Tottini Discovery: The Eastside’s New Early Learning Center

Listen up Eastside parents, there’s a new early learning center in town that is every working parent’s dream. Tottini Discovery, a clean, bright and thoughtfully laid out space located near the Microsoft Campus, is set to provide original programs, age-appropriate lessons and activities and (gasp!) healthy lunches and snacks cooked on-site. The best news? Tottini Discovery is currently taking registrations for the fall and we’ve got all the important deets.

photo: Jennifer B. Davis

Quality & Enrichment
Tottini is the brainchild of working mom, Ashleigh Cho whose kids are ages 5 and 7. Tottini’s focus is on high quality care, provided through smaller teacher-student ratios (less than the state’s requirement), emergent curriculum, a wide variety of enriching activities and healthy and organic foods. “As a working mom myself, I wanted to create a space that provided the highest quality of care for kids, and one that also made it super easy on parents,” says Cho. A veteran of multiple daycare centers for her kids through the years, Cho has taken her learnings to heart and incorporated a variety of benefits for parents and kids alike, with the aim of making the Tottini Discovery experience better for everyone.

photo: Jennifer B. Davis

Room to Grow
The early learning center provides separate rooms for each age range including infant, toddler, waddler, early preschool, preschool and pre-k; rather than combining a wide age-range of kids in one or two giant rooms. The infant nursery is just as soothing and delightful as the older kids’ rooms are fun and engaging. Coming soon will be a calm space specifically designed for those with social, emotional or behavioral challenges who need even smaller student-teacher ratios and more focused care. (Great for parents like Cho, who struggled to find the best care for a child with ADHD).

The separate activity room, shared by all, will provide a huge range of life enrichment activities throughout the day including yoga, judo, ballet, bowling, music, arts and crafts and even Hip Hop dance. Cho says she wanted to create a space that was fun and that’s exactly what she’s done. Most activities will be included in standard monthly tuition, but plans are in the works for additional classes and activities provided outside of a child’s scheduled day.

photo: Jennifer B. Davis

Giving Back
Beyond the daily activities, Tottini Discovery is also planning to give back to the community, with a portion of its proceeds going to help local community groups and global programs. A go-getter at heart, Cho plans to expand Tottini Discovery to other local neighborhoods (her parent friends are already clamoring for this type of location in their neighborhoods) and even nationally or internationally, as demand increases.

The Important Details
Tottini Discovery is scheduled to open on August 1, 2016 and will run on a year-round program, only closing on a few major “bank holidays” throughout the year. The learning center will offer full 5-day care and flexible schedules as well as AM and PM half day, or 2- or 3-day work weeks. Pricing is currently being determined, and will depend on final capacity, but Cho stated, “It will still be less than competing centers and will offer considerably lower student to teacher ratios.” And, unlike other care centers in the area, Tottini Discovery will provide healthy (primarily organic and locally sourced) lunches and snacks which will be prepared in their on-site kitchen. Not only that, fresh linens will be provided each day (say goodbye to schleping clean sheets and a blanket for junior’s nap time… only to forget them in the washing machine on your way out the door). With perks like that, Tottini Discovery is set to be a fantastic find for both you and your little one.

photo: Tottini Discovery

Registration & Open House
Tottini Discovery is currently taking registrations for fall for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Families who register now will receive 50% off their first month’s tuition. Psst… be sure to ask about other deals like paying in full for an additional discount. Discounts are also available for Passport Corporate and Microsoft Prime card holders.

Everyone is invited to stop by and check out Tottini’s open house on Thurs., July 28 from 1 p.m.-7 p.m. This is a great opportunity to check out the classrooms, meet the highly qualified teachers and get a first-hand look at this awesome learning center.

Tottini Discovery
2253 140th Ave. N.E.
Bellevue, Wa 98005
425-505-2794
Online: tottinidiscovery.com and on Facebook 
Email: info@tottinidiscovery.com

Have you already toured or signed up for Tottini Discovery? Tell us what you love most about the learning center in the Comments below.

— Jennifer B. Davis