How many daycares and preschools are in the West Loop?

13 early-childhood facilities (daycares, preschools, and Montessori schools) hold City of Chicago childcare licenses inside the West Loop — 11 currently open and 2 opening soon, per each school's own website (checked 2026-08-02). Another 3 businesses hold the same license types for kids' activities (tutoring, martial arts, cooking, STEM) rather than daycare.

Which West Loop daycares take infants?

Most of the full-day programs start at 6 weeks, per their own sites: BrightPath (310 S Racine), Bright Horizons (500 W Monroe), The Gardner School (1301 W Madison), Goddard (776 W Quincy), Stepping Stones (1025 W Van Buren), Green Beginnings (1376 W Carroll), and Montessori Academy of Chicago (1335 W Randolph). Intercultural Montessori starts at 15 months; Brain Builders Academy starts at 3 years.

Is Mathnasium a daycare?

No. Mathnasium is a math tutoring and learning center; it holds the same City license category because the Children's Services Facility License covers any program serving children, not just daycare. This page lists it under kids' activities, separate from the daycare comparison.

Does this list include in-home daycares?

No — only facilities operating from a licensed business address appear in the City's Business Licenses dataset. Licensed home daycares are regulated at the state level; since July 1, 2026 the Illinois Department of Early Childhood is the lead agency for child care licensing (taking over from DCFS), and the state's public day-care lookup covers licensed homes as well as centers.

How do I verify a childcare license or see inspection reports?

Two layers. City: click any facility name to its detail page, then follow the Source link to the City of Chicago Business Licenses record. State: use the Illinois day-care provider lookup (sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov) to confirm the state license, and its Monitoring Report Search for licensing-compliance reports — both public and free.

West Loop · Childcare

Daycare & preschool in the West Loop

The West Loop has 13 licensed early-childhood facilities — daycares, preschools, and Montessori schools — 11 open today and 2 opening soon. The comparison below covers what parents actually decide on: ages served, program style, hours, and the nearest playground — every fact read from each school's own website (2026-08-02) on top of City of Chicago license records. 3 more license-holders run kids' activities rather than daycare; they're listed separately below. Looking for dog daycare instead? That's over in the pet care guide.

Quick facts

Daycares & preschools: 13 (11 open · 2 opening soon)
Kids' activity licensees: 3
License categories: Children's Services Facility + Day Care (City of Chicago)
State licensing lead: Illinois Dept. of Early Childhood (since July 1, 2026)
School facts checked: 2026-08-02 (each school's own site)
License data refreshed: 2026-08-03

Every daycare & preschool, compared

Ages, program style, and hours below come from each school's own website, checked 2026-08-02 — where a school doesn't publish a fact, the cell says so rather than guessing. Tuition is deliberately absent: almost no school publishes it, so any number here would be stale or secondhand. Click a name for the full detail page (license record, map, contact).

School	Ages	Program	Hours	Nearest playground
Brain Builders Academy 225 S Sangamon St 1st 100, Chicago, IL, 60607	3–9 yrs (PreK–6th grade; youngest start at 36 months)	Neuroscience-based STEAM microschool	Mon–Fri 8 am – 6 pm	Heritage Green Park · 5 min walk
Bright Horizons Chicago West Loop 500 W Monroe St 1st, Chicago, IL, 60661	6 weeks – 13th birthday (incl. school-age program)	World at Their Fingertips curriculum (emergent, research-based)	Mon–Fri 8 am – 6 pm	Heritage Green Park · 7 min walk
BrightPath West Loop 310 S Racine Ave Floors 1-2, Chicago, IL, 60607	6 weeks – 5 yrs	BeeCurious early-learning curriculum	Mon–Fri 6 am – 6 pm	Skinner Park · 5 min walk
Erie Neighborhood House 1634 W Van Buren St 1st, Chicago, IL, 60612	0–5 yrs org-wide (center program 2–5; 18–24 mo may join wait list)	Holistic kindergarten-readiness curriculum; sliding-scale community pricing	Mon–Fri 8 am – 4 pm, year-round (org-wide program hours)	Union Park · 11 min walk
Green Beginnings 1376 W Carroll Ave, Chicago, IL, 60607	6 weeks – 5 yrs (Seedlings 6 wk–14 mo · Sprouts 15–23 mo · Buds 2 yr · Flowers 3–5 yr)	Eco-conscious, nature-focused early development	Not published — call	Union Park · 7 min walk
Intercultural Montessori Foreign Language Immersion School 114 S Racine Ave 1&2, Chicago, IL, 60607	15 months – 8th grade	Dual-language Montessori — Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic immersion (after-care to 6 pm)	Not published — call	Skinner Park · 2 min walk
Kensington School of West Loop Opening soon 1220 W Adams St 1-3, Chicago, IL, 60607	6 weeks – kindergarten (school-wide program ladder)	Traditional-academic, project-based (“Growing Up Kensington”)	Not published — call	Skinner Park · 3 min walk
Kido International Preschool, West Loop Opening soon 1000 W Washington Blvd 1st, Chicago, IL, 60607	6 weeks – 5 yrs	Reggio Emilia + Montessori blend, internationally inspired	Mon–Fri 7 am – 6 pm (published planned schedule)	Mary Bartelme Park · 2 min walk
Montessori Academy of Chicago 1335 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL, 60607	6 weeks – 8th grade (Infant 6 wk–15 mo · Toddler · Pre-primary · Primary 3–6 · Elementary · Middle)	Authentic Montessori, Nursery through Middle School (in the West Loop since 2007)	Not published — call	Skinner Park · 4 min walk
Rainforest Learning Center 1144-1150 W Madison St 1st Floor, Chicago, IL, 60607	Infants + preschool (no numeric range published)	Arts- and performance-based creative development (theatre, ceramics, poetry)	Not published — call	Skinner Park · 2 min walk
Stepping Stones Nursery School 1025 W Van Buren St, Chicago, IL, 60607	6 weeks – 5 yrs	Reggio-inspired, developmentally focused (Cadence Education)	Mon–Fri 7 am – 5:30 pm	Mary Bartelme Park · 8 min walk
The Gardner School 1301 W Madison St 100, Chicago, IL, 60607	6 weeks – 5 yrs	Blend of traditional and Montessori styles	Mon–Fri 7 am – 6 pm	Skinner Park · 2 min walk
The Goddard School of West Loop 776 W Quincy St 1, Chicago, IL, 60661	6 weeks – 5 yrs (Infant 6 wk–15 mo · Toddler 15–24 mo · Twos · Preschool · Pre-K)	Research-driven, inquiry-based STEAM (“Wonder of Learning”)	Mon–Fri 7 am – 6 pm	Heritage Green Park · 1 min walk

Worth knowing: Kensington School of West Loop and Kido International Preschool, West Loop are not open yet — both list interest/tour forms on their sites, which is when waitlists are shortest.

Same license, different business: kids' activities

The City's childcare license categories cover any program serving children — so these 3 West Loop license-holders appear in the same official dataset even though they're activity programs, not daycare:

Junior Chefs Kitchen — Children’s cooking classes
Kids Stem Studio — STEM classes for kids
Mathnasium, the Math Learning Center — Math tutoring and learning center

How childcare licensing works here

Two layers protect West Loop kids. The City of Chicago licenses the business itself — the records this page is built from (both the "Children's Services Facility License" and the separate "Day Care License" category). The State of Illinois licenses the childcare operation: as of July 1, 2026, the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood is the lead agency for child care licensing (a role held for decades by DCFS). Two public tools let you verify any provider yourself: the state's day-care provider lookup (confirms a current license) and its monitoring report search (licensing-compliance reports since 2010). A serious tour checklist includes both.

Enriched profiles

Facilities below have additional verified info (operator description, website, etc.) curated from each facility's own public web presence. Click through to the full detail page for citations.

Brain Builders Academy

West Loop STEAM-based private elementary school on South Sangamon — flagship campus of Brain Builders Academy serving PreK through 6th grade (ages 3–9). Classes are capped at five students per teacher. The school guarantees a child enrolling at age 3–3.5 will be at least one grade level ahead by kindergarten or refunds parents $10,000. Notable for its STEAM curriculum, the academy was featured by ABC7 Chicago.
Bright Horizons Chicago West Loop
BrightPath West Loop

“The best start in life” — their tagline

New West Loop child care center serving infants through pre-K, opened spring 2026. Programs include music, dance, and yoga; tuition includes diapers and meals. Part of the global Busy Bees family of centers.
Erie Neighborhood House

Settlement-house social-services nonprofit founded in 1870 as a ministry of Holland Presbyterian Church, Erie Neighborhood House serves about 20,000 low-income and immigrant Chicagoans annually with legal services, mental-health and community wellness, children and youth programs, adult education and training, and community resources across four Chicago locations.
Green Beginnings

A West Loop daycare and early-development center for ages 6 weeks to 5 years (Seedlings through Flowers classrooms), founded by educators Katie Darcy and Krissy Ramirez. Uses organic, locally grown foods and emphasizes environmental stewardship.
Intercultural Montessori Foreign Language Immersion School
Junior Chefs Kitchen
Kensington School of West Loop
Kids Stem Studio

Kids STEM Studio on West Gladys — hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math activities for ages 4–14, offering weekly classes, after-school enrichment, day-off camps, week-long camps, and STEM birthday parties. Projects include robotics, experimental design, coding, and Minecraft, all part of the Kids STEM Studio educational program.
Mathnasium, the Math Learning Center
Montessori Academy of Chicago

“AMS-accredited Montessori school at 1335 W Randolph serving infants through elementary in a 48,000-square-foot purpose-built facility since 2007” — their tagline

The largest standalone Montessori school in West Loop, occupying a 48,000-square-foot purpose-built facility at 1335 W Randolph since 2007. Serves infants through elementary with American Montessori Society (AMS) accreditation.
Rainforest Learning Center

“The most extraordinary preschool anywhere — environmental school of the arts” — their tagline

An artistic preschool and infant program on Madison Street blending creative development — theatre production, ceramics, poetry, and nature immersion — with academic rigor. One of four Chicago campuses, the school is notable for its graduates consistently testing into the high-90s percentile and being recognized by Chicago private elementary schools, alongside an all-natural meal program.

rainforestpreschool.com ↗
Stepping Stones Nursery School
The Gardner School

“Academically-focused preschools serving students six weeks to Pre-K” — their tagline

A Madison Street preschool serving children from six weeks through Pre-K with an academically-focused curriculum and enrichment programming including gymnastics, music and movement, and karate. Part of TGS Holdings, LLC, one of several Chicago-area Gardner School campuses, the school is notable for its academically-focused curriculum, enrichment programming, and strong parent communication.

Frequently asked questions

How many daycares and preschools are in the West Loop?: 13 early-childhood facilities (daycares, preschools, and Montessori schools) hold City of Chicago childcare licenses inside the West Loop — 11 currently open and 2 opening soon, per each school's own website (checked 2026-08-02). Another 3 businesses hold the same license types for kids' activities (tutoring, martial arts, cooking, STEM) rather than daycare.
Which West Loop daycares take infants?: Most of the full-day programs start at 6 weeks, per their own sites: BrightPath (310 S Racine), Bright Horizons (500 W Monroe), The Gardner School (1301 W Madison), Goddard (776 W Quincy), Stepping Stones (1025 W Van Buren), Green Beginnings (1376 W Carroll), and Montessori Academy of Chicago (1335 W Randolph). Intercultural Montessori starts at 15 months; Brain Builders Academy starts at 3 years.
Is Mathnasium a daycare?: No. Mathnasium is a math tutoring and learning center; it holds the same City license category because the Children's Services Facility License covers any program serving children, not just daycare. This page lists it under kids' activities, separate from the daycare comparison.
Does this list include in-home daycares?: No — only facilities operating from a licensed business address appear in the City's Business Licenses dataset. Licensed home daycares are regulated at the state level; since July 1, 2026 the Illinois Department of Early Childhood is the lead agency for child care licensing (taking over from DCFS), and the state's public day-care lookup covers licensed homes as well as centers.
How do I verify a childcare license or see inspection reports?: Two layers. City: click any facility name to its detail page, then follow the Source link to the City of Chicago Business Licenses record. State: use the Illinois day-care provider lookup (sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov) to confirm the state license, and its Monitoring Report Search for licensing-compliance reports — both public and free.