Tots R Us Day Care

We love Lumin and Tots R Us! We have been bringing our son to Tots R Us since he was 10 months old, and he's now almost 3. Lumin and her husband are kind, compassionate, caring, flexible, and just a joy to work with. They clearly love our son, and our son LOVES them. Lumin provides lessons and learning opportunities and feeds her students fresh and healthy meals. We love hearing from our son about what he ate while there (fish, pancit, lumpia, veggies, soup), and love that he's being exposed to new foods. He's happy and tuckered out every time we pick him up. We're expecting a second kiddo in the fall, and are thrilled to be able to keep coming to Tots R Us!

We just enrolled our baby for the 2020 program year and we are beyond excited and finally relaxed

I am due in 8 weeks and one of my to do's was to find a secure and lovable day care with a learning culture. And tots r us offers all of that. Especially a close family environment.

For first time parents we were pretty nervous trying to find the right fit. As soon as we walked in to the second we walked out, we felt 101% positive that this was our daycare ! I observed the kids that were there and they looked so engaged and social.

Hurry and Inquire for this day care! It's a peace of mind for all parents to put their baby here.

Lumin is such a life saver! I was looking for an in home day care in the Alameda area for over a month. When I came across Tots r Us, nothing compared to the welcomed feeling me and my little one felt. We have been with her for 5 months now and it has been great. Usually my daughter, who is 3.5 now, had a really hard time whenever I would drop her off at previous day cares both in home and at bigger centers. So it was really important to me that my daughter felt safe and happy when she was in care.

Not only did her and my daughter get along so well, but my little one will come home singing songs and excited to share her art and what she learned that day. It's been great seeing my princess really grow with Miss. Lumin their to help her. My husband and I don't know where we would be if we didn't find Lumin when we did.

Thank you so much!!

I had my son enrolled here for only a few weeks but during that time he received great care from Ms. Lumin! When we met her she was very welcoming and our son warmed up to her immediately! The babies always seemed happy and well cared for. My only critique is that she wants the last weeks cost up front. We ultimately moved our son closer to home because we live in San Leandro and driving to alameda everyday was hard.

As most parents have experienced, the quest for an ideal childcare provider can be utterly stressful. When my husband and I learned last summer our 1 year-old's home care provider was retiring, we immediately went into stealth mode. We preferred home care environments over larger institutions, and we knew we had to find someone we could not only trust, but who is positive and fun. We were also limited with what we could afford.

Lucky for us, we found Lumin de la Cruz of Tots R Us. When I was pregnant, I used to take walks by Lumin's home, where Tots R Us is located on 8th and Central. I admired how all the kids seemed so energetic and engaged. Well, fast forward a year later and there I was, interviewing Lumin for the first time. She was referred to me by another daycare provider who was booked at the time. I called, I came by for an initial visit, and within the hour I had filled out the paperwork and signed Emma up for a July start. I was thrilled!

Lumin is a former Montessori preschool teacher and mother of 5 grown children. What is so appealing about her (and what I continue to marvel at) is how buoyant and welcoming she is when we arrive at 7:30 in the morning...EVERY morning! Cute little songs are always playing in the room and the TV is never on (for the record, I'm not anti-TV --I grew up on lots of it-- but I am a believer that it does not belong in a daycare).

Emma LOVES Lumin and her playmates. Lumin takes babies 0-1 year and kids up to 6 years. Right now, the eldest is 5 and will be leaving for school this summer; it's nice to know Emma can stay there through that age instead of moving to a preschool because Lumin teaches preschool curriculum to the older kids. The younger ones are exposed to it of course, and we see how quickly Emma has learned her ABC's counting, learning songs and movement...it's really cool.

I feel so grateful that Lumin has introduced Emma to preschool learning because she is soaking it up like a sponge. Best of all, our daughter looks forward to her days there and has many giggles left for mommy and daddy when we come to pick her up. Thanks to her daily naps and healthy meals, we get these consistently. : )

I cannot say enough good things about Lumin and Tots R Us. All the families we have met are wonderful.

This is an update to my previous review.

I recently enrolled my son under Lumin's care when he was four months old, so now I get to pick up two happy kids each evening. (My children are 23 months apart.)

Because my daughter was accustomed to sharing her caretakers with other children and babies, she didn't exhibit much sibling jealousy after the first week we brought her brother home from the hospital.

While I was pregnant with #2, Lumin taught my daughter to be helpful and gentle with babies. It's very heartwarming whenever I see my daughter pop a pacifier into her brother's mouth or when she runs to fetch his diaper for me.

As a parent of two, I find it both impressive (and enviable!) that Lumin can so easily provide gentle and effective instruction to toddlers. Her next trick should be to teach me how to do that too!

After visiting several daycare facilities, I knew right away that this is the one I wanted for my daughter. I enrolled my daughter at age 6 mos into the home daycare with Lumin and I am so glad I did. (Now my daughter is almost 4 years old). She has a structured day for the children which includes circle time and an early start lesson. There are also lots of educational activities and toys in a clean environment. (She washes the toys and vacuums all the time.) She also provides healthy snacks and lunch. What more could I possibly ask for?
Lumin has been the best thing that has happened to my family. She is the greatest. I look forward to enrolling my newborn there....

And yes...she makes awesome lumpia!

Great place, great service and great rates. My kids always comes home with a smile and they never want to leave. I've had horrible experiences with other day cares. This place has been great to me. Keep up the great work. Cheers

My oldest son started at Ms. Lumin's when he was 3 1/2. He learned how to write his name and his alphabet as well as his numbers. He really enjoyed playing with all the other children and really grew his social skills. Ms. Lumin is very kind, and warm, and caring. She's like everyone's favorite grandmother.

She has lots of experience with children having raised 5 of her own and was a Montessori teacher in the past. She draws from all different areas of learning and utilizes songs, playing, circle time, and lesson time to teach the little ones.

When my oldest started kindergarten, he was well prepared with his reading and writing and basic math. Ms. Lumin does a great job of teaching!

My 2nd son also started at Ms. Lumin's when he was 3. He was always a picky eater and his previous daycare would send home his lunch barely touched. Since being at Ms. Lumin's house, he has started to eat everything! He loves Ms. Lumin's cooking and thankfully, that has translated to him eating more than 2 bites at home as well!

Ms. Lumin was also nice enough to hold a holiday party at her house for all the families. Her lumpias were delicious. The children sang and danced. It was so cute. Everyone we met were super friendly. We've even gone to each other's birthday parties!

My husband and I are very thankful to have found such a loving, caring, and competent caregiver and educator for our sons. If your toddler goes here, they will be well prepared when they start kindergarten.

I enrolled my 3 months old baby for 2 months approximately. It was a convenient choice because I lived just around the corner so did not have to drive.
I guess it was not the best match for me and my baby and overall I did not get a good experience. Even though - I think Lumin is a nice person and she provides good care to the children. But I would not say she is warm and inviting.

Here are some of the reasons why I was not convince by her services: Not enough structure as regards infants schedule, nap time, eating times (for the infants), bad communication with her (cannot barely understand what she was saying), tiny space, old toys and equipment, strong odor in the house, bottles are not even clean at the end of the day... I forgot bibs one day so she used the baby clothes to clean her face... The house itself feels dirty and not safe overall. I never felt 100% happy when dropping my baby.
I understand that parents my like the service but for my part, it was just not a good match for me and my baby.