Kate & Noah are amazing teachers. Anyone who enters that little house can immediately see that here is an environment created by and for kids. It is my kids’ second home, it is a place where they feel safe and accepted and essential. Noah is a gifted musician, artist, and educator whose deep curiosity about the natural world inspires all around him. Kate’s creative whimsy delights the kids with unusual crafts, puppet shows and stories, and she remains incredibly calm and centered regardless of the day’s activities! My kids learned all the academic skills necessary to succeed in school at Carol’s House. But just as important, they learned how to be good friends, how to cherish their own individuality, how to help create a caring community, and how to tackle challenges. This is a truly extraordinary place for kids to grow and learn.
–Jennifer Davis Cline
My son started at Carol’s House just after turning two, and was there for three years, until the day before he started kindergarten. As a former elementary school teacher, I appreciated that my son was able to experience a truly play-based, child-centered environment. This is a rare and beautiful thing in a world where “school-readiness” is pushed on young children in ways that are not developmentally appropriate. As a social worker, I love that Kate and Noah have a holistic approach to caring for children, which takes into account the needs of the whole child and all aspects of well-being. Children are engaged in social and emotional learning every day, and learn about identifying their feelings, empathy, advocating for themselves, resiliency, problem-solving, and kindness and care for others. My son started kindergarten with the skills needed to meet all academic benchmarks, but also with the interpersonal and social skills to manage the transition to a larger public school setting. He is now in second grade and thriving in every way.
–Jennifer Anderson, BA Elementary Education, MSW
Carol’s House became our family and helped raise all three of our kids into kind, creative, responsible people. Each of our kids entered public school with advanced academic and emotional skills and they have been thriving ever since. We are forever grateful!
–Alicia and Kyle Keys
I could go on forever about the place Carol’s House holds in my heart, but simply put, I was raised in two households: my parents house and Carols House. The things I learned at Carol’s House will be with me forever. It was the place where I learned how to truly be a great human being. I owe who I am to that place.
-Quin Moring – Carol’s House kid
Wow, where to begin… I have spent over half of my life either attending, volunteering, or working at Carol’s House, so it’s safe to say that I really loved being there. Carol’s House taught me so many things, but one of the most important things was a Carol’s House motto of “never be normal.” This inspired all of us to just be ourselves when we were at Carol’s House. We could be silly and playful and no one would make fun of anyone because we were different. Carol’s House taught us to celebrate diversities and emphasized that everyone was unique and brought something special to the table. Carol’s House provided us a safe space to be ourselves, express our emotions, and accept other’s differences. As an adult, I appreciate that I was exposed to this at such a young age. Carol’s House is also a family. Carol, Dan, Noah, and Kate put their hearts and souls into this place and you really feel at home when you are there. This is a special place for young children to grow their minds and hearts and I am beyond lucky and grateful to have been a Carol’s House kid!
-Sky Corby – Carol’s House kid
At two, our oldest son started at Carol’s House; two years later, our next daughter joined him; and it is a great sadness to me that we moved away from Oklahoma before our youngest daughter was old enough to go. Kate and Noah have made their ‘daycare’ into a home away from home. They are consistent and nurturing, with a wealth of knowledge and skills that make childcare look easy. My kids loved them like surrogate parents and learned so many good behaviors from them that I made it part of my daily pickup routine to try to learn as much from Kate and Noah as possible. My kids learned how to talk to each other using phrases like, “I feel sad because you hurt my feelings,” and “I just need some quiet time,” and “my body, my decision.” Noah is so fun (my son loved playing ‘monster’ where Noah would chase squealing children around the yard.) and Kate is profoundly kind and has the best recommendations for books (both for kids and parents!), Noah plays a guitar and sings with the kids, they have a wonderful daily and yearly routine, they are always rotating through the toys and dress-up clothes. Also, I loved that Noah’s parents (Dan and Carol of the original Carol’s house) are around as surrogate grandparents, and familiar faces to step in when Noah or Kate have to be gone. My husband and I semi-seriously talked about commuting from Colorado just to keep our kids at this amazing place. We love Kate and Noah and miss Carol’s House dearly!!
–Heather Demarest
Carol’s House is a wonderful world of empirical learning and exploratory play for children. My first daughter, Antonia, truly loved Carol and Dan. She started there in 2001 at age 3 and stayed there through their, then, after-school program up to fifth grade. She’s thriving now as an Environmental Studies major at Oberlin College. I credit Carol’s House with creating a nurturing and inclusive space in which children felt safe, collaborated across ages and genders, and learned how to handle their feelings and emotions. This helped produce an extremely mellow and well-adjusted teenager comfortable with both adults and small children. We loved Carol’s so much my second daughter, Kaya, attended Carol’s House eleven years later when she turned two in 2014. At that time Noah and Kate kept the legacy alive with a smaller cohort of kids aged 2-5, with older kids coming back in the summer, and teenagers such as Antonia volunteering. The apple does not far from the tree, as Noah has learned or inherited the calm demeanor and 6th sense for managing children that Carol and Dan possessed, and Kate’s wondrous and patient talents round out perfectly the family-friendly experience for all. Carol’s House was and remains among the finest gems in Norman. My family has been lucky to know all the Jacobs and Boones, and my children have benefited immeasurably from their experiences there.
-Karl Offen
I went to Carol’s House nearly throughout all my childhood, and I can absolutely say it was one of my favorite places on earth. I distinctly remember never being bored. There was always something else to do, another wonderful kid to play with, another project to start. And with the rotating system of toys, every day felt like a new day. There was one time we even made a whole movie based off of Thriller by Michael Jackson! That was really fun. I loved it so much I went back when I was older to volunteer in the summer, and it was nice to see my peers there doing the same thing. I still keep up with Carol and Dan, as well as Noah and Kate, and wouldn’t give up my experience for the world.
-Antonia Offen, CH kid from 2002 – 2008
Carol’s House Day Care has become an institution in Norman. Many O.U. professors delight in sending their children to Carol’s House. My daughter, grandson, and granddaughter have all attended and have very fond memories of the fun activities they enjoyed. Carol’s House exemplifies what should happen in every daycare everywhere. Children receive quality care with a focus on kindness, respect for others, and the exploration of important concepts all in a developmentally appropriate educational setting.
Susan Steele, M. Ed. Early Childhood Education