I am so grateful that I came across Children's Learning Cottage (CLC). When our prior preschool…read moreclosed, that prior director told us that Ms. Adela had helped get their preschool established and was open to sharing advice and knowledge. I began my preschool search there and that's where it stopped :) My little guy cried on and off for over a month starting preschool at the prior school (his first time at school), so I was admittedly nervous to switch him as he just got settled. However, the yelp reviews for CLC on how Ms. Adela helps create a warm and stimulating environment for the kids so they want to be there were very accurate - my kiddo was so excited to start preschool and there were NO tears even on the first day (I was shocked!). CLC's teachers are top notch. They provide a variety of enrichment activities (cooking, sensory bins, obstacle courses, dance, yoga, crafting...) and send long updates at the end of the day explaining what activities they did and the benefits of the activities on child development (with the cutest photos!). The environment itself is magical, with a climbing wall, sensory swings, sensory bins, etc that the director/teachers rotate out every few weeks. They also have great opportunities for parents to get involved if that's what you're interested in. The tuition is fairly priced and their schedule is flexible with half and full days. I cannot speak highly enough about this preschool!

We started sending our 3 year old here about four months ago and we couldn't be happier with our…read moredecision. The teachers are so thoughtful, caring and experienced, which made for a super easy transition. I was worried about starting a new school because he had trialed another preschool that he didn't want to go back to after the week. But he immediately took to CLC-after his first day he told me "I love my new school". Honestly that alone is worth a five star review. Since then he has grown so much. Every day we get updates about their activities, from books they're reading to recipes they're making. The school is wonderful about communicating with parents-there's an app and Adela is very responsive if you need to text the school about something that can't wait. We've had a great experience here. Thanks so much CLC! Update*** I posted this review a year ago, so updating it since we now send our 2 year old here, too! Both my kids LOVE school. Shout out to Ms. Melissa, Ms. Suzie, Teacher M, and Ms. Nandini. They've treated our children like family and take such great care of all the kids here! And special thanks to Ms. Adela who is AMAZING at what she does. This school is so special. Glad we found it.

Feao was an absolute rockstar for me and my husband during the newborn stage! We hired Feao for…read morethree months and are SO grateful for her. She was always punctual, arriving with the warmest personality that instantly put us at ease. Her calm and confident approach with our baby was remarkable--she truly is a newborn expert. Feao became our steadfast support, providing reassurance every night, and making the newborn stage a ton of fun for us - with a happy baby who loves and trusts Feao! As a new mom, I cherished Feao's gentle coaching and thoughtful advice, which I eagerly welcomed and put into practice. She was never pushy and expertly guided me through swaddling and transitioning to a sleep sack. By the end of our contract, our baby was sleeping through the night--Feao set the foundation for amazing sleep habits. Eight months later, he still sleeps so well! Feao's support extended to both me and my husband, giving us the ultimate peace of mind during a really special and important time. Thanks to Feao, we enjoyed restful nights and felt ready for each day. We gladly welcomed Feao into our home and trust her sweet demeanor. Working with her was a genuine pleasure and a true gift--we couldn't have asked for a better night nanny!

Feao was absolutely wonderful with our newborn (born in April). She was with us for about 12 weeks…read moreand helped my husband and I get a full night's sleep so we were energized and excited to spend time with our newborn during the day. I felt that hiring help a few nights a week helped me recover faster from c-section delivery and improved my overall mental health (the sleep deprivation can really get you). Feao is a really wonderful person and was great with our daughter. She has 30 years of experience as a night nanny. She also works for Stanford Park Nannies so meets all the safety requirements and rigorous background checks that they require. She is local to Menlo Park and has two of her own children that attend school locally.

I am leaving a five star review because my interactions with Rimma have been great, so I do not…read morewant to hurt their business rating. We hired a nanny, Mimi (also goes by Mary Beth) for one day per week. Over the course of just a few months, Mimi took multiple days off, was then absent for an extended period, and resigned abruptly via text message with zero notice, claiming she had an ongoing family emergency to tend to. After Mimi's resignation, the agency shared that she had expressed concerns about working with our family. I honestly took the feedback hard and it sent me to a dark place, as I didn't know this nanny I TRUSTED was judging me and my home so harshly when I'm just trying to do the best I can as a postpartum working mom. For what it's worth, much of the feedback seemed to be rooted in misunderstandings and in some cases, reflected basic responsibilities that were explicitly outlined in our nanny agreement. And none of those concerns had ever been raised directly despite months of her being sweet and warm to our faces. Again, I do not blame the agency. While I can't recommend our experience with this particular nanny, I can say that Rimma handled a very difficult situation with professionalism and compassion, which is why I'm choosing to leave the agency a five-star review. Rimma followed up with us thoughtfully and took our concerns seriously, and worked quickly to ensure we had a fantastic temporary nanny in place so our family wasn't left without childcare.

We're so grateful to SPN for helping us out with temporary / short term childcare during the…read moresummers for our two children. We are especially grateful to Maggie, who was able to find a replacement nanny in less than 24 hours with some challenging circumstances that happened last minute with one of my kids! The nannies that we've had have all been very professional, kind and thoughtful. It's been such a pleasure to work with SPN and feel so supported to have them in our community.

Exceptional daycare for my two children. My son has been going here since he was 11 months old (he…read moreis now 3), and my daughter has been going here since she was 5 months old (she is almost 8 months old). This place is an extension of our home - the staff are extremely attentive, affectionate and caring. What I really love: -The high-quality care, love and attention from staff. Their affection and loving interactions have helped my children feel very secure, that they feel they matter and have wonderful examples to follow (caring for others, saying please, thank you, expressing gratitude and kindness). -The high staff to children ratio: 1:1, due to the pandemic, with more children staying home, my daughter at times now has 2 staff members just attending to her, I don't know how I'm going to keep up at home :) - Covid precautions: In response to Covid, the staff has also done a wonderful job in putting safety measures in place. Neither of my children or members of my family have been sick in the many months since they've reopened earlier this year.  Parents have taken good precautions to follow the safety measures in place and to be responsible as well. - There are also lots of toys, an outdoor playground and exercise activities (tricycles, cars, etc.). Though the facilities may look more modest than larger / corporate daycares, what matters to me the most, are the caregivers and their interactions with children, and the staff is simply exceptional. -The delicious meals that are provided for breakfast and lunch. I really enjoy the smells of pancakes and waffles in the air, like my ideal Saturday morning, every morning, when I drop them off. Most importantly, my children are thriving. They are happy, very secure in themselves, and doing outstanding developmentally and height/weight for their age. Each pediatrician visit, I receive wonderful remarks on how they are doing. In particular, my son who was born a premie, and is now 3 years old, has now caught up to the curve on height and weight and has hit every development milestone (and many beyond his age). He is also now fluent in Spanish (he is exposed to both Spanish and English at Wally's) and in English. He is curious, kind and caring and very attentive to others. My daughter is a very happy and healthy baby as well. It feels scary to go back to work and leave your 5 month old at daycare but I had no hesitation with her having seen the incredible care my son received (and wished I had found this daycare earlier for him). I attribute my children's well-being, not just to the care and attention we've provided at home but also to Wally's. I'm so grateful for the caring village at Wally's World that has provided my children an incredibly warm, secure and loving home outside of mine.

Our son has been here since I went back to work when he was 3 months old. He's now 10 months, and…read moreall I can say is Wally's is our home away from home. I have felt so much better at sending him to daycare knowing the personal love and care he's receiving from the team at Wally's World each day. Wally's World provides the feeling and closeness of a home daycare with the space and resources of a larger institution. Each age group has their own designated room and regular staff members. We've had extremely consistent care from the same wonderful women since he started there. I've even gotten messages from staff after hours on days he wasn't feeling well to check "how is mi hijo doing"? Regular naps/meals/diaper changes are all reliable and as they should be. I've shown up unannounced at odd times and have always been happy with what I've seen. Early on, I was dropping by daily to nurse on my lunch hour, and they let me have a private room and stay for as long as I wanted. This is a place where kids play and explore, and are allowed to get a little dirty in the name of fun and adventure. They have a ton of toys and equipment, and there is a great outdoor space and playground, and several pet birds, cats, and a small dog who come with the property. :) As the kids age, the "classroom" structure becomes gradually more advanced, and group activities become more structured as a way of preparing them for kindergarten. The Wally's World community participates in events like "graduation day" (off to kindergarten) and "alumni day". Recently I was pleased and surprised to see kids even in the first and second grades returning to Wally's World as alumni. That's a testament to the wonderful community that the owner, Wally, has established out of her home over the past two-and-a-half decades. Wally's World is primarily Spanish speaking, which for nonSpanish speaking households can result in some funny exchanges and learning for everyone. Daycare worker: Can you say mamá and papá? Me: oh, we say dada not papa. Daycare worker: [funny look]. Why would you want to say papa? Papa means potato. :) Also, a P.S.A. for new parents as of September 2018: I know all too well the stress and insecurities of trying to find a suitable daycare in this area. Wally's World does not play waitlist games to take your deposit like some other institutions around here. There is currently availability in the baby room as our son has just moved up. Get in now while you can!

Here is a place that meets all my requirements for daycare/preschool. As a very involved mother,…read moreafter touring nearly 40 preschools/daycares, our family chose this one. 1. It is surprisingly clean, tidy, spacious, and bright. The children have two playrooms, a bedroom, and a dining room, instead of being confined to one room all the time. 2. There is no screen time or cheap flashy toys; the teachers provide interesting themed activities every day. 3. The ingredients for meals are clean and organic. 4. Most importantly, the teachers are enthusiastic, caring, and energetic every day. They take care of my kid even more attentively than I do. My kid had a great time even on the first day of school! The teachers are already like family to us! Thank you so much, Ms. Lina and Ms. Mary!

My son has been attending Kidslandia for almost a year now and we are only leaving because of the…read moredistance between my husband's new job and daycare. I cannot recommend Kidslandia enough. I was initially skeptical about an in-home daycare, but I quickly learned that Kidslandia is the the absolute best introduction into daycare and school for my little one. My almost-two year old loves his teachers and classmates, and I love that he is learning through play on a daily basis, and that I can see that learning through an app that is updated with photos and information each day during naptime. There is clearly a schedule for the day with homemade breakfast and play in the morning, followed by circle time and songs, then a structured activity around a theme (i.e., transportation, animals, etc) or skill (i.e., matching colors, identifying letters, gross motor, fine motor) or sensory bins, then playtime in their indoor or outdoor play area, followed by another homemade lunch and a nap, and finally snack and more play. As a teacher myself, knowing that my child is being exposed to a preschool-like schedule, gaining social skills, and coming home knowing new songs, words, and concepts--in both English AND Spanish!!--I could not be more satisfied. We really are so sad to go, but are so grateful to Ms. Lina and Ms. Meri!

The reviews were not wrong!! The party was a HUGE success because of FAH! She was the whimsy and…read moremagic our party needed!! I contacted Fah here on yelp because of the rave reviews. She responded and got to me booked so quickly in the same day! Fah made it so easy and contact was easy from there too! I hired her for 2 hours and she never had an empty chair!! Everyone of every age wanted their faces painted! We couldn't get over how talented she is and how much everyone loved the art!! I made sure everyone knew her name and left with her phone number! She is beyond fantastic!! Would book again and again and again!!

This woman is amazing. Super sweet and her face paintings are so good. Can do anything. We had…read morespiderman. Different types of tigers. A t-rex down the side of my nephews face. A butterfly on an arm. I even got a little side thing. Hire her. Also cost less than others i had reached out to. And im surprised!!

I was introduced to Susan Wildeboer through a friend when I was starting my au pair search. Susan…read moreimpressed me with all of her specialized knowledge about the current candidate pool and was very quickly able to make recommendations about what might work best for my family based on her understanding of what I was looking for. Susan has been there for me every step of the way from the initial searching to now matching. I can count on her to respond quickly and provide helpful advice and have recommended her to several friends who are also looking for au pairs. Susan has made my experience so much better, and I'm so thankful to have her help!

We found Susan on Yelp while searching for childcare and wanted to learn more about the au pair…read moreprogram. Susan is, hands down, the best resource at Cultural Care and we're so lucky to have found her! Susan is an absolutely wonderful resource for any au pair/childcare questions. She is incredibly professional, always follows up, and is a wealth of information. Susan helped us through the matching process and even provided guidance post-matching as we navigated our relationship with our new au pair. She was willing to talk things through and provided great information for us and our au pair. We cannot recommend Susan enough!