Los Amiguitos immersion preschool

My daughter began Los Amiguitos last September. We feel so lucky to have found the school. Lila the director and teacher is amazing. She is an organized and responsive administrator and an amazing teacher. She is creative, passionate, and very skilled. Her assistant Emilie is gentle and warm with the kids. I especially love that the learning is project based and based on the children’s interests. I also love that the setting is natural, cozy, and welcoming. My daughter absolutely loves it. She doesn’t even bat an eye when I leave. She couldn’t be happier spending her days here. The Spanish immersion is an incredible bonus. We weren’t necessarily looking for Spanish immersion — we just loved the school so much. Our daughter is learning the language after only several months. She already takes pride in her Spanish. Lila is an amazing language teacher, which I can attest to personally after having begun her parent classes. She makes learning intuitive and fun. Lila also hosts many community events including pot lucks where the kids perform their songs and camping trips. This is really a gem of a school. It was the answer to our hopes and dreams for our daughter’s first school experience.

My son has been attending Los Amiguitos since September of 2013 and I am overwhelmed with gratitude that he is a part of this community. Lila is the lead teacher and her assistant is Emile. The school is held at Lila’s home, and is spanish immersion with some Montessori elements. Lila allows the children to guide her towards their project of focus for the quarter (they just finished two months learning about space, planets, sun and moon). At the end of every quarter there is a community get together that Lila hosts at her home and the children sing songs and we all share food.
There is a playground in her back yard with plenty of toys and 3 – 4 garden beds that the children participate in preparing, planting, caring and harvesting. Lila spends a great deal of time with the children outdoors, always using any opportunity to teach them more about the world.
My son loves going to school. He attended another school for a short time before entering Los Amiguitos and there were a lot of tears and meltdowns. He is a very sensitive child who does not separate well from his parents. Since beginning his adventure at Amiguitos, he hasn’t had a single day of tears or meltdowns. He loves school days and loves the time with his friends. Lila focuses on a sense of community among the children and the parents. She is always open to suggestions and feedback and responds promptly to any form of communication. She is patient, energetic and extremely knowledgable.
We do not speak Spanish at home and while this was initially a concern, it is clear my son has adjusted extremely well to the different environments. It has been an opportunity for our entire family to learn about a new culture and our Spanish vocabulary has exploded since he began his attendance. Lila has also started adult Spanish classes for parents who are interested so we can feel more involved and connected to our child’s school experience and language development.
It is also important to note Lila and Emile’s demeanor towards the children. They are kind, loving, supportive and sensitive while also maintaing firm boundaries and expectations. They treat the children with deep respect and help the children learn that quality. When the children arrive they are always greeted with a big «Buenos Dias!» and a hug (if the child is willing). I often feel they love my son as much as I do.

I can’t say enough good things about this preschool. My 3.5-year old son has been attending since last September and loves it. I also have a 5-​month old who’s already on the list for 2015. I have been a full-​time SAHM and was really nervous about leaving my little one in the care of others, but from the first day everything went smoothly. The director Lila has a wealth of experience in various teaching philosophies and uses all of them to create a tailored approach to the curriculum. The small class size allows each child to get lots of personal attention, and the fact that it’s home-​based makes it feel much more comfortable than other schools. We enrolled primarily for the French immersion but are so happy Spanish is offered as well — Lila speaks both fluently so the children pick it up extremely quickly. In addition to the indoor classroom and open area for dancing/​yoga, there’s a big outside play area complete with garden, so the children all learn about planting and growing fresh produce which is a nice bonus. If you’re looking for a preschool for your little ones where you can be part of a community, you should definitely consider Los Amiguitos.

My daughter has been at Los Amiguitos for a full school year now. We are very happy with the school. Lila is a great teacher — she has infinite patience with her students. She’s very creative, and always has a new creative project to help her students learn. My daughter really enjoys her time there. She has a great play area for the kids outside with a playscape and lots of outdoor toys, and another area inside with all kinds of things — puppets, playdo, books, etc. My daughter has picked up the language so quickly too — it is just amazing to see! Los Amiguitos is a wonderful place to allow your child the opportunity to learn another language and also have more individual attention than he or she might have at a larger school. I also really appreciate having children of many ages in the group, as my daughter does not have an older sibling, so she learns a lot from the older kids in the group. I also enjoy the participation of the other families at the school. Lila will have a party every once in a while, and the kids will sing songs and dance, and we have a potluck. It is nice to get to know the other families and make some connections.