Building creative, curious, and confident children


We offer exceptional care in the
Madison, Wisconsin area for
ages 6 weeks through 5 years.

Our Mission

At Academy for Little Learners, we nurture the childhood experience by focusing on compassion, open-mindedness, acceptance, kindness, inclusivity, and empathy. Play-based learning guides our curriculum, encouraging both social-emotional and academic growth. Our teachers lead by example and foster each child’s unique development by meeting them at their level.

Hello!

I founded Academy for Little Learners in 2008. After a career in education, I wanted to create a community that would support and empower young children as well as their parents, teachers, and staff.

At Academy, we celebrate the individuality of each child. We work as a team to make sure our families have all of their needs met—social, physical, academic, and most importantly, emotional.

Please come and take a look around. I think you’ll love it here.

Amy
Owner

Betsy
Director

What We Do Best

Build social-emotional skills

Little children have big feelings. We lead by example to show them how to manage those feelings, build self-awareness, create positive habits, and get along well with others.

Make space for exploration

The best way to understand the world is to experience it. We provide free play time every day because we know it builds creative, independent, and resilient thinkers.

Cultivate love for learning

Success starts with the smallest building blocks. Our weekly lesson plans, designed around play-based learning, support age-appropriate academic milestones.

Why Parents Love Us

  • "Amazing course schedules with both indoor and outdoor activities; perfect location sitting in a quiet area with best convenience to field trips. Wonderful and kindest teachers who are caring for the children and respect each family's situation and needs."

    —Tingting

  • "We love Academy! Our toddler has learned so much in her daycare classes. She has been going for almost two years. All of the teachers are obviously very caring and it’s clear that our daughter loves them, sometimes calling them her “best friends”. She comes home with new phrases, skills, and knowledge. Putting her own coat on (we didn’t teach her the flip trick!), counting to higher numbers, knowing the letters that start certain words, and singing new songs are just a few examples. We also love the app Academy uses to communicate with parents as well with updates on what she ate, how she slept, how potty went, what activities they did, and pictures. Thanks so much for all you do! We are excited for the warm weather to roll around and the splash pad."

    — Callie

  • "We have had our children at Academy for over five years and we are so grateful to the staff and community at Academy. Over the past two years I know Academy has faced many challenges but they have handled everything with such earnest care. The leadership and staff at Academy have created a very nurturing and happy environment and my children have grown and developed in a positive way for having attended. We are eternally thankful to the staff and leadership."

    —Maddie

  • "We love Academy for Little Learners. Professional and extremely caring staff, amazing facilities, and a great environment with fun activities for the kids. Our son can't wait to see his teachers and friends each day and is learning so much. The days are even more special when his class gets to play on the Splash Pad or gets to sing and dance with Mr. Dave. We are so happy we chose Academy!"

    — David and Erin

  • "Academy has been part of our family for a long time across many classrooms, levels, buildings, and teachers and we have loved and appreciated the care and connection provided to our little ones. Academy is convenient, excellent communicators, and responsive to our kiddos needs, they have grown their social emotional capacity along with creating a place for them to learn to enjoy school."

    — Jeremy

  • "Academy For Little Learners has been our trusted partner in the care of our children since they were 3 months old. Over the course of the 5 years we have been with Academy our children have benefitted from an environment that fosters not only wonderful attentive care of their basic needs, but thoughtful social, emotional and educational experiences from the start. Our children have gained an education foundation that they will be prepared to build upon when transitioning into elementary school. We are so very grateful for their partnership in these early years, and the environment they have created where our children enjoy spending their days. The peace of mind, as a parent, Academy has provided us over these years has been invaluable. We are sad to see our time coming to an end sooner than later, but will always be grateful that this was our children's first educational experience."

    — Jennifer

  • "As a parent I was looking for a place where my child could thrive, both academically and socially. Not only has she been able to do so at Academy, but she has made such amazing bonds with the teachers, who in turn have done a wonderful job in making a relationship with me. This has made Maggie’s time at Academy easier on her, and also on me, knowing that those relationships are ones she and I both can trust. The activities planned for her are above my expectations, as is the amount of structure and nurturing that happens in the Bliss classroom."

    — Tiffany

  • "We've loved sending the kids to Academy For Little Learners. The staff is incredible -- they're responsive, caring, and communicative. They navigated the ever-changing COVID protocols as well as anyone could reasonably imagine. And most importantly, we know that our children are well cared for, engaged, and having a fantastic time. We couldn't be happier with AFLL."

    — Patrick

  • "The staff at AFLL go above and beyond to make this a great childcare facility. They are communicative and helpful and committed to finding solutions that work for everyone. In the 6+ years we’ve had a child there, I’ve never for a moment questioned whether it was the right place for us."

    — Katie

  • "We have been sending our children to Academy for Little Learners for 6 years, after coming from a previous center. We have always been so happy with the care, fun, and learning our children receive at Academy. Not only do our kids experience fun every day, but they have education, art, and other activities built into the day to give our kids a great well-rounded experience that has gotten them prepared for school. The level of care and love from the teachers is better than I have ever seen before, which I believe is due to the happiness of the staff. We have had two children at Academy 3 years apart and our littlest has many of the same teachers that our oldest had. The tenure of the teachers is truly unique and it is a testament to the wonderful community and family they have built at Academy for Little Learners."

    — Abby

  • "We have had our toddler at AFLL since 12 weeks, and we are so pleased with the quality of care. Over time, our child has come home having learned great things we never taught at home—from baby sign language for ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to anecdotes from books they read together about apple picking and pumpkin patches. Our child looks forward to seeing friends and will sometimes seek out a teacher from a previous room to give hugs at the end of the day. We are excited to start our second child at AFLL soon as well!"

    — Rachel

  • "We couldn't be happier with our decision to send our son to Academy. The teachers and staff are amazing! They all sincerely care about every child's well-being and development. And an added bonus: they somehow got my picky eater to like brussels sprouts and chili!"

    —Sarah

  • "Our time at Academy has been incredible! My son has flourished in so many ways. He was quite shy when he started at age 2 and has really come out of his shell since his time with you. The teachers have been phenomenal! I love the strong focus on social-emotional development and that activities supporting children's social-emotional growth are actually implemented in the classrooms, not just talked about. There is a strong connection with families and a tag-team approach to care. If a problem arose, we talked about solutions that worked at home and at school, along with those that didn't work, and we adjusted the course. Everyone at Academy has been great to work with! The kitchen staff make the kids laugh, the grounds keeper, Terry, knows children's names and remembers the stories they tell, and Admin is wonderful at communicating. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for all that you do to support children and families!"

    —Jessica

  • "Sending our 9-week-old to childcare in the middle of a global pandemic was a scary prospect, but the entire team at AFLL have been nothing short of amazing from the beginning. Now, almost 2 years later, we couldn't have imagined sending our first-born elsewhere. The teachers and staff at AFLL have been incredibly communicative and compassionate. We're continually amazed at the growth we've seen in our child from week to week and credit AFLL's robust curriculum and excellent staff. We view AFLL as more than just a childcare center, but a true parenting partner!"

    —Adam and Meghan

Where Children Thrive

Wide open spaces where they can run, jump, sing, climb, and adventure. Quiet corners where they can curl up with a book or reflect on their feelings. Our facility is designed to spark imagination, encourage exploration, and rev up curiosity both indoors and out. We believe that all of our little extras make a big difference.

Our Classrooms