Puddle Jumpers Academy

There is not enough space here to write about my positive experiences at Puddle Jumpers! My now 7 yr old daughter started here around 9 months old and my now 4 year old son started around 4 months. My daughter remained here through Kindergarten and my son till age 3 1/2. We had to switch my sons school due to location which I struggled with bc I did not want him to leave his (or should I say “our” Puddle Jumper Family)! As a working mother, I was so comforted by the administration, teachers, and just the overall atmosphere of the place where my kids would spend their weekdays. I am so grateful that my children had the social and academic experiences that they had. We still go back and visit and are treated as if they still attend! The staff are so warm and nurturing, which is exactly what I wanted for my babies! The Kindergarten program really prepared my daughter who went on to 1st grade being extremely prepared! Based on my experiences over several years with my two kiddos attending, I absolutely recommend Puddle Jumpers Academy!

-Kara

I have had two children at Puddle Jumpers since 2014. We have gone through every classroom, from Infants to Kindergarten. I have found the teachers to be creative and enthusiastic. The administration is responsive and communication is amazing. I used to work next door and was always welcome to visit my infant during the day. I no longer work nearby, but I continue to commute 15+ minutes each way to bring my son here. I toured other schools close to me and not one offered the academic rigor, fun activities, affordable price, cleanliness, and warm family environment that we have experienced at PJA. My daughter has excelled in public school after her years in pre-k and kindergarten. The teachers in those rooms are wonderful at differentiating instruction to challenge their students. They inspire a love of learning. Their classroom management promotes respect and student empowerment. I cannot imagine a better place for my children to spend their days. We will be so sad to leave!

Our daughter was at Puddle Jumpers from the ages of 2 to 6 years old - it was one of the best decisions we've made for her thus far to move her to PJA. She thrived there. The teachers are amazing - my daughter learned so much both academically as well as emotionally. The pre-K and kindergarten teachers both helped us realize our daughter is on the gifted end of the spectrum, and worked with her at her level so she was challenged. The kindergarten class was perfect for our daughter - the teacher is fantastic at differentiating for each of the students' needs as well as the needs of the class as a whole. My daughter is in first grade in public school now and the transition was seamless because the kindergarten teacher prepared her so well.

Wonderful day care! Both my nieces are here and get such great individualized care. Each child is celebrated for her unique gifts and the staff is warm, loving and accepting. I'm so grateful these girls are in this positive environment!

Our two girls were one of the first kids enrolled here. They absolutely love it. They come home with a ton of stuff they did each day and regurgitating knowledge learned at Puddle Jumpers.

Can't say enough good things about the staff.

My boy loves this school! He has been there fore over 2 years now. It is a happy and caring environment; the curriculum is well designed. The owner and management team is always around and super responsive. Highly recommend!!

LOVE THIS PLACE!! Kind of expensive but is worth paying the money.. BUT.... I will suggest you DO NOT APPLY to get a job. The owner requires that all applicants must be pursuing or have a BS, HOWEVER... THEY PAY HORRIBLE. I know from past employees that even with a college degree THEY DO NOT PAY OVER $9.50/HR... When I knew this information I was in shock, EVEN CHICK-FIL-A PAYS MORE!
I feel sorry for those girls, they really take care of the kids and they love what they do, they deserve a better salary.

@Debbie...their hours are 6:30 am to 6:30pm. My brother’s girls went there and really enjoyed it!

My daughter attended here for almost 3 years and my daughter loved it! I highly recommend this place. Awesome staff too.

It’s a nice daycare/kindergarten. Teachers are good really liked the pre-k teacher Mrs. crystal - patient kind loving - my son adored her. Kindergarten - small class as they are kids from the pre-k moving up. Teacher was ok -I have dealt with better. I always felt when she had a bad day - it showed in her attitude. Glad to be finished with her. The teachers also babysit/have some of the students sleeping over - very political - and it shows. You know which parents and their kids are the preferred.
There are many good schools in moorestown area - look around as the office personnel leave a lot to be desired. They handle conflict blindly - for that I won’t forget nor would I personally recommend this school. Lastly they seem to have a revolving door with teachers - I’m not sure if that has to do with the pay or the mgmt or both.....

Our daughter was there for a short period of time(4 months) in the infant room. There was a high turnover in staff when she first started and then there continued to be what seemed like a revolving door of teachers coming from other rooms.
The school does not sanitize the toys or the room with anything other than spray Lysol, making the room a breeding ground for germs in an already very germy age group.
From the first day, we had difficulty with the staff meeting our expectations when it came to feeding and changing our child. There were several days when our child was sent home hungry because they “forgot” to feed her more than 1 time over a 9 hour day. We requested her to be fed every 2 hours, like at home. She also had a constant diaper rash (being home with her prior, I knew this was not normal)

I called both of these concerns out to the staff several times. However, continued to be an issue. If she refused what was given to her, the staff did not try reheating the bottle or giving her a other foods to see if she would eat that. This was a huge red flag that did not get any better. After bringing this to the owners attention, she then decided to over compensate by feeding my child significantly too often (every hour). I spoke to the owner as this was also a huge concern.

We actually had to go to the doctor and getting medication for her diaper rash. She was visibly uncomfortable and in pain. After I returned from the doctor, the owner said,” I assume the rash is now gone”. Which is clearly not the case. I encountered several, what I felt, unnecessary comments from her.

When we first enrolled our daughter, we gave a bottle of baby Tylenol to be used for teething proposes. I let the staff know when she was teething and that it was ok to administer Tylenol if needed. The day before we were kicked out, I found out that they lost her Tylenol and had been administering the daycares Tylenol. This is a HUGE concern to me as baby Tylenol is administered by a syringe. How is this being sanitized? When I questioned this, the owner did not say anything and walked away. The next I was told “This was the “last straw”” by the daycare, as I was kicked out.

There was never a staff/parent meeting called to discuss daycare/parent concerns before being kicked out. I went to drop her off, and was immediately called into a meeting with the owner and was told that I was no longer welcomed at Puddle Jumpers.
There was also only one way of communicating during the day to let me know of their concerns. If I did not answer my phone, it was stated it was my fault my child did not eat that day because they tried calling.
After leaving the center, I found out that the owner was giving the teachers instructions on how to care for my child that conflicted with the care I asked for.

I highly do not recommend taking your child to this daycare.

They don't offer any childcare for before school children. Frankly I was surprised that they never heard of it either. Ten year old children that have parents that work before school often need this service. It's really a shame that they are so limited in what they can do.