“I have two sons and both of them went to early birds daycare in El Cerrito . I was searching for a caring daycare for my first baby i went to many different places but when we met Emaliza I knew it was the perfect match . My baby instantly liked this place . He was 6 months old when he first started and remained here until he was 3 and went to preschool but he still talks about Emaliza and he misses her and wants to visit. I would pick him up and he wasn’t ready to leave yet . The location is in a safe place right by the police and fire station . I loved all of the activities and thoughtful learning games that they would do , I highly recommend this daycare !! Excellent care and a loving environment”
— Dominique S.
“We had the pleasure of working with Emaliza for a year, while our son was attending Early Birds he was so cheerful and excited to go to daycare everyday. I returned to work when he was 3yo and initially thought the transition would be hard but our guy acclimated so well thanks to Emaliza. During this time we were navigating an Autism Diagnosis and Emaliza did her best to support his needs and differences. That was a major help and we appreciate her for her thoughtfulness and patience she gave our son while in her care. If we hadn’t moved away we’d still be working with her!”
— Melinda R.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better daycare than Early Birds. Emaliza is an absolute angel! Our son started when he was around 8 months old. Being with her, his social skills improved drastically and we saw him start interacting with other kids more. He was always so excited to see her in the morning and he had a big smile when we came to pick him up. From day one, we knew we were in good hands. What astonished us was the individual attention he got from Emaliza. She constantly sent us updates and photos throughout the day. He never came home hungry or in a dirty diaper. We wondered how she managed to do all that while caring for the other children. I remember talking with another parent one morning and jokingly mentioned that to her. She said she had been wondering the exact same thing. We feel so fortunate to have had our son with Emaliza during his formative years.”
— Mitch O.
“My wife first found out about this daycare through her employer. We learned that a past relative of the owner used to work at my wife’s work location. So, we decided to contact the owner for an appointment, and survey the daycare. When we first arrived to the location, the daycare looked fantastic inside. It’s not very big, but spacious enough for activities even though it is a home. Not a work location. The owner, Emaliza, was very wonderful. She kindly toured us around the home; we even brought our 2 daughters and introduced them to Emaliza. Our two little girls started to like the place. After that we decided to give this place a go for our youngest daughter. Keep in mind, this daycare is all English spoken. Not in any other language.
We enrolled our youngest daughter at this daycare in mid-2024 until almost the end of November, 2024. On our youngest daughter’s the first day at this daycare, she was hesitant to go in. Later on, our daughter was getting along well with Emaliza and started to get used to the place. Our daughter started to get along with the kids inside very well; she even became enthusiastic when going in to the daycare. The other kids and our daughter liked to play together as we saw pictures and videos of them sent to us by the owner. When her last day came at this location, my daughter was starting to get sad even though she loved the daycare. She was aware that she will not return nor see everyone at this daycare again. Our daughter misses this place, the kids and Emaliza so much, she talked about coming back and see them again. She did 1 time on her birthday in December of that year. Even today, our daughter still talks about Emaliza and her daycare.
Everything inside this daycare was so excellent. What we like about the owner, Emaliza, she was very detailed, organized, and knows how to work their schedule. This daycare works almost like a regular school like following the holidays. They do contact us for reminding us to bring resources and lunch since we also need to help them to support our daughter. We also enjoyed working and communicating with them. They will work with the scheduling and financing either in-person or on the phone. We gave this place a 10 out of 10 for their great care of our daughter and helping her grow along with the other kids Emaliza takes care as well. We thank her so much for that, though it is still sad for our daughter since she still misses them as I said before. We do strongly recommend for any family who reads this to give this place a try.”
— Diego P.
“Everyday our little girl is so happy to enter daycare. We very much enjoy the photos and videos we receive throughout the day of her engagement with activities and the other children.
Other child care places we looked into had children in rooms by age, and we love that our daughter has the opportunity play with others in a mixed age group. Additionally, the hours this day care runs is 6AM-6PM and while we specially requested our time as 7AM-4PM we appreciate that if something comes up, we have checked in the day before to request a change for drop off or pick up and we have always been accommodated.
Emaliza brings so much energy and genuine love for the children from personalized cubby spaces, personalized activities to learn children’s names, to supporting local business, such as Moments in a Bottle. Each week she has planned activities based on themes the involve the change in sensory play, writing/coloring and music to provide variety to develop language, social skills, large and fine motor through play.
Drop offs from day one have always been a easy for us, and following pick up, our little girl is calm on the walk home. She is able to stay focused with her books and toys independently and also checks in with some babble and then some words she knows to engage conversation. With all the music I hear from video and at pick up, I think my kid has developed a love of music that engages her socially with others and helping her learn words as she continues to practice the singing.
So much of this is possible from the environment and support that daycare brings our daughter. Thank you, Emaliza!”
— Crystal K.
“This daycare is a hidden gem. It’s the perfect place for your little one. My daughter started here at 6 months old and she never came home sick from daycare virus/germs.
She loves Emaliza so much. For a long time, Emaliza is the only person my daughter would let care for her apart from me and her dad. Emaliza genuinely loves the kids and nurtures them with so much dedication.
Another thing I like about the daycare is the reliability. The hours are great (6am - 6pm). Also, she doesn’t shut down for random reasons. She has a schedule at the beginning of the year and she follows the schedule. The schedule is reasonable.”
