Testimonials

How can I express our gratitude for all the wonderful things you ladies have done for our family over the years? I remember the first day I came into the school for an open house so many years ago. Jacob playing with Mrs. Geddes in the big yellow room and Mrs. Vanderburgt glowing about the wonderful program – I knew from the moment I stepped in that this was a great school and that our family needed to be a part of it. I must say that you far exceeded our expectations. From day 1 and the nerves of dropping off Jacob for the first time, you allayed all our fears and made it an easy transition for us. Jacob fell in love, and so did we.

When it came time for Ethan to join Building Blocks, we again had such uncertainty. Our world had been turned upside down – a new baby and a new diagnosis, and a very energetic 4-year-old. Ethan truly flourished under your guiding care and how can I ever say Thank-you enough for that – we are ever indebted to you and you will always have a place in our hearts. Ethan is a shining example of how hard work and early intervention can make a world of difference and that all our tears and pain and hard work have borne great fruits.

Lastly, we come to precocious Adam. Truly the youngest child if ever there was one. Just when we thought you had dealt with the most difficult child, along Adam comes to change that thought. Even with all his attempted classroom break-aways and tears, you calmly and firmly guided him along and now he is pushing us out of the classroom saying it is time for us to leave, and after a quick hug and kiss, he is off to start his day.

I could write all day about the wonderful work that you do.

Carlyle & Cathy

I will never forget you saying in JK that my sweet Spencer was your little “project”, and I cannot tell you how reassured and confident I was to know that he would be OK. It is my strong belief that Building Blocks saved my son. The love, compassion, and consistent guidance you have shown to both Spencer and Seth are things they and I will remember and benefit from for a lifetime.

I’m sure you never tire of hearing how the school and program you helped create impacts individual kids and their families year after year. Building Blocks has truly been a Godsend. Noah would have been lost and overwhelmed in a regular classroom; Building Blocks gave him space to flourish. While we’re also grateful for how much he’s learned, we most appreciate how attentive you and the other teachers are to his personality and individual needs. As a parent, it’s heart-warming to have others notice your child as special and unique. Thank you for making Noah’s (and our!) first year of school so enriching.

Enjoy your summer.

The East Family

I am eternally grateful for your kindness and dedication last year. I feel just so fortunate to have found Building Blocks and really feel that Molly has grown to love learning so much because of teachers like you. Building Blocks is truly one of Brampton’s “Best Kept Secrets”.

All the best,

The Jensens

Four years at Building Blocks for Sophia (and us!) seems to have gone by in a blink. The memories however will last a lifetime.

I want to thank you for being such an amazing teacher to Sophia. I can’t express how happy I am that she is fortunate to have such a great start in her education. She is ready for grade one because of all of the Building Blocks teachers. I may not be ready for her to spread her wings and move on from Building Blocks, but I know that she is prepared academically and socially for everything that she will face in the ‘big, real world’!

Thank you for always encouraging Sophia to try her best and have fun doing it. She will never forget you and her other teachers and all of the amazing experiences that she has had.

Thank you for all you do and all that you have done.

Carolann & Marcel

To the wonderful staff at Building Blocks,

The past eight years have been a marathon of early childhood education in our family. We are so thankful to have had you as our partners along the way.

Our days at Building Blocks are over, but we will always remember them with a smile. Thank you for doing what you do, and being who you are. With sincere gratitude,

The Hartley Family

Thank you for all the hard work you have done with Gavin this year. We really did not think he was capable of all you had mentioned they would be able to do last year. You really have a wonderful kindergarten program that nurtures the children and brings out the best in them. We were very worried about Gavin and his speech delay, but he seems to be making great strides with many thanks to Building Blocks! Have a wonderful summer. Gavin will miss you!

Chris & Bonnie Clarke

Dear Parents,

We are the parents of three children ages 10, 8 and 5. Our two older children graduated from Building Blocks a few years ago. Our youngest is currently enrolled in a half day SK program at Building Blocks and a half day SK program at a local public school. All of our children started at Building Blocks at the age of 3 in the preschool program and continued on to complete both JK and SK 5 Day Programs.

We firmly believe that the education our children received from Building Blocks has helped pave the road for their further education and is no doubt the reason why our children are enjoying so much success in school today.

We believe that EVERY one of the staff members at Building Blocks has made a contribution to our children. From each teacher to teaching assistant, co-op student, to other helpers, everyone has positively influenced our children in one way or another. There were countless times when we would hear one of our children excitedly tell us about the interaction or conversation he or she had with a particular teacher or staff member and we can tell right away that he or she had enjoyed it immensely. Just the other day, our oldest who is 10 years old and in Grade 5 told us how he still remembers one of the teachers he had in preschool. He remembered how scared he was going to school for the very first time and how loving and reassuring she was.

Our personal experience with the JK/SK program over the years is that it has continually improved from year to year. The amazing thing is that the teachers still manage to find ways to re-evaluate the program and enhance it even more the following year. This shows the continual dedication of these teachers and staff to the students, the JK/SK Program, and the school as a whole.

Our youngest is excelling in the SK program. She is particularly excelling in reading and writing which are the most important tools for further learning and education. We believe that the afternoon Public School Program has only been a supplement to the Building Blocks Program. We know this because the children at the afternoon public school are only starting to write their name and read three letter words whereas our child was first introduced to all of this more than one and a half years ago. Some may believe that it is too early to introduce reading and writing at the age of 4. We do not think so. We are amazed to see how much our children can actually learn at this age. The teachers have always made a conscientious effort to make learning both effective and fun. The best part is that the teachers only asked that we spend 10-15 minutes a day reading with our children. That was all we needed to do to achieve the success that we have had with our children. What a fantastic way it is to spend more time with them and foster a growing love of reading.

Building Blocks Kindergarten Program also taught my children how to learn. Through their weekly spelling tests in SK, they learned to have good study habits and also take responsibility for their learning. Also, we firmly believe that because they were already ahead of their peers in reading, writing and other curriculum, it gave them the confidence they needed to adjust to the more demanding and rigorous expectations of Grade One.

Not only did our children excel in academics, the years spent at Building Blocks also helped to develop their confidence. As they entered Grade 1, they quickly became comfortable with their new environments and new peers as well as welcomed and embraced new friendships, experiences and challenges. We cannot give enough praise to The Building Blocks Kindergarten Program. We have the perfect example to share with you. Last week while our Grade 3 daughter was studying for her spelling test, our youngest who is presently enrolled in the SK program at Building Blocks asked if she could dictate her older sister’s words to her. Guess what? To my amazement, she could actually read 18 out of 20 words. Wow! Somehow, that did not totally surprise me! She was so pleased with herself that she was smiling from ear to ear!

We truly feel that giving our children their early childhood education at Building Blocks Nursery School was the best gift we could have ever given them. We are truly thankful for the school and the staff. After this year, we will be sad to leave, but we hope that our children will continue to achieve academic and social success in the future and make their Building Blocks teachers proud.

George and Karen, Parents of Roland, Kaitlyn and Ashlyn

Our journey here at Building Blocks is coming to an end…thank you to everyone at Building Blocks – especially Mrs. Freer and Mrs. Sanger for a wonderful and truly memorable three years at your school.

I was searching for a program that would stimulate my child and encourage him to do his best. Building Bocks has exceeded all expectations.

Building Blocks offers a unique, outstanding program that brings out the best in every child. Your program is truly one of a kind. I went from a nervous two half-days per week, to three half-days per week, to a full five days per week – begging you to set up a grade one program.

My advice to anyone considering joining the Building Blocks program is to sign up NOW! You will have no regrets.

What do I love about Building Blocks? EVERYTHING. The daily artwork is both creative and fun. The weekly themes always amaze me with the quality of content and the amount of information that can be passed on to the children in just five short days. The teaching aids used, including the games, play equipment, toys and lending library are all excellent. The loving and nurturing environment that has been created for learning meant that I could leave my child each day knowing he was getting the best possible care. The education provided at Building Blocks is offered at such a different level from other schools. They offer a well-rounded program, which addresses both the academic and social needs of the children. The curriculum is top notch and they continually challenge the kids to work at their full potential. If ever issues arose, problems were dealt with in a creative manner and the staff always knew just the right things to say to turn challenging situations into learning lessons for the whole class. As a parent, I appreciate the genuine, sincere attitudes of the staff and the team approach to the child’s success – they were always willing to take a moment to explain the child’s progress and share their teaching techniques. It is clear that they care about the individual success of each and every student. No one gets lost in the crowd at Building Blocks.

As a parent, it has been an equally rewarding experience for me as well – the daily interaction with other parents, students and the teachers has been great and I will really miss that! I am truly grateful to have been part of this program. As we move forward to grade one, we do so knowing that Matthew is well equipped with both the academic and social skills necessary for continued success.

Words just seem so inadequate to express how truly grateful we are. A million thanks for all the special memories.

Kathy and Peter Skale

When my husband and I enrolled our son in preschool at Building Blocks three years ago it wasn’t our intention for him to continue on in kindergarten. Now that he is half way through his senior kindergarten year at Building Blocks I can look back and say that we absolutely made the right choice in keeping him here.

The Building Blocks kindergarten program does an excellent job in developing the whole child. It is not just a place where your child will learn to read, although that will certainly happen as well. The class sizes are small enough that the teachers get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each child very quickly, and they have the time and resources to nurture the kids’ talents and support them in the areas where they need help. I am very grateful for the emotional support that they have offered my son over the years. They have never hesitated to give him a hug if he needed one, and I’m sure he has needed many!

The changes I have seen in my son since he started preschool are remarkable. He was the little boy who cried in the morning when I dropped him off at preschool. Not just for a week or two, but for most of the year. He was shy and played mostly by himself or close to a teacher. Now that he is in SK he has become a social little guy. He started the year going home at the early dismissal time and after a few months he asked me if he could stay until school was over. Apparently he wanted more time to play with his friends. I agreed that we could try it to see if he liked it. The first day that I picked him up at the later time he came skipping out of the room with a big grin on his face and said, “Mom, I LOVED it!” Some days it’s hard to drag him out of the classroom.

My middle child is now in preschool at Building Blocks and he too will start junior kindergarten with Mrs. Freer next year. I look forward to watching him grow and develop in all the amazing ways that my oldest child has over the last few years.

Amanda Hartley