Best Spanish Immersion Preschools in Los Angeles, California

Written by Chris Collie in Schools

I get asked a lot from different people about what is the best Spanish Immersion Preschool near where they live. Immersions preschools change over time and new ones are popping up, but I found this to be a fascinating topic. To keep things simple, I have researched the best Spanish immersion preschools by city and have targeted Los Angeles, California with this blog post.

Let’s find out what the best Spanish immersion preschools are in Los Angeles and the surrounding area.

What Is Spanish Immersion?

Before we check out the schools that offer Spanish immersion, let’s first review what an immersion school entails.

Language immersion is a teaching method used for kids and adults to learn a foreign language. The foreign language is taught by having the teachers and students exclusively read, write, listen, and speak in that foreign language. The teachers do not use the students’ native language to help them learn the foreign language. In order to learn a foreign language, the students are required to be immersed and essentially learn it by osmosis.

That means that if you are learning Spanish, then the teachers write and speak to you in only Spanish. The instructors will not speak English to you if you do not understand something. You have to figure it out in Spanish.

Spanish immersion, and foreign language immersion in general, are much easier for young children to learn. Young children are already working through how to learn their first language, so they already have the skills for how to understand and analyze a new language for them.

If you want to continue this discussion on language immersion, I have written a very informative article on Spanish language immersion that you can read here. It discusses immersion in more detail and debunks the many myths people assume about learning a foreign language through immersion. Plus, this article also gives you ways that you can expose your kids to immersion opportunities.

Spanish Immersion Preschools in Los Angeles, California

Below we dive into the Spanish Immersion Preschools in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. Some of these schools are Spanish immersion only. Other schools may include other languages that they teach, such as English, French, German, or Mandarin. We have made a note for each school and what languages they teach.

Spanish Immersion Only Schools

Green Garden Preschool

Green Garden Preschool is a family-operated school located in Culver City, California. The school caters to children between the ages of 3 months old to 5 years old. The preschool is open Monday through Friday from 7:45 am to 5:15 pm.

The preschool is a Spanish immersion program that includes weekly curriculum such as yoga, music and movement class, and art class. Breakfast and lunch are provided each day for each student.

Little Learners Spanish-immersion Child Care and Preschool

  • Address: 12411 W. Fielding Circle, Playa Vista, CA 90094
  • Telephone: (310) 356-6091
  • Website: Link to Website

Little Learners began in 2017 under the direction of Camila Alvarez. Camila is a native of Ecuador who moved to Los Angeles because her husband works as a diplomat for the Ecuadorian government. Camila has over 12 years of experience with early childhood development with children as young as 3 months old and as old as 8 years old.

The Little Learners program is a full Spanish-immersion program. The children are encouraged to learn Spanish as a second language in the same way that they learn their native language. However, the school is able to work with each family by helping new children transition into the program by speaking some English until they become more comfortable with Spanish.

The school is for children between the ages of 3 months old and 3.5 years old. The school is open between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, however, the school provides after-school care until 6:30 pm in case you want to leave your loved ones past the 4:30 pm pickup time. The school asks that you tour the program before applying.

Yachaywasi Spanish Immersion Preschool

Yachaywasi is a 100% full Spanish immersion program. It is located near the Miracle Mile and Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles. Along with being completely immersed in the language, the kids learn writing, math, gardening, yoga, music, social studies, and science. Classes are available from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, and tours of the school are available from 9:30 am to 11:30 am Monday through Friday.

Saint Sebastian Spanish Immersion Preschool

  • Address: 1430 Federal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90025
  • Telephone: (310) 473-3337
  • Website: Link to Website

Saint Sebastian School is a Catholic school located in West Los Angeles. The school welcomes children to preschool beginning at age 2 and continues through the 8th grade. The preschool is for ages 2 and 3, and it is full Spanish immersion. Preschool is open from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday – Friday.

In the 2020-2021 school year, the Dual Language Immersion Program of English and Spanish being taught 50-50 will be for age 4 through 5th grade. The plan for each school year is that an additional grade will be added to the Dual Language Immersion Program so that it eventually reaches the 8th grade.

Adventurous Learners Preschool

Adventurous Learners Preschool is a full Spanish immersion preschool. They believe that a new language is acquired and not taught, which is behind their philosophy of teaching in full Spanish immersion style. The school also believes in outdoor play as much as indoor play, so the kids spend 50% of their time outside.

The school is open from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday. Tours are available on Saturdays at 11:30 am. The school provides breakfast, lunch, and snacks that are 95% organic food and non-GMO.

Niños Preschool Program Wonderschool

Niños Preschool Program is a Reggio-inspired Spanish immersion school in Culver City, California. The school’s philosophy is influenced by the Reggio teachings where children thrive when given time to ask questions, test theories, and explore topics that interest them. Those topics include reading, writing, math, science, and social development that are taught through play.

The school accepts children between the ages of 18 months to 5 years old. Their goal is to send children off to kindergarten feeling confident. The school is open from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.

WeVillage Los Angeles

WeVillage provides childcare and school for children from ages 6 weeks old to 14 years old. The preschool is now operating as a full Spanish immersion preschool. WeVillage has a located one location in Los Angeles and two others in Portland. The LA preschool contains the full Spanish immersion program, so we will focus on that school here.

The LA preschool is for children between the ages of 3 years old to 5 years old. The preschool is from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, but it also offers extended care if a later pickup is needed. Also, the preschool requires that children have begun potty training before they enter the program.

The preschool follows a play-based approach to teach skills that promote social and cognitive development that will prepare your kids for kindergarten. The enrichment program provides the children with hands-on life experiences with open-ended materials. Further, the school promotes cultural awareness and diversity in their daily teachings.

L.A. Spanish School

L.A. Spanish School is a full Spanish immersion school for children and adults. The school operates under a licensed program with the City of Santa Monica Recreational Park Classes. The school prides itself on being another alternative tool for the community and families to raise bilingual children.

The actual preschool program is for children between the ages of 3 years old to 5 years old. This preschool program is called Spanish Steps. They also offer a program for children between the ages of 5 years old to 10 years old that is called Spanish Immersion Home School.

The Spanish Steps preschool focuses on the development of early childhood skills like imagination, self-confidence, motor skills, socialization, separation-adjustment process, and acquisition of the Spanish language. Children are exposed to daily activities and games that stimulate their natural intelligence and talent. The one requirement for entry into Spanish Steps is that children be potty trained beforehand.

They are open from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday, and they are open on Saturday from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm. The school offers several types of programs that include preschool, Spanish for homeschoolers, home school Spanish clubs and groups, and family Spanish learning experiences.

Bubbles ‘n Colors Spanish Preschool

Bubbles ‘n Colors is a Spanish immersion preschool in Los Angeles. The school practices the full immersion philosophy by only speaking to the children in Spanish.

The preschool is for children between the ages of 20 months old and 5 years old. The school is open from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Part-time and full-time schedules are offered, and the part-time group finishes at 1:00 pm. Also, the school offers 2-day, 3-day, and 5-day schedules for those families looking for more flexible schedules.

Yatichawi Preschool

Yatichawi Preschool was founded in 2019 in Mid-City Los Angeles. It is a full Spanish immersion preschool and child care center. School is open from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday.

The school uses exciting teaching techniques such as an arts and crafts area, math and science area, language and sensorial activities area, Latin rhythms, fairy tales, games, mini chef, cultivation and nature, and yoga. The school offers a wide variety of Latin-flavored and international foods that are healthy and nutritious. All of the meals are homemade and centered around fresh fruits and vegetables, and organic whenever possible.

The Language Grove Community Preschool

The Language Grove Community Preschool is a preschool licensed for 45 children located in North Hills, California. They are open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm. Children at the preschool are between 18 months old and 6 years old. Children are not required to be potty trained, however, there will be a higher tuition rate if they are not potty trained by 3 years old.

The Language Grove is a full Spanish immersion program whose goal is to instill a love of learning for each student. The teachers are fluent in both Spanish and English, however, the children are instructed strictly in Spanish. Further, the preschool places an emphasis on having the children outside to learn and experience nature.

The outdoor learning emphasis gives\s the children an opportunity for hands-on learning and real-world applications of mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. Further, the plants and bugs allow the children to naturally learn new things and explore their curiosities in a safe environment.

Yak Academy

Yak Academy is a Spanish immersion preschool located in Redondo Beach, California. The preschool has classes for children between the ages of 2 years old and 6 years old. It is typically open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, the preschool is open later in the evening until 6:00 pm or 6:30 pm.

The preschool offers different Spanish immersion preschool class options based upon the age of the child. The first class is an AM option from 8:30 am to 11:30 am for children that are between 2 years old and 3.5 years old. Students in this class are exposed to the foundations of the Spanish language through active play, music, and movement. The school requires that children in this class are in the process of being potty trained.

The preschool has two options for children that are between the ages of 3.5 years old and 5 years old. Students can attend the full-day program or either of the half-day programs in the AM or PM. Here the children focus on expanding their language learning development for conversational purposes. This program is geared towards children that will later attend an English Kindergarten program.

The next class for students at the preschool is the Immersion Bound program for children between the ages of 4 years old and 5 years old. The full-day program is the only option available because the school decided to stop offering the half-day option for this program. Children are taught the skills needed to prepare them for native speakers entrance exams at dual immersion programs in the South Bay L.A. area.

The last available class offered by the preschool is for Kindergarten students. The preschool offers a half-day PM program for children who are attending Kindergarten at another school in the area. This class is designed for any student that will be continuing in one of the preschool’s After-School Enrichment programs when they are in 1st grade.

French, Spanish and English

Language Garden Preschool

Language Garden is a preschool for children between the ages of 2 to 5 years old. The school has immersion programs in either French or Spanish, but this school seems to focus more on the Spanish classes based on reviews I found on Yelp. School hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and they offer full-day or half-day classes until noon. The kids learn through an interdisciplinary approach with art, music, and STEM learning to name a few.

Ecole Claire Fontaine

The school is open Monday through Friday. The hours Monday through Thursday are 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. On Fridays, the hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The preschool is for children between 2 years old and 7 years old.

Ecole Claire Fontaine is a trilingual language school that speak English, French, and Spanish. They follow the OPOL Method (One Person, One Language) where the teachers speak to the students in their native language of either English, French, or Spanish. By having the teachers speak so many different languages, the children are able to learn and adapt to each teacher on the fly. Children can quickly master them.

The school’s philosophy is to embrace academics while integrating them through play and engaging activities. The children study Arabic, art, baking, biology, botany, chemistry, choir, cooking, cosmology, electronics, French, gardening, math, meditation, music, oceanography, poetry, sewing, Spanish, weaving and yoga. Summer Camp adds beach days, kite-flying, trips to the park and ice cream parlor, and splashing in the pool.

Spanish, French, and Mandarin

Savoir Faire Language Institute & Immersion Pre-School

  • Address: 117 West Torrance Boulevard, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
  • Address: 4223 Emerald Street, Torrance, CA 90503
  • Telephone: (310) 379-1086
  • Website: https://www.sfli-ca.com/

Savoir Faire is an immersion preschool that teaches Spanish, French, and Mandarin. You can choose which language you want your child to learn. It teaches language through songs, activities, and games to name a few. The school has small class sizes that allow the teachers to focus on individual students.

The school has two (2) locations that are located in Redondo Beach and Torrance. The Torrance location has children from ages 2 to 5 and teaches Spanish only. The Redondo Beach location has children from ages 3 to 5 and teaches, Spanish, French, and Mandarin. School hours are 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Spanish and English

Aventuras Forest School

Aventuras Forest School touts itself as Southern California’s First Language Immersion Forest School. The school is a nature-based Spanish-immersion school that has children outside the entire time they are at the program.

The children are able to explore the magical primordial woods of Fern Dell in Griffith Park. The Fern Dell section features a quarter-mile trail that loops around a ravine under a dense canopy of mature sycamores, alders, spruces, oaks, redwoods, and pines.

The school is for children between the ages of 3 years old and 6 years old. Children must be potty trained before they can start the program. School hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

The school uses a 90:10 Spanish immersion split for language learning. Also, children are naturally curious, so they are able to play and learn in nature. The curriculum follows children’s interests, including STEM content such as animals, seasons, weather, and physics. Nature is used to help children practice Spanish, literacy, mathematics, art, and music that are integrated into free play, nature discovery treks, and explorations of art.

City Kids Los Angeles School

City Kids LA is a Spanish and English immersion school. The first half of the day is taught in Spanish where the teachers use Spanish 90% to 100% of the time while the kids dance, play, sing songs, and explore. The subjects covered at the school include music, outdoor play, art, literacy, mathematics, science, history, and humanities.

City Kids LA is open daily from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. The preschool starts for children beginning at age two and they are able to stay with City Kids until they are in Kindergarten when they are six years old. The school is planning to expand its school to up to third grade. Further, after-school is offered for children in Kindergarten through 12th grade.

Beverlywood Montessori Preschool

Beverlywood Montessori is an English and Spanish language immersion preschool located in Los Angeles, California. Children are immersed in Spanish during the first half of the day and then taught in English for the second half of the day. The thing that makes this school unique is that is it applies the Montessori Method while also providing language immersion for the children.

School hours are from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday. The preschool is for children between the ages of 0 to 6 years old. The sister school for Beverlywood Montessori is the Culver City Montessori School that is discussed in the English, Spanish, and Mandarin section of this article below.

Pequeñas Semillas Wonderschool

Pequeñas Semillas is a preschool for children between the ages of 2 months to 4 years old. It is a Spanish bilingual program that focuses on immersive bilingual early learning. The school is open from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. The school also provides outdoor play and has turned their garage into a fun and creative art studio.

First Class Preparatory Pre-K

First Class Preparatory Pre-K is a preschool located in Culver City for children ages 1.5 years old to 5 years old. Classes are taught in English and Spanish. The program offers more than a playtime experience and believes that a defined curriculum is needed for the children.

The curriculum at First Class Prep focuses on creative media, scientific investigation, music appreciation, and a readiness program. The readiness program focuses on having through be prepared for life at preschool by having them studying subjects that build a foundation in the language arts, math, literature, and drama.

Class times are available from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday, however, space for this class is very limited. Most of the classes finish at either 1:00 pm or 3:00 pm, but they have the option for children to attend Monday/Wednesday/Friday if they do not wish to attend Monday through Friday.

Registration for First Class Prep may be done at the Culver City Parks and Recreation office located at 4117 Overland Avenue. A list of any further requirements for the school will be provided by the teachers.

Little Stars Preschool

Little Stars Preschool is a Spanish and English language school. The website does not state that they strive to teach in both Spanish and English, however, numerous parent reviews rave about how their children are being taught Spanish by the teachers. The parents absolutely love it!

The school’s philosophy on teaching is to encourage a child’s development by acknowledging the whole child, which includes the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and creative development of the child. The school focuses its curriculum on the child by trying to mirror its philosophy. The curriculum includes physical development, socio-emotional development, cognitive development, language development, and creative development.

The school is open from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday. It is for children between the ages of 2 years old to 5 years old. If you wish to send your children to school less than five days per week, please contact the school to determine its availability since most children at the school attend full-time.

The Language Zone

  • Address: 442 W. Harvard Street, Glendale, CA  91204
  • Telephone: (818) 913-3398 or (818) 913-3424
  • Website: Link to The Language Zone

The Language Zone offers a dual language immersion program in the heart of Glendale, California. The program consists of 90% Spanish and 10% English. The preschool is for children between the ages of 3 years old and 5 years old.

The preschool is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. You have the option of sending your child for either a half-day until 12:30 pm or for the full-day.

The preschool teaches communication skills, the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, music, animals, days of the week, months, seasons, and more! For food, the preschool offers healthy snacks, home-cooked meals for full-time students which includes breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. Some of the subjects taught are arts and crafts, cooking, music, storytelling, and painting.

The Language Zone also offers private tutoring and group sessions outside of the preschool. The private tutoring sessions are between 45 minutes to an hour. The private tutoring session can be for children at the age of 4 all the way up to adults. The group sessions are for two to five students in a group and the sessions are available for children that are at least 4 years old and all the way up to adults.

World City Center: A Dual-Language Preschool

  • Address: 3911 W. Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90018
  • Telephone: (323) 207-5803
  • Website: http://wcc-la.com/

World City Center is a preschool located in the West Adams area of Los Angeles. The preschool offers a unique approach to dual-language learning that addresses the whole child. The preschool teaches in Spanish and English with a 90/10 split, which means that 90% of the instruction is in the target language of Spanish and the remaining 10% of instruction is in English to support the native English language speakers.

The preschool has a play-based program that emphasizes hands-on learning, cultural exploration and artistic expression. The program also focuses on the social and emotional needs of children while encouraging empathy and helping others. Plus, the school has a living garden and focuses on making sure the children play outside in their outdoor classroom.

The preschool is for children between the ages of 2 years old and 5 years old. It is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.

English, Spanish, and Mandarin

Culver City Montessori Preschool

Culver City Montessori is an English, Spanish, and Mandarin language immersion preschool located in Culver City, California. The immersion programs at Culver City are either Mandarin or Spanish. You pick the program that you want your children to be a part of and then they are immersed in that language, along with English.

So, your kids learn in either Spanish or Mandarin for the first half of the day and English during the second half of the day. You have to pick between the Spanish and Mandarin programs. The preschool is not able to incorporate all three languages for your children throughout the day.

School hours are from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. The preschool is for children between the ages of 0 to 6 years old. The school teaches language, mathematics, geography, social studies, biology, creative writing, art, music, and field trips.

The extracurricular programs available include gymnastics, soccer, music appreciation, dance, and yoga. Dance, Soccer, tennis, and keyboard lessons are not included in tuition, so you will have to sign up and pay the additional fees.

Little Hands Together Montessori Trilingual Preschool

Little Hands Together Montessori is located in Culver City, California. It is a preschool focused on teaching your children to be trilingual speakers from an early age. The children are immersed in Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and English.

The preschool is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Besides having a robust language immersion program, the preschool has weekly activities for the children. The weekly activities include care of animals and plants, animal class, cooking class, music class, science class, art class, yoga class, puppet shows, and gardening.

The preschool’s philosophies take different aspects from Montessori, Reggio, and Waldorf education to provide the children with an invaluable experience. The different philosophies are centered on the children with the aim of helping them grow to be self-confident and curious learners.

Le Port Montessori Schools

Le Port Montessori is a school program that offers child care and schooling in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. Children are taught in either English, Spanish, or Mandarin. Each location is different, so it is important to do your research for each school. Also, each school varies, but the children range from 3 months old to middle school aged.

For a full list of the locations for Le Port Montessori, click on this link here. Some of the locations include Lomita, Huntington Harbor, Irvine, Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Solana Beach.

Spanish, German and English

Kigala Preschool

  • Address: 2705 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, California 90405
  • Telephone: (310) 453-2400
  • Website: http://kigala.org/

Kigala Preschool is a Spanish, German, and English preschool located in Santa Monica, California. It is one of the few schools I have come across in the U.S. that incorporates German into their curriculum. Kigala is short for “A Kids Garden of Languages”, which is the school’s aim and goal of trying to teach several languages to the children.

Kigala Preschool is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. It is for children between the ages of 2 years old and 6 years old.

The school offers a morning program, full-day program, afternoon program, and an extended care program. The morning programs and full-day programs allow for your kids to learn in one of three options, which are the Spanish, German and what the school calls its International program taught mostly in English. The afternoon and extended care programs speak the community language of English, but Spanish and German are sprinkled in.

Please note that the Kigala Preschool has an annual tuition contract for families. The contract for the 2019-2020 calendar year is for the children to be at the school from August 20, 2019 through June 2, 2020. Kigala offers a Summer Program, which is not included in the tuition but is available on a first come first serve basis .

Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Russian

Worldspeak Language School

  • Addresses: (a) 1639 Westwood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024, and (b) 2387 Malcolm Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90064
  • Telephone: (310) 441-5222
  • Website: https://worldspeakschool.com/

Worldspeak Language School has been open since 2000. It has grown over time and has been featured in several publications. The school has preschool and elementary school programs for children to be taught in Spanish, French, Mandarin, or Russian. However, Russian and French are only taught at the preschool.

Children are able to begin attending the school when they are 2 years old and can continue in the elementary school through 5th grade. The preschool hours are from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. The elementary school hours are from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm, however, the elementary school does offer after school care until 6:00 pm.

Chris Collie

Hi! My name is Chris Collie and I love teaching my daughter Spanish. If we are not at school, then we are thinking of new and fun ways to learn different Spanish words and phrases!

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