Little Sprouts Academy

The best daycare I’ve ever sent my daughter to. So clean, so organic and so organized. I can’t say enough great things about this place. We are moving to Denver this summer and we are sooo going to miss this place! Ms Natalie in the 2 year old class is AMAZING! :))

I would like to start this review by stating that there are some negative reviews here that seem to be a deliberate and unrelated attack on on of the school employees, which is very unfortunate and I seriously question the credibility of many of the negative reviews.
I have had the absolute best experience at Little Sprouts. First, the facility is beautiful and very conveniently located. The school is Reggio-​Themed, so Lots of big windows, natural light and calm soothing colors. I can honestly say the indoor and outdoor space are some of the best I’ve seen, and I spent 8 years teaching at Reggio Preschools, including spending some time in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
The teachers are fantastic. Everyone from the lead teachers to subs to assistants, are professional, kind, loving, caring and nurturing. Every teacher at the school seems to know my son’s name, even the teachers in other classrooms. This provides a wonderful since of community. Susu, the Director, was a teacher there in the past and all of us teachers know that the BEST directors were once teachers themselves. Every principal and Director should have to spend time teaching to really understand what it is teachers do and the kind of support they need. I often see Susu in and around the classrooms, she is very hands on and involved in a way that all directors should be, but few actually are. The staff as a whole make up a fantastic and diverse group of teachers and I am honored to be a part of the community at Little Sprouts.

I love this place! I was incredibly impressed with the director Susu and her demeanor… So friendly and knowledgable! I’m very picky about who cares for my son and I just felt so comfortable there… All of the children seemed so happy while they were playing and interacting on the playground (which, btw seemed so fun for all the kids with this giant pirate ship for them to explore on). It was SUPER clean and seems so well run and organized. I live just blocks away from this location in Kensington… So it’s so accessible, especially being right off of the I-​15! I’m so excited for my son to start here soon!

Little Sprouts adams ave is head and shoulders above any other daycare i’ve been to. I recently went on a tour and I was impressed with the knowledge level of Susu, the director, and two of the teachers. I wasn’t familiar with Reggio vs. Montessori and they explained the difference and the benefits of each.
I also asked to see the kitchen area, which was immaculate, I highly recommend checking that out. They serve organic and vegetarian food and Susu provided me the menus for the week which looked really healthy and good. Can I be a student here? Haha. The play area is wonderful and they have cute little garden for the kids to plant and grow. The wait list is quite long, but I am sure it’s worth it.

This place is really great. Teachers are wonderful, facilities are clean and provide great learning/​play environment, location is convenient, and they have excellent communication with the parents. They have a wonderful outdoor area with sandbox, chalk wall, grass, pirate ship structure, garden, toys etc. Our child is very happy here and we have been very happy with the good-​natured staff’s professionalism. Not only is our child benefitting from the social interaction with his peers but he gets plenty of individual attention from the caregivers as well.

Our daughter started at Little Sprouts when she was 18 months old (Oct 2015). We were in a sudden bind for childcare and we had heard great things about this facility. We took a tour, did a couple supervised visits with our daughter (so she could get familiar with the location) and the following week she started. She attends 3 days per week.
The initial transition (about a month) was a little rough which is definitely to be expected. She’s been sick off and on since she started there, which is also to be expected. Aside from those things, our experience with Little Sprouts has been very positive! She loves her teachers, Ms. Cielo and Ms. Natalie, and has made friends with the other kids in her class. When we’re at home, she’ll reenact things from school, she’ll point out her school bag, she’ll talk about school, she’s gets excited when she goes to school, etc.
I REALLY appreciate the fact that her teachers give me a little run-​down of how she did each day — what activity they did (and if she enjoyed it or not), who she played with, what she ate, how long she napped for, etc. I feel that they do a really great job with her! I also love that other teachers (not her own) know her name and say «hi» and «bye» to her by name.
I also really appreciate that the director is prompt in answering any questions I might have (etc. holiday schedule, tax forms, etc.)
I understand that everyone has different needs and wants when it comes to childcare (after all, these people are watching your most precious possessions!!), but we have been very happy with this facility and I will be sad when our daughter has to leave when she ages out (2 ½ years).

My son has been attending Little Sprouts for over a year now and my husband and I could not be happier with the facilities and teachers at this daycare. It took us almost a year to get off of the waitlist, but I am glad we did!
I was very hesitant about placing my son in daycare at all, but the teachers and the director at Little Sprouts made the transition easy for us and I have loved watching my son blossom from all of the great experiences he has there. My son has transitioned through three classes now. I was immediately impressed with the teachers in the infant room when he first started going to daycare. They were warm, attentive, and loving and it was clear that my son felt comfortable with them right off the bat. They were also approachable and helped me with the transition as well. I was nervous about his transition to the infant 2 classroom, but again, the teachers were excellent and he thrived there until transferring into the toddler class at the beginning of this year. Little Sprouts does an excellent job transitioning the children by taking the babies to visit their next classroom a few weeks before they move to the new class. Also, I love the fact that every teacher in the facility knows my child’s name and that he knows them. Because the children interact with all the teachers during the day in passing or out in the play area, I think they are more comfortable when it is time to move up a class.
I also love the creativity and effort that each teacher brings to the classroom. They are always thinking up new and fun activities for the children. These are often very messy and I am happy that my son gets to experience these sensory activities at school :).
I also love the caring compassionate response that I have witnessed a number of times while dropping off or picking up my son. I have never seen a crying child left unattended. If a child is crying, they are being held or comforted by a teacher.
Finally, the post about the lack of outdoor play space below is incorrect. There are two fantastic outdoor play areas — one for smaller infants and one for the toddlers. Both are age appropriate and provide lots of fun activities for the children.

Little Sprouts is amazing. The staff, curriculum and classrooms/​play areas are top notch. Most importantly, our little guy LOVES it here. I love seeing him and his little friends doing projects and playing outside on the insta posts! Pricing is steep, but you get more than what you pay for here. I think most of the bad reviews are from people that have children that have never even enrolled!

My disappointment with Little Sprouts Adams Ave location has nothing to do with the staff directly or the quality of the care. The thing that makes me rate it so low is that they kick you out when your child turns 2 ½. I had mistakenly assumed that there was some coordination between the different locations, and that when my son turned 2 ½ he would seamlessly transfer to the Mission Gorge location. Sorry. It’s bad enough that you need to pay a separate application fee, but that wasn’t too big a deal.
We signed up for the Mission Gorge wait list right when the Adams Ave folks told us to and the Mission Gorge people refused to give us a date of when our son could move there. I thought he could just stay at Adams Ave until a spot opened up there. Well, yesterday, 2 weeks before my son turns 2 ½, they spring it on us that he’ll get kicked out. My wife and I were both surprised because nobody mentioned this sooner. And now the Mission Gorge location is saying that he can’t start until June. So we are without daycare for over 4 months.
Their best accommodation was to say that we could enroll him on the other side of the city in the new Rancho San Diego location (actually La Mesa but I guess they want it to sound fancier), but even then he wouldn’t start until March. So with that option we are out of day care for a month and even when he starts there we’ll have a bunch of new problems figuring out how to drop him off and pick him up from out in the boondocks.
So basically if you will want day care for your child after he/​she is 2 ½ then you should avoid Little Sprouts Adams Ave.
Because of some of the other reviews I feel like it might help to comment on the staff. I never had any problem with or dislike for Sandra. Maybe she doesn’t have superb people skills, but so what? Who cares if the director is peppy and cheerful? What you should really care about is the teaching staff, and the teachers are excellent. I can assure you that there is absolutely no problem communicating with the staff when your child is enrolled. The teachers are always happy to talk about your child and fill you in on how they did that day.
If it weren’t for the lack of coordination between the different locations of this (dis)organization, then I’d give them 5 stars. It’s just extremely inconvenient for us now trying to figure out what to do while our son is out of daycare.

First off, I would like to say that it is truly unfortunate that individuals who only «toured» the facility are able to affect the rating of this school.
Parents: Searching for a daycare, putting your name on waitlists, paying for the waitlists, not knowing a definitive date of placement, etc., are all the annoying, NORMAL, and necessary steps in the «finding a daycare» for your child process. Please air your grievances about this process on your Facebook page and not on this establishment’s Unilocal page. While you think you are helping potential attendees and their families, you are not; you are only confusing those who do not take the time to read each review and simply base their decision on the amount of stars the establishment has. As a parent of a former «waitlistee» and now current «attendee,» I find it quite ridiculous that Little Sprouts’ 5-​star rating went down to 3.5 stars mainly because of comments about the daycare’s waitlist process.
Importantly, I am very happy with the care and attention that my 14-​month old son is receiving at Little Sprouts. He has been transitioning at Little Sprouts over the past two-​weeks, and in that time, I have witnessed his teachers caring for him in a loving, attentive, and warm manner. These interactions have been very reassuring and made the process of switching from a nanny to a daycare a lot easier than originally anticipated.
As a first time mom, and one whose son has been used to a nanny since he was 3 months old, I have very high expectations of those individuals responsible for caring for him. Since my son has started at Little Sprouts, I have observed my son (and the staff) with the other children for multiple hours during outdoor playtime, as well as in their classroom. From my observations, it is obvious that the teachers adore the children, are attentive to their needs, and care about creating a loving and happy environment.
Also, and in an effort to facilitate my son’s transition, I regularly contact his teachers and the director, Sandra, with questions and comments. His teachers and Sandra always promptly respond to me and I believe that the responses are thought through and sincere. Additionally, I find the director, Sandra, to be caring, professional, and passionate about her job.
My husband and I are very happy with Little Sprouts so far and would suggest this school to prospective parents.

LOVE LITTLE SPROUTS! Seems as though some Unilocalers here have time to nitpick at, what I would consider, trivial/​imaginary experiences. The staff, care and infant development we have experienced is priceless. Our little guy loves going ‘to school’! We get emails/​texts and social media updates throughout the day; can’t hide the kiddos happiness ;) Little Sprouts is the BEST!

My son started Little Sprouts when he was just 8 months old. He was so shy and attached to me that it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But I knew he needed the socialization, and I needed feel confident that he was somewhere safe so I could concentrate on working full time. Everyone at LS was so professional, knowledgeable, and immediately caring that I knew I’d made the right decision.
Over the course of a year and a half, I’ve checked in with Sandra (the LS director) when I had questions or issues with my son’s care. I consider everything that cropped up to be normal occurrences, particularly with a brand-​new school. Even so, she considered every concern and addressed it, usually the very next day. (For example, I never knew when my son was running low on diapers. I brought this up, and the next day there was a «Needs» board created in all classrooms, which teachers use to write down what each child needs – like diapers, wipes, etc.)
In addition to the professional style of handing care – which makes me comfortable knowing that there are rules in place for caretakers to follow – LS is clean and well maintained. The play yard and classrooms are safe and age-​appropriate, and the teachers are trained to handle CPR and other emergencies. The food is organic (Trader Joe’s) and far above what I’ve seen elsewhere. Not only do the kids thrive among their peers in the Reggio style of play-​based learning, but they are cared for by thoughtful, lovely teachers who incorporate singing, dancing, and crafts. (Ms. Caresa and Ms. Cielo are two of our favorites.)
When we started at LS, my son couldn’t even sit up on his own. Now, he has graduated «baby school» and is on his way to the next school in the LS lineup. In fact, until he’s ready for kindergarten, I plan to keep him in the loving, competent care of LS.

I really wanted to love Little Sprouts and I know a lot of parents do. I’m writing based on my family’s experience.
Side note: When our son was ~6 months, we placed him in daycare but he got very sick there (bloody diarrhea, etc.) We decided to keep him home till now (if you see all my other reviews for centers.)
What attracted us to Little Sprouts were the organic cleaning products and food, new facilities, and the Reggio inspired curriculum. I requested a tour via the online form as my phone calls were routed to a voicemail box. On our tour, my husband & I were greeted by Sandra, the director. She’s nice enough but not as warm or welcoming as I’d hoped. We were taken into a toddler classroom and outside to see the play area. She asked us if we had any questions. There was no excitement from her about the school. Usually directors want to «show off» but I had to fish for information. I brushed it aside and got on the waiting list for late August/​early September.start.
Sandra emailed me a couple months later about an opening in June but we declined per what I said on our wait list form. She said she would put a note in our file but shouldn’t she have known that already? A few weeks later she said there was a spot in July. I again declined. We weren’t in a huge rush. That same day, she says there’s an early August date available — why I wasn’t told that to begin with, I don’t know. She said she couldn’t foresee any spots opening up after August since it was so far away. We decided it wouldn’t hurt to have him go a couple months before his 2^nd birthday. They held his spot for a mid-​August start which was close enough to what we wanted.
Sandra & I worked out «transition days» so our son could familiarize himself with the surroundings. I started to wonder about Sandra’s lack of communication at this point. There were changes in my schedule and I called to move around our transitions days. Left a voice mail but no one called back. Some emails were answered with 1 word responses or sent incomplete then resent completed. When I dropped off paperwork, I asked if anyone answers the phone. I was told they get so many phone calls, answering them takes away from being with the children (which I can understand) and they only answer calls from numbers «in their system» (guess they assign a name for parents’ numbers once you’ve enrolled.) I asked about emergencies & she said «if [an unfamiliar] number keeps calling then we’ll know it’s an emergency.» She also said that teachers have access to iMessage and parents can communicate that way.
During our 3 visits this is what my husband and I observed:
Sandra’s interaction with our son was almost non-​existent. We received a hello & were pointed towards the classroom. When we left, we weren’t asked how things were going. His teacher, Ms. Stephanie, was nice albeit quiet and/​or tired. I’m guessing it’s because her co-​teacher had just left (another parent told me it was for another job.) Ms. Stephanie said if I had any questions to let her know which I did. She didn’t ask me about my son. I guess I was expected to follow her around and tell her all about him or ask her if she had questions about our son for me. All parents are provided a care sheet to fill out but neither my husband nor I were approached to review that with her. One of the assistant teachers kept giving me side-​eye glances. I don’t know why… I stayed out of their way, letting our son play and explore on his own (after he stopped clinging to me.)
Also, on our tour, I noticed the front door would stay open sometimes if you didn’t pull it shut. I figured they’d get it fixed. It still did that when I was there months later and Sandra is not in her office a lot of the time so anyone seeing that could walk in if they wanted to.
Outside, children played out of view while all teachers were on the other side of the playground for the entire hour. Sandra herself told me that her staff was trained to stay in stations around the playground ensuring children were being watched — that was not the case. The kids are allowed to go all day barefoot. The hot pavement can hurt little feet (which I saw a little girl tiptoeing in the playground because of it), in addition to any other debris out there. If they want to sit in a circle with their shoes off to feel the grass then go for it… but all day?
I did not feel comfortable leaving our son there even for one day. I emailed Sandra that he would not be attending. Her reply was matter of fact — a «thank you» for letting her know & asking where they could send our refund check.
We went to tour another school after our visit to Little Sprouts and the difference in our son was like night & day. He did not cling to me or my husband. In fact, he ran down the hall and started exploring on his own and barely looked for us. The staff was warm and inviting and actually interacted with our son — imagine that! He will be starting there this Fall.

I know some of the other reviewers have made negative comments about Sandra (the center director) or the academy in general, but my husband and I have had really great experiences there. Sandra was responsive, attentive and was patient answering our questions. My son’s teachers (Ms. Claudia, Ms. Caresa, and Ms. Cielo) are all excellent, in-​tune with the kids, and you can tell they have a special bond with the kids. My son blows kisses to each of them when we leave each day. We have been there a month and my son’s speech skills have flourished. As a military family with unique needs, the whole staff has been very sweet, responsive, and communicative. Thank you, LS! I highly recommend this academy!

This place is great! My daughter has been at Little Sprouts at Adams Avenue for almost 10 months and I couldn’t be happier with the school. Yes, the school is very pricey, but I think it is definitely a situation where you get what you pay for.
We get daily updates on our daughter’s activities (in detail) from feeding, to sleeping to playtime and interaction and even «Diaper activity» so that I know exactly what is going on with my daughter when she is at school. The school even sends us pictures of her to say hello– which is always nice surprise when they come through. This has been very reassuring and it also shows me that the teachers are paying attention to what is going on with each individual child.
The facilities are excellent and I love the Reggio philosophy that is the foundation of the teaching method. It is perfectly in line with our family’s hopes for our daughter’s development. The school has a very «zen» feel. It’s clean, it’s white, it’s organized. There are NOT toys all over the floor and all over the place like at many daycare facilities where the kids can trip and fall because there is chaos everywhere. Everything seems to have a place to be put away so that the kids are in a clean, organized atmosphere. I think the clean environment really lends itself to the kids using their imagination.
I am actually shocked by the negative reviews about the director Sandra and the teachers. All that I have experienced is a director (Sandra) who greets me every morning when I drop off my daughter, and teachers to be very attentive to both my daughter, myself and my husband. I make sure to be very involved in my daughter’s daily activities and ask a lot of questions. Almost daily I have some sort of conversation with the teacher in the classroom or Sandra in some capacity. Even when they are closing up for the day (I pick up later in the afternoon) they still take the time to answer any questions that I may have, and update me on my daughter’s progress. Not once have I been rushed or sensed impatience from anyone. They have always been happy to help and have shown utmost concern that I am comfortable with the care that they are providing.
Ultimately, I feel like I have had an opportunity to have a partnership with Sandra and the teachers at Little Sprouts who have cared for my daughter.
If you are considering Little Sprouts, the best thing that I can recommend is to check it out for yourself. Every family is different and has different needs. These reviews are all based on perception and a reviewer’s personal feelings toward a situation. All I would say is to remember and understand that the staff– including the director are people who care for children… That is their focus. They are not salespeople and will not come off that way (or kiss your ass), which many parents may perceive as indifference.
Again, my experience has been exceptional. My focus and expectations of the school are that my daughter is cared for, that she is learning, developing, socializing and hitting her milestones in a safe and caring environment. We have gotten exactly that.
******Extra shout out to: Miss Tina, Ginessa, Kathleen, Natalie, Lauren, Michaela, Blanca and all the «floating» teachers (and Miss Caressa even though my daughter is not in your class =)
You ladies have truly made it possible for us to feel confident that our daughter is receiving the utmost care. We feel like we have a relationship with each and every one of you and we can’t thank you enough for the amazing role you have played in her development!

The director at this facility is so terrible! I had my son here for some time, and after a few months I noticed it was headed down hill. The employees seemed absolutely miserable and the director does not know how to run a preschool at all. I was very close with my sons two teachers and I could tell that they were unhappy with Sandra’s way of doing things.
The two teachers were always very honest with me, while Sandra would tell me something completely different. It was almost as if she forgot about her own lies. When I would approach her with questions she spoke in circles and often times made no sense. Susu was always very helpful and would try to explain what Sandra was trying to say, which lead me to believe in the beginning that Susu was in charge.
I’m not sure if Sandra is still working here because I removed my son ASAP, however if she is, I would not recommend sending your child there.
The center itself was very clean and everything was brand new. I also really loved their philosophy they implemented and the teachers were all awesome as well!

I toured the infant program a few months back and came away with the impression that they are all about the money. I was told they charge to be on the wait list and they were vague about how long the wait would be. The staff I interacted with were disorganized and not very warm. It seemed like they do so many tours staff just phone it in. The facility itself was clean but also felt sterile, almost clinical. The clincher was when I met the infant teachers and none of them bothered to smile, say hello, or greet my baby. They definitely did not look like they enjoyed their job. For the cost, I didn’t see anything above average to justify the price. We ended up using a small in home daycare with a warm & loving provider and a better staff to child ratio for less than half the price!

The director definitely needs to work on her people skills. Emails and VMs were left ignored, days would pass without return calls, etc. Perhaps she is very organized behind the scenes… otherwise what is the point? Poor response time, unclear wording. I was given completely false information on when my child could enroll, which as a parent going back to work is a nightmare if you have an expected of date X and it is several months later ! Also, I was treated unfairly as a man in my opinion… given a tour and rushed out and told «When your wife wants to come back we can talk more». Who says that? My wife had given me 100% discretion for touring and choosing the facility as she has 100% trust in me and was busy herself feeding/​nurturing our child and didn’t need to go on all these tours I did.
Also much higher priced than other child care providers. We ended up choosing a different provider.

Susu is a great great teacher and she is so kind and professional.
The adams branch have no play facilities outdoor.
The director in Adams av. is OMG…
Also they made us pay for the waiting list and said its almost 6 months for a spot and its almost a year now and no one contacted us yet!!!

I paid a deposit to put my son on the wait list on September 4^th, 2014.(They call it an enrollment fee, but charge a separate fee once your child actually enrolls)
At the time I paid, I asked about how long the wait would be as I had hired a nanny for the interim, and I wanted to be able to give her an accurate estimate of her commitment. I was told by the director, Sandra Tolmasoff, that they should have spots available by November 1^st.
I waited until December to contact her the first time, she told me they would have a spot available the following month.
I waited and contacted her again, and she told me it would be another month.
I heard nothing for several months, then finally sent another email where I mentioned that I felt that I had been either intentionally or unintentionally misled. Suddenly as if by magic there was a spot available.
The director, if not an intentional liar, is certainly at the very least, dis-​organized and not at all communicative. Both attributes I value when it comes to my child’s care.
We made other arrangements.