Starchildny

We love sending our child to Starchild. Despite the enormous effort involved, the teachers take the kids outside 1-2 times/week, weather permitting. They also go on field trips around the city, including the Union Square farmers market, Little Island, berry picking, or even aquariums and farms outside of the city. We really enjoy immersing our child in a full Japanese environment, and equally have seen non-Japanese kids thrive. The teachers deliver high quality care.

Star Child, or "StaCha", as it is colloquially termed, is IMHO the nicest day care in New York.

Teachers are trained and certified through a highly rigorous Japanese program, covering a range of skills, including keyboard playing, and turnover at StaCha is very low. Teachers write daily detailed reports on their observations of your child. Care is taken to make sure children are properly dressed and wearing sunscreen for going outside; there's nothing more disturbing than seeing a group of kids in other programs playing in the summer sun, all without hats.

Daily routine is well planned and varied: free play, music, art projects, rehearsals for shows, dancing, reading books, playground, walks in the neighborhood and visits to shops, plus nap time and monthly field trips. Although teachers usually speak Japanese, they are bilingual and many children come from English-only families. If your child picks up a little Japanese, what's the downside?

Our younger child attends 3 days per week; our older aged out, but started at 8 months old one day per week, increasing to 5 days per week. When we drop off our kid at stacha, there is nothing to worry about.

We cannot say enough great things about Starchild! It was recommended by a friend after our nanny left unexpectedly, and since then, our lives have become so much easier thanks to Starchild. From day one, I felt comforted when speaking with the teachers. Our daughter was very shy and afraid of group settings at that time, but the teachers were incredibly supportive of her and me as a first-time mother. They are all patient, nurturing, and positive, which made me feel very safe and reassured when dropping my child off.

As a parent who practices attachment parenting, Starchild is the perfect place that fosters warm, natural bonding with teachers and among mixed-age peers. Not only did my daughter open up and blossom into her expressive, joyful, people-loving self, but she also formed strong bonds with all of her classmates, whom she speaks about fondly every time she comes home. They often go on field trips, from nearby to faraway places, which expanded her world and created wonderful memories with her friends!

I am immensely grateful that my daughter got to experience something like this in her critical formative years at Starchild! If you're looking for a trustworthy, warm, nurturing, and fun environment that also provides natural discipline, look no further. Thanks to Starchild, my daughter has become capable of taking naps without tantrums (which was customary pre-Starchild), eating a variety of foods, dressing herself, sitting in the car seat for long periods (which felt like a torture chair before), and so many other things I had no clue how to manage on my own!

The most caring, thoughtful, and incredible teachers. None of us in our family speak Japanese, but we still loved the language immersion for our toddler. What was important to us is that we found caring individuals that we didn’t need to worry about and felt like an extension of our family.

We have sent two of our kids to Starchild, and have appreciated all that the teachers and the administrators have done to ensure the kids learn and enjoy their day to day activities. They go above and beyond to ensure the kids are safe, and at the same time they also create opportunities for growth and challenges. My kids are always doing crafts or outside playing, or walking, checking out the latest cool spots. I highly recommend checking out Starchild as an option for your child's daycare.