \r I don't think I will ever forget the awesome staff there, ever.I grew up with Ms.Betty and Ms. Theresa and Ms. Dorothy and Ms Carol and Ms Hannah. They knew my brother and sister and I very well and they knew when something was up and exactly when to give my mom a call because they knew that if it was something dumb it woul more

I went here every day from around 2 years old to maybe 10. That would be from the mid 80s into early 90s... This place has been around a while... \r \r Fond memories overall. I remember a giant pumpkin, larger-than-average swings, watching Sesame Street, a large concrete pipe, and something resembling a flat-bed pickup made of wood in the back. I also remember liking the food more than my mom's. It was certainly safe and clean. Of course times change. I'm sure this place is a little different than it was 20 years ago. \r \r I went to preschool here and ended up with a graduate degree from a top-ten school in my field. My brother did also, and he's a bum. You parents rolled the dice at conception. Don't go blaming the day care. more

My family and I love Carousel. I have a son who has gone to Carousel since he was two and he is now four. He also calls it his "school". The teachers are great and the majority of the staff have been there for years. My husband and I recently found out that we are going to have another addition to the family and were saddened to hear that they no longer have and infant room. more

I have two children who attend Carousel. One of whom has been there since she was an infant, and is now seven. Although the building is older and they don't have the newest equipment, I have never found it to be dirty. My children enjoy the time they spend there, and look forward to going. The staff are friendly and I enjoy the relationship that I have with management. My children always have something for me to take home, it's some of the cutest artwork around town! I feel sorry for other people who didn't enjoy their experience, but that is definitely not the case for my family. Keep up the good work Carousel. more

I am also the mother of the 4 year old who got left outside. I have a different view on the school, however. First of all, it is a school. Children are learning constantly, not only about interactions socially, but about music, art, playing, team work, etc. As a psychology major, it is very important to me that my daughter is learning on several different levels. This is definitely the case at Carousel. This is why it doesn't bother me that my daughter comes home messy. She's 4. It happens no matter what we do!\r \r Secondly, my daughter loves her friends there. The parents and children (for the most part) are not pretentious. There are a variety of people from all walks of life and I like that my daughter is learning to get along with all sorts of people and in a wide variety of situations. Yes, she did get left outside. It was terrifying, but they took as many steps as they could to rectify the situation, including firing the teacher (who my daughter misses terribly), and in the last 1 more

I would routinely go to pick up my son from pre-school, and he would be in a classroom with three year olds, or two year olds. Not that interaction with different age groups is bad, but this was a daily thing. I wasn't paying for pre-school for my son to teach the younger kids manners and how to potty by themself.\r \r Some of the staff was excellent, undoubtedly chased away by the hussie they have who works the front desk. Yep, she seems charming enough, but none of my male relatives wanted to pick up my child anymore, as she would continuely "hit" on them.\r \r If you were a guy going there looking for a date, or whatever she was offering it might be okay, but not for your child. more

I?m a mother of a four year old daughter who unfortunately goes to spend her entire day in that place. Yes I can admit they are playing with kids, give them naps and feed them. Anybody can do that! \r One very cold winter day, teacher took my daughter?s class to the playground and for some reason decided to live my baby girl outside ALONE. I was terrified when they apologized, told me that teacher has been fired and she is Ok. Which is not, children need to be watched every second. \r On top of that accident every morning I drop of my daughter dressed all cute, in the nice clothes, neat and clean. At the end of the day you can?t find a clean spot on her clothes, face is all massy in dirt, hair is filthy. All of that because the owners, decided to cover their playground in hard rocks, all metal swings is not protected in case if the child fell or get pushed on them. \r Safety is the number one rule for the daycare facilities. Carousel failed on that one. more

I feel sad for the person who found this center to be unsafe, but I have to say - while I've not used them as long it appears that the other reviewer has, I have to say - they experience has always been great! I like a place that encourages parents to pop in at any time! \r \r I would suggest to the person who had a bad experience that they fill out the municipalities report that Mayor Begich began. You can find it here > http://hhs.muni.org/childcare/ -- Mayor Begich's Office is fantastic when it comes to ensuring only safe, clean, and well-rounded childcare businesses exists in our city. Again, my experience has been quite the opposite - but the municipality should know the concerns of those who experienced a different outcome than I did. PROS: Hours, staff, overall good environment for children CONS: more

I can't believe that someone would actually have good things to say about this "so called" childcare center. Both of my daughter's attended Carousel as well as my niece and children of friends,we all agreed that this was NOT a safe or clean environment.There were many times when I would pick up my children and they would not have on the clothes they wore, instead they would have on too small, non matching clothes of other kids, when I provided extra clothes of their own. My niece caught a bacteria form rash from her class where there were about 5-7 other children with the same condition. The final straw was when I went to pick my infant up from her room, there was a 8 month old laying on a 4ft changing table unattended and "coincidentally" fell off onto the hard tiled floor. She was crying hysterically the care giver ran over and picked her up. After being a witness to that horrific scene I grabbed my children, that was their last day at Carousel. I couldn't sleep that night without th more

It is rare that you find a preschool that makes you feel confident and secure leaving your small child, Carousel is exactly this kind of place. The teachers are very concerned with your childs welfare and happiness. They have been in their jobs for a while (low turnover rate) and they structure your childs day around activites and learning that is age appropriate and fun. One of the best in Anchorage! more

Carousel child care is a wonderful place. The children have plenty of materials for creative play and a great cirriculum for early learning too. The teachers have a caring and optomistic outlook and truely seem to care for each and every student. They have an outside yard that I would love to play in and our daughter really enjoyed going here. They accept child care assistance too which is a big plus for some families, but their rates are not very expensive anyway. more