We had such a wonderful experience visiting this preschool! The director was incredibly informative and took the time to answer all of our questions thoroughly, which made us feel very comfortable and confident. Everyone we met was so warm, welcoming, and friendly. What stood out the most was how quickly our son felt at ease -- he instantly started playing with the other children and looked completely comfortable in the environment. We also loved seeing the dynamic between the teachers, students, and staff. It genuinely felt like a caring, positive, and nurturing community where the children are happy and well supported. We left feeling very excited and grateful for the experience! read more

I wish I could say I had a better experience but unfortunately, I'm left feeling betrayed, disrespected, & horrified by how my 2yo son was treated during his 5.5 months there. Looking back, this place is a profit-driven machine, focused on packing classrooms beyond what their teachers can capably manage, moving kids around to maximize their ratios. The teachers--mostly young, early-career staff with little experience--were overwhelmed & ill-prepared to handle anything less than picture-perfect behavior. If your child falls into the "robotic" category, where they never challenge authority or push boundaries, maybe this place is for you. My son transitioned through 3 classrooms and 8 teachers in just 5 months. This kind of inconsistency is a nightmare for toddlers, who need routine and stability. Unfortunately, the staff here seemed indifferent to continuity, making each transition abrupt & poorly planned. I was never informed of these changes in advance, and when I expressed concerns, I was given lip service from the director, who seemed more focused on covering their own back through corporate-speak emails than actually supporting my child. At one point, even apologizing for their email tone, claiming they "have to." Red flag #2. Communication is not a strength. Despite sending numerous emails with escalating concerns in view of TWO regional directors, neither ever replied with any guidance, help, or even a simple acknowledgement or compassion for what we were going through as worried parents trying to help our child acclimate to group care. A meeting was scheduled but canceled last-minute due to an emergency, then rescheduled only to be canceled again due to another emergency--we never rescheduled. Their idea of "support" was to start sending my son home early for any and all including the most minor of behaviors, all while threatening to terminate him after three incidents, though they repeatedly claimed they didn't want to do that. Red flag #3. The list of incidents is too long to cover, but here are some of the more absurd things they wrote up my 2yo for: - Refusing to have his diaper changed (a normal 2-year-old autonomy issue) - Spilling milk and laughing (again, typical toddler behavior) - Not staying on his nap mat (normal 2yo struggling with impulse control) - Climbing on top of a sleeping child and "holding them down," later reframed as normal toddler behavior (which they didn't mention until I pressed for clarity out of concern) - Alleged choking of another child (but no footage after I requested it for both children's safety) - Throwing paper on the floor and not wanting to pick it up when asked (the horror!) - Personal favorite: Pushing a teacher (who was at least 90 lbs heavier than him) The worst part was their lack of transparency. I felt consistently lied to. Once, their admin told me they couldn't take my son because I dropped him off 10 minutes past 9 a.m. and they were "legally at capacity" due to staffing shortages. I later found out his classroom wasn't even impacted--information I had to get from the director after complaining. They also refused to provide video footage of the supposedly more severe and aggressive incidents which made me question legitimacy. I was never told that an admin was shadowing my son to prevent such behaviors (not to guide, help, or teach- just observe and write reports). He soon started telling me he didn't want to go to school & became more sad & uncomfortable at drop offs. After seeking advice from child experts (including his pediatrician), who were horrified at how the daycare was handling him, I knew I couldn't trust them anymore and had to pull him out. If you care about your child's well-being and they don't fit a clean, neat "rule following" I suggest you look elsewhere. LJ is not a place where children come first--it's a for-profit business that lacks both the capacity and the will to care for your child in any meaningful way. Save yourself the heartache and frustration. You'll thank me later. read more

Had similar experience as another parent posted before me. The turnover at this place was unreal. Directors and teachers were swapping out the entire time my child was enrolled. During one of my morning drop-offs there was literally a teacher strike where staff didn't show up to work. Even more bizarre - no one seemed to know what the teachers' demands were for the strike... The interim director that day said it was fine to leave my kid there despite the complete chaos that morning. I didn't bother to wait around to make sense of it. Took my kid and had to take a day off work. Not ideal and completely unprofessional. Given that this daycare is on the very high end of cost, I expected more. I have since enrolled my child into another daycare. For the sake of the children that are enrolled now, I hope they have taken care of some of these bigger problems. The admin and caregivers were not on the same page. read more

Unfortunately I did not have the best experience just trying to get a simple tour of the school. My experience was a load of emailing back and forth. Explaining more than one time that I was looking to make an appointment for the Adams Ave location. I received a lot of, what seemed like, an automatic email reply to a request. I then called and spoke to a woman who then sent me the same email but this time with the optional times. So I replied back that I would like a 3:15pm at the Adams ave location that day, if at all possible. I check my emails every hour since 9am up until 1pm. hits I then give up. I receive an email at 2pm that day telling me I have an appointment at 3:15 at the mission valley location. So they gave me an hour and fifteen minute heads up, when I had contacted them in the early morning. And they also booked me at the wrong location. I explained to them in another email that because of all the run around and the short notice for a simple tour at the wrong location, I was no longer interested in their school. They never apologized. What a waste of time and energy. Not a pleasant experience, especially for a first time mom. read more

Big waste of time!! We had high hopes for little sprouts/ learning jungle back in 2022 when we initially needed a daycare but were basically let down every step of the way! We should have known from the start that this place was not going to work for us when they never showed up for a zoom tour and then didn't answer the phone when we tried calling to let them know we were waiting on the zoom! The second thing that was odd was when Jessica Pita responded to an emailing stating she never received our email enquiring about our spot on the wait list however if she had just scrolled down she would have seen our email was literally in the thread! Finally 2 years later we get another email from Jessica Pita telling us they now have a spot for our child! What a joke! We are so happy we found Ridge City preschool and daycare!! They are the best daycare and they treat our children like their own!! read more

We started our child here in their infant one class back in August and grew to infant 2. I was so nervous about sending out child to daycare, and while the transition is hard Learning Jungle was great. We love their staff and how much they cared. Our child loves this daycare and their teachers so much. We love all the activities they do with the kids and the pictures we get each day. I'm so grateful for this daycare. read more

My oldest attended Little Sprouts (now Learning Jungle) from 4 months to 4 years. My littlest has attended for over 6 months. The staff here is amazing! All the other negative reviews are mostly from people who have difficulty booking a tour or getting a spot reserved - I get that, but as someone whose children actually attended, I had a different experience. We have loved attending this school and always felt that our children were cared for and looked after. There have been two teachers I'm aware of (over our 4 year journey) that didn't have the same great feel as the other ones, and neither teacher lasted long. They have been transparent about any issues that come up. I have always felt that they adored our children and have been instrumental in helping them grow and learn. There are only two downsides. #1 the parking spots are tiny! I know LJ has no control over that, but it is maddening...many times parents have to take up two parking spots because you have to buckle a child into a car seat on both sides of your car...and all the van-lifers visiting the gym across the way take up the 20 minute parking spots, or multiple spots (stop me, I could go on forever). #2 It's pricey. Despite that....5 stars. Worth it if you have the budget. read more

My daughter started at Learning Jungle at 15 months old and she is now 2 yrs. old, we love it there. The school is minimalist, clean, and welcoming. The Director Liz is really responsive and helpful. My daughter is currently in class with Ms. Nadia and Ms. May and we could not be more happy with their care for her. They are amazing and make sure my daughter is always very well taken care of and happy, she sure has learned a lot from them. I'm sad that she will be moving into the preschool class and leaving her two teachers behind, I wish we could take them along. We really recommend this school. read more

In March 2021 I did a virtual tour and was sent a link to enroll my daughter with a start time of June/July. I did the application and paid the fee if $150. Only to find weeks later that they somehow "missed" my application and she was never on a waitlist. But they did accept my money though. Finally, I get it sorted out and when June/July comes around they informed me that they stopped accepting families because they didn't have enough teachers. Mind you getting ahold of anyone at this facility is extremely difficult. I called left messages and emails and nothing. I continued to call until I finally had a call back. They told me that September would be a better time frame. At this point my daughter is now 18m and on a different waitlist. I have emailed them over and over now (November) with no success of reaching anyone. I have asked for a refund because at this point I gave them money for absolutely nothing. It's ridiculous that they have such a lack of communication and attention to detail. Don't accept any applications if you know you can't actually accept new families, be honest and communicate better. LASTLY: They increased their prices from the date we were placed on a waitlist significantly. read more

Learning Jungle - Preschools Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Booked a virtual tour last month, canceled 2 days ago. I'm learning that this facility is maxed out - not a surprise there is a lot of new family-friendly development around the neighborhood. Feedback for the higher-ups - redesign the website/ set the right expectations. "Now Enrolling" sign on the Plans page is so small. We're misled to think that there's availability for a tour because we're taken to the scheduling page. If it's not that straightforward, invest in someone who can manage this aspect of the operation. It'll be a time saver for both parties. read more

I scheduled a tour and came especially after updating them and pushed the appointment in 15 min and got their approval, and they just didn't let us in because they had a miscommunication between them. She just shoots the door in our faces. Not a place I can trust or want them to take care of my kid. You should be ashamed of yourself! read more

My son (3yrs) absolutely loves going to this preschool. From the activities that they always create to the love and care and how welcomed he feels by his teachers. I can't say enough about how much we LOVE Miss Selena in classroom 3. She is the sweetest, caring, most informative, innovative and understanding of all her class children. She encourages them to do their best and always helps them in every sense of the word. Whether it be new interests, creating something new, expressing themselves down to helping them with potty training, she has had such a positive impact on my son. My husband and I greatly appreciate her way of teaching and caring for our baby. My son has made so many friends and learned how to play with them. He's always coming home to tell me that he's experienced something new. Thank you to all the teachers, you guys do an incredible job! read more

I can't speak to how their care is for the children that attend Little Sprouts. I had contacted two locations (Mission Valley and Mission Gorge) in order to schedule a tour. Their online scheduling did not work. I never received any contact back from the Mission Gorge location. Several weeks later I received an email from the Mission Valley location. I had booked a tour which was scheduled a month out. They explained that they only have virtual tours due to COVID. I understand as I work in healthcare and still have COVID protocols. The facility had sent a confirmation email. There was no link or information as to how the virtual tour would be conducted (Zoom, Skype, Facetime, Doximity, etc.). I contacted them shortly after. I received another confirmation this morning stating "click the link below to start the virtual tour." Again there was no link. Just an empty space. I contacted them again and they said refer back to your confirmation at your scheduled time. I did that; however, again there was no link. I contacted again and they still did not answer. The individuals working at the facility may be great with the children that attend but to me when management cannot respond in an appropriate manner then it looks bad on the entire facility. read more

I had my daughter enrolled for one month and unfortunately it just did not work out. The disorganization from the beginning was a big turn off as I had to ask for my own enrollment appointment 3 days prior to my daughter starting. But what truly bothered me was on our last day they sent her home in a pull up instead of the back up underwear I had there for her with poop skid marks as well as all over her bottom. They claimed that they accidentally put her pull up over her underwear. But somehow it got all over her legs too. This was not acceptable & after that I do not regret switching schools after 1 month. Also not many children are sent to the school in masks. While the school urged parents to many do not. I'm just making you aware in case this was important to you. Beyond that, There is no formal system of getting updates. I had to ask about the potty or how long the nap was. The response I would get every time "good nap, about hour". There is no documentation of that nor if they ate lunch. Also I was told to check the Instagram account for updates. Out of the 8 times she went, 1 time a photo was posted and I was told by the teacher "she's too busy to". An occasional picture would be nice. Little Sprouts offers a great environment and healthy menu like they promote but the lack of communication, safety and professionalism made it difficult to trust them with my daughters care. read more

We have had out daughter enrolled at the Little Sprouts Mission Valley for about 5 months in the Infant 2 classroom. The new location is well-equipped with a nice and big outdoor space. We have greatly enjoyed it there and our daughter has progressed greatly. We have been particularly concerned about slow speech progression and now at 17 months she is coming out with a new word every day. The teachers in the in the classroom are very caring and take the time to reinforce learning opportunities through active play. I especially appreciate the daily updates and frequent posts to the private Instagram so I can see what the class is doing. A shining light at the school is the Infant Asst. Director, Ms. Shy. While my daughter was anxious about the transition, Ms. Shy made her feel welcome and loved. She is still her favorite. The leadership of Ms. Shy can be seen in the curriculum, projects and activities as well as the cohesiveness of the Infant 1, 2 and Toddler classrooms. While the teachers are all wonderful and friendly, with my second kid, I am noticing just how much the leadership can make a difference. All of the Directors have been great and helpful to work with; Ms. Shy just seems to have an especial ability to connect with the young children and help them engage in new and fun activities. Lastly, the Directors and teachers have been wonderful in carefully dealing with our daughters allergies and skin sensitivities. They provide frequent check in and handle her cloth diapers and individual food very well. read more

Look no further for a daycare/school that provides love, care, stimulation, safety and more! Our now 2-year old daughter was was in the toddler classroom with Miss Nadia and Miss May from June 2023-January 2024 from when she was 18 months- 2 years old and we could not be happier with our experience. Both teachers consistently displayed their genuine love and care for the children which was amazing to see as a parent! The teachers did a fabulous job creating lessons plans/activities for the kids every single day ranging from sensory activities, art activities, dance parties, story circles, and MORE! The teachers were also always diligent about posting on the app so that we as parents could see what they were doing each day! Our daughter is now continuing with Learning Jungle in their preschool program and we could not be happier!! We truly feel that our daughter is in the best hands possible while she is there. Liz and Shawn (director and assistance director) are also very friendly, communicative, and helpful! read more

We just finished 3 wonderful years at Little Sprouts. Well 2020 was a challenge for everyone :) but our son had a wonderful time at this school from the toddler class to pre-k thanks to a beautiful learning environment, sweet friends and of course some amazing staff - most notably his teachers Ms. Kerissa and Ms. Jessica and an incredible assistant director Ms. Shy. This team did an awesome job helping children thrive and grow despite multiple changing directors, a big change in ownership and evolving policies. Thank you! read more

Our 3 year-old son has been attending Little Sprouts since he was 6 months old. Over the past 2.5 years the Little Sprouts family has become our family and we truly adore the teachers there and all the LS stands for. I grew up going to daycare and don't remember being happy to go, which my son always is AND being sad to leave, which my son always is! I would highly recommend Little Sprouts for their staff, curriculum and overall experience! read more

Where can I start? There are so many good things to say about this school and more importantly, staff. My 3 year old son has never been to any type of day care/schooling system and I couldn't be any more thrilled that I chose this facility as his first (& hopefully only). From the get-go, Mrs. Susu, the director gave us a very informative tour. She was able to answer all my questions promptly and gave me a positive experience. My son has food allergies and she assured me that they have an educated staff that would only provide my son the foods I pack (no exceptions). That made me feel confident as an emergency food related reaction is my worst fear. Mrs. Susu is also very personal and gives off a good vibe. Moving along to Ms Selina (sorry if I misspelled your name) and Ms Amber in the Preschool class. Hands down, the best!! They show my son so much love and attention that I can tell my son appreciates it. Going back to the food allergies, they're so good with reporting back to me what he has/has not eaten. They encourage him to try new foods that friends are eating (I try to pack similar things to their daily menu). They're attentive. They're personal. They're FUN! Thanks for taking good care of my boy. I highly recommend this facility to anyone interested. Prices are competitive and all the information is on their website so there isn't anything to be blind sided by. Communication is strong. I can continue but I think I've said enough. Thanks for reading :) read more

I've been trying to call the mission valley location since Oct. No one answers the call. I decided to drive there to speak to someone in person. A woman named Shawn was sitting at the receptionist office - not sure why she didn't answer my call. She opens the door and is absolutely unwelcoming. I mentioned that I'm checking on the status of my son's application, she responds back that she has not received it without knowing my name or my son's name. She then mentions to reach out to Jessica Pita for tours, I have no idea how to reach this person. I mentioned that I'm not looking for a tour, I'm checking on the status of my application. So I asked for her business card. As she's going to get the business card, she forces to close the door on me while I was holding it with my foot and holding my baby. I understand that we are living in a viral environment, I was wearing a mask and she wasn't wearing a mask including another staff in that office. Then I called Jessica Pita on her mobile number that's listed on the business card and it goes straight to voicemail. It makes you wonder, if no one is willing to provide service, how is my child going to be taken cared for in that facility?? read more

My wife and I recently moved to San Diego. A month prior to our move from out of state, we found Little Sprouts online, and judging by the great reviews and pre school website we decided to look into it. We were in touch with Ms. Susu who seemed very nice over the phone. We decided to reserve spot for our daughter and paid a $430 deposit for enrolling our daughter the following month of December. Two weeks prior to moving, we found out that our closing date got pushed back on our home and we notified Little Sprouts that we were going have a delay on our move and that we needed cancel our enrollment for December since we wont be in SD in time. We requested a refund and requested to cancel our enrollment. That's when things got weird, we received silent treatment via emails, after multiple phone calls I finally spoke with Ms. Susu on the phone and got nothing but excuses on how they cant refund us our money, that she need to speak with "upper management" and see if they would refund us. I offered to speak to upper management myself so I could explain to them our situation and she said she would call me back once she heard back from them. Days passed and I followed up again, still no refund. Ms. Susu mentioned that upper management approved the refund and that they would mail it to us the 1st week of December. Well it's December 17th and we still have not seen a refund! What kind of crap is this? What kind of school takes a deposit for a child a month early and denies refunded it back if the child cant even attend the school? No where prior to us making the deposit did they say this was non refundable, I have re-read all our email conversations and deposit information and no where does it say it's non refundable. I am so frustrated with this manner of how they're dealing with this. Little Sprouts customer service blows, horrible experience! It's $430, are they hurting for money that bad that they cant refund us this? We are so frustrated with how they are handling this, very unprofessional and dishonest. read more

I can't say enough good things about Little Sprouts. Both of my kiddos attend (4 yrs and 18mo) and we have been impressed with all aspects of the school. The teachers are caring, energetic and talented. Each and every teacher we interact with genuinely cares about making sure the kids have a great experience. The new facility is amazing - and the classrooms are perfectly age appropriate. There is great outdoor space and they get to spend quality time outside almost every day. Both kids come home with inspired art projects and are excited to go to school each day. I can't imagine sending my kids anywhere else! read more

Bottom Line- I am proud my kids go here. Little Sprouts has truly become our 2nd family. Every single teacher/staff member knows both of my kids by name. They ALL support them and love them. I love the Reggio program and all the teachers are true disciples of this style of teaching. When I pick up my little ones they always have something exciting to tell me about their day. We moved here at the beginning of the year, I toured so many schools, none that really compared to LS. We were so lucky that they opened Mission Valley, especially since we came in the middle of the school year. Mrs. Susu has been so incredible to work with. I will always be grateful to her, the teachers and this program! Thanks Little Sprouts!!! read more

We are so happy to choose Little Sprouts of Mission Valley among all the places we went to visit. Our son started at Little Sprouts in May of 2019 and we've had an incredible journey so far because of all the support we got from the management team and especially his teacher, Mr. Paul and his assistant Ms. Michaela. Ms. Susu and Ms. Danielle are always there to greet you and to give you peace of mind when you drop off your child. Our son had a tough time adjusting at the beginning, but Mr. Paul established a great relationship with him and patiently helped him feel at home. He also guided us during these times to make sure we worked together closely. He is very communicative and caring. We are so sad that our journey with him has come to an end since our son is moving up to the next class. We highly recommend Little Sprouts if you are looking a smooth transition for you kids from home to daycare/pre-school. read more

We love this school. The staff is really attentive and responsive. Our son loves his teachers Miss Salena and Amber. You can tell they really care about the kids and have a good time together. read more

This review is long overdue. We have know LS family since our son and daughter were only 3 months old. My son is now 4 y/o and my daughter is 2 y/o. We followed director Susu from the Adams location the the Mission Valley location. Susu is amazing beyond words. To say that is has a crucial part of our kids life is an understatement. The same is true for all of the staff at LS. I can still recall when my son cried as we were driving home and he saw Ms. Danielle (assistant director and his previous toddler classroom teacher) pull her car out of the parking lot and drove home. As for my daughter, it takes us 10-15minutes to walk her out of the daycare to the car because she can't leave without constantly hugging Ms. Shy (assistant director) and Mr. Paul (Infant classroom's teacher). My kids' attachment and passion towards the staff at LS Mission Valley speaks volume regarding how amazing the staff are. My son goes on and on about his teachers Ms. Ashely and Ms. Gabby. As a busy parent I am thankful that my kids grew up with such amazing teachers/care-providers. My family are thankful to have such amazing teachers and director to help guide our children from potty-training to ABC from 8am-5pm. Thank you LS Mission Valley for everything you guys do for our kids and our family. read more

Little sprouts mission valley is a great place for children. We have been a part of their family for a few months now. We have nothing but positive reviews. From their meal plan, to the structure they offer the little ones. All around professionals. From the director down to all the teachers and support staff. Great job. We thank you. read more