Parent Reviews

Egishe Karapetyan

Only good things come to my mind in regards to this daycare. And it is because of the teachers. The teachers at ChooChoo are knowledgeable, awesome, attentive, kind, entertaining, enthusiastic. They are explaining the changes that your child is going through in new environment and help with advices, practical solutions. Applying various learning techniques, teaching kids to be kind, friendly, respectful. Warming up their curiosity. And of course practicing safe environment.

Paula Hahne

We are so happy we found ChooChoo. It wasn’t the closest daycare to us, but it was by far the best, so it was worth the longer walk (we go by two other daycares on our way…!). Our daughter joined when she was just 7 months old – and if it wasn’t for a move to the suburbs we would have stayed at ChooChoo forever. From Cabooses to Boxcars, our daughter thrived in the year and a half she spent there all thanks to Mrs. Mia and the wonderful teachers. The teachers are exceptional – you can tell they love the kiddos (and the kiddos love them). They have so much fun and really engage with the kids. The hardest part about leaving the city was leaving ChooChoo – it will be hard to top!

Sania Seilabi

Choochoo is a great childcare center providing friendly, learning and clean environment for kids and families.

Emily Zheutlin

We recently moved to Chicago and we are so glad we found Choo Choo! Ms. Mia and all of the teachers are welcoming, intelligent, organized and fun. The classrooms are clean and filled with age appropriate toys, books and other activities for kids. The teachers plan and facilitate thoughtful and engaging lessons with a on focus on learning through play. Our 2 year old has already learned so much and has formed great connections with his classmates and teachers! I highly recommend Choo Choo!

Jon Hanson

We couldn’t be happier with ChooChoo! The facility is clean and charming and the staff are communicative and very loving toward our little one. She seems to learn something new every week!

Milena Stankovic

ChooChoo was definitely the right choice for our family!! I am 100% calm and happy knowing they are taking care of my 3 year old son. Kudos to Hoppers classroom and teachers! Compassionate, dedicated, child-oriented group of people who attend to your child’s individual needs and are willing to cooperate with families so they can set your child up for a success across all developmental areas!

Jessie Beebe

Our son has attended ChooChoo Chicago since September, 2019. He has loved going to ChooChoo and has had the most consistent care-taking experience with Mrs. Mia and Ms. Ana that he’s had since birth. Mrs. Mia creates a family environment where everyone feels welcome and it is truly like an extension of being at home. Our son has made wonderful friends and has thrived in the ChooChoo environment. When our second son was born and our first son started having some behavior issues, ChooChoo kept us informed, had patience with his adjustment to being a brother and served as another reassuring and stable caretaker in the time of transition for him. I love that they take the kids outside on a regular basis (even during the cold weather months). They also engage the kids in many arts and crafts projects, learning experiences and exposure to different languages. There are kids of various ages so my son enjoys teaching younger kids and learning from older kids. Our son is allergic to peanuts and the entire community adjusted their diet so that our son wasn’t exposed to peanuts. We’ve made great family friends through ChooChoo. Our son loves going to ChooChoo and runs into the house every morning – doesn’t get better than that!

Ralph Mulder

We love ChooChoo and even more importantly both our kids (1 and 3) love going to ChooCoo. ChooChoo is a family home daycare that is very well-organized, both from an educational/development perspective as well as from a administrative / practical perspective. The group of kids is great and ages range from 1 – 5 years old which is great because they can learn from, and take care of, each other. It really is a group of little friends. The teachers love the kids and it shows; the kids feel the love and give it back. ChooChoo organizes a lot of activities, varying from going to the playground, art and crafts, dance classes, swim classes, and so on. We are very happy to have chosen for ChooChoo as family home daycare for our kids as we can see our kids learning and developing on a daily basis

STEFANIA BIGI

I have sent my first daughter to ChooChoo after a not so nice experience in a different preschool, and I right away felt so comfortable leaving her in this very homy but also very stimulating environment. She was there from 18 months until 3 years. Now her little sister is there, enjoying the same wonderful atmosphere, a home out of home…which is what I was looking for, at an age where a smaller environment, a limited number of little friends, a lot of care from the teachers made me feel at peace and made my daughters feel confident and very happy to stay. With Miss Mia, I always have the perception of leaving my daughters with another truly caring Mom that is so friendly and easy to talk to, that gives me a warm sense of belonging and the peaceful feeling of leaving my children in an environment that is to them just like an extension of their own family.

Erika Uglar

You don`t want to miss this place! My son attended Choo Choo 2015/2016. When he started he didn`t know a single word of English. With loving and caring teachers, through games, art and fun activities, he learned English in months. The only reason we left the Choo Choo is pre K. I highly recommend this cute home based school!

Brian & Maddie Giblin

We are newer parents to ChooChoo and have been sooooo impressed by our first daycare experience with our almost 2 year old thanks to Mia, Emi, Luke, Christy and the rest of the amazing staff. We heard about ChooChoo from a Facebook group mom recommendation and loved the idea that it was a smaller, more family feeling, daycare experience. Our daughter started there 3 months ago and we are so thankful she did. We get updates and photos all day long on the Brightwheel app & the teachers and staff are so transparent with the families about what activities are going on, what illnesses are going around, etc. The teachers are so diligent about having the kids wash their hands and stay as clean as possible. They are also so kind and warm to our little girl and clearly care about the kids. No one pressured us to write this review… simply wanted to gush about how wonderful this business is!!

Andrew Ogletree

My daughter will be switching to a new school soon because we’re moving out of state, and while I knew finding a new daycare wouldn’t be easy, I didn’t fully appreciate just how challenging it would be to find anything comparable to ChooChoo. Mrs. Mia and her team have created something truly special, and I will be forever grateful for the unwavering love and support they’ve shown my daughter since the very first morning we dropped her off. I could fill several pages with examples of how responsive, compassionate, and genuinely kind the entire ChooChoo family is… or how my daughter’s face lights up every time my wife or I happen to mention one of her teachers’ names at home. Instead, the most helpful feedback I can offer any parent currently searching for the best daycare in Chicago is this: there’s no one I trust more to have my daughter’s best interests at heart than Mrs. Mia and her staff.

Elizabeth Wagner

My 2 year old daughter has attended ChooChoo for the past 7 months and we have had a wonderful experience. It is extremely well run: clean facility, prompt diaper changes, food provided, lots of art projects, communicative staff, host several events for parents to attend and socialize. A detailed monthly newsletter is sent out explaining weekly curriculum themes, introducing new staff, reminders about holidays etc. The staff are all very profesional. My daughter comes home happy showing off her art projects and talking about her teachers and friends. Weather permitting, they make an effort to take the kids outside as much as possible to the multiple parks within close proximity to the school. It’s a small daycare, which I was initially worried about, but this has not been an issue. There are dedicated classrooms for each age group, but also some opportunities to interact with children of different ages which I know my daughter has enjoyed.

Laurent Beaudouin

Our son who is 2.5 years now has been there for a bit more than a year now. We cannot be happier with the care he gets. The onboarding was progressive and very smooth to make sure our son was comfortable. The communication with parents is excellent so we feel involved and heard (e.g. Covid measures, daily pictures, etc). Kids have a lot of fun for playing and learning. It’s a multi-cultural environnement which is great too. In summary, this is a great place!!

Nora Schlesinger

I cannot recommend Choo Choo highly enough. My son has thrived here more than I ever thought possible. Socially, he has made great friends and learned to follow instructions, take turns, participate in a group, and other school readiness skills that I didn’t think he’d have until preschool. Academically, he is so solid with his letters, counting, shapes, colors, and vocabulary that I’m not sure what is left for 3-year-old preschool to teach him! But the most important aspect of Choo Choo is the love and nurturing that Mia, Ana, and the other teachers have given my son. They treat him like their own, and he loves Miss Mia like a second mom. We are so grateful to have found Choo Choo, and to have had the privilege of being part of this wonderful school and community.

Sean Flanagan

My wife and I love ChooChoo! In fact we actually moved into the neighborhood specifically to enroll our now 18mo old daughter. The standard daily curriculum has been tremendously positive in our daughters progression towards learning milestones needed for preschool. We also extremely valued the summer camp program she participated in this year. Outdoor time is a must for our family and ChooChoo hands-down provided the experience we were looking for.

Tina R

We love Ms. Mia and ChooChoo! Our son is so happy and is making incredible developments each week. We love the size of the group, the range of ages, and the programming every day. Ms. Mia, Ms. Ana, and Ms. Jana are amazing!

Amy Portacci

We have loved our experience with ChooChoo! Our daughter has continued to grow, develop, and thrive beautifully fostered by the supportive and loving teachers at ChooChoo. Truly such a wonderful place, a home away from home.

Masa Lekic

This place is absolutely amazing for every kids’ development! My daughter attended summer camp 2016 with ChooChoo and it was absolutely time well spent. She was outside from 9am-1pm, and she engaged into many different activities, from arts and crafts, singing, physical activities, all the way to learning about nature. She loved to play with ChooChoo kids so much, that we’ve decided to continue our friendship with ChooChoo also in the fall of 2016. Now she is almost 2, and is developing her bilingual vocabulary through fun and play… happy kid=calm mom.

Rajan Bhandari

My daughter goes to this childcare and I am deeply satisfied with their service. They keep kids engaged in different indoor and outdoor activities along with monthly field trips which help kids to learn. They share lovely pictures and videos of kids engaged in different activities throughout the day. They also have initial onboarding transition period for 2-3 days where you can stay with kid for few hour to help them get familiarize with place. Place is very neat and clean. Teachers are very helpful and truly care for the kid.

Anna McClellan

We love ChooChoo! The teachers are so warm and friendly and know just how to engage our son to make him comfortable. All of activities are well thought out and age-appropriate. We receive lots of great pictures throughout the day and our son loves looking at them once he gets home and telling us all about his day! Highly recommend ChooChoo!

Stephanie Wong

Our family absolutely loves ChooChoo! I was in panic mode trying to find an appropriate summer option for my two girls (4 and 2) – trying to jig saw a bunch of camps together felt overwhelming so I was SO thankful to have found the summer program at ChooChoo. The consistency for the summer has been invaluable to me and my husband (two working parents). The teachers are so warm and wonderful, and we love getting updates throughout the day on the app. We also love that they are given nutritious snacks and lunches, and that they get a mix of outdoor and indoor time. When we leave for the day my girls ask to go back – a testament to how much they are enjoying the program!

Leslie Tuffy

A friend recommended ChooChoo when we were on the waitlist at another daycare for 2 months past our expected start date. We were able to enroll our 6mo daughter almost right away! We love seeing the photos of her playing with her friends at school, exploring new activities and toys, and taking stroller walks outside. She’s getting more comfortable every day, and I thank the teachers for their patience and care!!

Danijela Linnell

My husband and I moved to Chicago about a year and a half ago.. We have a 3 year old daughter whom we were trying to get into daycare for a while so that I could get back into work and have time to myself to the things mums have to do (having no family here was proving difficult). It was so hard to find somewhere that was suitable and somewhere our daughter would love.. We were at ‘bright horizons’ in lakeshore east for a couple of months at the beginning of 2020 (before the lockdown pandemic hit hard).. Our daughter just wasn’t settling there and she hated it to be quite frank.. I dunno why, but I think it just seemed a little too formal – we wanted something a bit more family oriented and somewhere with a loving vibe.. Bright horizons didn’t seem to offer that or at least it showed that it didn’t through our daughter.. So during/after lockdown my husband and I decided to move our little girl else where.. We searched high and low, visited places but nothing appealed to us, then one evening my husband came across Choo Choo – he was particularly drawn to the fact it is ran by a Serbian lady – Mia (I am of Serbian heritage myself) so it was at the top of my agenda to phone up and get an appt with Mia ASAP.. And I am so glad I did – our daughter was instantly comfortable when we met Mia and her family – she got stuck in – playing with Luna (Mias’ 3 year old daughter) there was an instant connection and I loved it! The moment I met Mia I loved her, I love the daycare – it’s home from home and I felt the truth warmth that ran through it – that family oriented vibe that every parent should want for their child.. Olivija loves it there and it literally took no time for her to settle! 😊 She learns so much and has opened a lot since we moved here, she has made so many friends and has become a great and confident lil girl ☺️ – all thanks to Mia, Ana and Milica! ☺️♥️ And to add, we recently moved out of the city to a suburb and I stayed with Choo Choo despite the commute being a lil longer 😊 don’t want my lil girl to go anywhere else! Choo Choo is just perfect 🤩👌🏼

Mark Nicholson

Could not be more pleased with ChooChoo Chicago. This place feels like an extension of home for our child and has what many daycare’s lack nowadays – heart.

Jeanne Clements

Our family has had a great experience with Choo Choo. My daughter has really learned a lot from Miss Mia and the other teachers and I think the program has a good mix of learning and fun for the kids. It is a happy and friendly environment and I like that the group of kids is smaller than what you find at other daycares so that our child has more 1:1 attention.

Ann Oleinik

I was a little nervous about starting our LO in daycare, but our experience with ChooChoo has gone way above and beyond our expectations. CC is a small group of around 8-10 kids between the ages of about 15 mos and 4 years. It’s a very multicultural group, which we absolutely love. The teachers structure the day so the kids get to sing and dance, do art projects, learn about the world, play outside, and learn how to behave in a group setting. Every day our LO comes home with new words she’s learned or new dances she can do, it’s amazing. Most of all, we feel that she is well-cared for. Starting at 18 mos, our LO had quite a bit of separation anxiety when she started. After just a few weeks she had totally adjusted and is now happy and excited to go to school and see the “babies”. We feel so lucky to have found CC!

Parent Reviews

Preschoolers (3 To 6 Years)

Junior Preschoolers (2 Year Olds)

Toddlers (15 Months To 24 Months)

Infants (6 Weeks To 15 Months)