See what our clients have to say about our staff and services by reading some of the testimonials they sent. If you like to share your experience in working with us, you are more than welcome to send your testimonials.
REVIEWS
See what our clients have to say about our staff and services by reading some of the testimonials they sent. If you like to share your experience in working with us, you are more than welcome to send your testimonials.
“Mara and Tey at Kidsland Dwight are amazing! I know my 2-year-old son is in safe, caring, teaching hands while I’m at work. He is learning so much under their care and has blossomed into a polite Spanish-speaking toddler. Mara and Tey are so knowledgeable, they’ve helped us through so much including the big task of potty training.”
“My son (4-1/2 yrs) has been going to Kidsland since he was 1 yr and my daughter (2 yrs) since she was about 4 months. When we were first considering signing up our son, Tey was very accommodating and let us bring him for a “trial” day to see the routines and to see how he interacted with the other kids. My wife, who is a Behavioral Therapist, loved how nurturing Tey and Mara were and we both loved that they interacted with the children in Spanish, a really academic level of Spanish!
Now here’s what really sold me on this daycare/preschool. Besides observing an extremely well-structured play program, a very nutritious lunch, and an engaging academic program, I noticed that their oldest student (and I use “student” because the kids are constantly learning, whether they know it or not – a CRITICAL aspect to an effective pre-school), a girl who at the time was around 4 yrs old, reading a book in Spanish – all by herself! I found out the girl was a native Spanish speaker and thought the accomplishment not so amazing… until she pulled out a book in English and read it just as easily. And I don’t mean just making out the sounds, but actually understanding the text as was evidenced by the questions she was asking about it.
Right then and there, I thought that if my son could do even HALF as well as this girl was doing, then the investment would be worth it. As a 14-year teacher in elementary and middle schools, I’ve seen what kind of difficulties kids experience when they read below grade level and feel very fortunate that my son is already reading in Spanish, is learning the early concepts of numbers and addition, and has a healthy head start once he enters Kindergarten. All of the kids that I’ve seen that attend this program full-time achieve as much, if not more. I feel confident that my daughter will be doing equally amazing things in two years. You can’t argue with results!”
There are several home-based daycares and preschools going by the name ”Kidsland,” and they are all connected. Carmen and David run one in Berkeley, Marianna runs another esp for preschool aged kids, and Mara and Te just moved to Berkeley from Castro Valley. This is an extended family with many collective years of experience with daycare and preschool. There is yet another branch in San Leandro, and more relatives running daycares in Berkeley under different names.
I started with Mara and Te in Castro Valley, and moved with them to Berkeley. My son is 3.5, and I’ve been lobbying for more ”older” kids to join, so that they can form a preschool group.
I’m happy to have to opportunity to endorse Kidsland. My daughter started there at 12 months and I soon fell in love with Tey and Mara, and all of the children there. It was everything and more of what I was looking for… fresh healthy food (they even soak their own grains to make homemade cereal!), love and affection for the kids, creative activities, music, a very peaceful nap room, lots of positive reinforcement… I could go on and on. Kidsland is a yet undiscovered gem. When they moved from Castro Valley to Berkeley, we considered staying with them, but the commute was just too far. We miss them dearly! As they say, the proof is in the pudding… The Kidsland kids are all so smart and happy, with glowing smiles and good manners. This place is very special. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Kidsland is just this-a home-based all Spanish daycare for babies to kinder. I kept my son there through kinder. it is loving, stimulating, and wonderful. I considered it a play-based preschool since they go above and beyond what a daycare is-music and art and educational activities all with a loving, enriching environment. There is one part of Kidsland which is for babies to young toddlers which is on Oregon and M.L.K. in Berkeley and there is another Kidsland where the older kids go on Russell and MLK. Kidsland is a hidden gem because they do not advertise or have a website and it is not well known but it is truly a special place. You have to be persistent and call them multiple times because they tend not to focus on administrative tasks like following up to messages from interested parents focusing more on their daily activities with the kids, but I have another son there and know that there are openings. Please feel free to email me and I can give you the cell phones of the Kidsland caregivers/teachers and answer any more questions. If you Google Kidsland Berkeley, a phone number (landline with voicemail for Kidsland) will come up. We chose Kidsland over Centro Vida preferring the homier environment and smaller group of kids. People overlook daycare assuming it is not as stimulating as a formal preschool but Kidsland is not a typical daycare. In addition, the children of English-speaking families at Kidsland are bilingual by the time they leave since it is an all-Spanish environment!
If you’re looking for a facility that offers plenty of playtime outside, home-cooked meals, structured activities that challenge your child at every phase, as well as daily attention, love and support, Kidsland Haskell would check all the above. We interviewed and toured a number of Spanish immersion daycares in the Berkeley and El Cerrito area, and Kidsland Haskell definitely stood out. My now 3-year-old daughter has been with Laura and Tey since August 2021, and she is almost fluent in Spanish. I absolutely love listening to her sing songs in Spanish at home, and there isn’t a day when I would pick her up, and she isn’t smiling and giggling with the other children. We are so grateful to have found Laura and Tey’s care and could not recommend them more.