Valdivia Family Day Care

11/20/09

Wonderful Family Day Care

by SamanthaZ at Citysearch

Valdivia Family Day Care has been a haven for my children from the time they were infants until they were gently shepherded off to preschool.

Lucille, who owns and runs the daycare, offers the kind of environment in which children feel safe and nurtured as they grow and thrive, explore and play. She excels at infant care, making a baby feel secure and loved as its parent returns to work after leave and eases what can be an anxious transition for both.

As a child moves to toddler stage from infanthood, Lucille provides a stimulating environment to meet each developmental milestone. At hand are wooden blocks, soft toys, lots of books, music, art projects and age-appropriate play structures in the garden.

As pre-school looms, Lucille helps prepare children for the transition to their new environment. When my older children were reaching this stage, Lucille produced a curriculum to teach them days of the week and months of the year, seasons, weather and holidays to name just a few of the subjects.

She guided our family through potty training, gently advised when issues arose about biting and was a sounding board on basic discipline for small children. As a mother herself, she was quick to spot issues arising and helped us tackle them before they became real problems.

She took an early lead in using organic food at mealtimes, teaching table manners, and other basic courtesies. She also taught the children in her care safety measures to take in case of a fire or an earthquake in non-threatening, non-scary way.

Daycare families remain in touch with Lucille from far-flung corners of the world, such is the enduring attachment, even as the children she cared for as babies and toddlers head off into middle school!

• Pros: Great place for infants and toddlers

10/14/09

Can't thank her enough

by maeganb at Citysearch

Our daughter has been with Lucille at Valdivia Day care for a year and we are so grateful for her and her family. They are a very warm and generous family and it is a great place for your child to be. The activities are fun and Ella has learned so much being there. We are really excited that the transition to pre-school will be easy knowing that Ella has already been on the path to a learning environment in a socially responsible atmosphere. There are so many great things about Valdivia day care, it's hard to write them all down.

• Pros: place to learn and grow

09/04/09

Forever Grateful

by gisellec at Citysearch

I can say with confidence that there is no way my husband and I would have been able to go to work every day and focus on our own jobs for the past two and a half years if we didn't absolutely know that Lucille was giving our daughter the best care and love she could possibly offer, every single day. There are so many ways daycare providers can choose to cut corners and get lazy. However, it was always abundantly clear to us that Lucille takes great pride in the services she provides and her standards are incredibly high, sometimes higher than ours! Her home is spotless and she takes great care in keeping things as clean and germ free as possible. The toys and books are lovingly and thoughtfully chosen, and rotated often. Meals and snacks are organic and healthy. Daily written logs on our child's disposition, what she ate, how she napped, pottied, etc., were so helpful to us, and gave us a clear idea of what was happening while we were away. I always appreciated the way Lucille and my husband and I approached issues and decisions regarding our daughter's care together, and the way we communicated as a team. Lucille has a great deal of knowledge and expertise, and it was great to have her as a resource regarding parenting issues. I am forever grateful to Lucille and her amazing family and we will miss them terribly when our daughter moves on to preschool!

• Pros: Great communication, loving home, childcare expertise