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June 2024 by Jennifer Bulls
My daughter had such a great experience at Pilgrim! She loved being outside and exploring everything on her own time. Thank you for giving us a safe and creative space for our kiddo!
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June 2024 by Karine Provost
We attended Pilgrim Community Preschool in the 2 year old and 3 year old classrooms, as well as summer camp. Every step of the way, with all of the various teachers, we felt welcomed and nurtured. From the in-home visit with teachers before the start of school, to daily pictures and clear communication from the staff, we loved our experience at Pilgrim. Every day you are welcomed at the door with smiling faces who know every child’s name.
My kid is very cautious with new experiences and, as a “COVID baby,” had little social experiences in his early childhood, and the team at Pilgrim helped him come out of his shell, try new things, and make friends. The teachers are gentle and encouraging in their approach, celebrating the students victories and helping them through their challenges.
There is a sense of community, respect and inclusivity at Pilgrim. I cannot say enough wonderful things about our experience the last few years.
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June 2024 by Haley Reimer
Wonderful teachers and community. We love the play based approach and have seen our child really blossom this year!
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May 2024 by Danielle Uribe
Waited until the end of the school year to fully assess and compare the environments before writing this review. We wanted to love this school, but ultimately ended up pulling our son out after a few months. My son had Cheryl and Jen as his teachers. Cheryl has a warm presence while Jen picked who she wanted to be warm with. I could only imagine what I didn’t witness, considering my son came home one day and said shut your face, which we have never said before, but I’ll share a couple of examples of what I did witness. Jen said she couldn’t understand what my son was saying to her, she stood over him, looked at him and said “I have no idea what he’s saying”. Immediately after that, another little girl came up to her and said something she also couldn’t understand. Jen got down on her knee, eye level with the child and said “I don’t understand can you show me?” Another instance I watched her neighbor’s child push my child and she gently says “no no” then when my son pushed him back she yelled at him and contained him. There was an issue everyday we picked him up from school. We weren’t welcome there, and it was made known. They insisted my son had “special needs” they couldn’t attend to. Switched schools and have not had a problem, no special accommodations, no issues. He was awarded student of the month after a couple months at the new school. The award was given for peer interactions and following classroom rules. If you’re what they want there, you’ll love it. If you’re not, they’ll break your kids spirit.
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June 2023 by S. Kirschner
This school has exceeded our hopes for our daughter's first experience at school. We looked around extensively before settling on PCNS and are so happy with the program. Our daughter was 3, (now 4), and before classes started, her teachers came to meet her at our house and did a little art project with her, and then there was an open house before classes started. Because of this, she already knew them and the space on her first day and she wasn't anxious at all, just excited.
Her classroom is well laid out (and is clean!) with a lot of different things to explore and play. There's a mixture of free play and structured play. I am very impressed with her curriculum, which covers literacy, writing & drawing, math, and science every week following different themes. She loves her teachers Mr. Rob and Ms. Molly, and has been learning a lot of social skills and making friends with her classmates. We saw a big improvement with her at home after she started school as she's learning how to manage and express her feelings and communicate them with words.
Early in the year, they had parent-teacher conferences and my husband and I were impressed (again) with her teachers. It was obvious they had been paying a lot of attention to her and had identified some areas where we could work with her at home in terms of academic and social skills, as well as the things she was doing very well on. We feel like we have a great collaborative relationship with them and are very comfortable talking to them about concerns or to seek advice.
I'll close with a story about something that just really highlights the love and the care that the staff have for the kids. At the end of a week, we picked up my daughter to take her to her yearly pediatric appointment and she was afraid of getting a vaccine. She was crying very hard as we left, and the director of the program, Ms. Emily, (who every day welcomes them as they arrive and says goodbye as they leave) sat down on the ground and talked to her until she started to calm down. Ms. Emily said she was also going to get a shot that weekend, and she suggested that she and my daughter both concentrate on saying the ABCs and they could compare what letters they got to before the shots were done. It was a big help both in the moment and while we were at the doctor. And then she actually remembered and specifically asked my daughter about it when she arrived the next Monday!
We're looking forward to another year there. We're also expecting another child now and will definitely be sending him to this school when he's old enough. If you're looking for a wonderful program with expert staff and a play-based philosophy, I strongly suggest this one.
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February 2023 by Sasha Kirschner
This school has exceeded our hopes for our daughter's first experience at school. We looked around extensively before settling on PCNS and are so happy with the program. Our daughter was 3, (now 4), and before classes started, her teachers came to meet her at our house and did a little art project with her, and then there was an open house before classes started. Because of this, she already knew them and the space on her first day and she wasn't anxious at all, just excited.Her classroom is well laid out (and is clean!) with a lot of different things to explore and play. There's a mixture of free play and structured play. I am very impressed with her curriculum, which covers literacy, writing & drawing, math, and science every week following different themes. She loves her teachers Mr. Rob and Ms. Molly, and has been learning a lot of social skills and making friends with her classmates. We saw a big improvement with her at home after she started school as she's learning how to manage and express her feelings and communicate them with words.Early in the year, they had parent-teacher conferences and my husband and I were impressed (again) with her teachers. It was obvious they had been paying a lot of attention to her and had identified some areas where we could work with her at home in terms of academic and social skills, as well as the things she was doing very well on. We feel like we have a great collaborative relationship with them and are very comfortable talking to them about concerns or to seek advice.I'll close with a story about something that just really highlights the love and the care that the staff have for the kids. At the end of a week, we picked up my daughter to take her to her yearly pediatric appointment and she was afraid of getting a vaccine. She was crying very hard as we left, and the director of the program, Ms. Emily, (who every day welcomes them as they arrive and says goodbye as they leave) sat down on the ground and talked to her until she started to calm down. Ms. Emily said she was also going to get a shot that weekend, and she suggested that she and my daughter both concentrate on saying the ABCs and they could compare what letters they got to before the shots were done. It was a big help both in the moment and while we were at the doctor. And then she actually remembered and specifically asked my daughter about it when she arrived the next Monday!We're looking forward to another year there. We're also expecting another child now and will definitely be sending him to this school when he's old enough. If you're looking for a wonderful program with expert staff and a play-based philosophy, I strongly suggest this one.
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January 2023 by Air Stu
My child went here for less than two months and I wish I took her out sooner. My daughter was so excited for school and making friends and she couldn't stand going here by the last 2 weeks. Within the first month, she was injured and the teacher said she didn't see what happened, "she just fell". I was furious. Then she was sick multiple times (which I know happens) but the teacher admitted that all the teachers had been sick and none of them ever stayed home. Then my child got a rash which doesn't happen unless the facility is dirty and no one is paying attention to a child. On top of all that the staff is very nonchalant and lied to myself and my partner. What's the point of a parent portal if nothing is ever posted on it and I can't receive accurate updates about my child??!! I saw children getting left outside of the fence at the end of the day and I witnessed teachers saying "did someone pick up (student's name) because I didn't see them leave." Oh and there's a ton of extra fees.
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January 2021 by Austin O'Brien
It was very important to us to find a school with a loving and caring environment. As soon as we walked into Pilgrim’s open house house we knew we had found the right place. The teachers and staff are truly amazing, caring people and we felt like we were joining a community of parents and teachers with a common goal of embracing the uniqueness in each child there and helping them to explore the world around them and learn how to build and manage relationships and social interactions. My kids have made some of their best friends there and they talk about their teachers all of the time. I was also blown away by how much their minds started exploding when they started school. They come home singing songs, putting on their coats by themselves (a big deal for a 2 yr old sometimes), pointing out new things they have learned at school, asking more questions about their surroundings. I couldn’t be happier with this school. My son just graduated up to Kindergarten and he still has play dates with his pilgrim friends and looks through his memory book from pilgrim. Couldn’t recommend this place more!
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January 2021 by Etienne Pelaprat
Pilgrim is an amazing preschool. The teachers are incredible in fostering a playful and creative environment that enabled our children to grow. Our kids love going to Pilgrim every single morning; their friendships with classmates endure beyond their enrollment; and we're friends with other parents, too!
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January 2021 by Tory Patrick
Pilgrim Community Nursery School is amazing - I love this place so much! It's exactly how I remember preschool when I was little - in a church basement with the most amazing, attentive, loving teachers in the world. My very active daughter thrived here last year and is excelling in Kindergarten this year. My twins are in the Circle Room this year, and they are truly bummed on Friday morning when they realize there is no school. The learning is play-based - lots of sensory and interactive activities - and no worksheets! (Because what 3 year old needs to be doing a worksheet?) We had tried 2 other preschools with my oldest daughter when we first moved to Oak Park, and I wish we would have tried Pilgrim first. We never would have left. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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January 2018 by J Holguin
Fantastic program. My son attended Pilgrim & he'd come home with songs, stories, art work, we'd have video blogs and opportunities to get involved as little or as much as we wished. Pilgrim has teachers who are compassionate and truly care about the kids they teach. It's play based but also focuses on learning new concepts (shapes, letters etc). Joel Rhea is a great director -I highly recommend.
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January 2018 by aidan chranko
It was ok
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January 2016 by Nina Diehl
My oldest has gone to Pilgrim for the past 2 years. She has received a strong foundation in learning through a play-based education. The teachers are patient and creative in a way that I could never be. They maneuver through tricky social situations (like two 4-year-olds in a conflict) in ways that have taught me a thing or two just by observing their expertise. They involve students in very interesting studies of the world around them by, for example, making prints by painting a fish and pressing it onto a sheet of construction paper. I have been very impressed with my daughters gains in socio-emotional, early literacy, and creative thinking skills. She has gained a higher sense of self and personal responsibility through the excellent program at Pilgrim Nursery School.
