Amy's Daycare

For the past 1.5 years, Amy has been like a third parent for our daughter—Amy knows her so well, and our daughter adores Amy. (Every morning she asks if she's going to go to Amy's house.) My husband and I often remark, out of nowhere, how lucky we were to find Amy, and it is with immense gratitude and a bit of sadness (the most appropriate word here is 'bittersweet') that our daughter heads off to preschool. 

Our daughter started with Amy at 6 months and is now just over 2 years old. She has always gone to daycare happily and come home in a good mood. She started as the youngest, and is now the oldest, which has helped her learn new skills *and* how to help out and care for little ones. The kids at Amy's regularly make crafts, participate in INCREDIBLE photo shoots, play at local parks, check out the fish in the tank, mess around on the piano, and play with a toddler's dream assortment of push cars and scooters on Amy's outdoor space. Amy makes healthy and high-quality breakfasts and lunches for them, sings songs, reads books, and teaches them Chinese phrases (which are uttered in our household regularly). They have regular nap times and a large portion of Amy's house is dedicated to a safe, clean play area and napping room. Amy's family often helps out, and all are so warm and wonderful as well.

We've felt confident every single day that our daughter is going to a safe, positive, nurturing, and stimulating environment and there's not much more a parent of an infant-going-on-toddler could ask for. Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions.

My son attended Amy's Daycare from age 1-2.  He loved it and we were so grateful that we found Amy.  From the very beginning Amy put us at ease with how loving, organized, attentive and communicative she was.  She was great at keeping us informed of how each day went and anything new that our kiddo learned while he was with her.  She does awesome art projects regularly that are really nice keepsakes and she is amazing at holiday themed photo shoots!  Our son developed such a lovely bond with Amy during his year with her, we were really sad to leave for preschool.  Her husband, daughter and parents all help care for the kids and they are all wonderful and so incredibly loving.  I don't know how, but Amy seriously never seems tired, flustered, annoyed or eager to give you your kid back.  She truly loves what she does and is so unbelievably good at it.  Send your kid to Amy's, I promise you won't regret it.

Our daughter attended Amy's daycare from about 15 mths to 2 years old and had a wonderful time since day 1. I will just echo what the other parents have written that the main play area in the house is wonderfully lit with lots of toys and books to play with. My daughter will often come home with cute arts/crafts based on the holiday/season and be singing songs she learned at daycare. Amy and her parents speak Mandarin, so my daughter was also able to maintain her Chinese with them as well which was nice. She also takes wonderful pictures (we got some great ones for Chinese New Year) of the kids and shares a sweet photo album at the end of the year with pictures she took. That was such a nice memento to have of my daughter's time there. The daycare is also small enough that I really felt like Amy was able to provide attentive care to all the kids. My daughter also loves the food and snacks that Amy provides - I know this because she doesn't seem to eat much dinner after daycare cause she filled up on all the food there :) 

One other really nice thing is that Amy was willing to work with me to support potty training my daughter when it came time. (I took ~1 week off to train my daughter and then returned to daycare mostly trained, and Amy was communicative and supportive when my daughter returned to daycare.) Overall, I definitely recommend Amy's daycare - we're sad that our daughter had to "graduate".

We sent our son to Amy’s from the time he was 4 months old until just after he turned 2. We absolutely loved the experience and are so thankful that we found Amy’s. Our son adapted so quickly to the new environment. By the end of the first day we were getting pictures of him smiling.  Amy maintains a very good balance of infants and toddlers – our son started as the youngest and ended as the oldest. We think that gave him lots of good experience with other children, and because of his experience at Amy’s, he’s great at interacting with younger children.  

Amy provides such a great balance of activities for kids. She has a wonderful upstairs space  devoted to the day care that seems like a children’s heaven with lots of toys, games, and art supplies. Amy also takes the children on very fun daily outings, including time at the park and to the local library. There is also a great outdoor space set up for play in the afternoons.  Amy also does lots of impressive arts and crafts with the kids. Another amazing bonus is that Amy takes excellent professional-quality photos of the kids for birthdays and other special occasions - many of our favorite photos of our son were taken by Amy. 

 Amy and her mom are so warm, kind, and loving with the kids. You really feel how much care and attention she gives each child. Their whole family is welcoming, you really feel like you are entrusting your child to family members. We highly, highly recommend Amy’s daycare! 

We sent our son to Amy’s from the time he was 4 months old until just after he turned 2. We absolutely loved the experience and are so thankful that we found Amy’s.

We've been sending our son to Amy's for almost two years now, since he was 10 months old (now 2.5). I was initially drawn to her close proximity to our home but I am so glad we found her!  She only takes a handful of kids at a time, and truly engages with them all day.  He comes home singing new songs or sharing new Mandarin all the time, including the clean up song! She has wonderful indoor and outdoor play spaces for the kids, though I think his favorite spot is the window overlooking San Pablo or the giant fish tank. They also visit local play grounds in nice weather, and in non-pandemic days, she would take the kids to the library for music and story time.

Amy is so kind and patient, and it's such a comfort to know our son is in a space where he is safe and happy while we are at work.  She celebrates birthdays and holidays with the kids, even taking professional photo shoots (that are the highlight of my days), and he brings home crafts all the time. When the initial lockdowns ended in summer 2020 she took every precaution in reopening, with enhanced cleaning procedures and periodic check-ins with families to ensure our "bubble" was remaining safe. We are not looking forward to "graduating" to pre-school and having to say goodbye to seeing her daily.  I highly recommend you check out Amy's!

Before deciding on a daycare for our children, we visited several providers with our then 14 month old). At some he would refuse to leave our arms, at others he would play cautiously with the toys right by my husband's and my feet. But when we met Amy, he reached out for her to hold him. He has loved her since the moment they met, and still (at almost 4) incorporates stories about her into his play. We are so grateful for the amazing foundation her warm, gentle, kind, consistent presence gave his early childhood. She regularly took the kids to the park and on other outings, fed them a wide variety of delicious foods, taught them words and games in Mandarin, and so much more. She is an extremely accomplished artist who took professional-quality photos on special holidays, engaged the children in creating their own age-appropriate art work, and her aesthetic sense has somehow created a perfectly balanced -- calming yet engaging -- environment for the children (and adults!) in her home. My daughter also attended Amy's daycare as an infant before we moved (from ages 3 to 9 months) and Amy nurtured her kindly and attentively, as well. Saying goodbye to Amy and the inspiring home-away-from-home she created for our children was by far the hardest part of moving away from Berkeley. It will be hard for any future daycare/preschool to live up to her standard!

It's hard to figure out what the best thing is when choosing who will take care of your baby while you're at work. I originally didn't feel comfortable considering home daycares but our neighbor had sent her daughter to Amy's and spoke so highly of her. When we toured her home we liked the environment and felt comfortable with the caretakers. They have a second floor dedicated to the daycare and it's sunny, clean and filled with toys. There are up to 6 children there (babies and toddlers), and I felt this was a perfect size where all the kids would get attention and still manageable for the caretakers.  My son started there at 4 months old, and he's now 18 months old and thriving, happy, fearless and he's a very good eater (Amy serves a wide variety of food once they're old enough to transition to solids). We're happy with our experience here!

We feel so lucky to have found Amy's daycare and continue to be grateful for the care our son receives and the experiences he engages in each week. Our son has been at Amy's for almost two years and will stay until he goes to preschool in the fall. He loves getting dropped off at Amy's in the morning and it can be difficult to tear him away at the end of the day. The kids engage in music, art, and our son is even learning some Mandarin! Amy's indoor space is bright with sunlight, colorful, safe, fun, and filled with options for activities. There is an outdoor space in which the kids can play when the weather is nice. In addition, Amy takes them to nearby parks, the library, and other local children's activities.  Amy is an artist herself and takes wonderful photos of the kids, which she texts regularly, and then compiles into a photo book of your child at the end of the year - it's such a thoughtful and special gift. Amy is communicative, professional, caring, and kind. We really can't recommend Amy's daycare highly enough and would be more than happy to answer questions about our experience there. 

Our daughter has been at Amy's daycare for 2 years (since she was 3 months old) and we highly recommend her! She and her family are so warm and caring, and our daughter is absolutely thriving there. The kids do some kind of activity each day like a park or the library, and otherwise play in her awesome (large, sunny) playroom or in her outside space. When we first started daycare our daughter really loved snuggling in a front carrier (ergo, Bjorn, I forget!). Amy would carry her as well, and I think this really helped them bond. Now Amy's daycare is like a second home to our daughter and we are dreading the transition away to preschool! We also like that our daughter is speaking a bit of Mandarin, learning songs and colors and numbers... Another great bonus is that Amy is a wonderful photographer! All the best portrait photos of our daughter have come from her house. I highly recommend Amy's daycare!

Words can't really describe how thankful I am to have found Amy's Daycare in 2014. Being a first time mom who was about to return to work after staying at home with my son for almost a year, I was very nervous and uncertain about how the separation would be. Amy was there to offer her guidance and support with every step. She kept me updated with all of my son's activities and new discoveries on a daily basis. Whenever I left for work, I always felt a sense of relief and comfort knowing my son was lovingly and thoughtfully taken care of by Amy and her parents, who have served as my son's local Grandma and Grandpa. After almost 3 years, we will be sadly saying goodbye to Amy and her family. I am forever grateful for all that they have done for us.  I highly recommend Amy's Daycare and would be happy to share more about our experiences with anyone who is interested. 

My daughter E. has been going to Amy's for 2 years, since she was 6 months old. Being a first time mom at the time, I was nervous about finding the right place and caretaker. I had already seen a handful of different home daycares and after meeting Amy and her mother and seeing the space, I felt immediately at ease. When E. started, Amy paid special attention and worked with her bottle feeding and nap schedule, and helped her adapt to a new environment. E. loves being dropped off everyday, and is excited to see Amy, her mom, and her family. The environment that Amy provides in her home daycare is caring, safe, active, and is like a second home for my daughter. The kids have a daily schedule consisting of art projects, music time, reading, a walk to the library or park, and outside play at her home. There are always activities that keep the kids engaged and my daughter is always running and laughing when I pick her up. If discipline is needed, it is handled with care, a talk and explanation, and maybe a time out. Amy is a genuinely kind person and so her care is the same. She sends pictures and gives a daily report at pickup. I will be enrolling my second child in the fall this year, and I couldn't ask for a better place for her to go. I can't say enough good things about Amy's, I am so happy with her daycare and fully recommend it to parents who are looking for a truly wonderful place.

Our daughter, Zoey, has just "graduated" from Amy's to preschool at 3. We are so lucky and happy that we found Amy's Day Care when our daughter was about 6 months old. For more than 2.5 years our daughter has simply flourished and thrived under Amy's care; we started her with 4 and then sent her 5 days per week to Amy. The warmth, attention, care, and thoughtfulness towards the kids (and parents!) under Amy's care has been extraordinary. From fabulous and safe play space inside, to delicious and nutritious meals, creative art, music, and play projects and enrichment, to exposure to great exercise and fresh air... we could not have been happier in these years with Amy's. If the excellent facility, lunches/snacks, activities, and ratios were not amazing enough, Amy accommodates an 8 to 6 pm schedule, which can be remarkably hard to find. There are seldom openings, but when there are, do not hesitate to send your little one to this marvelous and wonderful family day care. 

Our daughter has attended Amy's daycare for just over two years and we have been beyond thrilled with it.  I can honestly recommend her wholeheartedly, enthusiastically and without any reservations.  The best thing I can say is that our daughter loves Amy so much and everyday asks us, "I go to Amy's house?" and is disappointed when the answer is no because it's a weekend or a preschool day, since we transitioned her recently to part-time preschool.  Our daughter loves Amy's parents just as much, who are wonderful people and incredibly loving with the kids.  Amy has always been so warm, accommodating, flexible and gracious.  Her home is a beautiful, well-cared for townhouse with one story dedicated entirely to the kids, with tons of toys, playmates for the younger babies, and a playhouse.  She cooks well-balanced meals for them, including breakfast and lunch.  We never had to worry about rushing out the house without breakfast because we knew she would be fed a yummy meal when she got there.  Our daughter also learned so much Chinese since Amy and her parents often speak to the children in Chinese (Amy speaks fluent English too).  Around a year and half, our daughter knew about as much English as Chinese!  Because they are in Albany, the kids often go to local parks, the library, or the YMCA kindergym.  Because Amy only takes 5 kids at a certain time, the ratio of kids to adults is usually 1 to 2, especially when Amy's dad is there.  We looked at a number of other daycares when we moved to Albany while pregnant, and no place felt as safe, warm, and loving as Amy's.  We found that to be entirely the case.  We have never had any issue and have beyond pleased with our experience.  As our daughter, who will be 3 in November, moves on to preschool, we will so sad to leave.