For more than 15 years, Chicago families have trusted L&L with their children's earliest years. Across our neighborhood schools, teachers take the time to know each child—what interests them, when they need encouragement, and when they simply need a little more time.
We pair that personal care with thoughtful early childhood education, creating schools where children can learn, build relationships, and feel genuinely known.
We Understand the Decision
You're not just choosing a preschool. You're choosing the people who will be there when your child needs comfort, encouragement, or a little help finding their way into the day.
Many of us who lead L&L are parents ourselves. That doesn't replace what we know as early childhood educators, but it shapes the questions we ask about our schools.
Parenthood shapes the questions we ask. Early-childhood expertise guides how we answer them.
Would I feel comfortable leaving my child here?
Would someone notice if they were having a hard day?
Would their teacher really get to know them?
Those are the kinds of questions that influence how we choose and develop teachers, how we communicate with families, and how we think about the everyday experience inside our schools.
Our Locations
Four neighborhood schools along West Belmont Avenue, serving children from infancy through Pre-K.
Explore Lakeview
Our original neighborhood community, with two neighboring schools serving infants through Pre-K.
Explore Lincoln Park
A dedicated infant and toddler preschool for our youngest children in Wicker Park.
Explore Wicker ParkOur Programs
Every stage brings something new. Find the program that fits where your child is right now.
0–14 MONTHS
A beginning built on trust.
RIE-inspired care built around relationships, responsive caregiving, and giving babies time and space to develop at their own pace.
Explore Infant Care14–24 MONTHS
“I want to do it.”
An emergent curriculum that gives toddlers room to explore, practice independence, build language, and begin navigating relationships with other children.
Explore Toddler CareTWO-YEAR-OLDS
A bigger voice and a bigger world.
Children’s questions, play, and growing independence help shape what teachers introduce next.
Explore Two-Year-Old PreschoolTHREE-, FOUR-, AND FIVE-YEAR-OLDS
Questions start becoming ideas.
Children investigate bigger questions, build stronger relationships, and develop the confidence and skills they will carry into what comes next.
Explore Preschool & Pre-KProgram availability varies by location.
Learning Is Happening
A tower falls for the fifth time. Two children disagree about whose turn it is. Someone discovers a bug outside. A pretend restaurant suddenly needs a menu.
To a child, these are moments in their day. To a teacher who knows what to look for, they can become opportunities to think, communicate, experiment, solve problems, and understand other people.
What a child sees
“Let’s build it again.”
What a teacher sees
Balance. Prediction. Frustration. Persistence. Problem-solving.
The teacher doesn't necessarily fix the tower. Sometimes the most thoughtful decision is giving the child another minute to figure out what might work.
What a child sees
A disagreement.
What a teacher sees
Language. Negotiation. Boundaries. Empathy. Learning how to be part of a group.
Teachers stay close enough to support children while giving them opportunities to develop the words and confidence to navigate relationships themselves.
What a child sees
Something interesting.
What a teacher sees
A question worth following.
One child's discovery can become a conversation, an investigation, a drawing, a book, a new vocabulary word—or something the entire classroom wants to understand.
That balance between thoughtful guidance and room to explore is at the heart of how learning takes shape at L&L.
The People Behind the Day
The person greeting your child in the morning matters. So does the teacher who notices when something feels different, knows when to offer help, and understands when to give a child another minute to try on their own.
That is why we invest in our teachers—not only when they first join L&L, but throughout their time with us.
Our teachers continue learning, reflecting, and developing their practice. Experienced directors and L&L leadership help teachers think through what is happening in their classrooms and how they can continue getting better.
We believe in creating opportunities for people to grow within L&L. Teachers can develop into mentors and leaders, carrying their classroom experience with them as they take on greater responsibility.
Teachers shouldn't have to figure everything out alone. Directors work closely with their teams, and experienced L&L leadership supports our directors so they can better support the people caring for children every day.
They experience it in a classroom that feels thoughtful and consistent, in a teacher who feels supported, and in relationships that have time to grow.
Beyond the Classroom
As children grow, so do the people, places, sounds, and ideas they encounter at school.
Spanish
L&L has a dedicated Spanish teacher who moves between classrooms, beginning with the toddler program.
Children hear and use Spanish through songs, stories, conversation, familiar words, and playful classroom experiences. The goal isn't to sit young children down for a formal language lesson. It's to give them repeated, meaningful exposure to another language while they're already engaged in their day.
Music
Beginning with toddlers, L&L brings in an outside music company to work with children.
Visiting music educators bring their own instruments, songs, movement, and energy into the classroom. Children get to experience music with someone whose focus is specifically music, while their classroom teachers can continue those songs and ideas after the visit is over.
Our Neighborhoods
A walk can lead to a question. A trip to the park can start a conversation. Something a child notices outside can come back into the classroom through books, drawing, building, pretend play, or an investigation that lasts much longer than the walk itself.
Each L&L neighborhood is different, so these experiences look different from school to school. That's part of what makes each L&L community its own.
Children don't experience their world in separate subjects. Neither do we.
A song, a new word, or something noticed on a walk can become the beginning of what children want to explore next.
Explore Your L&L NeighborhoodStaying Connected
When your child is spending much of their day with us, you shouldn't have to wonder what that day looks like.
We want families to know the everyday things—what made their child laugh, what they're interested in lately, what they're practicing, and when something felt a little harder than usual.
Throughout the Day
Brightwheel gives families a window into the everyday through updates, photos, and practical information.
In the Conversations
Some of the most meaningful things aren't captured in an app. Teachers notice the small moments and share what they're seeing with families.
Over Time
Twice each year, progress reports and parent-teacher conferences give us time to step back from the everyday and look at the bigger picture—how your child is growing, what they're drawn to, the relationships they're building, and what we're beginning to see emerge.
Because the better teachers understand the children in their classrooms, the more meaningful their conversations with families can become.
The L&L Community
Something happens when families with children around the same age keep seeing one another. A familiar face at drop-off becomes a conversation. Children start asking to see each other outside of school. Parents realize they're navigating many of the same things.
We want L&L to make room for those relationships, too.
You begin recognizing the parents of the children your child talks about at home. A quick hello becomes a conversation. Sometimes those relationships stay at school. Sometimes they turn into playdates, birthday parties, dinners, and friendships that continue long after children leave the classroom.
WE CREATE REASONS TO COME TOGETHER
Throughout the year, we create opportunities for families to spend time together and experience more of their child's life at school.
Meet teachers, spend time inside your child's classroom, and get to know some of the families you'll be seeing throughout the year.
Children proudly share what they've been creating while families get a window into the learning that's been happening inside the classroom.
Throughout the year, we create more opportunities for children, parents, and teachers to spend time together beyond the normal drop-off and pick-up routine.
EVERY SCHOOL GROWS OUT OF ITS NEIGHBORHOOD
Our schools are shaped by the children, families, teachers, and neighborhoods around them. An L&L in Wicker Park won't feel exactly like an L&L in Lincoln Park or West Loop—and we don't think it should. Each school becomes its own community while sharing the same approach to caring for children.
Our Story
L&L opened in Lincoln Park in 2010 with two classrooms and a simple idea: create the kind of preschool we would want for our own children.
Families told other families. Teachers grew into leaders. New school communities took shape. What began with two classrooms eventually grew into ten L&L schools across Chicago.
We're proud of that growth. But what matters most to us is protecting what made families trust L&L in the first place: teachers who know their children, directors who know their families, and schools that still feel personal.
Many of us who lead L&L are parents ourselves. We look at our schools through that lens, alongside what we've learned through years of working in early childhood education.
Privately Owned
As we've grown, we've worked intentionally to keep decision-making close to our schools, teachers, children, and families.
2010
Two classrooms
Today
10 L&L schools
Good to Know
Choosing a preschool comes with a lot of questions. Here are a few of the practical ones we hear most often.
Across L&L, our programs serve children from infancy through Pre-K. Programs vary by location, so your neighborhood school's page will show you exactly which age groups are offered there.
All L&L schools are open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Availability depends on your child's age, desired start date, and the classrooms with openings at that time. Once we have those details, our enrollment team can help you understand which options are available.
Tell us in the notes when you inquire. Some families have a particular school in mind because of location, a friend, or a teacher recommendation. We'll keep that preference in mind while also showing you the options available for your child's age and start date.
Yes. Once we understand what you're looking for and which classrooms may be available, we'll help you explore the options that make sense for your family. You can see the space, meet the people, ask questions, and decide what feels right.
Tuition varies by program and age. Share a few details about your child and the location you're considering, and we'll provide the relevant tuition and availability information.
Get Tuition & AvailabilityStill have questions? The best next step is to come see us.
Come Visit
You can learn a lot about a preschool online. But there's something different about walking into a classroom, meeting the people who spend their days there, and imagining your child in the space.