We couldn't be more grateful for this incredible school. Since joining, our child has grown in ways…read morewe didn't necessarily expect at preschool. Academically, socially, and emotionally. The environment truly nurtures independence, curiosity, and confidence, and it's been amazing to watch that unfold day by day. What really sets this school apart, though, is the teachers. They are patient, attentive, and genuinely teach with so much love and intention. You can feel how deeply they care about each child as an individual, and that kind of dedication makes all the difference. There's also something really special about the community, it's small, connected, and welcoming. It doesn't feel like just a school, it feels like a family. We've built meaningful relationships not only with the staff but with other families as well, which has made this experience even more special. If you're looking for a place where your child will be seen, supported, and inspired every single day, this is it. We feel so lucky to be part of this community.

This place is special. There isn't better childcare out there. We've had 2 of our kiddos grow up…read morethrough AIM and a third on the way! The teachers here are incredibly diligent and intentional about the Spanish language. Almost everyday our kids would come home singing new Spanish songs. It's run by the sweetest family that will treat your kids as such. Perfect place for kids to learn the Spanish language and get set up for success in future immersion schooling.

My 3.5 year old son loves Grace Kids! He has been going there since 2 years old. The staff is…read moreawesome and we have had a wonderful experience.

Grace Kids Preschool is a wonderful community of patient and compassionate teachers that deeply…read morecare about the kids and their future. I am so thankful to have found them. My 3-soon-to-be-4 year old daughter attends Grace Kids now and I will have my younger daughter attend. They have great communication and are genuinely concerned about my child's development and well-being. I trust that my kids are in good hands at Grace Kids.

Our almost 4-year-old son has been attending Hillcrest Preschool, and we've had a great experience…read more We really love the progressive vibe of the school, and everyone has been so friendly and helpful. They helped us quickly get our son enrolled when I had to return to work from maternity leave and needed childcare right away. The administration was on top of everything and made the process so much less stressful. One of our favorite things is that they send photos throughout the day so we can see what our kid is up to. A special shoutout to Ms. Michell, who has been absolutely wonderful. She is kind, patient, and you can tell she truly cares about the kids. Our son has loved being in her class, and we're so grateful for everything she's done. Our son will be heading off to TK in August. We're sad to leave the school, but we'll definitely get our 2nd baby enrolled when she becomes a toddler!

I'm not sure where to begin. There are simply no words to describe the love I have for Hillcrest…read morePreschool. After 3 months of touring a few other centers, I finally found HP and the security, joy and support both of my children felt was worth all of the research. Hillcrest Preschool were the first people we trusted our babies with, they were supportive and patient as they dealt with this very anxious mom. Having 2 children in different age ranges provided such a great perspective as to just how much HP was offering our children. The value is high quality, both of my children were noticeably becoming social butterflies, their vocabulary expanded and one even came out potty trained! The staff is just *chefs kiss* their attention to detail to my littlest one as she dealt with separation anxiety was comforting and a breath of fresh air. The love doesn't just stop with the teachers, Kelli in the front office, was always available when needed and made the transition from one director to another so seamless and smooth. She truly deserves so much credit. All in all, if you stuck around to read all of this, I highly recommend you swing by, tour and take a look for yourself. Hillcrest Preschool was a Godsend to our family.

There are not enough good words to say about this school. Children's Growing Center is an amazing…read moreplace to send your kid for their 0-4 years. My daughter went there for the past three years, and the experience was great. Every class was fun, engaging, exploratory, and my child looked forward to going every day. The school was good with communication, they have cute performances for families throughout the year, and you can tell all the teachers are genuinely invested in the kids. What amazed me the most is that every single teacher at that school knew my kid's name. Every single one. It feels like such a safe and loving community. The director has been there for close to 30 years, and she's great. Straightforward, no nonsense, and kind, and loving to the kids. They spend a lot of time outdoors and have a very play-focused curriculum. The families are warm and friendly. We were genuinely sad to go. I picked this preschool in part because of the excellent reviews, and I wanted to contribute to that. These reviews are spot on--the school is as good as the reviews say it is. 10/10 preschool, absolutely recommend.

My daughter spent about two years at this school and went through three classrooms. The great thing…read moreabout schools like this is that children will move up to a new classroom about every 9 months and the curriculum targets the age group. All the teachers were very caring and the teacher the student ratio was good. They had a lot of volunteer opportunities and there were a few of parent led events each year so I thought that was really neat. This school would have been more fun if it weren't for COVID. During normal times, they had school performances in the spring and early December that they rehearse for. We moved to Santee and since I work from home, going to this school became a hardship. We were sad to leave but my daughter will always have great memories of this place.

Highly recommended if your are looking to keep your children in a safe place where they'll be…read moreengaged in nature. She gave our family a great price to care for our girls.

This was our first experience enrolling our daughter in daycare, and my husband and I were a little…read morenervous. She was used to one-on-one care with a nanny, and we were worried about how she would adjust and whether she would receive enough attention. Those fears disappeared quickly though, and our daughter absolutely thrived at Natura ECD! Natura emphasizes play, creativity, and nature, which made each day exciting for her. She spent lots of time outdoors in the secure, fenced yard, learning and exploring in ways that felt both safe and enriching. Ariana also incorporates age-appropriate academics through multi-week modules that keeps the kids engaged, as well as circle times focused on emotional intelligence and building friendships. We enjoyed all the artwork that came home and laughed at the fact that Mom couldn't do pig tails but our daughter let Miss Ariana do her hair. In the summer, our daughter loved the splash and water activities! Communication was good, which gave us so much peace of mind. We got daily updates through (private) Instagram stories, and the daycare uses an app to let you know when your child needs new diapers, wipes, sunscreen, or clothes--super helpful! And I have to mention potty training: I thought it would be a long, drawn-out process, but with the teachers' support, our daughter was fully potty trained within two months. Their patience and encouragement made all the difference. We couldn't be happier with our decision to enroll our daughter at Natura ECD. For any parent who is nervous about taking the leap into daycare, I wholeheartedly recommend scheduling a tour. It's clear that Ariana truly cares, and your child will be in a safe, nurturing, and fun environment.

Our eldest started SDCP at 19 months and our youngest started at 10 months and we couldn't be more…read moredelighted. Our toddler takes a while warming up to new places and people, and we knew (or I mean, she knew!) immediately this was the place for her when she darted outside. The indoor / outdoor access that every classroom has is awesome; the intentional curation of the spaces operate as another educator to explore and inspire. You can feel how much the teachers genuinely love what they do; their care and dedication are clear in every interaction with the kids and the stories they tell when we pick them up. When I was first researching preschools, I was excited that there was a co-op option in SD and wondered how it might fit with my schedule. After touring and learning more about the school, meeting Stephanie and the amazing teachers / staff, it was an easy decision. They have an open door policy and the hours are flexible for parents. The co-op model has taught us so much, allowing us to learn and grow together with our kids, both modeling and providing tools for connecting with them to be their whole, individual self through play.

Lovely preschool. Feels like the teachers really care about the kids. They use the RIE methodology…read morefor infants. Safe and supportive atmosphere. There are co-op requirements where parents/other adults have to volunteer at the school on a regular basis, which can be difficult for some families. Only downside is a long wait list to get in.

We absolutely love the Lulus Montessori! The staff is amazing with the kids and they get an amazing…read moreeducation. We are always surprised by how much they learn and how much fun they have. Also their meal plan is great. We are very fortunate to have our son there. We looked at around 10 different places and it gave us anxiety because we really wanted our son to be at Lulus which was much much better than all the other places we saw all over San Diego.

We've been taking our son to Lulus Montessori since he was about 18 months, and it has been the…read morebest daycare/preschool experience we could have hoped for. The teachers are incredibly loving and thoughtful. I especially love the fact that they celebrate birthdays and holidays and create opportunities for parents to get to know each other, too. My child has grown by leaps and bounds, and his interactions with the other children are fun to see. The fact that meals are provided (bfast, lunch and snacks) is a godsend. Several daycares/preschools in the region claim to be Spanish immersion but aren't actually (e.g., they speak English to the kiddos). At Lulus, I feel like we get a truly authentic Spanish immersion program for our son, knowing instruction is exclusively in Spanish. And it shows. My son 100% understands Spanish when it is spoken to him and he mixes Spanish and English in his vocabulary regularly. I credit Lulus for a large part of that bilingual ability and look forward to seeing his fluency improve in the years to come. Highly recommend Lulus!!

Fleur de Lis School provided our son and our family the most incredible experience we could have…read moreever asked for. In our 2 years there, we watched our son grow immensely in his confidence, relationships, and overall love of learning. He was sad to leave school every day and excited to wake up and start the day with his amazing friends and teachers. The approach and philosophy that Fleur de Lis takes truly allows each child to blossom in their own unique and beautiful way and we not only got to experience this with our son, but saw it with his classmates as well. We saw our son make presentations to his class about a science or art project he did with us at home or proudly present his show and tell Spider-man toy to his classmates - we are so grateful to the entire Fleur de Lis community for encouraging this level of self-esteem and individuality.  The staff at Fleur de Lis is truly one of a kind -  the professional, yet individualized attention of Tina Smith and April Kozelh as directors is amazing. They know your child personally and do everything in their power to make your child's experience at Fleur de Lis enriching and creative. Our son still talks about Ms. Tina coming into their classroom and reading them special books (his favorite was about an owl in NYC) and Tina consistently shared specific memories of our son's social and emotional growth during his time there. The teachers we had at Fleur de Lis (Ms. Sandy, Ms. Chelsea, Ms. Amber, Ms. Kiara and Ms. Diana for Spanish) were incredible in every way - we appreciated the attention to the holistic needs of each child - the cognitive, physical, and emotional were all given attention and we saw our son blossom in each area. The day our son "graduated" Fleur de Lis School was a bittersweet one - we were thrilled to know he was ready for kindergarten, but also so sad to say goodbye to the daily moments of this special community. Our son couldn't stop hugging his amazing teacher Ms. Sandy at the singing show - clearly showing the same emotions we felt as parents.

If you are a new parent, join the FDL wait list now -- trust me, your older parent self will thank…read moreyou! It's hard to explain the magical and nurturing environment this school provides. I remember my son, Julian, sobbing when I left him on his first day as a two year old, and my heart was breaking. In less than a week, he was all smiles at drop off, excited to see his teachers and friends. Since then, he's thrived at this school, both emotionally and educationally. Now, two years later, he's heading to Francis Parker, and looking back on his time at FDL, I can't express how grateful I am to the amazing team there. There are a few specifics that make FDL special: The community -- everyone at FDL knows Julian's name, even teachers who aren't assigned to his class. Pre-Covid, when I would pick him up from his classroom, his daily departure was like a little parade, with waves and goodbyes to friends, teachers, directors, everyone. You really feel like part of a family here. Kira, Bev, April, Julie, Julia, Diana, Iris, Nina, Autumn, and many others...each has been a unique and positive impact on Julian and our family over the past two years. The safety -- speaking of Covid, I don't think I appreciated how nice it is to have total confidence in the efforts of the FDL team to keep my child safe at all costs until this pandemic. When they reopened under new safety guidelines, I never once worried they would slack or not keep the sanitation and safety bar high. In fact, Julian now inspects my hand washing and admonishes me if I have not made enough soap bubbles or washed long enough . They always ran a tight ship, but it's exceptional now. The positive reinforcement of high expectations -- on my visit prior to enrolling at FDL, I saw all the kids eating lunch as they chattered politely and consistently used manners. On the playground, no one pushed. They all took turns. What's more, they were still incredibly joyous little kids, giggling and delighting in silly play. I was in awe. And yet, now Julian models those same behaviors. FDL teachers are kind and warm, but firm. They set a high bar, and the kids rise to meet it. At the same time, there is tremendous fun had on the daily at this school. Julian greets me at pick up with a big smile and a hug, his cheeks flushed from play and sand in his shoes. He excitedly shows me his projects and tells me funny stories and things he learned from the day. FDL is exceptional. If you have the chance to send your child there, take it. You would be hard pressed to find a more loving and capable setting. We will miss it terribly!