Stepping Stones Academy (SSA) is an amazing place. The structure of the lessons and activities are incredibly supportive of the young developing minds that SSA has under their roof. What I love most about SSA is the consistency in their development of my child. When he transitioned from one age group to the next, SSA kept a consistent educational curriculum that allowed him to continually progress every year. Although, I want him to have fun. Educational consistency was my greatest expectation at any of the day cares/preschools that my son attended. Which is why we bounced around from a couple of day cares/preschools until we found SSA.
The cool thing is, when we go to the Pediatrician and we have to check off his capabilities in regards to his child development he's got most of the skills he should have at his age. This was actually a key indicator that I used to measure the other preschools/day cares.
The second reason I love SSA so much is the staff. Our son looks forward to preschool every day. He even asks if he can go on the weekends (of course, there's no school on the weekends). Everyone knows, you learn a lot more when you're having fun. Which is probably why my Son learns so much at SSA. The activities (whether included or add-ons) like Tumble Bus and Soccer Shots are not only excellent in my Son's physical developments, but he loves it. The only thing is, when he sees school busses now he says, "Daddy, TumbleBus!!!" And of course regular school busses don't have the cool gymnastics like equipment built in like the TumbleBus. In fact, that's where my Son learned how to balance on narrow balance beam like structure, and hang from bars.
The third reason I love SSA, is all encompassing. It could/should be the first reason, but ultimately it's the secure environment. Everything in SSA is under one roof with 2 passcode protected entryways. I know when my kid is at SSA he's safe. Even their playground is in an isolated location in the back that can't be accessed unless you go through their facility. Every classroom has a controlled entry point to deter kids from wondering around and getting lost. Their restrooms are child proof to prevent the kids from wondering in without supervision.
The only thing I would like to see improve, but it's not SSA's fault, is their contracted food vendor be able to auto-bill via credit card. I'm a "set it and forget it" kind of a guy and would love to just establish an account and have it run until I cancel it. Lucky for me, I have a responsible Wife and Mother who use checks - I don't ever use checks - to help me get my Son's breakfast, lunch, and snacks paid for.
It breaks my heart that we have to leave, but we're an Active Duty Military Family so constant moving is part of our obligation. We found a school in the mainland, but it will be hard to meet or exceed the standards that SSA has set for our family.
Thank you so much, Ms. Myra, Ms. Tanya, Ms. Michelle, Ms. Laa, and Ms Charlotte.
