I Recommend Casa De Los Ninos (Lake Merritt). Our son is one yrs. old and has been going to Linda's Casa De Los Ninos for the past four months - and he is really thriving. He was enrolled in a different place before and the positive differences we see in him now is just amazing- I mean he's smiling when we get there every morning! Linda loves children, and also has her degree in Child Development, is CPR certified and employs two assistants. They provide meals, circle time (song and dance), story time, there is a modest outdoor area for play, and they teach the tots Spanish. Casa is a licensed daycare run out of Linda's basement. Her prices are very reasonable and I know for sure that she has a few openings for toddlers, ages two to four. Full time care is about 200.00 per week. Part time is 45.00 per day. my husband and I are very happy with the care her establishment has provided our son. Contact: Linda Hernandez, 510-891-9409

I highly recommend CasadeLosNinos for anyone wants to have a peace of mind while away from their child. My son has stopped going there from 17-24 months because of his new sibling. Before there, we had him at a very expensive state of the art daycare from 11-17months. It had all the frills: 3:1 caring ratio, music&dance, art&no tv. Because of these things, we thought this was the best. However, my son cried everyday for 5months. The staff try to insist it was just a phase, but my husband and I thought this was too long. So we started our search of every daycare in Oakland. A month later we went with Casa de Los Ninos. It took my son three days to adjust after his first day and he practically never cried since then. Linda, the day care provider, is a very kind and nurturing woman and she has a very small daycare with a great assistant. There's a small care giver ratio and the other kids have been there for a very long time. So don't let the frilly things get you, but pay attention to your intuition and your child's intuition. I truly believe Casa de Los Ninos will give you a peace of mind! Contact: Linda Hernandez, 510-891-9409

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good family daycare that opens at 6:00 or 6:30 am, preferably in Oakland, but it could also be in Berkeley if it's within easy access to the freeway. I've looked at Bananas' referrals and haven't found anything acceptable, so I'm wondering if maybe someone knows of a place that may have a 7:00 am official opening time but the caregiver is flexible. Melissa

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L. Hernandez
Oakland, CA 94610