Sunflower Hill Child Care — Attraction in Denver

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Sunflower Hill as a safe space for any neurodivergent or strong willed child. Despite describing themselves as “dedicated to addressing the uniqueness of each child,” the owner/director Kathy has proven to be inflexible in her approach towards children, seemingly unaware of developmentally appropriate behavior for toddlers, and unable/unwilling to provide an environment in which all types of children can succeed. I have no complaints against the teachers, except that they clearly do not have the confidence or are not empowered to speak with parents directly and honestly. Everything funnels through the director in a game of he said/ she said, and ultimately Kathy would prefer to blame and label a child as violent and out of control, than help a child who is clearly struggling with big feelings in a new environment. My son has been in daycares his whole life and no prior caregiver would characterize him as aggressive in any way, but Kathy was quick to do so by day two. My child attended a total of 4 days. We actively sought feedback from the providers and were met with “he did great" and then would get a phone call from Kathy days later saying he tried to hit teachers (behavior we almost never see at home), and that we need to make it stop. We asked for more timely feedback and were told it was inappropriate for the teachers to discuss our child's progress at pickup. In conjunction with my son's therapy team, I provided explicit feedback on strategies that work for de-escalation, which was met with "thanks, we do most of these things already." I am not sure these strategies were even shared with the staff. In focusing on my child's negative behaviors, no emphasis was ever placed on ways the providers sought to understand or help my child. I offered to send someone from my child's therapy team to shadow my child, which did not come to fruition as Kathy terminated our contract, citing aggression towards staff and children. (The "aggression" towards children was for pulling another child from a toy car. One can only assume conflict over toys NEVER happens and is totally unacceptable from a toddler on their first day.) I also want to note that Kathy attempted to justify withholding my child's lunch until he said sorry in a manner that she deemed acceptable (ie., by making eye contact), which demonstrates a completely ableist and authoritarian approach to discipline. She responded to my polite request to not discipline my child this way with wildly exaggerated claims that he punched an employee in the face (although as with most incidents she did not witness this firsthand) while maintaining that forcing a child to parrot a meaningless "sorry" for something that happened earlier in the day was the right approach. If your child is a robot, 100% compliant, and does not emote or demonstrate unpleasant feelings, this might be a great place for you. I will say that the majority of children I noticed at the center were girls around 2 years of age; I suspect they're more pliable. (Also, there's a clear lack of diversity.) Finally, after refusing to provide service after less than a week and leaving us without childcare options, Kathy still initially declined to refund the several hundred dollar materials fee for the quarter, citing the contract we signed (that she herself terminated). It wasn't until we pressed the issue that we received the refund. This should say a lot about this center's values, general hypocrisy, and the way they run their business.

Edit to add: Kathy’s lengthy, defensive response is on par for her communication style. Instead of being open to feedback and admitting that they can improve the ways they support neurodivergent children or saying she’s sorry we had a bad experience, note that she continues to blame the child. As for her ableist statement that she hopes that we find a “specialized program” for our child’s needs, I’m confident that the only thing my child needs is a welcoming environment with open minded teachers. No...

Our 2 year old son is blossoming at Sunflower Hill. We are so impressed by Kathy's intuition and dedication to helping toddlers and preschoolers thrive. She truly gets young children, in a way I have not seen before in a day care center. I have seen Kathy and her staff respond to toy stealing, tantrums, hitting, and other normal behaviors of young children with immense patience and gentleness. Kathy and her staff truly seek to understand and come alongside children, not boss them around or control them.

The kids spend a large portion of the day outside, in this beautiful fenced-in property in a safe and vibrant neighborhood. It is tranquil and calm both inside and outside Sunflower Hill. My son enjoys daily circle time, songs and books, and crafts (they even bake bread and plant flowers with the kids). "Squirrel Nutkin" comes alive from the book they read, and munches on sunflower seeds outside the center.

We have attended a few of Sunflower Hill's festivals, which are a great opportunity to meet parents and watch your kids thrive together. The lantern festival was a time to pause and reflect on the darkening of the seasons, and how the light is inside each of us. The kids each made a lantern and we walked around outside singing songs. It truly is as magical as it sounds.

Kathy and her staff have a holistic approach to childcare, which isn't what all families are looking for. The "curriculum" is not structured or rigid, like many schools are. Each family should choose what works best for their child, and Waldorf isn't a good fit for everyone.

Kathy provides flexibility in choosing days of the week, and the opportunity to re-arrange your days if needed. We looked at several child care centers in Denver, and Sunflower Hill has very reasonable pricing. They are open long hours, and it is a very convenient pick for working parents. Also, the center is housed on a sleepy neighborhood street without traffic, so you don't have to fight to find a parking spot. Pickup and dropoff are always easy. When we started at Sunflower Hill, Kathy would send us photos of our son and encouraging notes about how he was acclimating to the group. Kathy always texts me if our son is hurt (a self-inflicted scratch while playing with sticks, and a toy sharing incident that turned into hitting), and sends us photos of him with an update. I am so impressed by this attention to my child's safety, and trust Kathy immensely.

Kathy has asked for feedback from parents in several of her weekly emails, and shows genuine humility and a desire to continue changing and adapting as needed. Though I don't pretend to know half as much about raising young children as Kathy, I wouldn't hesitate to speak to her if I had any concerns.

The staff are fantastic, our son especially loves Warren who sings cowboy songs to him and is so attentive to his language development.

We are overjoyed that our son is blossoming here. He comes home from school each day chatting about his friends, and has started pretend play at just over 2 years old, which speaks to how healthy and supportive this center is for his...

Every once in a while a photo "memory" will pop up on my phone of my kids at Sunflower Hill. (My kids are now in 5th and 3rd grade.) Every time I see a photo of the kids at the Sunflower Hill’s Mayday festival, Halloween, visiting St. Nick, celebrating a birthday, hunting for Easter eggs, or playing in Sunflower Hill’s yard, I am eternally grateful for finding Kathy and her wonderful staff at Sunflower Hill. My daughter was painfully shy when we first enrolled her at 2 years old. Campbell blossomed at Sunflower Hill. Kathy’s “curriculum” is exactly what she (and I believe all children) need. When it was our son’s turn to attend, Kathy held our hands and helped the transition go smoothly. Cooper had several medical complexities at the time, and Kathy and her staff welcomed him with open arms, always keeping an eye out for Cooper's special needs. But that didn’t surprise me. Kathy and her staff keep their eye out for ALL of the children’s needs, special or not. Looking back, Sunflower Hill was the perfect first step for our kids. I miss Kathy and the warmth, joy and simplicity of Sunflower Hill on a daily basis. But it’s time for us to do “big kid” things, and I wish all the best to Sunflower Hill, and thank them for helping form our kids (and me!) into who they are today. If you are considering sending your kids here, you’ve found the right spot. **Note: These photos are from the previous location on...