Recommending ''My First Steps'' for children two years and up, a bilingual (Spanish/English) Family Day Care. My daughter has thrived there and is happy to go to ''school'' each day. Not only that, she is virtually potty trained at 2 1/2.

Maria Rojas, the director/owner, and her two assistants, provide love and compassion (even in the face of toddler willfullness), healthy home-cooked lunches, and a variety of play and exploratory activities, including trips to park, reading time, letter/number exposure, etc.

The indoor and outdoor spaces are large enough to accommodate the children easily and to provide them with choices of activities.

Competitive rates with options for part- and full-time.
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Location: 1518 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley (at Sacramento)

There are openings for summer and fall. Contact Maria for a visit. phone: 510-652-2761 email: myfirststeps1518@hotmail.com

There are openings at My First Steps (510.652.2761) in South Berkeley for infants to 3 1/2-year-olds. My daughter has been with Maria and Mariela for over a year and loves it. It is a bilingual program (Spanish/English) on the ground floor of a house with a playhouse in the back and a yard full of play structures. The kids walk to the park when the weather permits and eat meals prepared by Maria. It always smells amazing when I go in and is also super clean. The hours are 7:30 to 5:30 and the rates are average. Maria is very flexible and has been able to accommodate my everchanging work schedule. There are never over 14 kids and usually 3 adults. We love it and are very sad our daughter has outgrown it! Please call if you have questions. Rachel

Our son Zachary has been in Maria's daycare for almost a year, and he's been very well-cared for! Maria herself is a warm and caring provider, as are her helpers Irma (Zachary's favorite) and Mariela. He talks about them all the time! Now that Zach's moving on to preschool, Maria has openings for 2-year-olds. She has up to 14 children in her care at a time, in a spacious and fun-filled space on Alcatraz Avenue in Berkeley. They travel to a nearby park each day, and have wonderful breakfasts and lunches that Maria lovingly prepares. All the children show great care with each other - a trait Maria instills in them so well. Please give her a call if you need a second home for your toddler. Contact: Maria Rojas, 510-652-2761

Several kids are leaving their daycare for pre-school and kindergarten.

Technically it's a home day care, but four rooms are completely devoted to the day care. There's a nice yard, with all the ride-on-toy/slide/swing amenities. They do painting and art. There's the sweetest little dog who cheerfully tolerates the ministrations of the children. As a family without pets, it's a great experience. ''Danny'' was one of my son's first words. They go to the park daily.

Maria has great food, lots of fruit and nutritious snacks and meals. She even feeds them breakfast (which we love -- it's so easy to get out of the house!).

Maria and her helpers speak Spanish as well as English to the kids. It's a calm, cheerful environment with attentive caregivers.

The prices are competitive and we've been very happy there. Maria is also flexible about part-time arrangements.

7:30am - 5:30pm She takes kids from 1 to 10 years. (If your kids isn't quite a year, call her anyway - she's not rigid).

If you want to ask a parent any questions, please email me. Contact: Maria Rojas, 652-2761
AJ

I would like to recommend our son's family daycare in Berkeley. He stayed there for 2 years and now it is time for him to move to a pre-school. The provider, Maria Rojas, is a wonderful, kind and loving person. She is very experienced and knows a child's language. She cooks healthy, nutritious meals and always has fruits for a snack. The daycare is very spacious inside and outside the house and it has a lot of toys. Outside playground is equipped with slings, slides, sandbox and even a huge tent, which kids just love. Maria has a wonderful helper (whom our son just adores) and they do arts and crafts with the kids every day. There was not a single day, when we did not bring beautiful pictures/projects home. They help children to develop socially and physically and work on the milestones (walking, potty training, etc) together with the parents. The children are very happy in this daycare. Please contact Maria if you would like to see for yourself. Contact: Maria Rojas, 510-652-2761

Re: South Berkeley preschool?
In regards to other preschools in South Berkeley, I'm not sure if you want a home-based center or not, but my children have been loving it at My First Steps (Maria Rojas' home) in South Berkeley. She is located on Alcatraz between Sacramento and California. She is so in tune with children and my kids LOVE her. They ask to go to her house on the weekends! She provides healthy meals and snacks, and has a big yard and lots of space indoors as well. Most important to me, my children get lots of love and attention that I feel is sometimes lost in a larger preschool environment. My children are almost 3 and 41/2 years old and they are thriving under Maria's care. Oh, and best of all, she speaks Spanish to the children so they come home having learned a second language. (Maria's English is very good too though.) Hope this helps...she is worth checking out. Feel free to email me for more info. Laura

Our fabulous childcare provider for the last 1.5 years, Maria Rojas, has an immediate opening in her program, and will have 4 more openings this fall. Now that I’m done with graduate school at Berkeley, I offered to help her find families needing daycare.

Everything about Maria is phenomenal. She is perhaps the most patient person I have ever met. Maria was a nanny for 15 years before opening her center. She is extremely caring and warm, and also calm and confident.

I’m also a former nurse, and can attest that Maria’s care is very safe. She feeds the children wonderful nutritious food (she has the kids eating spinach, lots of fresh fruit, and a big, healthy breakfast every morning) and has a great backyard space for outdoor play. They also take walks to the park.

If interested in full-time or part-time daycare, please call Maria Rosa at 510-652-2761. Rates vary, but in general fulltime daycare is $250/week.
Contact: Maria Rojas, 510-652-2761

Jennifer

Our wonderful daycare provider, Maria Rojas, will have 2-3 openings beginning at the end of May for infants or toddlers. She will have more openings in July.

Maria's home is beautiful and is specially designed for taking care of children, inside and outside. The house is spotless, and she makes amazing food (homemade organic pancakes at least once a week). She speaks fluent English and Spanish.

Maria was a nanny for over 10 years before opening her own daycare a year ago. I can't say enough wonderful things about her. I am a former nurse, and can say that Maria has a fantastic knowledge of child development and nutrition. She is patient and kind and truly loves children. She also is wonderful with older children--both my 3 year old and 5 year old have spent days at Maria's and come home happy and content.

You can call Maria at 510-652-2761 to get more information from her. Jennifer

I want to recomend my daughter's daycare. She has been there since January and we absolutely love it!!! Maria is great with kids,has many years of experience working with babies. They dance, play, read books and play outside all day long. No t.v. She cooks great food and is just wonderful. We will be gone for the summer but we'll return in September, so Maria will have an opening for that period of time (mid June to the end of August).Right now she has 4 infants. She has a helper for the afternoon. Give her a call, tell her Nuria recommended her to cover her daughter's spot for the summer. You will love her.
Contact: Maria Rojas, 510-652 2761