toddler enrichment

J and I (or maybe it was just me and J went along with it) decided that we should shop around to be sure that Aiden will have the most "enriching" toddler school possible. Since there are ridiculous waitlists around here, we thought we should start looking now for the 15-18 month range classes. Our first stop was the University sponsored center, which my mom has me convinced would be the best because it's university affiliated. But...the university must not have a strong grasp on good childcare options OR we just have a really good thing going at the Workshop. Our current center is really A++ and deserves a super star compared to this place. We went to look at the university center yesterday (we originally showed up at the wrong location which was actually the affliate for 3 years and older and we had to turn around embarrassed to drive to the place we were supposed to be - eek, we just had to giggle). Now I can't quite explain our general impressions but we almost didn't want to go in. There was a play area shrewn with crap and the A frame building itself was only about 1,000 sq ft. It was small, smelly, and loooud! They only have 20 kids total, but they were running crazy. The director had us touch base with one of the teachers that had been there since 1989 (which seems like a plus, but he was so lax it almost scared me - he let a little mobile 18 month old get tangled up in a swinging swing twice! I thought she might lose an arm). The icing on the cake were the baby cages. Yes, the only word to describe these little wall bunks with full screen doors is C-A-G-E. There was no sitting or standing in those dingy wooden seinfeld-esque poor-replacements-for-a-crib. They might try drawers instead - might be easier to keep clean. When I asked how they work with the toddlers they said that they occasionally read them books...but we do try to potty train, let me show you the dingy gross bathroom. uh ok. I think it just reinforced that we are at a good place. I'm amazed when I see how well he interacts with the other kids, since just a few months ago he would've barely even noticed other kids. He really seems to like playing there and smiles at all his teachers. I'm glad he can learn from others and from us.