Centretown Friends Home Day Care

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		Last 6 months		N.A.
		Last 12 months		N.A.
		Last 24 months		+4.0

Listing

9 reviews

		Centretown Friends Home Day Care
	Family / home daycare, dayhome


	Not available,
	Ottawa, K1R5R3
	Ontario, Canada

	Velvet

Email: not available

	Tel.: not available

	Website
	not available

Parents' reviews
(9 reviews posted)

Review this provider!

Warning: The accuracy of these reviews has not been verified; they only reflect the opinion of the parents who posted them. You should always do your own investigation. If you need any help, we invite you to read our guide on Choosing the right daycare provider.

Legend - 0: with deficiencies | 2: adequate | 4: first-class provider

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"Our child attended Velvet's daycare from the age of 2 to 4, when he started kindergarden. It was a truly amazing time to watch him grow and become a caring, warm and curious human, much thanks to Velvet.

She knows how to bring out the best in the children who are in her care and nourish their interests. Music was a very important part of the day, be it listening to music, playing/experimenting, or dance parties. It works as a way to bring the kids together; share play, joy and space; listen to each other and the music; all while being connected.

Velvet is an amazing communicator. We would get daily detailed emails which would allow us to feed our conversations with our child in the evening, which is such an amazing gift for parents. She is incredibly patient and gentle with the children and has a way to encourage them to be little leaders, respect others and boundaries, show love and appreciation, able to identify and express complicated feelings, and even is able to offer certain tools to parents. My child was a fussy eater when he began daycare, but thanks to Velvet's approach, today he enjoys eating and is interested in trying new things.

The children learn to appreciate nature and the outdoors, talk to neighbours, and explore their surroundings.

My child highly recommends her to anyone, as do I!"

Lisa L'Heureux (24.212.185....), Jan 28th 2025

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"Our daughter just had her last day of daycare with Velvet after a truly wonderful year. She will be starting junior kindergarten in a week. We started with Velvet last year following a move to Ottawa and we could not be more thankful that we were able to secure a spot in her home daycare. Velvet has a way with children like no other. She is genuinely kind, loving, imaginative, playful, and creative. Velvet fosters friendship between kids of all ages. It was such a gift to watch our four year old learn to help the younger children and babies in Velvet's care. The kids spend their days having lots of outdoor play at the nearby parks or Velvet's yard/front area. They go on field trips to the wading pool, Museum of Nature, Parliament, the NAC, nearby EarlyON centres. Rainy days involve dance parties, art projects, and imaginative play. We were lucky to receive some really amazing craft projects! Velvet provides excellent communication with parents including daily emails and photos or videos from the day as well as in person communication at drop off or pick up. She provides healthy, vegetarian meals. You'll be lucky to have Velvet as a daycare provider! We know we're sending our child to kindergarten with a kind heart, an open mind, and a vivid imagination that have been nurtured with Velvet!"

Melissa (174.116.115....), Aug 30th 2024

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"I highly recommend Velvet’s daycare for any parent seeking a nurturing and engaging environment for their child. Kids are naturally drawn to her personality and warmth, and our son felt comfortable with her right from day 1. Her genuine love for the kids is evident, and she fosters a sense of individuality and confidence in each child.

The proximity to several local parks is a huge perk, and the kids get to spend a lot of time playing outdoors. We'll visit the same parks on the weekends and it's always fun to see the new things our son has learned to do! Our son has also grown to LOVE dancing and music - Velvet picked up on his interest in that area and encouraged him even more. Now, the second that he hears music playing, he drops whatever he's doing so he can show off his dance moves :)

Velvet excels at teaching kindness and social skills. It’s clear from how respectfully the children interact with each other and other parents at pick up/drop off times.

Communication with Velvet is excellent, and she always keeps us updated on our son's activities and progress. I would be happy to chat further with anyone looking for a personal recommendation - please get my contact info from Velvet and we can connect."

Katie (142.120.59....), Jul 31st 2024

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"My eldest daughter attended Centretown friends daycare from age 2.5 to age 4, and my youngest will begin attending in January 2022. Velvet offers a very special experience for the children in her care. The best review of all is from my daughter herself, who absolutely adores Velvet. Not only was she excited to go to daycare every day, but sometimes she would be disappointed on sundays and holidays when she couldn't go.
Velvet's program focuses on caring for each other, lots of time outside exploring, arts and crafts, and of course plenty of playtime. I see lots of childcare/daycare providers with kids and none of them actually engage the kids the way that Velvet does. When Velvet heads to the park, she brings a selection of toys and lots of cool ideas. This attracts everyone into her orbit, whom she welcomes to participate. Her creativity and patience are endless. Her tone of voice when she speaks to the children is always gentle, and she gives plenty of warning before having to change her tone. Velvet is a gifted childcare provider and you are very lucky if she is able to care for your child.
Velvet offers a healthy vegetarian diet and is very communicative with parents. She is easygoing and doesn't fuss when things go wrong or when there are last minute changes. If you are looking for an intimate childcare experience, one in which your child will feel loved, special and cared for, then you have found it with Velvet. She's the best in the business and I could not recommend her strongly enough."

Anne Loosen (174.115.196....), Sep 23rd 2022

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"Our daughter has attended Centretown Friends since she was about a year and a half. She initially attended another daycare but had trouble adapting to a somewhat institutional and less welcoming type of environment.

Our little one had no issues at all when she first met Velvet. Velvet has a warm, friendly personality and daycare setting that appeals to kids from day one. Even pre-daycare kids seem to gravitate toward her. She offers the children a variety of toys, games, indoor and outdoor activities, and nourishing little projects for them to stay busy.

Velvet has excellent judgement and gets creative when it comes to handling tough situations such as a group of crying toddlers, or when one of them is having a bad day. She's always ready for teachable moments such as when the kids see a squashed bug, when encountering an upset person in the park, or when the wind blows away someone's balloon.

My family is being posted out of Ottawa but if we were staying we would absolutely send our now 5 month old to Centretown Friends so that she'd have the same opportunity our first child had to thrive in a lively, hands-on environment Velvet creates!"

Gabe Solomon (173.252.21....), Jun 1st 2022

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"Velvet is the best. She is a true professional of childhood education. We've had our daughter with her for over 2 years, starting at age 14 months. We greatly appreciate Velvet's ability to foster our child's senses of compassion for living things, care of others who are sad or hurt, respect for personal boundaries (asking nicely to take a toy, erase a picture, step away, etc), and self-reflection (recognizing and articulating one's emotions). Of course, the day revolves around play, but we feel Velvet is a master of instilling these important attitudes, habits and skills in the children throughout the days.

We learned recently of her higher level roles at former places of employment, which made total sense... she has great focus on what the children will benefit the most from - from the abundance and rotation of toys, planned activities, respectfully managing the children's interactions when necessary, special celebrations, and the food they eat. The food is very, very healthy, balanced and good quality. Velvet is a friend of cloth diapers as well.

Actually, we started our daughter at a childcare centre at first, thinking this was the 'way to go'. Our daughter scream-cried the entire first week and we were extremely displeased with the level of care for the children that (wasn't) going on. It was very businesslike, VERY few toys, poor nutrition, very little affection and cold interaction...etc. Velvet's is the opposite of that. I feel grateful that we found her. Our daughter loves her, and the program very much. From what I can tell, all the children do, and the children themselves are quite close, funny, curious, caring, excitable and respectful with one another, it's endearing.

From the parent's perspective Velvet is also very good - she communicates the children's highlights and any sticking points daily in an email, and takes as much time as necessary discussing during pick up / drop off or otherwise to ensure all three parties are working effectively as a team to have needs met. We cannot say enough I guess. Happy to discuss with anyone who may have questions."

Teresa Thomas (142.182.129....), Mar 31st 2022

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"Our son has attended Velvet's daycare for seven months until the March 2020 lockdown. We decided to keep him home since as I am home on maternity leave with our second child and will remain so until they go to school. Otherwise, he would still be under Velvet's care.

We loved Velvet's program which involves a lot of outdoor play, singing, arts, promotes kindness to one another, helps children to develop their social skills and supports learning. Velvet is also good at sharing with parents what happened during the day with the group and with our child specifically. We found both very helpful and of course interesting!

Although a home based daycare, Velvet offers the experience and standards of a caregiver who has previously worked in daycare centres. She regularly references daycare centre standards when it comes to safety and program. Both most of all, she provides a warm and loving environment for the little ones.

Under Velvet's loving care, our son has grown from an 18 months old who cried every day we dropped him off at his previous daycare to a child happy to walk down the stairs and go play. Velvet has been supportive and open to discussing our son's individual needs, making knowledgeable and caring suggestions on how we could support our son's growth both on her side and us at home. We asked her for advice several times."

Genevieve Rodrigue (184.175.20....), Jan 14th 2021

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"Velvet currently provides daycare for both of my children-- my three-year-old boy has been attending for two-and-a-half years since he turned one, and my 18-month-old daughter started attending in summer 2020.

Velvet is an excellent, caring and intelligent daycare provider, and both kids have loved daycare since day one. Velvet encourages creativity, thoughtfulness and learning in all of her time with the kids, as well as providing a very healthy menu and lots of outdoor activities. We are so glad to have her as our caregiver, and it has been particularly reassuring to have a reliable and dedicated daycare provider like her amidst all the stress and uncertainty of the current pandemic.

I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking childcare."

Hayley Price-Kelly (174.116.107....), Jan 6th 2021

Childcare provider: Velvet

I obtained services from this family / home daycare, dayhome and I find that:

"Velvet is an amazing and passionate child care professional. She really knows the profession and very knowledgeable in the field, and in the process kids love her. My daughter would always talk about how much she misses and loves Velvet.
Velvet knows how to lead and guide the kids into their most creative and positive behaviors.

She also makes learning so much fun and so my daughter is learning all the essential skills she need while having so much fun at the same time. I am always amaze of all the new things and information my daughter brings home all the time.

Whenever I am having a hard time teaching certain behavior/skills I would always communicate it to Velvet and I would always see a huge improvement as soon as she intervene in the process. As a new mom, I have relied on her advice on many areas of child care and development.

But beyond her professional knowledge about child care and development is her heart of service, love and care for the kids. I know she loved my child almost as I do. Each time I drop my daughter off, I always have a feeling of peace; I know she is safe, loved and nurtured.

We stayed in Velvet’s day care for almost 3 years. Before coming to her we were in 2 equally amazing places but the commute was killing us (the reason why I switched providers few times). With that said, I have 2 other amazing places to compare her against but I would say that Velvet is the best!

When we first started we were given a parents’ handbook or the guiding principles of her operation and I could say that she delivers what she promised and more.

Another thing that I also appreciate so much is her being accommodating. Things happened at home and whenever the most unexpected things happened she is always very understanding and accommodating.

I can’t thank Velvet enough for the amazing care she has given my child and I will be forever grateful."

Annavic Tapar (174.114.117....), Sep 27th 2019

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