Hugs and Kisses Bilingual Daycare

One of the first things you notice when you visit Hugs and Kisses is that Eliza, the owner, has photos and holiday cards from dozens of families up on her wall — some of the kids are teens! It’s no surprise that families whose kids attended Hugs and Kisses stay in touch with Eliza. Her daycare/school is one of those rare places where kids feel safe, loved and respected while they learn and grow.

Our daughter attended Hugs and Kisses from age 2 until just before her 5th birthday when she started going to transitional kindergarten. During that time she picked up some Spanish, made  friends, learned about sharing and playing with other children, and about the rules and routines of Hugs and Kisses. Eliza helps the kids through big feelings, whether it’s being away from home and missing family or trying new foods or learning how to give and accept apologies.

Our daughter loved Hugs and Kisses and we did too. Eliza is an incredibly kind, patient and nurturing teacher who knows how to set clear boundaries for behavior that helped our daughter thrive. Eliza is a clear and consistent communicator, letting everyone know about days off and events with plenty of advanced warning. She often sends videos and photos from music sessions, fun playtimes and celebrations. And terrific art and craft projects come home every Friday.

Eliza’s backyard, with its fruit trees (yes, the kids get to pick and try some!) was a favorite. There are playskool cars, slides and activity centers and lots of toys to spur the imagination. Eliza keeps the kids cool in the heat of the summer with shade and play time on a splash pad and other water toys. Inside is just as fun. Eliza rotates toys and activities regularly to keep the kids engaged. One morning a rug with cars and trucks might be out, the next a big box of Magnatiles or giant puzzles. 

We couldn’t have imagined a better place for our daughter. If you think your child might thrive in a smaller daycare setting with a gem of a teacher, Hugs and Kisses should be on your list.

Our son, Lennon, came to Hugs and Kisses from a large, local preschool where we felt there was too much emphasis on regimentation and production, and not enough indivituation. He was anxious and was not thriving in that environment.

From the moment he met Eliza, Lennon warmed to her. Like most children, he is highly sensitive to how adults feel about him and treat him and reacts accordingly.

Eliza provided the perfect combination of education and play. She possesses the rare gift of being both absolutely loving and firm; Lennon was rightly held to behavioral expectations and matured tremendously under her tutelage. Hugs and Kisses was the only school our son attended where on the weekends, he often wished he could “go see my friend Eliza.”

Eliza is absolutely reliable, and has a wonderful, safe space for the kids, including an amazing backyard. A music teacher comes in regularly to sing and dance with the kids. Lennon also learned quite a lot of Spanish while at Hugs and Kisses!

Of note, Eliza does a lot of very cool arts and crafts with the kids – we were really impressed by the variety of projects and how well executed they were.

My only regret is that we didn’t find Eliza and Hugs and Kisses sooner. Lennon is on his was to TK this August.

Eliza creates a loving, educational, happy and thriving environment for the children she cares for at Hugs and Kisses. Our son started with Eliza when he was 11 months old, and since then we have been so impressed by all of the ways that Eliza has supported his development- learning to walk, transitioning off the bottle, transition to one nap- and now that he's almost two- learning appropriate personal boundaries, cleaning up after himself, counting, ABCs, art projects, singing songs and speaking in Spanish. We are continually surprised and impressed by all of the things that he can do that he learns from Eliza! 

Eliza is also so nurturing and loving towards the children she cares for. Our son loves Eliza and going to daycare every day,  and we know that he is in the best hands when he is with her. Hugs and Kisses is safe and clean with a beautiful backyard and so many engaging and educational toys. Eliza also provides healthy meals and snacks for the kids (including apricots from her backyard during the summer). She is also accommodating and understanding about our concerns and special needs, like our son's peanut allergy. Finally, she has special perks for families, like her monthly Parents- Night- Out, which is such a wonderful bonus! 

We are moving from the area and are so sad to have to part ways with Eliza. We know that we won't find anything quite as wonderful as her program. This is truly a one-of-a kind special environment for your child and I recommend her in the highest terms! 

My almost-two-year-old daughter has been going to Hugs & Kisses for almost a year, and we love it! She is happy to go each morning and talks about Eliza and her daycare friends often. 

Eliza is amazing! She's very experienced, organized, reliable, flexible, great with communication, and she loves the children. She's an excellent partner in raising happy, respectful, responsible kiddos.

The home is clean, safe, and organized with lots of great age-appropriate toys and a lovely yard. She often switches out toys and moves things around to keep the environment interesting. 

She does lots of arts and crafts, circle time, age-appropriate themes throughout the year (apples in the fall, space and planets, etc), and does celebrations for holidays and special events. She also has a wonderful music teacher come weekly to sing and dance with kids. Our daughter often surprises us with things she's learned at Hugs & Kisses, such as counting, songs, and the ABCs.

Eliza does a great job with bilingual education, too. Our daughter didn't know any Spanish when she started, and now she understands quite a bit and uses Spanish words at home and daycare.

We are so happy we found Hugs & Kisses!

My daughter has been going to Hugs & Kisses bilingual daycare since she was 2 years old. She's now 4.5 and off to TK in the fall.   Eliza creates a warm and welcoming environment for all kids and really helps them thrive. She has structure to the day but also allows for lots of playtime both inside her home and outside in her yard.  My daughter has come home with art work each day as well as stories of trying to pick fruit from her fruit trees, from dancing and yoga time, to show-and-tell and music making with excellent visiting music teachers.  She prepares healthy food, keeps her home clean and well-organized and puts in daily routines and systems that teach the kids how to manage time away from home, how to listen and show empathy to others, how to communicate well with her and with the other kids, how to laugh and play, and mostly how to show love, love, love.  Additionally, Eliza helps to create a wonderful community with the families with gatherings around holidays and Halloween as well as a monthly Parents Night Out pajama party for the kids.  I would highly recommend Eliza and her warm daycare.  

Our son has been at Hugs and Kisses for the past 8 months (he is 2 now) and we could not be happier with this daycare! This is a small daycare and really feels like an extended family to us. Eliza is a natural with children and creates a calm and peaceful atmosphere. She teaches the kids many things, our son regularly comes home surprising us with what he knows….identifying letters, singing his ABC’s, and counting. And Eliza sends us pictures and videos when the kids are being extra cute! I have seen our little guy attempting to do yoga, playing on a swing, singing karaoke, playing a drum, and dancing. The kids always seem to be having fun when I am there for drop off or pick-up. I really like how Eliza responds to the kids, redirects them, and supports them in understanding pro-social interactions (like sharing, taking-turns, being empathetic, helping one another).

Eliza is flexible and easy to work with. I was a nervous first time parent and she allowed us to do what we needed to feel comfortable when our son started, which we were so grateful for. She brings in two different music teachers to have music classes twice a week! On top of all that, Eliza has parties to celebrate holidays and offers parents night out once a month. She creates community around the daycare and provides opportunities for the parents to hang out and everyone gets to know one another, which is very nice! I know how formative the early years are for children and that is why we were very picky when selecting a daycare. We feel so lucky that Eliza is helping to raise our son and that she will play a part in who he becomes as a person because she really is that awesome! Children regularly stay here for years and everyone we have talked to that has had a child at Hugs and Kisses raves about it. This daycare is a gem and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

TLDR; If a rare spot opens up in this small, licensed family daycare- don’t wait. Having my son here is one of the best parenting wins we’ve had! 

When my son was 18 months old we moved him from a nanny share to Hugs and Kisses. It was amazing to see his transformation! He was the “baby” at first and I think he really benefited from being with older kids (they range from 1-4 years old). 

Eliza has helped guide him through many transitions; eating with utensils, drinking from a cup, playing gently with younger kids, sharing toys and learning cleaning responsibilities.

She has also really helped us as parents with potty training, discipline, understanding our kids temperament in context and helping us see how he interacts with the world outside of our home.

The structure works really well for him, where there is optional structure (music time with excellent instructors, yoga, dancing, art-making, performing, dress up) or he can just play when he needs to. 

There is a great outdoor space with swings and play structures which is kept beautifully landscaped and clean. The kids are often sent home with fruits they foraged from the garden’s trees and in the summer they have lots of fun playing with the water table. 

I have to say the absolute highlight for me is how Eliza goes all out for different special occasions. Whether it’s celebrating the kids birthdays, the winter holidays, she is showering the kids with gifts and hosts events often where we get to hang out with the other parents. The kids annual halloween party is one of cutest things ever, when the wonderful music teacher comes and they have a singalong with the parents. 

Even though we don’t speak spanish at home there are many words our son chooses to say in spanish and songs he has learned. I see him light up when he hears spanish and know he understands a lot. 

He can count in spanish and english, knows his ABC’s and proudly brings him art projects almost everyday. 

I can’t say enough nice things about Eliza - who is warm and loving but also firm with the kids. 

Her daycare is truly a special place and we feel so grateful to have found our community here. If you have any questions about it feel free to reach out to me. I have a three year old son there now and three month old who I plan to have there as well!

Our son has been with Eliza for 2 years now and I can't believe its time to transition! We are leaving with heavy hearts! He went from a crying toddler when he first started to now regularly asking to... go to Eliza on the weekend! Eliza thank you for your patience, kindness and warm heart. It has been wonderful watching his growth in your care knowing that I had nothing to worry about it. We will miss you dearly!

Our son has thrived and learned so much at Hugs and Kisses bilingual daycare this year. I can't imagine a better daycare setting for a toddler! After having our son in a nanny share as a baby, we knew that before he turned 2 we really wanted him in a larger setting to gain social skills and have more interactive stimulation for a year before heading off to preschool (although some families definitely leave their kids in the program into the preschool years as well). I'm so happy that we picked Hugs and Kisses - and are mostly moving him on to preschool just for practice in a larger setting and to get a Jewish education at a Jewish preschool.

Hugs and Kisses is a small, really cute family-run daycare, with just 6 kids at a time in the program. Eliza is incredibly warm and friendly, and also has a strong background in early childhood education within the Oakland Unified School District- and it shows! Our child is learning Spanish and English, all the colors, how to count, tons of names of items from the natural world, sign language for weather patterns, the ABCS, and even learning about the days of the week and the calendar! The kids have a music class with an outside teacher once or twice a week, do yoga or have dance parties almost every day, and have tons of help navigating through peer relationships with each other. They spend a lot of time outside in Eliza's amazing yard, with a fun play structure and lots of toys. Eliza has a great house, and it's very well set up for children. It's amazing how clean and organized she keeps the play spaces - I can't manage keeping our toys organized even with just one child at home!

Eliza takes great care to give love and attention to each child, and meet the kids where they are at developmentally. She cooks breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snacks each day, and has been incredibly open and attentive to my son needing extra help eating (as he is underweight and has some medical issues). I know that she can help potty-train if a family is ready, and has lots of great parenting/developmental advice if you are needing help with a new stage. Eliza also provides a little something extra for the parents, in the form of a 'parents-night-out' usually one time a month, which is a Friday night when daycare is open late and kids can stay for a pajama pizza party and parents can have a date night or extra time off!

I completely and unreservedly recommend Hugs and Kisses if you are looking for an Oakland daycare for your older baby, toddler, or preschool age child.