Reading all the post, I can say I visited Circle time Kensington, an I love it, I love that they have a schedule for a 6 months baby and above nothing earlier, I sign up right away because is so difficult to find infant care around the area.
my baby start 7 moths ago she is 13 months now an OMG! the schedule is wonderful, I follow the same routine at home and is amazing, I can have everything done, have time for us and the best thing since she start with a routine at the daycare (eat, sleep, etc, is been super consistent) I have no problem with her. so 'I so happy to have my baby at this daycare.

We're very happy with Easter Seals in Silver Spring (Spring St., between Georgia and 16th - near the metro and easy commute downtown by car, too).

Another reason for choosing daycare near home rather than work is that you may want/need to work from home one day, or you may have a doctor's appointment closer to home, etc, and now you have a child that needs to be dropped off near your work. Of course, if you and your husband work within a few blocks of each other, this isn't an issue.

I visited circle time Kensington in September and was very unimpressed. All the babies in the infant room (there were 3 or 4 that day) were all sitting in an apparatus (bouncer etc) while the two teachers were cleaning the room. I also didn't like how they put all infants on a fairly rigid schedule instead if an individualized schedule like most infant places. And the playground was non-existent. Just a fenced in area of concrete. They said they were going to be getting more equipment "soon." I also looked in the preschool room since I would have brought my older child over there as well and was similarly not impressed. It was lunchtime and they were feeding many of the kids (most 2 year olds should be able to self feed.)

We happened to luck into a part time spot at bright horizons and are very happy there. It's pretty much impossible to get in though full time if you aren't affiliated with government.

I am on the waitlist for Bight Eyes Veirs Mill, St Andrew, and Karasik. For Karasik, if you like the place add your name now. I added my name in September and I am told that I am on page 11. It's that serious. St. Paul's seemed nice, but the hours doesn't work for me. We also like Twinbrook Christian Daycare, but they are a little over religious for us. If we send our child there, it will be until the turns 1 and then switch to a non-religious place.

PP here. I'm not sure of the religious affiliation of any other families (except for the one family we've run into at Mass).

I'm 10:15. The infant room has absolutely no religious component whatsoever. (I agree - I'm not sure what that would look like. Parents provide all meals, so it would be easy to keep kosher, etc.) I think there might be a cross on a wall, but I can't be sure.

The room for 1-2 year olds includes a rug with Jesus on it and a Noah's ark (which is part of Judiasm as well, of course). I've never heard a discussion of religion at all, so I don't know how much the kids notice the dude in the robe on the rug.

The 2-3 year olds cross themselves before snack. I'm sure they wouldn't care if your kid opted out, but I also understand if that's not what you're looking for.

As I'm sure you know, Silver Spring Learning Center is Jewish, nearby, and starts at 18 months, so maybe St. Andrews' could cover the gap until then. A Catholic friend sent her two year old there and liked the program.

We have been VERY happy with Wircle TIme in KEnsington. Our daughter has been there for 2 months, and I have no complaints. THe staff are loving and warm. My daughter has been very attached to me recently, but she goes to them without a fuss. She is always well rested, clean and happy when I get her!

Thanks, 12:09! Are you at the Wheaton or Kensington Circle Time location? Did you have a long wait to get in or were they able to accommodate you pretty quickly?

My child is at Circle Time. The staff seem to really like the kids and my child seems to like it, too. They are not great about keeping you posted on what goes on during the day beyond eating. sleeping and potty. That said, we're happy to have found it since infant care is so difficult to obtain.

I'm the one whose child is at St. Paul's. There isn't a religious component to the program at all. It just happens to be housed at a church. Good luck in your search!

Thanks so much everyone! I drove by Circle Time Kensington this weekend and was a little put off by the exterior - the outdoor play area directly abuts a parking lot, with a relatively low fence - but that's hardly a full assessment. I will try to visit some of the other locations I mentioned soon.

08:18, please feel free to PM me if you want to chat more about options in our area.

10:15, thanks SO much for highlighting the benefits of daycare near the home. Having commute time as "me time" and transition time was something that hadn't even occurred to me but is a really excellent point! I also think the temptation to run over and "check in" a little too often might be a problem if the daycare is right near my office.

I appreciate the recommendations for St. Andrew's and St. Paul's. Both are certainly close enough for us. I should have mentioned that we're Jewish and so those options hadn't really occurred to me. (Our synagogue's child center doesn't start til age 2.) That said, I'm not averse to a daycare run by a non-Jewish religious organization if the religious aspect isn't likely to be problematic - which may be particularly true for infants since there's hardly much "instruction" involved. 10:15 and 8:56, do you have thoughts on that for the two schools you mentioned? Do you know if there are non-Christian families using these daycares?

My son is at St. Paul's Child Care Center in Chevy Chase, and I really like it. We live in Wheaton, and it takes about 12 minutes to get there going down GA Ave.

I have my infant son at St. Andrew's on Kemp Mill Rd. I love it! I also work downtown, but I chose daycare near home because it was cheaper, more easily available, and I knew that if day care was near my office, I would ALWAYS do middle of the day pick up for illness,etc., but if it was near home I could hopefully convince my DH to share that duty sometime. I also enjoy my metro commute - I usually read or chat with a co-worker, and it's often the only time in a long day where I get to do what I want! I might go crazy without that time to relax and switch from a working woman to a mommy.

Congrats! I don't have any recs myself but am in a similar situation- we're a bit closer to Forest Glen though. I knew someone who took her child to Circle Time Wheaton and really liked it, not sure about the Kensington location.

Lots of folks in my neighborhood have used the MCCC Kensington/Forest Glen, but they only take 2 years and up. Finding infant care seems to be a challenge!

We live in the Kensington/Wheaton area and are expecting our first child in April 2014. Would love to hear pros and cons on infant daycare (centers or in-home) in the area. The centers I've heard about are:

Bright Eyes (Veirs Mill or Glen Haven, though I think the latter doesn't take infants)
Crossway Montessori
Circle Time
Karasik/the Arc

Good/bad? Any others to consider? I'm particularly interested in Circle Time's Kensington location but I haven't seen any recent reviews.

I'd also appreciate perspectives on having daycare near home vs. near work. We both work in downtown DC with a 45 min commute, and while it seems like daycare near our home might be more affordable, we'd have less time with the baby. Thoughts?

Thanks!