Lil Treasure's Learning Academy - Sherwood, Arkansas

Sherry Clay

Sharing this isn’t easy. It took quite some time to even get to a space to share as thinking about and reliving my son’s and I experience here is hurtful. But I feel an obligation to help inform other parents. I enrolled my child at Lil’ Treasures Learning Academy in early August. The very first day, I noticed dried tear and snot stains on his face and red bruises. None of this was mentioned on his daily report slip. I brought up the bruises with the teacher the next day, and her response was both defensive and dismissive. She claimed my child had fallen off the slide several times but hadn’t hurt himself—despite the bruises that told a different story.

The picture is a screenshot I took showing my child left alone in his high chair by the same teacher. While other children were on the play side, my child was left seated, isolated. This happened after I had raised concerns with the director and owner, who asked me to give them a chance to resolve the issues. Initially, the owner had placed him in the high chair for breakfast, but the teacher then placed other kids there to eat, attended to them, and moved them to the play side, leaving my child behind without any interaction.

I can’t recall this teacher’s name but my son was in the 12 month old classroom. The instructor was either Hispanic or Caucasian. I do recall Ms. Gabby who was the only instructor that I noticed was consistently nice to my son and tried to comfort him even if it meant just letting him stand beside her while she worked on the kitchen side. As I noticed he would be uncomfortable with the other kids and just wanted to be close to an adult. Other facilitators would just ignore him, close the gate in his face and I even watched while the assistant director ignored my child crying but immediately went and grabbed her own child when she began to cry. I would have liked for my son to experience the same treatment and consideration.

Some other issues I encountered:

• I’d sent his own sheets due to allergies, but on the first day, they used the cot’s regular sheet, causing a reaction. When I asked about it, the teacher lied and said she had used his sheets, though I saw otherwise on the camera.
• I mentioned he wasn’t proficient at feeding himself yet, but they still set a plate and spoon in front of him with no help—meaning he often didn’t eat.
• One morning, they forgot to give him his sippy cup of milk, and I had to call in to make sure he got it. Given that he was already missing meals, this was even more concerning.
• He was mistakenly given another child’s sippy cup, and that night he fell ill.
• Despite assurances of extra support to help him transition, I watched several times as facilitators ignored him while he cried, offering no comfort.

We didn’t even make it a full week. I withdrew him and informed the director of all my concerns but received no apologies or genuine acknowledgment. The weekly fee and admin fees were non-refundable, but the owner did agree to refund the $100 camera access fee. However, when I asked if she’d been made aware of the issues, she said no. She promised to call me back to discuss them further, but that call never came.

It’s disheartening to see a childcare facility that seems more focused on income than on the well-being of the children. I regret my decision to try this place, and we’re now back to in-home care where my child can get the attention he deserves.

Tiffany Mills

Lil’ Treasures has been a home away from home for our children. We know much they truly care for our kids. They are both school age now, but have been with Lil’ Treasures since they were babies. My son and daughter literally love being there so much they don’t want to go home when it’s time to pick them up. We have had some amazing teachers through the years and the directors are wonderful too. They are like family to us all. I am very grateful to rely on such incredible humans to watch my children. I appreciate every single one of them for making Lil’ Treasures such a fun learning environment!!

Morgan Adams

Lil Treasures has been a good place to send my children over the past few years. Their owner and Director are nice to work with and very responsive. I truly feel like they care about the children and do their best to find a place for every child. Just like many businesses right now, they struggle with turnover and getting people to work, but that is not necessarily their fault. The nursery staff has always been wonderful, and I really appreciate them!! If I could change one thing it would be to increase the number of teachers per children. I realize they are following state mandate but a lot of the rooms seem really full most of the time. The teachers need to be able to focus their attention more on each child and not get overwhelmed.
However, that is a state level regulation and not a ding against them. Overall, I’ve been really pleased with Lil Treasures and had a good experience there.

Erin Howard

Love the staff here. I have no worries dropping my children off, I have piece of mind that my babies are taken care of. Ms. Morgan is an amazing teacher and my daughter has blossomed with her and is excellent at teaching emotional regulation/ positive reinforcement. Ms. Jackie has been awesome with my son also helping him learn accountability. Absolutely love all that the center has to offer. Management is also great at handling parental concerns and staying on top of children's medical needs like if your child has allergies or asthma. I have no worries for my children here. Love this place.

Brandy Barber

When we had to place our son in daycare near the end of his "nanny"/aunts pregnancy, we were so concerned. What if he doesn't like it? What if we have problems with them? I am so picky and particular also so I would consider myself a "difficult" parent. Haha.

We placed him in one daycare for a few months but it didn't work out (building issues, no fault of the center) so we got on a wait list with Lil Treasures and to our delight, they called us!

Our son has been at Lil' Treasures for 2ish years now and he has LOVED all of his teachers. Especially Miss "Mema" (Jemima) and Miss Morgan. He comes home and tells us about his day, what he did, what Miss Morgan did, If he saw Miss Mema.... etc. He loves the other kids and the activities. They are considerate of his allergies and his sleep habits.
Our son is NOT a morning person at all! And they have his "habits" down in the morning. Haha. Don't look at me don't talk to me. Gimme a minute. Haha He's a handful.

We have always felt safe dropping him off and bringing up any issues or concerns with staff/management. Which I have, and they know I will lol. They are quick and straight to the point but I know that my issue is being handled and I always get a follow up call letting me know what happened.
The only "issues" we have had here are minor and expected issues you would have with a daycare or school facility. Some kids bite sometimes. Some kids push sometimes. But you do what you can.
Lil' Treasures is a fantastic center that my husband and I love. He is a Sherwood Firefighter and I work in Cabot so this is a perfect center for us. I'm almost going to be sad to leave there when he goes to Pre-K 🙁

Erin Sanders

Both my kids have or is still attending here. We have been apart of My Little Treasures family for about little over 11 years. The staff are amazing..they have taught my kids so much. The security is also top notch. Fingerprint and code entry. Also camera access to watch your child. Highly reccomend

Dawn Davis

My boys attended Lil Treasures from preschool until they aged out of the after school care. We loved every teacher they had. (Many have become lifelong friends) Plus, the administration was patient and understanding with their special behavior challenges. I highly recommend them- good people, good values.

Keith Morisette

My son was a stident there for 8 years and I never had a problem. They treated us like family…I grew to love and cherish the relationship I built with Mrs Trisha and Mrs Susan. They will go above and beyond to ensure you child or children are taken care of. I trust them and you should too