I first met Ana at my friend's child's birthday party. Her and her entire staff were there looking gorgeous and with gifts in hand. They were first to arrive and were so engaged throughout the party. This was my first impression and I thought, "Wow, how committed and truly loving they are to come to their kid's weekend birthday parties and spend their extra money on gifts." When it came time for me to choose a daycare for my daughter, I knew she would be going to Caterpillar Wonderschool. My husband and I toured and agreed that this would be the perfect cozy in-home childcare for our daughter to join. She joined when she was 3 months old and I honestly attribute so much of her success to Ana and her staff's love and thoughtful engagement with her. She has always been on-benchmark for her age/developmental milestones and has blossomed into this incredibly happy person. She plays easily by herself and alongside others, is a curious learner, can share and wait for her turn, and cleans up after herself. She is a great eater - not picky about anything and is using utensils to eat! She has also become a voracious reader! She wants to read when getting her diaper changed, in her carseat, at dinner time, at play time ...at any time really. All of these skills and wants she developed at daycare and I could not be more thankful! It is also worth mentioning that Ana acted as a parent coach and collaborator with me. Whenever I had any questions or observations, she would stay after picking up or hop on a phone call and talk through what strategies we should try together or when the right timing is to make a shift. She was never shy about sharing her opinion and expertise even if I did not have a question and did so in a very gentle, kind, and loving way. Having Ana has made me a better parent. Ana and the Caterpillar Wonderful team are true gems and any children and parents that get to experience their care are so very lucky. I recommend them to everyone I know and look forward to sending any of my future children there as well! read more

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Caterpillar isn't just a daycare--it's become an extension of our family. Finding someone I could truly trust with my baby felt daunting, especially after a difficult experience with a postpartum night doula. I researched more than a dozen bilingual daycares before choosing Caterpillar, and from the first conversation with Ana, I understood why so many parents spoke highly of it. She and her staff are responsible, thoughtful, and genuinely passionate about early childhood education. They care deeply about each child's development--not just day-to-day care, but the whole picture. I feel safe entrusting my child to them, and my kiddo loves going to school. My daughter started at 11 months and is now heading to preschool. She met her best friend here, loves playing with the other kids and babies, and she's thrived socially, emotionally, and cognitively. The staff have supported us through milestones and challenges, offering observations and guidance that made me feel less alone as a first-time mom. Their insight has been invaluable. Language-wise, the Spanish immersion is the real deal. Even though we don't speak much Spanish at home, my daughter's comprehension is strong--so much so that multiple Spanish-language preschools have commented on it. One even told me: "Most daycares that say they're immersive really aren't. Your daughter clearly got a strong foundation." That's thanks to Caterpillar. Honestly, I think she speaks and understands more Spanish than I do now. We feel so lucky to have found them. After nearly 2 years with them I'd absolutely recommend Caterpillar to any parent looking for a safe, enriching place for their little one. read more

As new parents, choosing a daycare felt like a huge leap. I remember touring several places and feeling that sinking sensation--it just didn't feel right, like we'd have to compromise. Then I met Ana, the founder of Caterpillar Daycare, and everything shifted. From our very first conversation, I felt a spark of hope--like maybe this could be the place. Still, I wanted to be sure, so we visited with our daughter. The moment we stepped into Caterpillar, I felt a full-body yes. My daughter (a baby at the time) immediately felt at home, and watching Ana gently encourage her curiosity and independence sealed it for me. I knew we had found something special. We enrolled when my daughter was 18 months old, and every single day brought joy--for her and for us. Ana and her team are loving, attentive, thoughtful, and incredibly communicative. I always felt confident that our daughter was not only deeply cared for, but also thriving--well-fed, learning, and growing through play. Enrolling at Caterpillar Daycare was one of the best parenting decisions we've made. We've since moved on due to kiddo geting older, but the bar Ana and her team set is still unmatched. Even now, we remain close with staff we met there--many of them still come to our birthday parties! The community Ana cultivates is truly something rare: warm, connected, and full of heart. I can't recommend Caterpillar Daycare enough. It's more than a daycare--it's a loving start to your child's journey. read more

We've been bringing our twins to Caterpillar Daycare for 2 1/2 years. Ana and her team of incredible, loving and patient staff have truly become part of our family. They have provided a safe, fun, play-based environment where our kids have thrived, Spanish immersion to help grow their bilingual vocabulary, and healthy meals and snacks so we don't have to worry about packing lunches every morning. We're constantly coming home with unique arts projects they've done the previous week, stories about what the kids were doing or saying with their friends, and helpful developmental things we can incorporate in our home routine. Ana, Raquel, Melina and Noemy have all become such important, strong role models for our children. I couldn't imagine raising them with anyone else! read more

Our daughter attended Caterpillar's Wonderschool from 5 months to 2 years. We were so sad to leave when we moved out of state! Ana is such a kind, generous, thoughtful person, and she creates a wonderful community with the families at her daycare. She helps your child transition through milestones and is so warm and nurturing. It's not uncommon to see all the kids piled on top of her, trying to give her hugs. She makes delicious, healthy food for the kids and was very accommodating with our use of cloth diapers. She is invested in each individual kid's well-being and development. Our daughter loved daycare so much, sometimes she wouldn't want to come home. I also appreciated the use of both Spanish and English -- our daughter understands Spanish just as well as English, and has a few words that she only knows in Spanish. Overall, we are so grateful to have found Ana. read more

We found Caterpillar's through Wonderschool. My son started when he was 8 months old. We could not ask for a better daycare for our son and our family. Ana is an excellent care provider and is very close to her kiddos and all of the details. She has a background as both a teacher and a medical assistant- a true gem. She's supported us through big milestones/needs like walking, talking, learning how to eat with a spoon, tantrums, clinginess, cloth diapers- you name it. My son does not like to leave daycare at the end of the day! We are blessed to have Ana in our lives. She makes us all better. read more

Caterpillar's Wonderschool - Sandbox in the backyard is a hit - Preschools Near Me - Oakland, California

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Ana was our child's nanny from when he was 6 weeks old until he was 6, looking after other kids too during those years as part of nanny shares. (Plus she also helped care for our second kid from birth until 3.) Ana is simply incredible and remains close to our family today. I couldn't write a more glowing review - Ana is loving, caring, nurturing, responsible, responsive, trustworthy... the list goes on. She's the best! read more

Ana Lanuza took care of my children on a part time basis (20-30 hours/week) from September 2016 - June 2018. My son was almost 2 when he first started spending time with her and he took to her immediately. This was a pleasant surprise for us because he had always been quite shy and chose his relationships carefully. In our experience Ana has always exuded responsibility, honesty, patience, kindness, warmth, and independence with our children and we recommend her wholeheartedly. One of my favorite qualities about Ana is her confidence, maturity, and independence. She is not someone who texts or calls me with every little thing that can and does go wrong in a toddler's day. She has always accurately prioritized the questions that warrant our input immediately and leaves the rest of the details to be shared at the end of the day. We love how she has always offered a detailed verbal summary (and often pictures and videos throughout the day!) regarding the days ups and downs as well as how our son slept, ate, and interacted with his share care mate. Her wisdom and experience as a mother of three boys has always felt like an added benefit to our working relationship which has evolved into a true friendship. Ana is honest, responsible, and reliable which sets her up perfectly for her next venture in running a daycare center. Ana is as comfortable being silly and loving as she is acting as a disciplinarian and role model to our children. This is an important quality for me in looking for a caregiver because I don't want my children to think that they can walk all over someone who is not a parent. She has always asked how we handle certain rules or consequences at home because she wants to keep her rules in alignment with ours. Ana is wonderful about letting the boys get messy, be loud, and just explore whatever they want to do. It has always been clear to me that she was greatly interested in early childhood education as she has recommended various games, books, and parenting practices to us in the time we've met her. She has definitely helped me increase my patience and understanding about the different development phases that our children have experienced throughout the years. Each day with Ana is a new adventure and our child constantly looked forward to jumping into her van each day. I can't think of a better playmate, friend, caregiver, or trusted resource for any family. read more

Ana watched my children for two years as part of a share-care, when they were pre-school to kindergarten age. Ana is one of the most patient, loving, competent, and attentive people I know. She cares deeply about the children under her care. Helping them to learn, explore, play, and develop. She always had great ideas for activities for them, balancing development and enrichment with fun, safety, etc. That, and she always focused on healthy, yummy things for them to eat! She always made excellent decisions, without involving us as parents in every minor little mid-day detail. But, at the same time, she was always great at sharing as many details, photos, and notes as we asked for. She felt like family to us, and to them. We eventually moved away from the area, and we and our kids miss her! I whole-heartedly recommend her to care for your children. You'd be lucky to have her as as part of your kids' lives. read more

My son goes to Caterpillars and I've been thoroughly impressed with Ana. She's an extremely competent and confident caretaker, juggling the varying needs of the babies and older kids with total calmness. She provides gentle and firm guidance when necessary and is very loving and nurturing toward the kids. She's passionate about child development and puts her knowledge to use, providing toys/activities for the kids to help them learn and grow. She's an excellent communicator in both English and Spanish and is very easy to work with -- understanding, patient, laid-back, and positive. Caterpillars is a wonderful and intimate learning environment for a child. I highly recommend it for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers! read more

My children have been attending Caterpillar's for 5 months now and they absolutely love it. The director Ana is great with the kids. She attends to them as if they were here own. She's very organized with her program and has many great daily activities where the children learn colors, letters, numbers, manners, playing nicely with other children just to name a few. Another great note is she's bilingual (Spanish) and now our children are learning a second language. I highly recommend Ana and Caterpillar's family daycare. read more

Our son went to Caterpillar's Wonderschool for about a year starting at 4 months old. We were so sad to have to transition to a new daycare when we moved out of state! Ana's daycare is an incredibly nurturing, safe, and comfortable environment for little ones. Our son got so excited approaching the front door every day, and the caregivers were so happy to see him. Something we loved is that Ana's philosophy is very much responsive to the kids as they grow and learn. We felt like she understood our son's development and his unique personality as it developed and discussed it with us, which was so helpful to us as new parents. There are lots of fun activities at daycare (expect to take home lots of cute art), and Ana makes healthy and delicious food for the kids which is a huge bonus. She was very responsive and responsible with Covid risk and we made it through various surges without incident. We loved having our kid there, and felt like Ana and the other caregivers truly cared for him and about him. read more