Looking for Nursery / Home Day Care / Infant-Toddler Group (San Rafael/Terra Linda/ Marinwood)
Hi Marin Mommies,
My name is Sarah and I recently accepted a job offer in the Bay Area and will be relocating to the San Rafael/ Terra Linda/ Marinwood area from San Diego. Our new home will be Marinwood, so something close by will be ideal.
I'm looking for a home day care for my 2 kids (infant and toddler). I can already tell my new job will be very chaotic and I will be required to work long hours. I considered the idea of hiring a nanny, but I really want my babies to have interaction with other children - specially because we will be new to the area and don't know anyone - and to have some preparation to transition to school.
The place should be clean and safe with experienced and loving caregivers. I wanna be able to work with the peace of mind that my kids are safe, enjoying themselves, learning and being disciplined when necessary. Also, being from San Diego I would love a multi cultural environment. It would be a plus if it served fresh organic food and snacks :)
This transition will be difficult, so any advice or reference will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time.
-Sarah
HI Sarah, by looking the date of your post, seems that it came just after my last one, when I visited this site on Oct. 15.
I can't imagine how busy you are with your 2 little ones + moving out to another area...Anyway, I would like to let you know that YES we are accepting infants and toddlers at this time.
I'll attach couple referrals so you can feel a little bit more about me before we get connected. Also, you can get some more ref. at YELP.
Thank you, and take it easy.
Karina
P.S.: Best way to connect with me is through email: tiakarinashouse@gmail.com
Please, understand that due to the nature of my job safety is the number one issue, so I don't get online, or phone very often. Plus I'm mother of 3 myself (all going to Dixie District- the one your house belongs to- public middle and elementary schools), so I also do my best to be with them after hours. This said, I do struggle somehow to get back to my inquiries. I hope you understand if I don't get back to you right alway. Please, I really hope you (and all parents) can understand that and be sensitive to it!
June 17th, 2015
Dear Marin Mommies
I want to give a BIG THUMBS UP to Tia Karina’s in home day care in Terra Linda!
This is my first time using a day care, as I was a stay at home mom and did not need care for my first two children. They both started at an exclusive preschool, Marin Waldorf, as soon as they were eligible at age three. But then our third child came along and, because I was going back to school to earn my nursing degree, I desperately needed day care for my third child as a two year old. The prospect of having my child in the fulltime care of another was daunting to me: I had heard the horror stories and I did not trust anyone. But Karina came highly recommended from some working moms at Marin Waldorf, who also needed daycare before preschool. So I called her to interview last fall.
The first thing I noticed when we arrived at her conveniently located home in Terra Linda, was her beautiful and warm smile greeting us as we entered her “neat-as-a-pin” beautiful home day care. She keeps her home the way I would like to keep mine, but that never happens in my home! So I’m thankful that my daughter has the experience of a neat organized home at Karina’s!
Anyway, that day, during our interview, our two year old toddler daughter entered cautiously with wide eyes as Karina showed us her warm and cozy multi room home day care. We sat out in her back yard, at a picnic table and talked for a long while. She detailed her daily schedule, which includes a hearty homemade lunch and afternoon naps. I told her my daughter is a picky eater and does not nap. She laughed a little and explained how all of the children flow right in to the rhythm. (My daughter, incidentally, eats everything that is offered to her, asks for seconds, and naps like a champ at Karina’s….lol)
Karina is an early childhood educator (Ages 0-6) and Montessori preschool teacher. She is also a mother of three grade school age children. She and her husband Fabio are from Brazil originally, and were so warm and welcoming and friendly. Karina put all of my concerns to rest right away that day. My daughter is usually very shy at first, but while I talked with Karina at length, my daughter soon started exploring all of the toys in Tia Karina’s spacious toddler friendly backyard wonderland.
Since my daughter had never been in daycare, Karina encouraged me to “ease” my daughter in….so I brought her for just lunch in the park with the other children one day. And then another day I just dropped her for an hour and ran a short errand.
In the beginning, my daughter especially attached herself to Rosa, Karina’s lovely assistant. Rosa, who speaks only a little English, speaks fluent “Toddler”! The children absolutely LOVE her! She is warm and playful and extremely loving. She relates to them on their level, putting them at ease with her warmth. Rosa is worth her weight in gold!
It was not long before my daughter was asking to go to Karina’s every day! It was fun for her! She is thriving in Karina’s practical daily routine: She confidently enters Karina’s house and puts her shoes in the basket, then her lunchbox on the tray, and goes to the potty (Incidentally, Karina will potty train too!).
My daughter now has her own friends and her own school at Karina’s. My daughter cries when it’s a holiday or weekend and she cannot to go to Karina’s! She says, “Momma, I want rice and beans!”, to me at home. This is her favorite meal at Karina’s! Karina’s is where my daughter has a fun, predictable day. Predictable means safety to a toddler, and safety means they can relax and enjoy their day full of learning and playing and growing.
At first, we only wanted to keep our daughter at Karina’s for one year, until she was eligible for Marin Waldorf Preschool, like her siblings. Or a Spanish immersion preschool or some other enriching preschool environment. And this coming fall, we were, indeed, offered a spot in the exclusive Marin Waldorf Preschool. But after our fantastic experience with Karina over the last year, we are not sending our daughter to Marin Waldorf preschool or any preschool at all!
Tia Karina’s is every bit as enriching as Marin Waldorf Preschool and as a bonus: Karina’s is fantastic for language exposure at an early age. Karina teaches the children some words in her native Portuguese as well as speaks Spanish with Rosa. What a gift my child is getting: hearing three languages spoken over the course of her day!! Also, Karina has longer and more flexible hours than preschool and, Karina’s is a small, practically custom program. AND finally, Karina’s is a fraction, yes a fraction, of the cost of any preschool in Marin. Our daughter will joyfully stay with Karina until we go to Kindergarten in two years time. I can’t say enough….
I am so grateful to Karina! My daughter absolutely loves Karina and all of her family and Rosa. They ARE her family…truly, her home away from home….
I highly, highly recommend Tia Karina’s for daycare!
You can reach Karina at her email: tiakarinashouse@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Pamela Ko Byrd
1(415)336-7614
YELP 5.0 star rating 10/18/2015
Karina and Rosa are the best thing that could have happened to our family! we moved to Terra Linda in July when my children were 19 months and 2 months old. Not knowing anyone in the neighborhood, and anxious about finding a family daycare that would take both baby and toddler, I did an intensive search in the area, spoke to other moms, called tons of places... and found exactly what I was looking for here! Karina is professional, yet warm; she follows the Montessori method and is very honest and to the point - you can tell that she really cares for the kids, and has plenty of experience for being a Montessori teacher for a long time and having 3 children of her own.
And then there's Rosa, her assistant. Rosa is a super sweet girl and she loves the tiny ones. My now 5 month old is totally spoiled by her! I also know that my toddler is getting plenty of stimulation, playing outside with the other kids in Karina's awesome backyard, and loves going to 'school'. We feel blessed to have found them and plan on keeping our kids there for as long as we can!