Our 1 year old attended MSH part time for a little over 6 months. She really loved it and learned so much from her teachers and the Director Ana. I fully trusted the staff and have high respect for each of them for taking great care of the kids. Wish we could keep her enrolled but the commute to two different preschools got too stressful. I would highly recommend Ana and her staff, they are amazing. I know my little one will miss them dearly. read more

I love MSH! My daughter surely love and will miss this place! Ana and the staff are really amazing.

This is where my little man goes when I cannot stay home. I know it can be hard to leave your baby with strangers. I really like the fact that the door has a code on it so when you enter you have to enter your code in to get inside. But when I take my baby here I do not leave feeling worried or stressed out wondering if he's in good hands are being well taken care of. I kindly ask them to speak to him and only Spanish because at home we speak English and I figured why not. Naturally we bring everything premade bottles, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, bibs and socks etc. When he is old enough for food they will take care of his meals. Upon pick up each parent gets a daily report card letting you know how many diapers they went through that day whether it was wet or had a BM (bowel movement) , What date and how much and nap times. This place is a bit pricey (for me). But I don't want to worry about my baby when I am at work. Thank you Karla and staff for taking care of baby Diego. read more

I am very impressed with My Second Home. They serve healthy food, there are no televisions and they are always having fun and educational activities to engage the kids. They give you a daily activity sheet that tells you exactly when your child ate/slept/pooped so you always have a good idea of what happened that day. They send home regular newsletters to update you about what is going on at the center and also to give you tips and pointers on parenting topics like teething, learning talk, giving up the pacifier, etc. I especially love that they take photos of the kids and put together adorable scrapbook pages so you can capture those memories for your child to see when they grow up. My daughter adores her teacher Maria, and always looks forward to going every morning. read more

Our daughter has had a wonderful experience at My Second Home and my wife and I couldn't be happier with the care she is given. She has been there since she was approximately 4 months old and has truly grown up with the teachers and her classmates over the past two years. As parents, we are thrilled that she is growing and learning in a bi-lingual environment where the focus is on childhood growth and development, not simply on "baby sitting." Every day our daughter is encouraged to interact with other children, exercise, read, do arts and crafts, and learn respectful and healthy behaviors for interaction in an environment that celebrates diversity. The staff is great at daily communication with us as parents so that we can reinforce behaviors at home that are being practiced at her "school." How lucky we are to have found My Second Home - We have truly found them to be partners with us as we try to raise our daughter to be a strong, confident, and compassionate young woman. read more

Had to find child care really quick for my infant as I had to go back to work sooner then expected. I was luckily to get an opening. All the staff are very nice and care about all of the children. Very happy with everything there, although if it was open just a little bit later. When you get off at 5pm it is really hard to get there with all the traffic by 6pm. Everything is organized and covert clean! read more

My Second Home is amazing! Karla and her team are so loving and they genuinely care about each child's personality, comfort and safety. They are really great at communicating everything from the weekly menu, activity schedules, "curriculum," and developmental play activities to try at home. My son started going to My Second Home when he was 6 months old and I was returning to work. I had a lot of concerns about feeding as my son was exclusively breastfed up until that point and his introduction to solids was occurring during other big transitions (ie. me going back to work full-time). The first day was the hardest, and my son refused to take a bottle, so the ladies at My Second Home allowed me to come in and feed him, helping to ease along the transition. Everything from then on has been great! They usually have themes on Thursdays, like "bring your favorite book" or "wear sportswear" or "wear mismatched socks" which is not only visually stimulating for the young ones, but is a common aspect of grade school (when they get there). I also love that the food is home-cooked and once my little one was able to eat solids better (around 11 months) all of his meals were provided by the center (breakfast, lunch and 2 or 3 snacks) and they were more than happy to continue to supplement him with the milk I provide to them daily. I also love that they brought Santa and the Easter bunny to the center and how they celebrate all holidays (like MLK day, Earth Day, Cinco de Mayo) and incorporate those holidays into baby/tot-friendly curriculum. I also like the daily communication sheets they use that help us to get a picture of our little guys' eating, napping and peeing/pooping habits so we know what to expect on the weekends. Another thing I love is that they have a Facebook group where they share pictures periodically. I LOVE seeing what my son is doing when mommy and daddy are at work! The staff themselves are so sweet and approachable and they genuinely love the kids. My son sometimes throws a fit over his favorite caretaker, which shows me that he feels safe and loved there. Also, the staff aren't afraid to show physical affection, which is really important for young ones. I appreciate Gloria's monthly newsletters, gentle demeanor and tireless patience. I appreciate Gaby's cool personality, how she gets down on the floor to play with kids at their level, and the smile she always has when greeting parents. I appreciate Lulu, who is my son's "surrogate" mom at My Second Home. He ADORES her. I appreciate Karla, who runs the center, for making me comfortable and confident when I first walked through her doors to check the place out. She is very professional and takes great care to get to know each kiddos' parents and is excellent at communicating the goings-on of the center so parents feel up-to-date and involved as much as possible. There are others who work there whose names I don't know, but they are always friendly and know who I am and are so sweet and patient with the kids. I HIGHLY recommend My Second Home to any parent considering quality, loving, and creative childcare! read more

My Second Home has been a wonderful place for my son to grow from an infant to a toddler. We toured several infant daycares before he was born, and selected MSH because of the connection we felt with Karla, the director. My son started at MSH at 5 months old, and I had no worries dropping him off, even on the first day! I knew he was in a safe place, with a caring staff, and opportunities to grow. The teachers are great - loving and caring, creating personal relationship with each kid, and having a lot of fun with them. The curriculum that they create is fun for the kids, with art project, crazy hair days, and lots of Spanish language. They keep track of diaper changes, bottles/meals, naps, etc. and you get a nice little report every day so you know how your little one is doing. The facility is a converted house with lots of windows, but all open on the inside. The infants and toddlers are in different rooms, but only separated by a low wall, so they can watch each other and all the teachers. It was an easy and fun transition for my son when he got old enough to go to the "big kid side." Healthy, homemade snacks and lunch are served, and my son eats great there. A nice little bonus is that there is a great preschool next door to MSH that my son has graduated to, which is going to make this an easy one-stop drop-off when I have a preschooler and a (future) new baby. It feels like the teachers and other kids at MSH really have become a part of our family and this was my son's second home ;). read more

I want to write this review as a warning for people to ask a lot of questions when looking for a place for your child. I did not choose this daycare for my infant and I want to explain why. The main reason is that the site director, Karla, told me a lot of different things and her limited experience as the director made me feel uneasy. First, she told me that the main teacher, Maria, is assigned to up to four infants only at a time and at that time she only had two. This sounded great. Later, I asked again about who is responsible for the baby and she told me that Maria is the main teacher who is responsible for 12 children (ages 0-2) and that the aides help her with all 12 kids! The aides were not friendly and did not even speak to the children when I was observing! I also said, "Hello" to an aide and she did not even acknowledge me! I do not want my child to be taken care of by the unfriendly aides. I felt there may be some tension between the aides and Karla. Karla used a lot of buzz words/phrases such as "clear visual line of the infants", "interactive learning", "total care", but it just really felt like she was trying to selling the program. Also, Karla asked to hold my baby and that was fine. My baby was fine, but Karla was uncomfortable holding her and asked me to take her back! She told me that she helps out with the babies if she needs to and this interaction with my child made my confidence in the program go down. A few other things that Karla said were unnerving. Karla told me she's been working there two months and then the next week she said it was three months. Karla told me the owner has a home daycare called "My Third Home" and that she and her husband are on vacation for an extended period at this time. The website sells it as if the owner, Anna, is a central part of the program. Karla said that I will probably never meet her. The Spanish immersion part was a good selling point, but I don't think it will really be that effective because there are too many kids and the child doesn't get enough one-on-one interaction. Also, Karla told me that they introduce one color or shape per week and that may not be enough. There are a few other things that I want to mention. My husband noticed that the place smelled like a strong cleaner. Also, I asked if I should remove my shoes before going into the infant area and Karla said no so I walked on the floor that the infants crawl on with my outside shoes on. Also, the backyard is really sunny and there is some concrete that made me imagine my baby hurting herself if she fell. I feel that this program could be better with better leadership and a more friendly supportive staff. Also, if you compare it to other infant centers the procedures and organization are not as good. I am speaking for the infant part. There is a toddler program, which I did not ask about. I do want to praise Maria, the head teacher. She spoke to my baby and made her smile and laugh. She really seemed comfortable with my baby. If she was assigned to my baby with three other infants exclusively, I would have considered this center. I hope you find this helpful. read more

My now 3-year-old daughter has been going to Ana since January 2010. She was recommended to me by a good family friend who took her two boys there. I am very impressed with how dedicated Ana is to each child's well being and early education. My daughter loves going to "school" every morning, is always very talkative when I pick her up and is very eager to share what she's learned with me. I feel very lucky to have found Ana and feel very comfortable leaving my daughter there while I have to work. I have nothing but great things to say about this place. read more

Our son attended My Second Home from the time he was 6 months old to just last month when we had to move him to a new center as he outgrew this one. We absolutely loved this place. Our son was so happy going here and was always full of smiles when we picked him up. He learned so much and learned a lot of Spanish. He would constantly surprise us with counting in Spanish and identifying his colors in Spanish at home. We felt like all the staff cared deeply for our son and he felt the same. Karla was always easy to reach and talk to about anything we may have been concerned with along the way as our son developed. He was lucky enough to have Gloria as his teacher when he was an infant and as she moved over to the toddler section around the same time he did. We always felt very informed with everything going on with all the newsletters they provide and calendar of events. They also provided daily tracking sheets to let us know of all meals and snacks, how much our son was eating and about diaper changes and any rashes or anything out of the ordinary. We had so much confidence that he was in good hands and were very sad when it was time for him to move on. They felt like family to us after the 2 years he spent there. read more

Please don't settle when it comes to your children. I see so many positive reviews but I have to tell my experience with my second home. My child attended the infant class so I can only speak for that part of the day care. From the start I felt really weird with the classroom setup. There are rarely any toys and stimulation in the room. Every time I dropped my son off he would immediately get sat on the round high chairs that holds about 6 babies at a time even if he was crying he was made to sit there and comfort himself. Every time I or dad would pick him he was crying. This happened the whole 3 months he was there. One day I came around 1 to pick him up he was sitting on a mat crying next to 2 teachers who were also sitting down on the mats but eating with a plate on their hands. I immediately went inside and picked my 9 month old son up and asked one of the teachers who was in the kitchen why the women didn't pick up my son while he was crying. She said they were on lunch and couldn't. I was both shocked and scared to leave my child there again. I asked why would they sit there next to the children and ignore them why not have a separate space. A child's Trust and Mistrust is established between the ages of 0-1 year if that is broken then the child grows up to not trust that the caregiver will take care of their needs. Also around 3-4 the preschool side of the day care would get cleaned while Spanish loud music would (I'm Latina so I love Spanish music and I know they teach Spanish but this was not a child's type of music) get plaid and a strong chemical of odor covered the whole daycare. That was the last straw dad and I decided to look for another day care. I can say that if you really care for your child you would look for other options. read more

I am so blessed to have found such a great preschool for my son. He has been with them since 6 months old. I feel very safe with my child there, they are very friendly and care about the kids. They have a huge focus on learning and hands on activities with the kids. My son loves this place and cries when he has to live.LOVE LOVE LOVE this place!!!! read more

Maybe the previous reviewer had some issues during a transition, but my daughter has been there for some time and she loves it. She doesn't want anything to do with me once we arrive, she just wants to play and see the folks who work there. I was very apprehensive about putting my girl in a daycare when I got a better job and had to commute, and mommy had to work also, but I couldn't be happier, and I don't think my daughter could be either. ~JW read more

Many things about this place are wrong. First of all, the teacher in each classroom is generally responsible for 4 babies/6 toddlers. Having that said this teacher is also responsible for 12 children and the aides help her with all 12 kids! The kids here are on crazy schedules so one day the teacher can have 3 kids another day 6 kids and so on. According to regulation the ratio to 12 children is 3 teachers. In this center there's only 1 teacher per classroom and on-call aides. Most of the time the teacher is under the 4/1 ratio so the aides are not really needed unless enrollment picks up. The spanish immersion part is great. I think its awesome to teach babies spanish but honestly there's really not much to do in an infant classroom let alone teach spanish to an infant/toddler. They never buy activity supplies and gloves but they can provide their toddler class with materials. They never use gloves here! because "its not on the budget" Floors are often dirty, (crawling babies get their hands dirtied often) Why isn't this place fully carpeted? Shouldn't babies be put on carpeted floors? what if they bump their heads on these cold hard floors and surfaces? Why is the infant classroom always empty with small toys? where are the baby walkers? large mats? baby gyms? baby training chairs? There seems to be alot of tension between the staff... they seem unhappy. The aides don't speak English and are often encouraged to never acknowledge parents... The only interaction here is from the teacher and babies... Aides are not held responsible if something happens to your kid! msh is too cheap to hire more teachers but can charge up parents $300 per kid!? Yet the staff here changes often and parents aren't told whats going on. The owners reside outside the US so obviously its run by Karla (You're out of luck if you want to talk to them because you will never meet them). This place is contradictory and lacks honesty. Their only concern is to sell their lackluster program. Im pretty sure that with 24 children they have enough to cover their budget and provide a better program... I hope they improve soon. read more

Any working mom out there knows just how difficult, scary, heartbreaking and emotional it is to go back to work and leave your child with someone you don't really know. I left work in May and was scheduled to go back in October. As my leave came closer and closer to an end, anxiety set in that I would have to leave my child with (basically) strangers and hope he would be OK. I didn't have family that could keep my son when I returned to work, and we couldn't afford a nanny so I began the process of looking for a daycare. I tried centers, home based daycare's and nothing just felt right. I heard about My Second Home through word of mouth while at a nail shop and decided to look them up, so glad I did! I spoke with Karla and she was very kind and accommodating; she answered all my questions and completely understood my fears. She didn't pressure me to send my son there which was refreshing and worked with me around tuition. When the day came to send my son, who was 4 months old at the time, of course I was a complete mess. Cried the whole time I was there, cried all the way to work, felt like a horrible mother and was a nervous wreck the whole day. I probably called at least 15 times that day (and several days after that) and each time, Karla and Gloria (his teacher) were very understanding and compassionate. They have been so kind to me and more importantly to my child. When I drop off my now one year old (16 months), he happily goes to his teachers and has even not wanted to come home with me when I pick him up! All the teachers show my son so much love and understanding and I see how much he has benefited from being there. I feel comfortable leaving him because I know he's safe, well loved, cared for and happy. I would definitely recommend My Second Home, I'll be sad to see him leave but I have a couple more years before that happens! read more

My son was happy when he first started there. However, later staff kept changing. The Director also opened another preschool at her house. Quality went down. I later found another preschool for my son. read more

It was my son's first day and I picked him up already sick. Not to mention you literally walk in the door and hand over your baby over the gate and they give you back your baby the same way when you pick him up. My son was scheduled to go two days a week. It was his second day and trying to leave him was not easy. So considering dealing with the Director Ana while trying to leave my crying baby was unfriendly; immediately jumping down my throat about payment was utterly ridiculous and outright rude! First of all this is a very strange place and bizzare set up. The director deals with the actual center, enrollment, etc. and her mysterious husband you deal with making payments/the money aspect. I had only spoke to him over the phone never meeting in person. WIth that said it is obvious there is no communication between the two therefore I've heard two different things being told to me by each of them. This is the third discrepency with this place. The director not knowing the conversation and arrangement I had with her husband was telling me different and threatened to charge me a late fee if I did not make payment right then and there. This was only my second day bringing my son!!! Are you kidding me?? In any case I immediately took my son, who was crying in the hands of one of the caretakers and left. I was not going to tolerate the rudeness from her; seems as if her only concern was the money; not greeting a new client in a welcoming manner, or the children/staff. I will not deal with an unprofessional center, the language barrier, the unconcern of trying to make a parent feel comfortable leaving their child after a disagreement. Unbelievable! With the little experience I had with this place, I already felt skeptical in the beginning and I am glad I made this immediate decision. If you want your child to eat cherrios and canned peaches for breakfast, bottles returned to you with mold from the prior weeks milk, a weird staff by far I'm sure having any credentials, and an unprofessional Director who is out for herself, good luck to you. This place was definitely misrepresented and not good enough for my baby. read more

I enrolled two of my sons in this program because I thought it was a good opportunity for them to develop a second language and the price seemed great! The location seemed a bit dismal. The infant area flooring is linoleum and during the cold months seemed that it would be a hard and cold surface for children to be crawling on, we compromised as it was during the summer months that we had enrolled. The master teacher seemed very nice, professional and interactive but they also had a very young assistant teacher, perhaps in her late teens early twenties who just seemed to "work" but wasnt interactive with the children nor the parents (an observation we made once we enrolled our children) and then their was another assistant teacher who did the same. Now, our second son was 2 at the time and was in the other half of the class with the 2's and his teacher seemed nice and interactive but one week into the program was no longer there and a replacement teacher who did not speak spanish. The purpose of him being in a "spanish immersion" program was completely defeated!!! We were never formally informed of the reason for the change, simply dismissed as they had to fire her because of a conflict with her vacation time off. We were so disapointed and felt as if there had been a "bait and switch". We stuck it out but then noticed that the program director was not there most of the time because she would be at her "home based daycare" for the 3 yr olds and was constantly going back and forth between the two programs. We got a feeling that their was no leadership at this school. The director seemed all over the place. We then convinced my mother in law to please come and stay with us from Arizona to help with the kids as we just felt that they werent getting "quality" care that we hoped for. We did compromise and for that we feel guilty for. We knew that they were safe and not abused but also knew that they were not getting the high quality care that we wanted for our children. Since my mother in law came, we were able to take our time and found an excellent nanny who has been taking care of our children at the comfort of their own home. Please parents, if you consider this place, I suggest that you are proactive and interactive in what you want and expect for your children, perhaps then the quality of the program wiill be raised. I think that they are used to dealing with parents who just "drop-off" their children and 'pick-up"...Time to raise the teaching bar My second Home day care !! read more

I loved this center, I feel comfortable and I feel safe for my 2 years old daughter, the staff so friendly you feel that your welcome, the feelings of a parents that every time you drop your kids in the center, worries that if she's or he's gonna be Ok,.... yes your kids gonna be Ok safe and they learn lot so I recommend this center, to those parents looking for daycare or center its really like a SECOND HOME ..... read more

I concur with Diana's review regarding My 2nd home. My son has been attending for almost 1-year now (he is currently 18-mos) and our experience has been nothing short of positive! I visited numerous child care facilities in the Walnut Creek-Pleasant Hill-Concord area, but could never imagine leaving my infant son to strangers until I met the warm and caring staff of My 2nd Home. As the previous reviewer mentioned My 2nd Home is bright, cheery, and very clean. Delicious smells from the home cooked meals also add to the "homey" experience. Of course there is no replacement for our kids being at their own home, but for families who need to work My 2nd Home truly stands up to their name and I would not hesitate recommending them as a wonderful childcare option. read more

Most of the staff is very friendly "Most". Lulu is wonderful with the children; Karla was nice to talk to but really failed our daughter and us. How? Our daughter was bit five times by the same child on the hand, arm (2x's), back and cheek. Also, when she was under a year old, she got hit in the head by a door by a staff member who was going to tend to another child who needed urgent attention. (Ouch!!) This was an accident of course... During free play, our daughter would always come back with bumps on her head. A little more supervision is recommended, soft padding on the floor should be a must. Kids would crawl on the hard floor where everybody walks which is not much different than concrete. Our daughter basically mopped their floor while she was crawling (her clothes would be filthy at the end of the day). Nice people and good meals, fun activities too, but needs to be run better and have more accountability. Changing what is not working is a good start. More infant proofing too. We had to change Daycare's , problem solved. read more

My son has had a wonderful experience with My Second Home. When speaking of the center to my colleagues, I have always said that I feel like I am leaving my son with a group of nannies who decided to watch their charges together in one house. It is a loving, nurturing environment and the Spanish immersion aspect was very important to me. I wanted him to be in an immersion or bilingual environment and was surprised by how few there are in the area. The owner Ana Valdivieso was an educator in Peru and is passionate about providing the children with exactly what they need for their development. For infants, it is about attachment, while the toddlers are beginning to learn about structured environments, sharing, and preparation for the classroom. Both Ana and her husband are readily available for parents to call at anytime, which is a great benefit of a small center. As Nancy M. posted today, there has been a bit of turnover lately, mostly with the toddler area (18M - 24 M) and I'm not even sure if Spanish is spoken at all in that area as the teachers are not native Spanish speakers. From what I can tell, the infant room staffing has been stable. read more