Cedar Street Childcare (Berkeley, CA)
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Cedar Street Childcare (Berkeley, CA)
Editor Bote: This daycare closed in Sept 2007 according to
Community Care Licensing.
- Owner: Anna Lee
- Phone: 510-549-3989
- Email:
- Neighborhood:
- Zip:
- License #: **Not found in CCLD
- Website:
- Bilingual:
- Ages: 0-5 years
Editor Note: there is a preschool on Cedar at Sacramento with a
similar name - see Cedar Creek Montessori.
August 2003
Re: Best Daycare Centers for Infants
Cedar Street Childcare Center (549-3989) (not to be confused with
Cedar Creek Montessori) has been a wonderful, small, stable place
for my daughter since she was 5 months old. The teachers are
warm, professional, and have a genuine love and delight for all
of the children. CSCC serves age 3 months - 3 1/2 years. The
facility is in a church basement, but not affiliated. Parents are
expected to work a certain number of ~4 hr weekend workdays/yr (a
common requirement at daycare centers) to do routine deep
cleaning or other sprucing up projects such as painting. There
are also occasional potlucks so parents can get to know each
other...something I didn't quite get until I realized that my kid
was with their kid all day and it would be useful to know where
their kid was coming from....
Anyway, I appreciate CSCC more and more for what it is and what
it isn't. My daughter is now 2 and with the exception of one
caretaker in the ''Baby Room'' leaving after she graduated to the
''Waddler Room'', all the same staff people are there since she was
5 months old. My husband and I really value the stability, and
the genuine community of people who know and love our dear
daughter. It's also a smaller center than any other of the
institutional (not family) day care centers I've heard of -- only
about 25 kids total accross all age groups.
One of the questions I was advised to ask when I was checking out
day care centers was did the staff receive health benefits. The
implication being if they did, the staff would be more stable.
The answer at CSCC is yes, but in the form of a stipend via which
they can purchase health care for themselves. i.e. the Center is
part of a group plan.
When starting my daughter there at 5 months, I had many concerns
as most 1st time mothers who are transitioning for the 1st time
from their 24/7 contact with their babies. The biggest one for me
about CSCC was that the building was dark and small. Now after
more than a year and a half, I am totally comfortable with the
space and know that the kids get a lot of outdoor time in the
small play yard (kids this young don't need huge spaces) and they
take regular outings to parks or around the neighborhood in
strollers or a special 6-toddler cart.
I guess I could go on and on about the ways I appreciate CSCC and
what the ground rules there are like, but you can also schedule a
tour and get a good sense of what it's like beyond this personal
testimony. (It must be noted that I almost didn't respond to your
request for a recommendation even with such positive feelings
about it because I have child #2 due soon and had momentary
feelings of hoarding the limited baby spaces so that we're sure
to gain a slot....:-) )
June 2003
Re: summer childcare
We have a couple of toddlers leaving this month in our
daycare, why don't you give them a call?Cedar Street
Daycare 510-549-3989.
We've been there 2 1/2 years and love it.
Paula
1999
I am writing to recommend my son's childcare center, Cedar Street Childcare.
It is located on Cedar Street, between Oxford and Walnut, within walking
distance of UC Berkeley. Infant, waddler (ages 1-2) and toddler (ages 2-3
1/2) programs are available. My son is now three, and has been at Cedar
Street since he was a baby. This has been a truly wonderful experience for
us. The director and teachers are warm, loving, and generous toward each
child. I have many memories of their kindnesses. My son has flourished there,
and has made many close friends, and we are part of a wonderful community.
There are currently a few openings in the toddler classroom, and perhaps in
the infant and waddler rooms as well. Please call the
director, Anna Lee, at 549-3989 for more information.
Elaine
I do not know if they have part time space for a 9 month old at Cedar
Street Childcare Center, but I recommend that you call them to find out
(FYI for others - they may soon have openings for a couple of 1 year olds).
My 4 yr old daughter was there from 6 months to 2+ years. My 14 month old
daughter is there now. The Center is located at Cedar and Walnut under the
Grace North Church. We like it because it is a small center with loving
staff. We like the fact that there are both men and women teachers.
The infant room has two staff for 6 babies maximum. The 1 year old room
has two staff for 8 kids maximum. There is also a room for 2 year olds and
young three year olds. They have a small play ground behind the building,
and a large play room inside. (It is not bilingual. They do know the few
signs that my 14 month old uses).
The director, Anna Lee, is wonderful. For more information you can call
the Center at (510) 549-3989. From "Suzanne"
Just wanted to chime in with Suzanne in support of Cedar Street Childcare. My now 3-1/2
year old
daughter went there for about a year. Admittedly she was rather older than 9 months when
she
started, so she was only in the toddler group while there, but the teachers in the baby and
waddler rooms always seemed extremely sweet and nurturing to me. And I liked Anna Lee,
the
director, a lot as well. -Jean M
My daughter (6 months now) started Childcare at Cedar Street about a month
ago. During the first weeks I spent a lot of time there, maybe even more
than my daughter. I am very enthusiastic about the staff and the director of
the center. They will pretty much do anything to make the little ones
happy. There is a very good atmosphere among the staff members as well.
Catharina
My 5 1/2 month old has been going to Cedar Street for over two months and I
have spent a lot of time there because I nurse him when I drop him off and
pick him up. The experience has been wonderful. The teachers are very warm
with the children and always attentive to the children's needs. I have
never seen a child crying unattended; instead the teachers work hard to
figure out what is going on with the child. Additionally, my goddaughter
attended Cedar Street for a year, age 6 mos to 18 mos prior to moving back
East. It was amazing how much she learned from and enjoyed her days there.
Also, as a first time mom with most of my family on the East Coast, it has
been nice for me to interact with people who are knowledgeable about children
and are very interested in my son's well being.
Abby
One of my sons went to Cedar St. Childcare and we were very happy with
it. It's not the most beautiful building in the world, and the outdoor
playspace is not huge, but the caregivers are very loving and attentive.
One of the teachers is still dear to my now 5 year old son and we see
her pretty often. I also found the families who were at Cedar Street to
be quite wonderful. I always looked forward to the occasional evening
pizza and popsicle parties. Good luck.
Elizabeth
My child was at Cedar Street Childcare from age 4 mos to 2 1/2 years. We liked
it pretty well. We found the care to be pretty good, although turnover in staff
was pretty high. But I'm not sure it was any higher than "average" around here.
They were pretty reasonable in price (although they raised their prices right
before we left). The thing I liked least was the work detail--4 times a year
there would be a work party for 4 hours, and you had to make 3 out of the 4
or you were charged for the missing hours. I found it difficult to schedule
sometimes. But overall I was happy with Cedar Street. They are one of the
most conveniently located, within walking distance of the campus--which was
great, since I left at lunch to nurse my child till after she was a year old.
They also didn't fuss about cloth diapers, which can also be an issue.
Dawn
After a long string of colds at my son's previous childcare,
we moved him to Cedar Street Childcare where there were
fewer kids, and more careful attention. There were also fun activities for
waddlers and toddlers.
My daughter (51 weeks old) has been in Cedar Street Child Care
20 hrs/wk since September. I think it's a great place. The workers are
competent (as day care providers), wonderful (as people), and genuinely
love the babies. There are usually about 2 adults to 5 babies, and they
get tons of attention. The center is small, so you must be patient with
its ups and downs: In January, our baby was out sick for half the month.
Whenever we did bring her in, we saw a few confused substitutes
and many unhappy babies (who were probably sick, but didn't run a
temperature). But this was just a transitional period. Since then she
hasn't been sick once and it's been great.
I would definitely recommend Cedar street. I'm sure it's one of the best.
One more piece of advice: Don't go in before 9 am. Between 8 and 9 the
waddlers and infants are crowded together. Many times (like this
Tuesday), a staff member is late or they've not yet found a substitute for
someone who's sick, and so there are 11 kids to 2 workers. This, I think,
is when the less assertive babies get bitten or catch germs, or at best,
the early workers get frazzled.
We are leaving Cedar street this month, because we are moving across town
(and don't have a car). We will miss it, (but are happy about the
$430/month saved!)
Lara
this page was last updated: Feb 8, 2011
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