L'Infanzia Daycare

Carmen's daycare is a hidden gem! She has been running a small home daycare for over 20 years. Our child attended her daycare from age 1.5 to 3 years old, and thrived there. Carmen is loving, nurturing and treats the children as if they are part of her family. She encourages each child to be themselves and follow their interests. The days are structured and predictable. She runs the daycare more like a preschool, and would have been an amazing preschool teacher and principal. There is a daily activity schedule, themes (often initiated by child interest) and lots of outdoor time. She helped with potty training, and her experience was invaluable. Her staff (Shayla, the other Carmen) are kind, funny and care deeply about the children they care for.

I recommend Carmen to almost any family looking for trustworthy childcare in Oakland. If you are looking for childcare with a slick app, the latest toys and trendy ideology- this place is not for you. Carmen has her way that she does things because it works.

Logistics:
Pros: the extended hours were critical for our family with 2 working parents. She provides healthy food! Very reasonably priced and my employer's FSA covered some of the cost. Children and employees are vaccinated.

Cons: The school drop off traffic can be hectic if you are on the same schedule as Sequoia Elementary School across the street.

We left because we moved out of state. Our child is still asking about Carmen and misses her dearly. We are so glad she was part of our lives. Do yourself a favor and see if Carmen's daycare is a good fit for your family!

Our son was at L'Infanzia for a year between 2 and 3 after being in a nanny share about a year. Carmen and the other teachers were really amazing. Our son was still using the pacifier to sleep at the time, and the staff helped wean him really quickly. They also helped potty train, dress himself, feed himself, and become more independent. He got a lot of individual attention, and he enjoyed all the activities like participating in baking, music, fine motor skills, and pencil control. Providing meals was also a huge plus. We could be sure that he would get a warm meals and a variety of snacks every day. The health protocols were more strict, which we liked, but it did become difficult to retain older kids at the tail end of the pandemic. We switched to join a larger school with more older kids to model as he started to get more willful. He was still learning a lot from Carmen's curriculum, though, on letters, counting, and puzzles. It was great to have Carmen as a resource on parenting and childhood education, so we highly recommend Carmen and the school!

Our son has been going to Carmen's house since he was 5 months old. She runs an awesome program and her background as a Director of Head Start + her education in child development makes her such an expert. As a first-time mom she made me feel so comfortable with her friendly warm ease; I know our son is so loved every day in her care. He's been thriving under and learning SO MUCH through her teaching/programming. She does a mixture of structure activities: circle time, arts & crafts, gardening, sensory & water play, along with free time to just play outside and explore. She is super communicative and every day we receive a summary of our little's guys day. Carmen is so tuned into him and if he's not feeling well or she suspects something is not right and will let us know immediately - like I said he is truly loved & cared for. Carmen's staff is also so amazing! I know our son is safe, loved, and learning and I feel so lucky that he gets to spend his days with them when we have to work. Carmen is an exceptional person and caregiver to the little ones who are lucky enough to attend L'Infanzia, we are so very grateful to have her as part of our lives!

Our son has been under Carmen's care from the time he was three months-old until now (13 months old). His personality has truly come out, and I credit a lot of his curiosity and sense of independence to this wonderful program!

Carmen acted immediately with enhanced safety precautions in response to the pandemic. Children are safe, loved, and stimulated at L'Infanzia.

We needed a last minute backup care and we used Carmen for our two boys. They had a blast and her energy is amazing with the kiddos. She is very communicative and gives summary of their day. It gave me lots of ease of mind knowing they are having fun

Carmen runs a very nurturing & educational program for infants to toddlers from her home in Oakland. Our twins have been been going to her part time for a couple months. As a Type A mother she was able to make me feel comfortable with her structure and teaching/care philosophy from the interview to day 1 with the kids in her care. Her background as a Head Start educator makes all the difference in her approach to home based childcare.

The exposure programs (music, reading, movement workshops) and experimental learning curriculum she has developed is on par with more expensive center programs we visited in the area. I feel that my children are getting a good mix of the individual attention they need to thrive as little humans and the independence they need to develop themselves.

Rates are reasonable for the Bay Area and her sibling discount made it affordable for us to send both kids there. It's a very diverse environment as well and my kids are seeing kids that look like them and more.

My two boys are there. The older one has been for over 2 years! Very enriching, wholesome, active place! Carmen and her assistants care so much and are always so nice and inviting. Carmen makes all of the food and she is very good at this:) She has soooo much experience in children and childcare. I've always felt my babies are in good hands. She has endless activities, books, tumbling class twice/wk, toys, fun outdoor area! She helps the kids with potty training, even when you aren't up for the challenge yet:)

Im with a program and All she cares is bout money . Kicked my daughter out because older kids don't give her a lot of money. Plus she used to make my daughter take a nap even if my daughter didn't want to

Both of our kids have attended L'infanzia and we can't say enough good things about Carmen and her staff. Connection is so important for young kiddos and both of our children absolutely love the caring, nurturing environment Carmen has created, as well as the workshops and curriculum for the older kids. Highly Recommend!

Carmen and the entire care-giving staff are amazing. Our sons transition into daycare was easy and he loves to go there everyday. Carmen knows a ton about child development which she studied (very cool!), and is super helpful marking milestones and giving constructive feedback. Every week we get an in depth report about how our son has been doing with his mental and physical growth, and it also highlights the many things they did that week. I love getting this to read over every Friday.

My son also has allergies to some foods, and Carmen and the staff have been very on top of making sure he doesn't eat or drink the foods that upset him.

Carmen's energy is a big ball of love. She cooks for the kids (very healthy food!) and gives my son a sweet embrace every morning when I drop him off. It feels good to leave him all day in a place I know he is getting this kind of love and care. I'd recommend this daycare to anyone.