Jardín Spanish Immersion Academy - Longfellow

My daughter loves attending Jardin. She's excited to see her friends in the morning, and excited to show me what she's been doing when I pick her up. The teachers are magic workers. They treat her with love and kindness. Somehow, they keep the kids calm, get them down for nap, and have a solid routine. We've been amazed by how her vocabulary has developed. She is learning through play, art, and music. The emphasis on music and dance brings us so much joy. She has been requesting specific Spanish songs since she could point to images in books (e.g., the song about the butterfly or the song about stars). She even surprised us one day when she busted out the yoga moves she learned as school. We visited a lot of daycares before settling on Jardin. Knowing she would be with Maria was comforting. Maria also cared for my stepson at Jardin eight years earlier, so we knew she would be in good hands! He attended Jardin from 4 months through 5 years of age and that experience was positive as well. The food is great--much better than anything I could prepare for a bag lunch on a daily basis. The building is always immaculate. It's clear that their standards for training and following regulations are very high.

Our son has been at Jardin Longfellow since he was an infant, and we have nothing but the best things to say about their incredible care team and facilities. As a first-time mom who struggled with postpartum anxiety, I was so nervous about sending my baby to daycare. But right away, I could tell Jardin was a wonderful place for him to be. Ms. Maria, Laila, Melizza, and Minny in Infant Room B were so incredibly loving and caring. I could tell from the start that my son was getting so much love and attention throughout the day, which brought me so much comfort. He’s now in the toddler room with Marisol and Dianna/Julia, who are equally amazing teachers. Even now, when he sees his former infant teachers, they all light up — it truly feels like one big family filled with love and connection. We’ve also been so impressed by how much he’s learned, especially his Spanish! He was saying "hola" and "agua" before he turned one, and now at just two years old, he can count to ten in Spanish and knows so many words — numbers, letters, colors, shapes, animals, and body parts. It’s incredible to see how much he’s grown in their care. I also love the app they use to share updates throughout the day. The teachers are so good about posting photos and noting naps, meals, and activities — it really helps ease any anxiety and allows us to see how happy and engaged our child is. The directors are also amazing and always available to help with translation when needed. I don’t speak Spanish and my husband only a little (and he’s rusty!), so I was initially worried about communication. But it has never been an issue — there’s always someone ready to help, and everyone is so kind and patient. The enrollment team has also been fantastic — prompt, organized, and easy to communicate with. We love Jardin Longfellow so incredibly much. It’s such a nurturing, supportive, and loving environment, and we feel so grateful to have them as part of our family’s village.

Couldn’t have asked for a better place to send our child. The most loving, caring and responsible group of people! The excitement our child has, and ease of mind we have as parents on every drop off is all you can ask for with a daycare. 10/10 would recommend!

We recently switched from Tierra Hiawatha and we've had a much better experience at Jardin. The brightwheel app allows me to feel connected to my infant while we are apart. This is especially helpful for a breastfeeding mother who wants to understand when her baby was fed. At Tierra, there's no app for continuous updates and I never received any photos. I believe Tierra had a no-screen mentality, but I don't think that's helpful in the infant room for new mothers trying to get used to leaving their child. Especially since the teachers at Jardin are only briefly taking photos during nap time, feeding, and occasionally during play. Thank you Jardin for making us feel so welcomed!

They are so lovely with the kids! I know my daughter is well taken care of!

I have no idea how or why this school has high reviews. I did extensive research, here and Reddit, and everyone seemed to be raving. Now that we’ve pulled our child out of here and put them into the other Spanish immersion daycare in Minneapolis, the difference couldn’t be more clear. We were only with TE for a matter of months before it became unbearable. (This is not an indictment of the teachers, who were, of course, great.) Admins and staff answering emails were *extremely rude,* condescending and dismissive -every single time I interacted with them.- It was unbelievable! They just wave you over to a bulletin board and say look there or if you’re not on our newsletter list, too bad, you get no info. One day I showed up and the school was closed. On a Friday. No warnings, no signs outside, nothing. Myself and woman with a baby carrier were just standing there, dumbfounded. Imagine if someone lost their job over this! The school is constantly closing for random stuff and again, little to no communication. Which leads me to my next point: heaven forbid you want to actually make up the days they’ve robbed from you. There is zero leniency to their absurd and restrictive policies. This place only cares about your money, and you’d be better off lighting it on fire than enrolling a child here. I cannot recommend their competition company enough. It was like a breath of fresh air. Art every single day no exceptions, more decorations, songs playing in the halls, staff constantly coming up to me during pickup telling me about my child’s progress unprompted. I feel 1 million times better. I’ll never go back to Tierra Encantada, and will dissuade anyone I can from wasting their money.

We love Jardin! They love and care for our daughter like she is part of their family. We really feel like our daughter is blossoming and thriving in part because of the kind and thoughtful staff at Jardin. Highly recommend!