Description: HORSIN AROUND CHILDCARE-SKOWHEGAN is a Child Care Facility in SKOWHEGAN ME, with a maximum capacity of 49 children. This child care center helps with children in the age range of INFANTS,TODDLERS,PRE-SCHOOL,SCHOOL AGE. The provider does not participate in a subsidized child care program.
District Office:Maine Dept of Health and Human Services - Child Care Licensing
District Office Phone:1-207-287-9300 (Note: This is not the facility phone number.)
Licensor:KAYLA C RODERICK (kayla.roderick@maine.gov)
Location Map
Reviews
Parent 2018-04-03 17:23:49
I have used this provider for more than 6 months
After having my son at this facility for over a year I will say this daycare is beautiful from the outside as well as the inside. They also make themselves LOOK very good from Facebook and tours. I used to believe this was the best childcare facility in town (they’ve even won best childcare 2 years in a row) but let’s remember that’s not due to community votes it’s whoever pays the most to the chamber of commerce. The owners are incredibly unprofessional if any problems should arise. I’ve over heard them in the office gossiping about other parents/children in such a rude manner. If you have any concerns the owner 9 times out of 10 is very dismissive. They seem to hire just about anyone who walks through the door in desperation, the rate of turnover for their staff is absolutely insane. To have your child with a new complete stranger every other week is not comforting at all. Granted they do have 3-4 staff they’ve had very long term, the others never seem to last more than 6 months to a year. I’ve gone in to drop my son off with one of the providers clearly high on drugs. I was able to obtain the information that she was sent home over it but she did not lose her position due to this. I ran into a girl that used to work there for over a year- the owner is stingy with her money. One time the owner had taken out meat the night before and left it out all night into the morning of the next day (it was room temperature by breakfast time) she called her boss to ask what else to take out for lunch and she told her to save it and put it in the fridge anyways. The owner buys all the food she feeds the children from mardens and caswells which is mostly expired food. She tells the girls to limit milk intake so that she doesn’t have to buy as much. She also enforces that they only use a maximum of 2 wipes per change (regardless of pee or poop) to save her money. Children are served high sugar foods for breakfast like pecan spinwheels and honey buns. The children only have 10-15 minutes to eat their lunch before it is taken and thrown away before nap time. The girls that stay for awhile work so hard for this woman and she is nothing short of ungrateful and demanding. When there are girls who shouldn’t work there (due to being late, lack of caring for children, high, or just simply not good with children at all) they are almost always excused. Please, if you care about your children-do not send them to this facility. It’s one of those daycares that you fear what happens behind closed doors.
This facility is not suitable for children simply because the owner should not be allowed to run a business let alone a childcare facility. The 7 minute rule she speaks of is illegal and she owes her previous employees who she forced to follow the rule. It’s one thing to have 7 minutes before and after as leeway but it’s another to demand employees work 14 minutes UNPAID every day or else you would get written up. I was told over and over that my clothing was not okay even though I wore blue jeans with no holes and the required T-shirt. I often was in the infant room and occasionally my shirt would ride up and an inch or so of my lower back/underwear would show due to bending down to pick up infants. As most people know, jeans aren’t the best thing to be wearing if you plan to be on the floor all day, but they were required so I complied. I tried wearing tank tops under my T-shirt and I stopped wearing thong like underwear but nothing helped and I was still being talked to. I will be honest and say that yes, I did use my cellphone and no it was not okay. That being said, we were told we had to sign off on our 15 minute breaks and only have one thirty minute break a day. If we didn’t sign off we would never work over 6 hours a day because they believe they aren’t able to give 15 minute breaks. I typically would work a 10 hour day, meaning if there were ever an emergency and someone needed to contact me it wouldn’t happen. So yes, I would check my phone when it was nap time. The owner has several skeletons in her closet that she likes to hide, but with one quick google you can find some pretty disheartening things. If you think the amount of upset employees is a lot, you would be blown away at how many parents have had to remove their children from this facility from being mistreated. When I gave my two week notice I did so very peacefully with the intentions of just getting away from this women. There was some talk on social media and I opened up about some of the DHS rules that were broken for her benefit, like classrooms being over ratio. I got a chapter book long message from her being absolutely hateful and also from her daughter who had nothing to do with the daycare messaged me as well calling me a “piece of work” and other nasty things. She likes to turn things around and make the employees look bad, but the truth is she just needs to look in a mirror. The facility is beautiful at first glance and she puts on a good act but it’s all fake. Some employees have not received their w-2’s and others earnings were not reported to social security, meaning they have no record of their employment. I say this with as much emotion and seriousness as possible, do not work here or send your children here. More than likely the parents who have good experiences here don’t know the whole truth of what their children are going through. My heart hurts for the children who can’t speak up on what is truly happening.
We are part of the subsidiary program. We participate in all state programs. I want to thank the reviews that recognize that with the high expectations also will come the negativity. We strive for excellence in our center appearance, preschool program and our staff. We expect policies to be followed, appearance to be child friendly and in dress code, no use of cell phones, following being a mandated facility and the list goes on. We do follow the 7 minute rule like most companies that do not want to micro manage every minute and to help staff have better time management skills to be successful whereas being to their designated area on time is a must. We have found that it is a struggle to find qualified staff that possess these qualities and can successfully work with children. Most people can babysit children but we are preparing children for life skills as well as being prepared to be successful when they enter the primary school level. We assure you that one visit to our facility you will form your own opinion and see what a shame it is to take vengeance towards a positive asset to the community when it is strongly needed.
Great facility! Very clean and state of the art for this area. My children have excelled in such a wonderful preschool program with wonderful staff. The owners keep it professional and have high expectations for their employees which is a good feeling. So glad they were voted Best Childcare and Best Learning Facility 2 years in a row. Well deserved ladies!
I can not believe the review of the two cousins! They have been trouble for every daycare around and my children have been going to the both facilities for over two years and they are great! High quality and caring owners and staff! They are always concerned and help in with every concern small or large and it is so clean! To try to lie and ruin a great business is such a shame for the community and other families looking for hard to find quality childcare. At least call them as you will see they are great people and care!
My son attended this daycare. During the time he was there he was constantly being bit and hit by other children. The daycare did nothing to try and stop this behavior. When I confronted the owner she lied to me numerous times and avoided dealing with the issue. My son almost passed out due to heat exhaustion because they left him outside with no break for a long period of time. The owner always blames the workers and when you find a worker that will be honest with you, they tell you the truth... That the owner is one that tells them to half-ass everything to save money. She feeds the kids expired and high-sugar foods to save money. She limits the amount of milk they can have because she doesn't want to keep buying milk. The children only have 20 minutes to eat their lunch, if they are not done then their food gets taken from them and they are not allowed to finish. If you confront the owner and tell her you are not happy, or take your child elsewhere, the owner will call DHS on you to make false allegations and also post everything all over FB. She is the most unprofessional person I have ever had to encounter and is very immature. Save yourself some time, stress, and money and take your child elsewhere where they will be loved and cared for.
Both of my daughters (newborn and pre-school age) went there, for a short time. At first everything seemed up to par, then I started noticing things here and there. when I brought my concerns to the owner she was dismissive and rude. She made excuses and just said the girls that worked there were dumb. Both of my girls needed medication while being there for different illnesses. The daycare did not give their medication as prescribed, so it took them a long time to get better. One of the workers also admitted that they only changed my newborn 2-3 times during the 10 hours she was there! At that point I pulled my children from the daycare. The owner texted me and IM'd me harassing me after and I had to block her to get her to leave me alone. It is very sad. From the outside, it looks like a great place. But from the inside, it fits the stereotype of a poor daycare that every parent fears their child will be in.
This parent Kayla has caused the facility many problems once she was reported to DHS for medical neglect and the local authorities for harassment. As she said it is a top notch facility and the best around even on 7/16/2015 when she still was referring other parents...once she was contacted for medically neglecting her child by refusing him medical attention she turned the tables on this great facility....you will always have a bad apple here and there unfortunately. I am sure the staff and center and DHS will have no problem giving out more specific information about this incident as they are personally distraught by her accusations. Hope this helps anyone looking for great childcare!
This used to be a beautiful top-notch facility... However, the owner has taken it into a downward spiral. There have been a lot of little issues, but I will outline the larger ones. My son did not receive his meds as prescribed, so his infection got out of control. They feed them high-sugar foods like honey buns and pop tarts. They take babies outside in 90 degree weather for hours at a time with no sunscreen. They gave out confidential medical information to be people they shouldn't have. It is just not a place I would want my child anymore.
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After having my son at this facility for over a year I will say this daycare is beautiful from the outside as well as the inside. They also make themselves LOOK very good from Facebook and tours. I used to believe this was the best childcare facility in town (they’ve even won best childcare 2 years in a row) but let’s remember that’s not due to community votes it’s whoever pays the most to the chamber of commerce. The owners are incredibly unprofessional if any problems should arise. I’ve over heard them in the office gossiping about other parents/children in such a rude manner. If you have any concerns the owner 9 times out of 10 is very dismissive. They seem to hire just about anyone who walks through the door in desperation, the rate of turnover for their staff is absolutely insane. To have your child with a new complete stranger every other week is not comforting at all. Granted they do have 3-4 staff they’ve had very long term, the others never seem to last more than 6 months to a year. I’ve gone in to drop my son off with one of the providers clearly high on drugs. I was able to obtain the information that she was sent home over it but she did not lose her position due to this. I ran into a girl that used to work there for over a year- the owner is stingy with her money. One time the owner had taken out meat the night before and left it out all night into the morning of the next day (it was room temperature by breakfast time) she called her boss to ask what else to take out for lunch and she told her to save it and put it in the fridge anyways. The owner buys all the food she feeds the children from mardens and caswells which is mostly expired food. She tells the girls to limit milk intake so that she doesn’t have to buy as much. She also enforces that they only use a maximum of 2 wipes per change (regardless of pee or poop) to save her money. Children are served high sugar foods for breakfast like pecan spinwheels and honey buns. The children only have 10-15 minutes to eat their lunch before it is taken and thrown away before nap time. The girls that stay for awhile work so hard for this woman and she is nothing short of ungrateful and demanding. When there are girls who shouldn’t work there (due to being late, lack of caring for children, high, or just simply not good with children at all) they are almost always excused. Please, if you care about your children-do not send them to this facility. It’s one of those daycares that you fear what happens behind closed doors.
This facility is not suitable for children simply because the owner should not be allowed to run a business let alone a childcare facility. The 7 minute rule she speaks of is illegal and she owes her previous employees who she forced to follow the rule. It’s one thing to have 7 minutes before and after as leeway but it’s another to demand employees work 14 minutes UNPAID every day or else you would get written up. I was told over and over that my clothing was not okay even though I wore blue jeans with no holes and the required T-shirt. I often was in the infant room and occasionally my shirt would ride up and an inch or so of my lower back/underwear would show due to bending down to pick up infants. As most people know, jeans aren’t the best thing to be wearing if you plan to be on the floor all day, but they were required so I complied. I tried wearing tank tops under my T-shirt and I stopped wearing thong like underwear but nothing helped and I was still being talked to. I will be honest and say that yes, I did use my cellphone and no it was not okay. That being said, we were told we had to sign off on our 15 minute breaks and only have one thirty minute break a day. If we didn’t sign off we would never work over 6 hours a day because they believe they aren’t able to give 15 minute breaks. I typically would work a 10 hour day, meaning if there were ever an emergency and someone needed to contact me it wouldn’t happen. So yes, I would check my phone when it was nap time. The owner has several skeletons in her closet that she likes to hide, but with one quick google you can find some pretty disheartening things. If you think the amount of upset employees is a lot, you would be blown away at how many parents have had to remove their children from this facility from being mistreated. When I gave my two week notice I did so very peacefully with the intentions of just getting away from this women. There was some talk on social media and I opened up about some of the DHS rules that were broken for her benefit, like classrooms being over ratio. I got a chapter book long message from her being absolutely hateful and also from her daughter who had nothing to do with the daycare messaged me as well calling me a “piece of work” and other nasty things. She likes to turn things around and make the employees look bad, but the truth is she just needs to look in a mirror. The facility is beautiful at first glance and she puts on a good act but it’s all fake. Some employees have not received their w-2’s and others earnings were not reported to social security, meaning they have no record of their employment. I say this with as much emotion and seriousness as possible, do not work here or send your children here. More than likely the parents who have good experiences here don’t know the whole truth of what their children are going through. My heart hurts for the children who can’t speak up on what is truly happening.
Very unprofessional.
We are part of the subsidiary program. We participate in all state programs. I want to thank the reviews that recognize that with the high expectations also will come the negativity. We strive for excellence in our center appearance, preschool program and our staff. We expect policies to be followed, appearance to be child friendly and in dress code, no use of cell phones, following being a mandated facility and the list goes on. We do follow the 7 minute rule like most companies that do not want to micro manage every minute and to help staff have better time management skills to be successful whereas being to their designated area on time is a must. We have found that it is a struggle to find qualified staff that possess these qualities and can successfully work with children. Most people can babysit children but we are preparing children for life skills as well as being prepared to be successful when they enter the primary school level. We assure you that one visit to our facility you will form your own opinion and see what a shame it is to take vengeance towards a positive asset to the community when it is strongly needed.
Great facility! Very clean and state of the art for this area. My children have excelled in such a wonderful preschool program with wonderful staff. The owners keep it professional and have high expectations for their employees which is a good feeling. So glad they were voted Best Childcare and Best Learning Facility 2 years in a row. Well deserved ladies!
I can not believe the review of the two cousins! They have been trouble for every daycare around and my children have been going to the both facilities for over two years and they are great! High quality and caring owners and staff! They are always concerned and help in with every concern small or large and it is so clean! To try to lie and ruin a great business is such a shame for the community and other families looking for hard to find quality childcare. At least call them as you will see they are great people and care!
My son attended this daycare. During the time he was there he was constantly being bit and hit by other children. The daycare did nothing to try and stop this behavior. When I confronted the owner she lied to me numerous times and avoided dealing with the issue. My son almost passed out due to heat exhaustion because they left him outside with no break for a long period of time. The owner always blames the workers and when you find a worker that will be honest with you, they tell you the truth... That the owner is one that tells them to half-ass everything to save money. She feeds the kids expired and high-sugar foods to save money. She limits the amount of milk they can have because she doesn't want to keep buying milk. The children only have 20 minutes to eat their lunch, if they are not done then their food gets taken from them and they are not allowed to finish. If you confront the owner and tell her you are not happy, or take your child elsewhere, the owner will call DHS on you to make false allegations and also post everything all over FB. She is the most unprofessional person I have ever had to encounter and is very immature. Save yourself some time, stress, and money and take your child elsewhere where they will be loved and cared for.
Both of my daughters (newborn and pre-school age) went there, for a short time. At first everything seemed up to par, then I started noticing things here and there. when I brought my concerns to the owner she was dismissive and rude. She made excuses and just said the girls that worked there were dumb. Both of my girls needed medication while being there for different illnesses. The daycare did not give their medication as prescribed, so it took them a long time to get better. One of the workers also admitted that they only changed my newborn 2-3 times during the 10 hours she was there! At that point I pulled my children from the daycare. The owner texted me and IM'd me harassing me after and I had to block her to get her to leave me alone. It is very sad. From the outside, it looks like a great place. But from the inside, it fits the stereotype of a poor daycare that every parent fears their child will be in.
This parent Kayla has caused the facility many problems once she was reported to DHS for medical neglect and the local authorities for harassment. As she said it is a top notch facility and the best around even on 7/16/2015 when she still was referring other parents...once she was contacted for medically neglecting her child by refusing him medical attention she turned the tables on this great facility....you will always have a bad apple here and there unfortunately. I am sure the staff and center and DHS will have no problem giving out more specific information about this incident as they are personally distraught by her accusations. Hope this helps anyone looking for great childcare!
This used to be a beautiful top-notch facility... However, the owner has taken it into a downward spiral. There have been a lot of little issues, but I will outline the larger ones. My son did not receive his meds as prescribed, so his infection got out of control. They feed them high-sugar foods like honey buns and pop tarts. They take babies outside in 90 degree weather for hours at a time with no sunscreen. They gave out confidential medical information to be people they shouldn't have. It is just not a place I would want my child anymore.