My son started attending Ana's Daycare (Berkeley location) part time when he was 12 months old. It has been really great! It's a cozy in-home daycare and it feels like a safe and nurturing environment. When I come to pick him up, he's always happy and playing outside in the yard, and the teachers are always engaging and playing with the kids. Something that I appreciate is that they feed the kids really well (every day they update me with exactly what he ate, and its always something nutritious and yummy). Also probably my favorite thing is the great communication with Ana - my son stayed home with me prior to daycare so we (both me and the baby!) were a bit nervous, but she sent me constant pictures and updates throughout the day showing him having fun, explaining what he's doing, telling me how much he napped, etc., and it made me feel really reassured. I recommend it! read more

This has been a wonderful place for my son to spend his toddler years. The staff are all warm and engaged and the Spanish immersion is comprehensive without feeling intimidating. We have loved the familial atmosphere our son has experienced and the fact that they provide food for the children all day long so when you drop them off, they are really good to go. I also found it to be a more affordable option than most full day programs without sacrificing any quality, and they allowed us to do 3 days a week when most programs aren't so flexible. I highly recommend Ana's Daycare to anyone looking for their child's first care experience away from family, they will be in great hands. read more

Ana's Daycare continues to be a godsend for our family! I wrote a review a few years ago, but I feel the need to write again since our family is still there and they continue to be great. We have been with them since 2021, sending first our daughter there and now our 2.5 year old son (who is still attending). Both started when they were babies and spent their toddler years with Ana. It is full Spanish immersion, with the caretakers only speaking in English to the children if they are feeling unwell or if they want to make sure they are okay. What I love about this daycare is the cozy, at home atmosphere they create. They provide home cooked meals, have a great indoor space and large backyard for the kids to play. They go on field trips a few times a month to museums, parks and even the Zoo. The facilities are always impeccably clean too. But what I love most about this place is the love that Ana pours into each child she cares for. You can really tell that she loves them and they love her right back as a result. Ana's daycare also hosts potlucks for the families a few times a year which makes it really feel like a community. I will miss them so much when my son goes to TK next year! I can't recommend them enough if you are looking for a safe, loving, in-home daycare for your child. read more

Our son, now 2 years old, has been with Ana Chica & team for a year, and we love it! Not only does our little one love going each day, but I love that they provide breakfast, lunch and snacks! The Spanish immersion has been great for our family, as well. Because there is such a wide range of ages at the center, our son is stretched to keep up with the older kids, but also has learned to be gentle when playing with the young ones. Highly recommend Kidsland Berkeley! read more

My 3 year old daughter has been with Kidsland Haskell for over a year now and I'm happy to report that she is almost fluent in Spanish and has flourished as a happy child due to Laura and Tey's care. The children here get hours of outdoor (mostly sunny) play in their beautiful spacious yard and are fed healthy home-cooked meals. In addition to structured activities and outings, yoga and Kuk Sol classes are also offered which my daughter absolutely LOVES. I really feel like a part of a loving community having my daughter enrolled at Kidsland Haskell and I really appreciate how much above and beyond Laura and Tey goes in order to ensure our children feel loved, supported and safe. I HIGHLY recommend Kidsland Berkeley at Haskell. My daughter is so happy here. read more

Fell in love with Kidsland as soon as I walked in - clean, well-organized and welcoming. You can tell the staff there take good care of this space. My little one started going there at age of 8 months and didn't have a SINGLE day of struggle, every day her little arms approaching to Laura and Ana at arrival meant that I made a right choice. Cannot recommend it any more! read more

From the onset, our expectations for our child's care were very high, as the teacher, Ana, had guaranteed the program as one adhering to high standards of professionalism and care (and also given the high cost of the program: the weekly tuition fee of $496 and the non-refundable $255 enrollment fee, plus bi-annual material fee of $325). Initially, we were promised we'd receive 'constant' updates and photo documentation of our 11-month old child's progress as he adjusted to the program. However, we found ourselves having to continuously ask their childcare provider the most basic of questions, as we did to Ana: "Did he poop? Did he drink water? And how many ounces? Did he drink milk? How many ounces? Did he sleep well? How much did he sleep?" She repeated to us that our child was fine, slept well, and had fun. But when we met in person the following day, she would entirely contradict this information, telling us, for example, that our child was not crying as much as yesterday, or that he'd slept more than the day before. In other words, we had no idea how our baby was doing throughout the day. In retrospect, we recognize that red flags concerning Anna's professionalism were evident from the start, as she informed us that our child would have two "teachers." --teachers that much later turned out to be assistants. We came to realize that assistant and teacher occupy two very different roles. Neither the assistant taking care of our child nor the other assistant employed in the program were ever formally introduced to us, the second of which we never actually met. In addition to this oversight, the lack of communication between the teacher and assistants was rather alarming. Often, the assistant and teacher would differ in the information given; while we'd hear from the assistant that the baby slept well for an hour, the teacher would say our baby had only slept for 20 minutes. For the above reasons, we came to the decision to terminate our contract during the "trial" adjustment period. Our reasoning included the bi-annual material fee of over $325, according to the contract, and the need to provide 4-weeks notice to interrupt childcare. Unfortunately, however, we were not adequately informed that the "trial" period was not, in fact, a trial period as advertised. We were asked to pay for the first 2 weeks and after week one, paid for an additional week on top of the first two. Our child was only in the program for two weeks, while our payments covered three. Despite removing our child from the program, our payment for the third week was not resituited, resulting in us expending a total of $1,743 for only two weeks of childcare. We naively understood that the first trial period was covered by the first 2 payments since the deposit would be applied to the last week (which corresponded to our second week) and as it is advertised in their website [Your first payment is equal to first and last week plus $255 of non-refundable enrollment fee. Your last week pf payment counts as your deposit. The deposit will be applied to your child's final week of care...] In addition to these difficulties, we were also told that for our son's birthday it would be possible to "take 15 minutes and celebrate in the garden with only you two parents and kids," but only40 minutes before the start of the small party I received a text from Ana saying that she had a commitment at 4.40 pm and would have to leave earlier, but could take pictures the day after of our son with the other kids. I was in complete disbelief since 1) I was already on my way to the school with the cake when she texted me ; 2) her excuse was that there were not many kids at school that day (which was not true); and 3) she mentioned "taking pictures" of kids, which was never discussed, as our agreement had been a small party. (Is it even legal to take pictures of other children and share them with other parents without prior consent?) When I responded asking if we could still celebrate for 15 minutes as agreed, she simply responded, "of course, I will cancel my commitment." When we arrived I realized that she'd lied about the kids, as there were many at school that day. I found her behavior not only unprofessional and inconsiderate, but also incredibly manipulative. Ultimately, while $496 is perhaps a small fee for those overseeing this program, it is a significant amount for us, corresponding to one week of my current salary. It is incredibly unjust that this money was stolen from us with our baby receiving care for only two--and not three--weeks. It is clear to us that in this environment predatory tactics are intentionally and maliciously used on parents, and at this point, can only say thatI had hoped to have a more joyful memory of my son's first school. Please, read any childcare contract very carefully (we learned it the hard way), ask thousands of questions, and PLEASE, avoid KIDSLAND childcare, especially KIDSLAND DWIGHT (1092 Dwight) on Berkeley! read more

My son was fortunate to enjoy Kidsland from the summer of 2018 to the spring of 2020. He would have stayed at Kidsland until the end of the summer, right before starting Kindergarten at Sylvia Mendez, if not for the pandemic. Kidsland (run by Ana and Roberto, with their daughter Ana Chica) is an exceptional daycare/preschool. We were very fortunate to find this program for our son. When my wife and I were looking for a preschool for our 3 year old son, a main requirement for us was that it needed to be a full Spanish immersion program, where our son could socialize on a regular basis with kids his age, as well as receive instruction from native Spanish speakers. We also wanted something safe, stimulating, nurturing and fun. Additionally, at the time our son was not potty trained (Ana and her team were of great help), and prior to starting Kidsland our son had never been away from at least one close family member, i.e., a parent or grandparent. We visited 5 preschools before meeting Ana Grande, Ana Chica and Roberto at their Berkeley Location (Addison). My wife immediately fell in love with their space, the setup and the material for the bigger kids, and how quickly Ana Grande and our son connected. Right then we knew we had found the right program for us and our son. Note that since we first met Ana Chica it was evident that she is an impressive young lady. My wife and I were continuously impressed with her abilities with the kids, her maturity, professionalism, and resourcefulness. We were very happy with our experience at Kidsland. Our son is fully bilingual, and Kidsland played a big role in that. He did great in his Spanish assessment test when we were applying to Sylvia Mendez, and he was more than ready for Kindergarten both academically and socially/emotionally. Something that we think is very unique and fun about this program is Ana and Roberto's ability to put together, and help parents put together, very exciting and memorable events for the kids, e.g., birthdays parties, holidays parties, cultural events, and fun field trips. My son had a great time at all the events and field trips at Kidsland, field trips which were done on a regular basis. We parents got to enjoy them through the impressive picture/video coverage by Ana Grande and Ana Chica. In short, this is a great program and you won't regret choosing it for your kid. read more

Kidsland near Dwight Avenue in Berkeley is a safe, caring place where the primary language spoken is Spanish. Our grandson spent 3 wonderful years there. He is a native Spanish speaker and his language was fully supported, as well as receiving loving daily care. read more

There are few things more consequential than the selection of childcare. My wife and I had two absolutely abysmal childcare experiences before finding Ana and Kidsland. (I wrote about one of them in a previous review.) But for the last 2.5 years, Kidsland has been wonderful to us, providing our family with excellent childcare services, great communication and advice, and a community of smart and active children with caring and thoughtful parents. Our daughter started attending Kidsland when she was around 6 months old. Like all of the children, she immediately took to Laura, so much so that we jokingly worried she loved her more than us. The Kidsland staff were extremely helpful, always maintaining communication and sending us photos throughout the day. The supportive environment Kidsland fostered then has persisted as our daughter has matured. For our daughter, whose mother and grandparents are from Mexico, speaking and understanding Spanish is vital, and we have been astonished by how much she has learned in the last few years. She is capable of communicating just as effectively with her Spanish-speaking Abuelita as she is with her English-speaking Grandma. In addition to learning Spanish, the educational environment at Kidsland is impressive overall. We have been continually surprised at the knowledge our daughter brings home from school. Her recognition of letters and numbers is advanced, owing largely to the instruction she gets at Kidsland. Though constrained during the pandemic, Kidsland has resumed a regular routine of field trips and activities that keeps the kids learning and having fun. Speaking of the pandemic, we were eternally thankful to Ana and the Kidsland family for their hard work and courage in keeping their facilities open during the entire lockdown period. My wife and I could not have continued working had it not been for Kidsland taking steps to ensure they could continue providing services, even as many parents chose to remove their kids and isolate at home. Kidsland worked hard to not only keep the doors open but to ensure that every member of the Kidsland community was as safe as possible through social distancing, mask wearing, and regular cleaning. Fortunately, our daughter was able to maintain a mostly normal routine, avoiding much of the stress and fear that plagued so many young children forced to discontinue their school and daycare services. Finally, the community of kids and parents at Kidsland has been remarkable. Our daughter has made many close friends, and so have we. Weekend and after-school playdates with our daughter's best friends and their parents are common. The friends our daughter has made are all among the sweetest and smartest kids I've encountered, and the parents we have met and gotten to know have all been intelligent, caring, and generous. There has not been a day over the last 2.5. years in which my wife and I have doubted our decision to enroll our daughter at Kidsland. Since our daughter started there we have never worried about her. We know that Kidsland always has our daughter's best interests in mind and treats all the children there as if they were their own. We are so grateful to Ana, Ana Chica, Laura, and everyone else at Kidsland for the love and support they have provided for our daughter. * To the parent who posted the one-star review on September 3, 2021, your review hardly provides any basis for criticizing Kidsland and certainly does not justify such vitriol. Indeed, I take personal offense to the assertion that Kidsland uses "predatory tactics" that "are intentionally and maliciously used on parents." This is a ludicrous and arguably libelous accusation. From the beginning, we have had a close and open relationship with Ana and Ana Chica. They have always communicated effectively with us about any concerns we have had and gone out of their way to improve and make changes when necessary. We have never once felt they acted in any way that was predatory or dishonest. You might not have felt the same instant connection with the staff at Kidsland that we did--which is fine, sometimes people just don't click--but to disparage them so harshly after just a few weeks of childcare is irresponsible and unfair. Moreover, there is absolutely nothing in your entire review that speaks to any genuine problems with the quality of the childcare itself. Your comments not only blemish the hard work and quality care Kidsland delivers, but the entire community of children and parents that attend and depend on Kidsland and who love the service they provide. read more

My son (4-1/2 yrs) has been going to Kidsland since he was 1 yr and my daughter (2 yrs) since she was about 4months. When we were first considering signing up our son, Tay was very accommodating and let us bring him for a "trial" day to see the routines and to see how he interacted with the other kids. My wife, who is a Behavioral Therapist, loved how nurturing Tay and Mara were and we both loved that they interacted with the children in Spanish, a really academic level of Spanish! Now here's what really sold me on this daycare/pre-school. Besides observing an extremely well-structured play program, a very nutritious lunch, and an engaging academic program, I noticed that their oldest student (and I use "student" because the kids are constantly learning, whether they know it or not - a CRITICAL aspect to an effective pre-school), a girl who at the time was around 4 yrs old, reading a book in Spanish - all by herself! I found out the girl was a native Spanish speaker and thought the accomplishment not so amazing... until she pulled out a book in English and read it just as easily. And I don't mean just making out the sounds, but actually understanding the text as was evidenced by the questions she was asking about it. Right then and there, I thought that if my son could do even HALF as well as this girl was doing, then the investment would be worth it. As a 14-year teacher in elementary and middle schools, I've seen what kind of difficulties kids experience when they read below grade level and feel very fortunate that my son is already reading in Spanish, is learning the early concepts of numbers and addition, and has a healthy head start once he enters Kindergarten. All of the kids that I've seen that attend this program full-time achieve as much, if not more. I feel confident that my daughter will be doing equally amazing things in two years. You can't argue with results! read more

This place suits our children and our family so well. It's a great environment for kids and Spanish immersion to boot. Mara and Tey are loving and thoughtful teachers who encourage the kids to do their best in everything they do. And the days are packed full of practical, hands on activities that provide opportunities for real learning. read more

My daughters have been at Kidsland since March 2007. They were 1 and 2 at the time. I searched for childcare since before they were born, literally. It was a difficult decision for me because I needed the childcare to be Spanish speaking. It was important for my children to speak the language, especially since they are bi-racial. I met with the childcare provider, Tay, and was so impressed with her style of teaching. She is patient, loving, motherly, and an awesome teacher. She studies children and is able to see when they are ready for the next step in their lives. For example, as soon as she sees that a child is able to hold a pencil, the drawing and writing begin. The children, when its age appropriate, start with letters, sounds, reading (English and Spanish) and they do lots of projects that make it fun to learn. That is Tay's philosophy: Make it fun to learn. My oldest daughter is now entering the 1st grade and she continues to go to Kidsland for tutoring. She goes 2x a week and absolutely loves it. My youngest daughter will start kindergarten in August and she will continue going to Kidsland for tutoring and occasional childcare. Tay and her daughter Mara have been like family to us. Both Tay and Mara are very educated and they continue educating themselves by taking classes in the evenings and on weekends. They are constantly improving their facility. I also recommend Kidsland if you need afterschool tutoring (English and Spanish) or if you want your child to learn the Spanish Language. read more