What We Do

We nurture children to become kind, confident, smart, bilingual learners — ready for kindergarten and poised for success in life.

The Foundation

Nurturing care, safety, supervision and clean spaces

Everything we do is built upon the following foundational elements.

Connection

Each child develops a caring bond with their teacher and caregivers.

Safety & supervision

We implement rigorous state and national standards to keep children safe — with annual licensing visits, monthly nurse-consultant visits and daily checks. Our live-view cameras are an added layer of security and transparency.

Clean spaces, well-cared-for children

Rigorous cleaning and sanitation keep our spaces sparkling. Excellent basic care is fundamental: clean faces and hands, dry and clean clothes and bottoms.

Our Key Focus

Building strong social-emotional skills

Social-emotional preparedness is the biggest indicator of a child’s future success. Our robust focus on social-emotional development puts your child on a path for success.

Social-emotional learning in early childhood…

Brain architecture

…creates the foundation for a child’s brain architecture.

Emotional regulation

…strengthens the ability to regulate emotions.

Empathy & relationships

…builds empathy and the skills to form strong relationships.

Academic success

…predicts greater academic success.

Enrichment

Four enrichment programs, in depth

Four key enrichment programs intentionally support social-emotional development and are part of each child’s experience every day.

A teacher guiding an infant through a stretch on a yoga mat

Yoga

Cuerpos y mentes en calma

Daily yoga practice calms bodies and minds. Through deep breathing and focused movement, children learn to notice and manage big feelings before they become overwhelmed — fostering resilience and positive behavior.

A student-built model of the Chichén Itzá pyramid in front of a wall of Aztec calendar art

Art

Creatividad y exploración

Monthly, culturally diverse art projects foster creativity and the exploration of many mediums, culminating in a project children are proud of. Art is a non-verbal outlet for big emotions, builds empathy through creative exploration, develops self-regulation, and naturally fosters sharing, cooperation and conflict resolution.

Children playing music

Music

Ritmo y canción

Latin rhythms, songs and dances are the heart of Latinx cultures. Making music and singing and dancing together promote collaboration skills such as taking turns and active listening, while rhythmic activities build the neurological pathways for self-control and stress management. It is also a wonderful way to develop language.

Children playing in nature

Outdoor Classroom

Al aire libre

Rocks, sand, water, trees and open sky — our natural playgrounds are where children dig, build, balance and explore. Every “how high can I climb?” grows resilience, good judgment and cooperation: hands-on, screen-free play that creates a calm and regulation that stays with them when they return to the indoor classroom.

The Natural Playground

Our best classroom has no walls.

Rocks, trees, sand and water — handcrafted natural playgrounds at both of our centers. Children spend up to two hours outdoors every day.

Roseville & Mahtomedi

A walk around our playgrounds

Two centers, two natural play spaces — built from wood, stone, sand and water instead of plastic and pavement. The photos say the rest.

Children crossing the wooden bridge on the natural playground, boulders and wood chips underfoot
Árboles · trees
Wide view of a natural play space with wooden structures, a winding sand path and native grasses
Children climbing on large smooth boulders and a wooden log structure
Rocas · rocks
Two children digging with spoons and pails in the log-edged sand area
Arena · sand
The second playground in fall color: slide, pergola and picnic table among red maples
A child pouring a watering can into a low wooden water trough
Agua · water
Children playing at an outdoor sand-and-water table with cups and little channels
A winding play path through native grasses with a little wooden bridge
Children's stocking feet in a circle on a classroom rug printed with Spanish and English color words
A fully immersive setting

Spanish all day, every day, the natural way

All teachers and caregivers are native speakers from throughout the Spanish-speaking world, who greet, sing, count, comfort and play in Spanish from drop-off to pick-up. There are no flashcard drills and no translation lessons.

A toddler learns that agua means water because it’s the word she hears at the sink every single day. Meaning comes from routine, repetition and warm relationships.

All children attend full time. The result? Calm, consistent, cohesive classrooms where children thrive, and language and learning flourish. With immersion, more is better — children who attend from infancy experience the best results.

Why we’re full time
Immersion & Curriculum

A professional curriculum

The Creative Curriculum — nationally recognized for excellence. A research-based, play- and project-based early-childhood framework that fosters whole-child development.

Over the last 16 years we have developed a culturally rich program within the Creative Curriculum framework, aligned with the Minnesota standards for kindergarten readiness. Our curriculum delivers engaging activities that promote growth across 38 objectives for development and learning. We track your child’s growth over their first five years, share the results with you, and use them to tailor and individualize learning.

Infants and toddlers explore learning through monthly experiential themes; preschoolers take a deeper dive through monthly Cultural Studies.

Infant & toddler monthly themes

  • Imaginación y pretender · imagination & pretending
  • Mi comunidad · my community
  • Nuestros cinco sentidos · our five senses
  • Arte creativo · creative art
  • La selva tropical · the rainforest
  • Los colores y bailes culturales · colors & cultural dances
  • Los insectos y bichos · insects & bugs

Preschool monthly cultural studies

  • Un viaje por el mundo hispanohablante · a journey through the Spanish-speaking world
  • Artistas de Latinoamérica · Latin American artists
  • Fiestas en Latinoamérica · Latin American holidays
  • Islas de Latinoamérica · Latin American islands
  • Maravillas de México y Perú · wonders of Mexico & Peru
  • La Amazonía · the Amazon
  • El mercado · the market
Baskets of Spanish-language children's books and felt sensory toys on a classroom shelf A child holding a paper-flower-framed sign reading Yo Hablo Español
A preschool class sitting cross-legged on the rug, laughing together during story time

We welcome children at any age/stage of development; however, ideally our program is a five-year journey that carries a child from their first days as an infant all the way to kindergarten.

Jump to your child’s age

Infants Toddlers Preschool Summer Pre-K
A smiling infant crawling across a colorful activity mat in the infant classroom The infant nursery: a row of wooden cribs beneath a moon-and-stars mural
Bilingual babies

Infants Koalas y Canguros · koalas & kangaroos

Our smallest learners spend their days in a calm, cozy nursery where every feeding, floor-time discovery and lullaby comes wrapped in warm Spanish — and in one-on-one attention.

Loving connections

The teachers who care for babies are gentle, loving, responsible professionals. They build caring bonds and security, and partner with you in your baby’s care and development.

Excellent care & routines

Children are clean, well-fed and build healthy routines. We work with you to follow your baby’s schedule and give feedback as they grow. Parents provide diapers, wipes and creams (cloth diapers welcome) and all milk and food until your baby is ready to join our food program.

Safe sleep

Teachers are trained in safe sleep (SUIDS), abusive-head-trauma prevention, and pediatric first aid and CPR. Your baby has their own crib and clean bedding in our dedicated crib room, with safe-sleep checks every five minutes while babies sleep.

Immersed in Spanish, growing each day

Your baby thrives soaking in the Spanish all around them — stories, songs, tummy time, sensory play, sign language, art, yoga and diverse developmental activities that keep them engaged and learning.

A toddler holding up a red water toy in the splash yard on a summer day The Conejos classroom door with its wood-cut rabbit sign
Playful, busy movers

Toddlers Pollitos, Conejos y Abejas · chicks, rabbits & bees

Our toddler rooms are built for busy bodies and blooming vocabularies — a dramatic-play kitchen, blocks, easels, and a daily rhythm sturdy enough to feel safe and flexible enough to feel free.

Loving connections

The teachers who care for toddlers are energetic, patient, loving professionals. They nurture your busy toddler’s curiosity and encourage them to explore their world and make daily discoveries. We are never short on hugs.

A predictable rhythm

Toddlers thrive with routine, building confidence and pride as they move through the day: circle time, learning centers, outdoor play and a proper siesta — never short on materials or projects for busy hands and minds.

Potty training

Our teachers are experts and your partner in potty training. Tiny potties and sinks are in each classroom, with regular breaks and positive encouragement built into the day. We work with each child on their own schedule — no pressure.

Immersed in Spanish, growing each day

First words arrive in both languages as teachers keep Spanish flowing through songs, stories and repetition. From independence to first friendships, we begin learning to navigate big feelings. We climb, jump, dig and run — and we sort, build, paint and pick up. Our days are joyful, creative and busy.

Preschoolers lying in a circle on a green rug, heads together, each hugging a stuffed animal A preschool classroom with a paper-flower tree mural, a green rug and a leafy reading nook
Personalities shine

Preschool Oruguitas y Mariposas · caterpillars & butterflies

Ready for more complex learning, preschoolers have diverse opportunities to explore and ask questions about the world — science projects, dramatic play, cultural studies and an outdoor classroom are just a few of the ways they expand their horizons.

Loving connections

Our preschool teachers build caring bonds with each child, creating a safe space to express their needs, build positive self-esteem, work through big emotions and feel important in a classroom community of friends.

Building skills

There is always something new to learn. Each day is a learning journey of creative expression and materials that engage small hands, minds and bodies.

Cultural studies

Each month children engage in a cultural study, introducing them to places, traditions, celebrations, music, art and architecture from throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

Immersed in Spanish, growing each day

By ages four and five, children understand and speak naturally in Spanish each day, navigating their days and their learning with joy.

A classroom mural of paper houses titled República de La Boca, built by the children
Summer · Kindergarten readiness

Pre-K Summer Program

Let’s get ready for Spanish-immersion kindergarten — coming summer 2027! Next summer we will offer a fun-filled Spanish-immersion program from June through August for children of all levels of Spanish exposure. Get on the list early.

Get on the list early

Whether your child is brand-new to Spanish or already immersed, our summer Pre-K readies rising kindergartners for the leap. Ask us to add your family to the early-interest list.

Kinder-ready and bilingual by 5.

A day of good food

What meals & snacks look like

¡Buen provecho! Eating well and learning good table manners is an important part of the day.

Toddlers eating breakfast together at a low classroom table
El desayuno

Breakfast

A warm, unhurried start — eggs, toast, cereal with berries, yogurt, fruit and milk to fuel a great day. Organic whole milk for toddlers, organic 1% for preschoolers.

A teacher serving a family-style lunch to preschoolers seated around a low table
El almuerzo

Lunch

A balanced midday meal with delicious, nutritious options that promote healthy eating: chicken, rice, beans, avocado and fruit — kid-friendly and wholesome.

Small plates of orange wedges, banana and strawberries set out for afternoon snack
La merienda

Snack

A colorful afternoon pick-me-up — fresh fruit and simple, wholesome bites that carry little bodies through to pick-up time.

We keep a nut-aware environment and monitor allergies with care.

A Pre-K graduate in a purple cap and gown holding a diploma that reads Spanish Language Proficient
The promise, delivered

Kinder-ready and bilingual by 5.

Kind, confident, smart, bilingual. Our graduates carry a strong foundation for success in kindergarten and far beyond — ninety percent of them attend for four to five years.

Kindness with an open worldview

Treating all people with gentle care comes naturally.

Confident, resilient, ready

Children leave with a strong sense of self, respect for others, and the ability to participate successfully in a group.

Kindergarten-readiness standards

Children achieve competency in the state standards, including 38 objectives for development and learning.

Spanish fluency

Conversation, comprehension and a beautiful accent. Children who attend from infancy become fluent Spanish speakers; all children develop language and cognitive skills they draw on for life.

“Over the years we have received many kindergarten students from Bilingual Child Care Center, and we consistently note a major difference in the high level of Spanish fluency and kindergarten readiness among children who attended their program. They arrive to us well-prepared, confident, curious, and ready — often already reading in two languages.”

— Jose Becerra, Principal, Little Canada Dual Immersion Elementary School
Our first child

Lou looks back

Lou was the first child to enroll at the Center. He stayed three years, and he graduated from high school this year. He sat down on camera to talk about what he remembers.

Lou, in his own words. 41 seconds.
Read the transcript

Hi, I'm Lou. I was actually the very first child to enroll in Bilingual Child Care, which is pretty cool to think about.

One of the biggest parts of my life thus far has been growing up bilingual. I had the awesome opportunity to live in Spain for approximately ten years, which gave me an even greater appreciation for learning different languages and experiencing other cultures.

I graduated from high school this spring, and this fall I will be attending Minnesota State University Mankato to study professional flight as I work towards my life goal of becoming a pilot.

I'm really grateful for the strong start that I received at Bilingual Child Care, and I encourage everyone to consider Bilingual Child Care. Thank you.

Three years of his childhood

  1. A sleeping toddler lying on a blue cot in a classroom with a teddy bear and a soft blanket
    September 2010 Naptime in his first year — a cot, a blanket and a bear.
  2. A line of young children in matching purple Center t-shirts standing with a teacher in front of a large display of limes and lemons at a grocery market
    July 2012 A field trip to El Burrito Mercado with his class.
  3. Pre-K graduates in black mortarboard caps seated on small chairs on a wooden stage in front of a blue-grey curtain, one standing to read aloud
    May 2013 Pre-K graduation, the end of his third year.

Parents on the Center

Families who have been here, in their own words.

  • Learning, adapting and switching between languages Parents on how their children learn and switch between languages — and how it sets them up for success. 1 minute

Come see for yourself!

EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE!

Your questions answered! Explore the website, watch the e-presentation, connect with Leah — the CEO & Founder, and schedule an in-person visit.

Explore & Enroll