I have been sending my two children to Little Shepherd for about a year. The center is run by Ms. Kristi who is incredibly responsive, helpful, and present. Infant room - Ms. Diana has been with the school over 20 years and is the most kind, compassionate teacher you could ever wish for. Our son was very attached to us, but he was always excited for drop off with Ms. Diana and the fun day of art, play, books, and buggy rides ahead. Toddler- our older son is in Ms. Bianca's toddler room. Ms. Bianca is so positive, bubbly, and friendly. The kids love her and she bring so much fun and patience to every day. The school emphasizes outdoor time and they have so many outdoor play spaces. When it is cold or rainy, they have an amazing lunch room that turns into a play area to give the kids a change of scenery. They also provide snacks and lunch! We're so happy with our choice and impressed with how much our kids are learning! read more

I have been a 4s preschool teacher here for 3 years. This school is a wonderful place for your child to be a child. Our curriculum has a daily nature lesson, from the Nature Director. At Little Shepherd we teach writing their name and the ABC's with the program "Handwriting without Tears." Our daily schedule also includes curriculum from Jolly Phonics and Michael Haggerty. Classrooms are organized making it easy for children to learn to clean up and put away toys easily. It is proven children need more Nature in their day. Our program teaches children to love being outside and care about nature. It is amazing how much the children learn about birds, bugs, and animals. Our three School Rules that we foster are to be safe, be kind, and be neat. The Director, Kristi, has been here 15 years . She treats her students/parents and staff like family. Therefore, she has several staff members that have worked at this school for 10+ years. I highly recommend any family looking for a preschool for your child to give it a try. This location starts takes a limited number of babies at 6 weeks of age. read more

Great experience! My child has been attending for about a year now, and we've been really happy. Compared to our first daycare, this one offers a lot more outdoor activities, which has been a big plus. I also appreciate that it's locally owned and run by long-term staff who clearly care about the kids. The pricing is similar to other options in the area, not cheap, though I consider it fair for the value. My child spends the day playing, doing art and STEM projects, eating well, and most importantly, gets excited every morning to go. read more

My son has been attending the school since he was 6 months and I was nervous sending him at such a young age. The teachers here and director Ms Kristi made us feel at ease before we even enrolled, and I have had nothing but an amazing experience so far. The teachers in the infant room go above and beyond to over communicate any updates, and as a parent I feel at peace knowing my kid is in good hands! Our older kids have attended other schools in the Peter Pan family since 2020 and we love the program so much. I love that they value outdoor play as well, it's an important value for us. Thank you Kristi and team for all that you do! read more

We love Little Shepherd! My daughter is so happy there and has made so many friends. The outdoor area is incredible! Compared to our previous daycare we were blown away by the amazing outdoor play space here. The faculty is caring and kind. Any time I've had a question I get a response immediately. My daughter has learned a ton and she has even taught me a few things about birds and other animals. They really foster an interest in nature here which we have appreciated. My daughter will graduate this summer and we feel she is so prepared for kindergarten. Our only regret is we didn't find out about Little Shepherd sooner! read more

My children absolutely LOVED their time spent at Little Shepherd. They made great friends that they played little league and soccer with, and helped get them excited for kindergarten. The teachers were invested in my kids' lives which was one of the most important things to me when sending them for day school/preschool. I wanted my kids to feel cared for and that they mattered, and Little Shepherd did just that! The director, Kristi, is excellent in making sure that the parents are cared for and feel like they matter too. If you're looking for a school that will love your kids, Little Shepherd is it! read more

Both of my kids have attended Little Shepard since they were infants (currently 4y and 2y). We could not be happier with all of the teachers there! In each room, we felt that our kids received the best care and learned SO much! They are excited to go to school each day and have loads of amazing stories when they get home. The nature program is fantastic and such a cool addition to the curriculum. I truly feel that the teachers here love the students with all their hearts. Some of our best experiences were with Ms. Diana (infant teacher) Ms. Cheri (3s teacher), Ms. Maria & Ms. Bianca (2s teachers), and Ms. Valeria (3s teacher). My kids have wonderful role models and are much better for it! The director, Ms. Kristi, is the absolute best and is wonderful with communication and transparency. I would recommend Little Shepard to everyone! read more

We were at Little Shepherd for 2 years and had Ms. Therese for both years, and I believe she is the best preschool teacher anybody could ever find. The most amazing thing is how kind, caring, respectful, and sweet she taught these children to be with one another, which is exactly what kids need to learn in preschool! She is very calm and gentle with the kids in the perfect way and our son always loved going to school- he never once complained. With a class of many boys, we were so amazed that he never came home with stories of kids being rough or anything like that. She was our very own "Mr. Rogers". Ms. Kristi is a kind, supportive, and excellent director of the school. I feel like the school has a great balance of free play and academics, and I LOVED the focus on nature and science, and learning in general. It wasn't just about learning letters and numbers, but the full experience of what the introduction to education should be. They also have an amazing garden area and playground. If they had a private elementary school, I would send my kids back there in a heartbeat! We LOVE Little Shepherd! read more

We just recently moved to the area from out of state and were dreading the process to find a school for our daughter. In one day we scheduled visits to six schools and Little Shepherd (which is the name of this Peter Pan school's location) was the LAST one we visited that day. When we arrived, we were very impressed with the size of the playground--it's huge with ample room for running and a variety of play equipment. Also noticed the school carries a nature theme--bird feeders, potted plants, cute outdoorsy decorations and even a checklist of birds spotted throughout the day. We met with Lori upon our arrival and she really hit the nail on the head with what would be offered in terms of curriculum to our daughter, daily routines and did a wonderful job answering our specific questions. What impressed us is all the teachers have degrees and have been with Peter Pan for quite some time (that says a lot). What I liked about our discussion with Lori is that what we've been doing with our daughter in terms of curriculum in the past, routines and her development level was important to her. We weren't asked those questions at other school we had visited that day--all we got was a sales pitch from other schools! When it was time to take a tour, we were taken to the classroom and warmly invited in and greeted by the teacher. After a long day of visiting schools, our daughter was running on 'empty'--but was invited in to an activity the children were working on that day. That certainly got her attention and ours, and gave us a great opportunity to speak with the teacher. Just a good feeling overall seeing our daughter already immersed in the classroom! The physical size of the classrooms are nice and they are very well-organized. What I like is that because of the other Peter Pan School locations, the activities are rotated between the schools which helps to keep things fresh and new for the children. Needless to say, this was the school we chose and have no regrets. The enrollment process was quick and easy. Our daughter has learned so much since beginning five months ago, and best of all I can tell she's INSPIRED to learn. She even talks about wanting to be a teacher when she grows up. Couldn't be happier with Little Shepherd Day School and we will be sad to leave when it comes time for my daughter to start kindergarten! read more

**Divorced parents beware** Divorced parents have enough to deal with, without having staff member gossiping about one parent to the other. Once is an accident, but three times blatantly gossiping about one side to the other is unacceptable. All three of these instances led to additional stress and strife that didn't need to be there. *My original review was removed because it did not provide enough detail about my customer experience, so I would be happy to add more detail. My husband and I paid for half of his daughter's preschool tuition (his ex-wife paying the other half). My husband and I spoke to Kristi who assured us that our payments could be made separately. We stressed to Kristi that there had been a lot of issues between parents because my husband's ex wife was doing everything that she could to keep him out of his daughter's lives. Kristi assured us that for them her only concern was the children, even though she had known his ex-wife for quite some time. While my husband's daughter seemed to have a good experience, we did not. Early on we were repeatedly notified when the ex-wife bounced a check or was late on her payment, only we were told that it was our payment that was the issue! After several months of this, they finally got the billing issue notifications under control. Kristi would send out daily emails with pictures and the lesson plans, which we enjoyed, however there were times that information was sent home with the child and we were not notified, for instance a change of date for the spring sing, which we only found out about after showing up on the "wrong" day. There were three separate instances my husband's ex-wife was made aware of things the we had discussed specifically with Kristi, which she tried to use to antagonize us. The first time, Kristi admitted to sharing inappropriate information. She said she made a mistake and would not do it again. The second time she denied that it happened even though there were specific details that only Little Shephard could know. The third time was when we showed up to Spring Sing on the "wrong date". My husband was in the restroom and Kristi came out to speak to me all flustered about how the date had changed and she had sent the information home with the children, so sorry. Again, my husband was in the bathroom. About an hour later my husband received a message from his ex-wife about how I was at Little Shephard on the wrong day, how stupid was I, and what was I doing there without my husband, Kristi told her that my husband was not even there - because Kristi never saw my husband. I immediately emailed Kristi about this, and she denied that she said anything to the ex-wife. This was not acceptable to us after two other such occasions already! I escalated this to the owner who assured me that she was sure that Kristi would apologize and hadn't meant any harm. When I followed up several days later, I was told that she had spoken to Kristi and Kristi had felt she had done nothing wrong. We were dismissed by saying that we should focus on on my step-daughter's upcoming graduation from preschool. Again, my husband and I paid for half of the year's tuition. Once is an accident, but three times blatantly gossiping about one side to the other is unacceptable. All three of these instances led to additional stress and strife that didn't need to be there. read more

Awful Experience. We had our 2 boys (4y and 8y) here for less than 2 weeks. The Preschool teacher was very unprofessional. I saw her yell/raise her voice with threatening language on more than one occasion. If you want your children to be afraid and fear their teacher, this is the place to go. The last straw was when they withheld an afternoon snack for "talking". ----- Awful Organization. We had our 2 boys (4y and 8y) here for less than 2 weeks. They felt UNSAFE and AFRAID. The preschool teacher was very unprofessional. I saw her yell/raise her voice using threatening and manipulative language on more than one occasion. When I brought it to the manager's attention, my concerns were dismissed. I was SHOCKED at the treatment these kids were getting. Her method of classroom control was SHAME-BASED, FEAR and INTIMIDATION. I feel bad for the kids subjected to it everyday. If you want your children to be afraid and fear their teacher, this is the place to go. The last straw was when they WITHHELD an afternoon SNACK for "talking". I also inquired about getting my money back (because you HAVE to pay in advance) and they said "not a chance". I wasn't looking for a total refund just money back on the days I wasn't going to use. No refund! read more

Every time I drop off my child, I never know what classroom she is going to be in. Initially when I toured, the director, Ms. Kristy, introduced us to the teacher and I was showed the room my daughter would be in every day. Now enrolled, every day my daughter's teacher says she "has too many children" and can't have my daughter in her classroom. My daughter's teacher has to send my child to another teacher, in another classroom, away from her teacher and friends. Young children need consistency. Unfortunately, you won't find that here. It's a shame because it's a cute daycare with pleasant staff and in a great location. read more

I'm writing a year after this incident, but I feel like I still need to say something. I registered my daughter to attend this day care in May of 2015. We paid our deposit and her spot was confirmed. We told our second choice daycare that we didn't need a spot. Then, just 3 weeks before she was supposed to start attending in August, I received an email saying that we had lost our spot! I emailed multiple people within the company asking for explanations, for some sort of remedy. I got nothing back. We spent months researching and visiting daycare facilities in the area. I thought I was being so careful, so thorough - I checked, I confirmed, I thought we had made a great decision when we picked Little Shepherd. Instead, we got screwed. I spent the next week frantically calling local daycares looking for any place that had openings and wound up having to place our daughter in a daycare that was completely inconvenient. Just beware that your spot here is definitely not yours! You can be booted without warning! read more

After having my kids at home with a nanny for a few years, choosing a group daycare/preschool was one of the scariest milestones for me as a mom. After touring a few area care centers, Little Shepherd was the clear choice for us. Not only was the atmosphere fun and creative, but the children all appeared very excited and happy to be there. I really watched the teachers interacting with the children with genuine care and enthusiasm. My son was extremely shy and anxious before he enrolled (was 3yo). I was really nervous not only about how he would handle the stress, but I also didn't want to interrupt the rest of the class from their activities. Within the first few months he completely opened up and is now able to deal with unfamiliar situations and people. I could not be more grateful. I honestly can't believe how much he has changed. He is 5 now and will be going to Kindergarten this fall. I was also shocked by how much my daughter has grown both socially and academically over the past 2 years while attending Little Shepherd. I work from home so you would think that finding a place near my house would be my number one priority. I choose Little Shepherd even though it was the furthest away because I knew it was the best place for my children. Additional reasons why I love Little Shepherd: Love the daily emails. It is something I look forward to each day. The teachers are the best. Kind, patient, caring and very creative. They focus many lessons on nature. I think they didn't close for any winter storm in the past few years (maybe closed early one day). The classrooms are visually inspiring and full of learning activities and materials. I visited many places where the classrooms were really boring, messy and teachers looked stressed. The hours of operation work with my schedule (many places close earlier). The large outdoor play areas are really fun for the kids. My son loves the monkey bars, summer water days, trains/train tables, and enrichment classes. My daughter (3yo) loves coloring with friends and all the art projects they create. Hope this helps other people. read more

Educators BEWARE! If you are an educator, you will be required to prepay summer tuition and keep your child enrolled as part of their "educator policy." When I questioned the legality of singling out educators, I was blatantly told it's Helen's (the owner) business and she can do as she pleases. Odd reasoning for a business that advertises its nurturing, open, caring staff. We felt backed into a corner and paid last year. This past summer was a waste of our money- enrollment was down and my child did not want to be there. Based on family changes we are soon to be experiencing, we have decided to look into different childcare options for next year. We have provided written notice that our child will be dis-enrolling in May with no intent to return. And were told not only that Peter Pan would not refund any prepaid money for the upcoming summer but that we are required to continue paying the extra summer tuition because I work in education! We signed nothing with regard to a contract for this and when we asked to be contacted by Helen, the owner, who makes these decisions, we were told that she DOES NOT speak with parents. We are in a dispute about all of this and are possibly having to look into legal representation along with filing complaints with BBB and Naperville Chamber of Commerce. All because their enrollment numbers are down, they are experiencing cash flow problems, and they are squeezing money out of families any way they can. Not to mention, my child's teacher told her that her Halloween costume was for boys and basically ruined her day and night of trick or treating this year. My child is only 3 and was crushed. I implore you to reconsider enrolling your child in this hard nosed business as usual facility. read more

Both my children attend Little Shepard day school. My sons teacher Ms. Cassidy posted a video in Tadpoles of Jack teaching circle time to the class, it was the cutest thing I have ever seen!!! We just love her and think she is great. Same goes for Ms. Kay, my daughter Charlotte leaps out of my arms to see her each morning. As a mom it is always scary leaving your kids with "strangers" but I feel like the care my children receive is the same they would receive from a family member and it warms my heart! Just wanted to pass on my appreciation for those ladies, the aides and Little Shepard. Its NOT an easy job to do what they do! We are are so Thankful for Little Shepard! read more

LS is one of the best preschool, daycare and summer camps in Naperville. Both of our children have attended and my husband and I are very pleased. The director Kristi and staff are the best. They care for each child as if it was their own. Every time I drop off my daughter I know she will have a wonderful time. If you are looking for a place for your child to grow and have fun please set up an appointment. read more