We have sent our daughter to ABC Montessori with Mrs Tina for about three years now. Mrs Tina knows so much about toddlers and she has helped us a lot as new parents over the years. All of the other families we know that send their kids here have sent all of their children to Mrs Tina before starting preschool. We have never had any problems with Mrs Tina and our daughter loves going there. She has learned basic phonics and is working on recognizing numbers and letters now thanks to Mrs Tina. Mrs Tina has a very calm and patient approach that toddlers seems to respond very well to. She is really a master at handling toddlers. read more

Our daughter has attended ABC Montessori since she was 5 months old and we LOVE Mrs. Tina! We have had such a great experience over the past 9 months. Mrs. Tina is so warm and loving with the children. She plays with them and sends videos and pictures of our child playing with different toys and learning new things. They all do crafts at the different holidays and send them home for our family to enjoy. Even though our daughter is the youngest attending school currently, she is included in everything the older children do. The development of our daughter has been considerable and something we greatly appreciate Mrs. Tina working on! Our baby knows some basic sign language, has been able to hold a bottler on her own since 6 months old, knows multiple words, and so much more. Mrs. Tina has been amazing in helping our daughter develop on so many levels. As first time parents, Mrs. Tina has been so helpful in sharing tips and tricks with us over the past 9 months that we have been working with her. We know our daughter is being well taken care of while she is at daycare and will continue sending our daughter and future children as well! A huge thank-you and gold star to Mrs. Tina!! read more

Our children have attended ABC montessori for two years and have had a wonderful experience! Mrs Tina is warm, nurturing, and creates a space full of experiences and learning. Highly recommend! read more

Our son attended Ms. Tina's for over 4 and a half years and our daughter for 2 years. We have left the area and therefore have to move on from ABC Montessori. Ms. Tina was the most kind, generous, helpful, patient person I have ever met. My children were excited to go to school every day, they received so much structure and grace over the years. ABC Montesorri far exceeded any expectations I ever had. We took our children here because 3 of our co-workers had children attending and absolutely loved Ms. Tina. We have continued to recommend Ms. Tina to friends over our years in attendance. The hours of operation, food provided, play areas inside and out are everything we could ever ask for. Ms. Tina sent pictures and videos weekly of our children, there were art projects and activities sent home to treasure and Ms. Tina has every learning toy I have ever seen or heard of. We are so blessed that our children were able to attend ABC Montessori and miss it already. She deserves more than 5 stars! read more

The second star for this daycare depends on how squeemish you are about safety issues. Personally, the violation of our daughter's safety is unthinkable and unforgiveable. ABC Montessori is run by Bettina Diaz. She is very nice, and has very good intentions. We were convinced after meeting with her that ABC Montessori was a great place for our infant daughter. We signed her up and paid our deposit and waited for our daughter to arrive. Just before she is turning 4 months, we are getting ready to take her to daycare. We decided to do some "trial runs" dropping her off for a couple of hours so my wife could adjust to the idea of daycare slowly. This is where things went wrong. She came back after leaving our daughter there for 2 hours and when she came in, she found our daughter unattended on the changing table in the back, some 15 feet from Bettina, as she attended to the other children. She was horrified that our daughter could be left unattended on a changing table (not strapped in, and at the top of a staircase). As soon as this was discovered, we started looking at other daycares. There are things on which you can compromise, since a daycare will never be as good as mom's care, but safety is not one of those things. A professional should know that it is never OK to leave an infant on a changing table. It doesn't matter if she's not rolling yet. What if she did it for her first time? I am sure this was a lapse in judgement, but we couldn't take that risk. We were further disappointed when she opted not to return our deposit check despite the fact that we were leaving for completely legitimate safety concerns. The kids at ABC Montessori seemed to be happy and Bettina seems very good with them. We went with her because she got a RAVE review from her references. So I have no doubt that her record is clean and that she does an excellent job caring for some of the children. But safety is just one thing we were not willing to risk...not with our little daughter. read more

To be clear, I only toured this facility once. Here were my impressions: -nice front room with toys and activities -freezing cold inside... All kids were wearing fleeces -new helper who was a little awkward with the kids -two kids sleeping in the very messy and crowded kitchen because there is no separate sleeping area. One was a baby in a travel bassinet perched precariously on top of a table and the other was on a mat on the floor -downstairs is a very cluttered room that is basically unusable, which is a shame -very nice outdoor space with a big yard and tons of toys -all the slides and toys had a thick layer of dirt on them like they were never used read more

My six year old daughter has been with Tina since she was a year old. As a first time mom going back to work I tried out three different day cares until I came upon ABC Montessori. Needless to say I had bad experiences at other day cares so I was hesitant at first, but Tina's wonderful background and capabilities immediately put me at ease. I watched my daughter thrive in Tina's care and went above and beyond any day care provider to prepare my little girl for Kindergarten. I know it's because of Tina's diligence and excellent care that my girl is reading at a third grade level in first grade. Unlike any other day care I've been to Tina bonds with her kids, takes them on field trips to broaden their minds and really cares for the families who come to her. Never have ever doubted or questioned the safety of my precious daughter to Tina's care. This is a wonderful day care and anyone should be so lucky as to find such an honest and giving person to entrust their child or children when we can't be there ourselves. read more

Our son has been going to Tina since he was about 18 months. He's now 26 months. Before this daycare we had a nanny who we loved, but we knew our son would benefit from being around other kids each day. After looking around at a few places, we knew we found the right place when we saw Tina's clean, tidy, and bright home with a big backyard area. I can't express enough how grateful we are that K wakes up each day and says "go to Tina?" and happily buckles into the car. And from what I hear (and have seen video of from my husband), he rarely wants to leave at the end of the day as he's having so much fun. She feeds them, plays with them, draws with them and teaches them to respect one another. K comes home with special drawings and even brought home colored in mug for Father's Day. I was especially impressed when we were asked for permission to go to the pumpkin patch as a field trip, and when K got a birthday present from Tina. Also, if anyone is concerned about safety - K hardly ever even has a scratch on him when he comes home, which is hard to believe because we've taken him to the ER at least three times on our watch. I think someone who's used to working with that many kids knows what they're doing and probably makes the right calls. We're beginning the pre-school application process and if we can't get into our first couple of choices, we'll likely keep K in ABC Montessori another year because he enjoys it and learns so much. We're very grateful we found this place and hope others choose Tina as well. read more

We put our daughter in this facility for two days, but it was so bad that we removed her from Bettina's care immediately. We suspected that Bettina was lying to us about what our daughter was doing during the day. We would mark her diapers and they were never changed, although Bettina told us that they were. She would also tell us that she drank 5 onzes of milk or so, however when we brought her home she was starving. We didn't inform Bettina that we were coming because we wanted to see what actually was going on at the daycare. We came early and found our daughter alone in a room tied to a feeding chair, screaming with dried food on her face. The food looked like it hadn't been cleaned off for an hour. My daughter was extremely traumatized. We removed her from Bettina's care immediately. Bettina seems to care more about her BMW than about the children in her care. She rarely ever picks them up. Her helper is rarely there. We found that she breaks state guidelines by having more than 4 children under age 2 (when her helper is not present). On top of that, the older children in her care rarely talk. That made us extremely uncomfortable. The best decision that we made was to remove our daughter from her care. read more

Ms. Tina at ABC Montessori is wonderful! This review is long overdue as our now almost 3 1/2-year-old started going to Ms. Tina at six months old. Our daughter has had the opportunity to learn and grow in a small group environment through play and although we haven't taken her to school since April (COVID and loss of employment are the only reasons that we've had a lapse in our attendance), she still actively talks about her time at Ms. Tina's and all of her friends there. We were very pleasantly surprised to learn that she provides meals, snacks and milk for the kids in her care (although she will also feed your child anything that you bring from home, too). Ms. Tina is flexible, understanding and reliable. Our comfort level with her was high from the very beginning and knowing that our daughter was being so well cared for during the day made returning to work after maternity leave that much easier. We are hopeful to return to ABC Montessori soon with our newborn and continue watching our children grow under her guidance. A huge thank-you to Ms. Tina!! read more

I would trust no other caregiver with my 3 children. Tina has done nothing but been caring and wonderful with them. There has never been an instance where I have ever doubted her ability to take of them. She is excellent and we are blessed to have her in our children's lives! read more

Our son was with Tina from the time he was about 18 months until we moved out of the country when he was about 3. We were lucky to have such wonderful care. Once in Tina's care we knew that he would be well attended to and the most important thing, happy. He learned quite a bit while in her care including how to write his name and was also fully potty trained (mostly by her) before we expected. The fact that the children in her care love her like family is a plus and I would not have wanted anyone else to look after my little guy when we were busy working. I would definitely recommend Tina to anyone that asks for my opinion. If we were still in the U.S our son would still be in her care. read more

Our two children (infant and age 3 at the time) were students at Ms. Tina's school in 2006 and 2007. When we moved cross country, ABC Montessori was seriously the thing we missed most. The kids LOVED going to school. I was really impressed at how much my kids were learning - from the alphabet and early writing, to Reader Rabbit on the computer, to how to get their own glass of water from a real cup. From a parent's perspective (having used other centers in the past), the value is incredible, especially considering it includes a hot home cooked meal for lunch and my kids were together (not separated into "age group rooms" all day). The outdoor play space was awesome, and such a gem for California. I interviewed over 30 babysitters, nannies, daycares, and preschools before choosing Ms. Tina's school. It was obvious who was doing it for the money, and who really loved it. Ms. Tina's school was clearly the best and such an easy decision. If we end up in the bay area again, I would send my kids there in a heartbeat. Unless you can stay home with your kids and arrange fabulous play dates everyday, it really doesn't get better than this. read more

We had all of our 3 daughters attended ABC Montessori for over 6yrs before we moved out of state -- we truly missed our "home-away-from-home" for our girls. Our 1st daughters was over 4mo. old, and our 2nd and 3rd daughter was over 2mo. old as well when they started at ABC Montessori. The family care is run by Tina D. and she WAS A LIFESAVER for us and the girls "2nd mother". We did a lot of interviews when we were expecting our 1st daughter. ABC Montessori surpassed all our expectations. It is a "family" friendly environment that there is no comparison to a typical daycare or other family care in the area. Overtime, Tina D. and her assistants became like our friends and our extended family. Our girls became attached to her and trust was built between us. Our daughters had excellent experience with her: from classical music to field trips to daily classroom projects to potty training. when our oldest daughter entered kindergarten, Tina's assistant would picked her up from the school bus stop and take her back to ABC Montessori where my daughter will do ALL her homework before she and her sisters were picked-up. We OWED IT ALL TO TINA and her the assistants. So far, we cannot find any thing even closed to what ABC Montessori has to offer. It is a very nurturing and SAFE environment, plenty of space for playtime in the backyard (when the weather gets hot, there are special sprinkler systems for the kids will be well hydrated and cooled -- very rare and very thoughtful safety procedure. As mentioned before, all ages are together and Tina would separate the little ones carefully with a special area surrounded with gates so that they will not be harmed accidentally by other older children. To the other person who rated low: NO ONE IS PERFECT. Even professional daycare centers will have incidents - trust me I KNOW. If you want YOUR daughter to be watched the way YOU WANT IT, then YOU need to stay with her 24/7 and expect yourself to be 100% PERFECT. read more

I was also very sad to see the posting on Jan. 27th. My husband and I tried for 4 years to have a baby and after many years of infertility treatments,lots tears and prayers we finally got pregnant. My little boy has been going to Tina since he was 5 months old and I am soo glad we found her. Leaving him to return to work was the hardest thing I have ever done and we had very high standards and were not going to compromise on his care. We visited about 17 daycares, interviewed 12 nannys and I was ready to give up our search and quit my job because I was so discouraged with what we saw that thank god we found Tina. As soon as I saw her home I felt comfortable leaving our little boy in her care. We have never had any issues especially with safety and our little guys is thriving and we can go to work in peace knowing he is in good hands. read more

Tina is wonderful. Our daughter has been attending ABC Montessori since September (she was 6 months old on her first day of "school"). Tina and her helper, Sandra, foster a wonderful environment for the kids there. I couldn't disagree with the negative reviews more! This is a home-based daycare; if you're looking for an expansive facility with tons of square footage and multiple rooms, you need to change the scope of your search! This facility is clean, the toys and educational tools are well-loved and well taken care of, and each child has space for their things as well as a place to sleep. The kids there are the proof that Ms. Tina and Ms. Sandra are wonderful daycare providers that foster a happy and educational environment. My daughter LOVES them both and never wants to leave. When we arrive the kids welcome us and embrace my daughter. Once I saw a little boy ("T.") drop all of his little shapes on the floor and he was about to cry.; every single "big kid" there stopped what they were doing and told him they would help and not to worry. No one told them to help "T.", they just did it because that is the norm there. They keep detailed records of your child throughout the day. Each afternoon I get a slip of paper telling me how my daughter ate, napped, and what happened with her diapers. I am so grateful for ABC Montessori. Going back to work and trusting your child with someone else is a hard thing to do. I know my daughter is thriving under Ms. Tina's care. read more

My 2 year old son has been with Tina since he was 3 month old. Tina is such a WONDERFUL person. She is a lot more than just a caregiver for us, she is like FAMILY. My son LOVES her. He learns so much at the ABC Montessori, and he is also having a lot of fun. This is a very safe environment and I can tell you that the safety of my son has never been "violated" contrary to what another reviewer said! I can also say to this person, that his daughter is not going to do a rollover all of the sudden, besides the changing table at Tina's daycare has raised edges which is very safe. I am so sad to read such a bad review, as i completely trust Tina and I would never want someone else to take care of my son. read more

We have been attending ABC for almost a year and feel really good about our daycare choice. Our daughter, who will be 2 yrs old next month is really blossoming in Tina's care. We came from a different daycare, and then a nanny, and ABC by far, exceeds and meets our needs in comparison. We weren't sure about the Montessori component at first, but it has proven to be a positive experience for our child who is really absorbing all of the independence (can put her own jacket on, take her dishes to the sink, set the table, etc.) as well as the 'jobs' which she loves (getting her placemat, choosing an activity, drawing with colored pencils...) ABC is licensed as a large daycare, and Tina has a helper at the moment, since she has 4 infants (one being my almost 2 year old) and 5 toddlers. The backyard at Tina's is LARGE and LOVED. My 5 year old can't wait to pick up his sister because he gets to "play at Tina's!". In fact, my 5 year old was my gauge for comfort at Tina's. I knew by his reaction to her, that she was the type of person he would trust and feel comfortable with, and since our daughter can't yet articulate that, I value his reactions. Our last few daycare options did not illicit the same reaction from my son and honestly, that was a red flag for me. In addition to all of this, I found ABC through the SMMC as a recommendation from another parent. The mother's club is typically a very good resource and reference site that I trust. read more

We've now been at Ms. Tina's for almost a year, and love it more and more each day. My son is really thriving in her care and learning so many new things. read more

I am so sad to see this review of our Mrs. Tina's school. Miss Tina (as the kids call her) has been my youngest son's caregiver since he was 3 months old and he is now 2 1/2 years old. She was recommended to us by one of the other mom's at St. Matthew's Catholic School where my 2 older children attend. I completely trust her instincts. She is so tender and loving to all the kids in her care. She never raises her voice and really helps guide the children in a positive way. I was surprised when my husband stumbled on this particular parent's review because I have never seen her do anything like this. I work from home and am in and out of her center at various times throughout the day. I have also been on field trips with her and have seen first hand that the children's safety is of the utmost importance to her. This is a great school in a home environment. Having been through a number of other amazing schools (2nd generation at Genentech among others) and I can say for certain that Miss Tina's home environment is safe, loving and educational. She is in tune with the kids and gives them what they need - lots and lots of love - she is like a great Auntie : ) read more