Don't be fooled by their claims of music, yoga, computers, field trips, kids in the kitchen etc...
If coloring is considered art then I guess they do art. Because nothing other than coloring is done. They had the same coloring page from St Patrick's day hanging up from mid March throughout April and bypassed Easter altogether.
Curriculum started strong in September and was looking great but went downhill very fast after Christmas! At this point the teachers seem like they don't want to be there and it's obvious the kids are getting bored with the place.

The director treats her staff very poorly and frankly does not seem she even cares. Doesn't follow covid-19 protocols

Micheal Stern and the entire staff are amazing! I refer all of my clients with children to them. They are caring and really nurture your children. It's such a loving environment for your child/children to be a part of.

Our son (just turned 3) has been at Apple Tree only since September and so far, had a wonderful experience. With this short time that he has been at the center have been quite amazed with all the great things he has been learning. Even just after a few weeks after starting, he would come home singing the cutest Halloween songs, non-stop. He also knows all his classmates names, and you might be surprised, even their last names! I'm not sure how he manages to retain all these information in his young brain. But for us, his parents, we are just pleased to see how he is enjoying his time at the center. Ms. Mary and the entire Preschool 2 team have been doing great work with him and his class. Our son knew his alphabet before he started at the center but the curriculum advanced his knowledge deeper and quicker. He comes home with the most fun artwork that connects to the words/letters they are currently working on in class. It is also easy to see how Ms. Mary is a very caring and compassionate teacher. We just moved into the area in the Fall and have been in some sort of survival mode with schedules and routines. It is just heartening to know that our son has transitioned well, especially, that this is the first time he is out of the home setting.

Not sure what the others are saying since none of their remarks are remotely close to true. Notice how they failed to mention anything even remotely close to the services rendered (with the exception of classroom size, which their remarks are just outright lies) and show cowardice in even listing their real names. When we looked for day cares for our daughter we must have physically visited over 10 of them in the surrounding area. Nearly every daycare was old, dingy, disgusting and a total lack of cleanliness. (One of them even had a thumb-tack on the floor in the toddler section!), yeah, "great" daycares alright, but hey, you can't beat the price! Just remember, you get what you pay for, and maybe the other reviewers here want to put their kids in places where they care less about their kids safety and more about how teachers are paid, but I want my daughter to be in a safe and education-driven place.

We enrolled her when she was 3 (in 2013) and she just finished her last day. A very sad day indeed. Every class she has been in was very small (around 7-15 kids at most), and the larger classes had two teachers. Between the gym time, Spanish, karate, field trips and all the other extracurricular activities the kids engaged in through the years she was there, I was outright impressed by the level of service for the price. Not only that, but our little girl developed quite well in this school. The teachers worked with her personally, always informed you if something was amiss and took action immediately to ethically diffuse any other situation. Our child was not just a number like how they are in many other schools and daycares. I call this a school because that's what this truly is. This is not just your standard daycare where a random "expert"watches your child in "centers". They actually do care. Let me go through a run down of the value of this school:
-Locked doors with security keys where only parents can enter. If someone manages to enter the building, which happens very rarely and mostly due to parents not thinking straight, the staff will stop you IMMEDIATELY and send you to the office.

-Entrance DIRECTLY from the back of the school to the playground without having to use a rope for the kids (this was all too common in many of the daycares in the surrounding area and a big concern for us. If one 3 year old runs away from the rope, guess where all the other 10 are going! Thats right, towards a busy road!)

-Logging of every event that happened throughout the day. When they went to the bathroom, what they ate, etc.

-Ability to warm food (again, this was lacking from a lot of the other daycares in the area!)

-CLEANLINESS. At the end of the day, you are smacked with the smell of cleaners. You also will notice the staff cleaning every day after school. This again was something that (while one may think is expected) many other daycares did not have.

-Extracurricular activities. Many of the other daycares in the area did not have this and I highly doubt they can even compete. The Apple Tree has yearly field trips to farms, celebrates all the holidays and the teachers work with the children to learn songs for holiday concerts. It quite impressive watching an entire school learn Christmas, thanksgiving and Halloween songs and actually remember the words. Every holiday the teachers hold parties for the kids in class and parents are welcome inside to enjoy after concerts. For Halloween the kids do a "trick-or-treat" in the parking lot, which is situated in the far back of the lot to ensure the safety of the children.

-They hold "graduation" every year with a ceremony.

-My daughter (at the time 4) learned addition up to 10 BEFORE kindergarten. Her Pre-K2 class heavily prepared her for Kindergarten. She also was able to read words and sound them out just before the start of Kindergarten and now, just finishing, is able to read long books. Not only that but she is incredibly motivated to read and cannot stop putting down books.

-Hot lunches (extra money) every monday and friday (mcdonalds and pizza)

-VERY VERY VERY understanding of nut allergies. If just one kid in the room has an allergy, no parent is allowed at all to bring in any form of nuts. While our daughter is fine, it's nice to know they care about the safety of other children with these allergies.

-Not sure what the other reviewers are talking about but ever since our daughter has been enrolled (which is now for 3 years) the same teachers have been there. They are friendly and her previous teachers always ask about her.

Everything this person Robin said in the reviews is 100% true. That's all I got to say she covered it all for me, thank you.

The Apple Tree offers quality educTion and has and very caring teachers staff and the Director is polite and family focused. I like the fact that many of teachers have been there for I many years which gives the school a family feel. It is like a second home to my children. I would recommended the school to anyone. Go check it out for yourself! You won't be disappointed!

Teachers are extremely rude and money hungry. There are plenty Child Care Centers in the area which are cheaper, family focused and polite. Let me just say, rudeness from a teacher or business owner is never acceptable when it's directed to their clients. They should be ashamed.

My children attended for a few years but I recently withdrew them. The previous director was phased out and the owner's daughter took over this Fall. Things have changed for the worse. 5 long-time teachers resigned within a few months. Classrooms are very, very overcrowded. It has lost the family feel, teachers seem overworked and stressed out. The director is VERY money focused. She charges a "cot fee" of $30 for your child to sleep in the toddler room. She makes the teachers to monthly journals for each child and makes them pay for the expense of photos. They also have to pay for craft supplies, which is sad because they don't get paid alot and have no medical coverage. I know this because more than one teacher has told me the same story. If you are 5 minutes late, expect a bill for $10 for each child. No exceptions. If you ask her about it, she refers you back to policy. She controlling and angry and speaks to staff poorly. I've seen good reviews on this center at other sites written by "M Stern". Just be aware that this is her husband.

Our two children have been attending Apple Tree since they were both infants and my husband and I have been very pleased with the exceptional care they have received. The staff is professional, nurturing, and communicates well with both the children and parents. My oldest recently left Apple Tree to start Kindergarten in our town elementary school and I was amazed at how much she already knew going in. Aside from all the wonderful activities, trips, and programs Apple Tree offers, my daughter has truly learned so much and she has taken with her the knowledge and social skills that has more than prepared her for Kindergarten. We truly believe in Apple Tree and thank them for providing such care and learning to our children.
Jen Verrengia, North Haledon