Little Sprouts Academy Preschool

My little one transferred over to the Mission Gorge location in September and we are still very happy!
Sammi and Janet were so awesome during his transition and continue to impress me. It took my son no time at all to get used to his new surroundings, friends, and teachers.
Katie, the director, is very hands-​on and interacts with the children daily. I love that she is always there when I drop-​off!

Prior to starting preschool, our child was at home with a nanny. At 2 years old, we decided she was ready for more socialization and began looking at group daycare options, including home daycares and centers. We were interested in a Montessori-​like approach but just couldn’t find a daycare/​preschool that felt right to us. Thankfully, the search brought us to the Little Sprouts, which felt perfect from the first moment we found them.
The school and playground is always clean with creative and calming decorations and lots of natural materials to play with. Their philosophy is to let the kids explore as much as they want — very few things are off limits. The teachers talk so respectfully to the kids, even in times of conflict, and are very calm, warm and friendly. It’s such a positive and happy place to be with lots of fun activities. I also LOVE that they are mindful of organic/​healthy food options — this was a high priority for me in our daycare search and I was continually disappointed at the menus most daycares showed me, with daily offerings of processed/“kid” food (mac and cheese, boxed waffles, etc) that may have met food requirements but didn’t seem very healthy or aimed at diversifying little pallets. I was thinking I might have to give up on food standards, until we found LS.
We’ve been at the school 6 months and absolutely love it. The only downside is that younger siblings (less than 18 mo) cannot attend at this location. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it but I do wish they would find a more expansive location that could accommodate all ages.
I also love the great communication we get. The school uses ipads, phones and email actively. I can contact them through text or email and get quick responses. They have fun instagram updates and great monthly newsletters for families to keep updated staff changes, recent projects with the kids, and extracurriculars. This is so convenient and helps us feel connected. This kind of thing is unfortunately hard for many home daycares to accomplish because of limited staff, which isn’t their fault but is a downside. We had to rule out a number of home daycares simply because they wouldn’t return calls or answer wait list requests.
Overall, we couldn’t be happier with our choice of preschools. Our daughter loves school, we can hardly get her to leave. She talks constantly about her teachers and her friends and is genuinely excited to get there each day. I love their Reggio approach to learning, their earth-​conscious approach to the environment, and the amazing staff who give my kid the best care she can get. Its invaluable to know that your child is not only in good hands all day but is having fun too.

I cannot say enough good things about Little Sprouts. My son started with Elena and Grayson when he was about 2 and it was a home daycare. He absolutely loved it, even crying sometimes when I came to pick him up. He just graduated to kindergarten.
At the preschool he learned through activities that he really enjoyed — he absorbed so much! I was continually amazed when he would come home and tell me the things he had learned each day. He looked forward to school EVERY day. He was given a nutritious, hot organic lunch, and taught how to serve himself when he was old enough.
The classrooms and playground are beautiful, the teachers are so nurturing and caring. My husband and I both work, and we never, ever had a problem with the school accommodating our schedules.
I always felt that they were teaching to each child individually, based on what their strengths were, rather than just shoving a recycled lesson plan at them. My son knew all of his letters, colors, and was beginning writing and basic math when he graduated. When we read the criteria for entering kindergarten we actually laughed, he was that far ahead.
I am so sad that we had to leave Little Sprouts! Through being at Little Sprouts, we were used to much higher standards of nutrition, behavior, and curriculum — kindergarten has been a real shock.

Absolutely LOVE Little Sprouts. We moved from out of state and I wasn’t sure where to take my daughter for her first year of preschool. Being very unfamiliar with the area, I googled preschools near me. Up came Little Sprouts Academy, their good rating caught my eye! I had to take a tour to see for myself. After a very well, put together tour from Katie and seeing the classrooms and play area, I immediately fell in love. I knew this was the place to take my daughter! They are so nice, sweet, and understanding. My daughter didn’t want to leave after our tour and of course was beyond excited to go to her official first day of school the following week. They’re clean, friendly, organized and so much fun. My daughter loves it there. We go to the one on Mission Gorge; I would give them more stars if I could! During our first week, like most first timer parents, I was really nervous about leaving her. They were so kind and understanding and flexible. They didn’t rush me or make me feel uncomfortable. My daughter learns so much, I could tell even from the first day! I also love that they have an Instagram account. I love seeing what my daughter is doing throughout the day; it really helps when I miss her and I can see she is having so much fun!
Thank you Little Sprouts Academy for making our first experience at a preschool AMAZING!!!:):)

As Unilocal says «WooHoo! As good as it gets.» Little sprouts is an amazing daycare with owners and teachers who are passionate about the enrichment and caring of children. Previously, we went through a few daycare centers. One, we changed because of a career and location change. However, the second center, we just got a sense that our daughter was unhappy.
We changed her to little sprouts and the difference from the previous centers is simply night and day. You really get a sense of confidence when dropping your child off. The confidence really does start with the teachers love and devotion to the kids, but while being calm and in charge the whole time. I could name countless stories that reinforce this but in the end, its clear little sprouts has very special people who are in this because they are passionate about children.

My daughter has been here for 1 year, I had to move her because we live really far from the school but I’m sure I will not find better place than this one. I can’t wait for them to open a new branch close to UTC area!
The teachers are really professionals, sweet, with so much patient & love (ms. Lindsay & Ms. Susu). The school is very well organized & clean. The food that they provided is really healthy. It is pricey but it is the best!

Could not be more happy with this school. Ms. Lindsay and Ms. Susu in the toddler class are intelligent, creative, genuine and loving with the children. It might be slightly more expensive than other preschools but the quality of the entire staff is unmatched. I have toured a lot of schools. I believe it to be one of the best in San Diego. Thank you for creating such a beautiful school.

My daughter is doing so good here. When she started she had no issues feeling comfortable and fitting in. The staff here are great and Elena and Grayson do a great job. The place is one of the cleanest and well maintained preschools I have seen. I’ve noticed that since my daughter has been there her pronunciation of words as well as language skills have improved. My daughter is always happy to go to school and be picked up which makes me comfortable leaving here there. Also they have played a big part in potty training and so helpful. I would recommend Little Sprouts to all parents and especially the parents who are nervous about putting their child in daycare or preschool for the first time.

After reading all the great reviews I was sooooo excited and I decided to tour the place. On the day of my appointment I arrived on time, I met Grayson and he didn’t even know my name or that I had an appointment. I had to wait about 10 minutes for Elena to show me around. After a while, Grayson showed me around bc Elena was busy, she walked in briefly without acknowledging me and looked stressed out. He showed me a clean but empty room which was very disappointing. All the questions I asked, I was told to refer to their website. The school was brand new and clean of course but the outdoor area was located on the far end of the parking lot of a plaza which didn’t look very safe. My actual tour was no more than 15 minutes. I was very disappointed.

My husband and I are SO IMPRESSED with Little Sprouts! Elena and Grayson have done a fantastic job creating a clean and creative environment for all the children. My daughter had a full time nanny before we started with LS and Miss SuSu & Miss Lindsay took the extra time and effort to help her make the transition. After 1 week, my little one was running into the classroom everyday instead of clinging to her mommy. Another HUGE plus to LS is THE FOOD. It is reassuring to know my daughter is getting healthy well balanced food prepared for the her everyday. We could not be happier with Little Sprouts and I would recommend this school 100% to anyone looking for daycare/​preschool.

We transitioned our son from a small home daycare to Little Sprouts in mid-​June, after reading the wonderful reviews on Unilocal.Moving to this preschool has been nothing but positive for him. The environment itself is loving, warm, and safe. The owners take pride in their facility, and everything is clean, secure, and well attended-​to. Not to mention that they serve only organic food; we are by no means an «organic only» family, but it is nice to know that our son is eating quality food for snacks and lunch.
We are so pleased with the range of activities offered to the children, from songs to stories to art, and the amount of outdoor time that they spend each day. The structure is not rigid, but there is definitely a «flow to the day» that our high-​energy son benefits from. We have found the staff to be very caring and attentive to our little guy, and they make a great effort to communicate any challenges and/​or accomplishments that come up throughout the day. We couldn’t be more pleased with our decision to come to Little Sprouts.

This is a wonderful preschool and our son really loves it. He talks about his friends and teachers there all the time and really enjoys it. As parents, we are very pleased with the environment and structure of the curriculum.

I’m so happy we get to have our son spending his days at Little Sprouts. His communication and social skills have grown immensely since enrolling in January and he’s such a happy little kid there. Having come from an in-​home daycare, I was concerned at first about the number of kids in his class, but I have been really pleased with the care and attention our son gets from Ms. Lindsay and Ms. SuSu. I’m always able to check in with Ms. Lindsay whenever I need to, and she takes the time to talk to me about my kiddo’s development – she really knows and understands him. I also LOVE being able to see the Instagram pictures of the kids throughout the day.
The facility is kid-​friendly, clean, inviting, and is like a second home for our son. He’s happy, I’m happy. We’re here to stay.

I wont leave a long review with all the bullet points, because the other parents have done such a great job.
I will say that i am very pleased with the structure, love, and vibe from little sprouts. Organic food /​snack, schedule nap time (which our little one picked up on very quickly !!) and plenty of activities for all. Thanks to people like little sprouts for having the patience and energy to help raise the next generations. Spread the love and spread the word Little Sprouts ROCKS !!

My wife and I love this preschool!

Our daughter has been nurtured by Little Sprouts for over 2 years. She started attending as an infant and is now almost ready to enter preschool.
SAFETY: We’ve always felt that our daughter is safe when we leave her at Little Sprouts, that the environment is not dangerous, and that the caregivers (Elena, Grayson and Rosie) are reliable and trustworthy. It’s a huge weight off our shoulders to not have to worry about the safety of our daughter in our absence.
DEVELOPMENT: Little Sprouts has played a key role in the academic development of our daughter. She sings the ABCs, knows basic shapes and colors, and can count to 20 (somewhat). She has developed several good habits, such as washing her hands, saying please and thank you, cleaning up after herself, and sharing (although, this one needs more work). She has also developed an appetite for nutritious organic foods, which are a far cry from our usual diet.
ACTIVITIES: Our daughter gets a healthy mix of activities during the day. From singing and dancing, to yoga, to finger-​painting and coloring, to naptime, to outdoor playtime, to learning how to garden — she comes home happy, with new experiences and stories to tell. We like knowing that she’s not watching tv or cooped up indoors the entire day.
We can go on and on because we just can’t say enough about how great the team at Little Sprouts is. If you are a parent who’s searching for the perfect place to have your little one grow and thrive, we highly recommend Little Sprouts. It is the best home away from home for your loved one.

My son went here for almost 2 years and I think it is the BEST daycare in San Diego. Elena is amazing with the kids and really takes pride in what she does. The kids are cared for in a clean and happy environment and are served organic meals and snacks. My son STILL talks about his little friends that he made while there, and still asks for Elena. If you are looking for a place to send your kids, I highlly recommend sending them to Little Sprouts :)