Cedar Street Childcare

Archived Q&A and Reviews

August 2003

Re: Best Daycare Centers for Infants

Cedar Street Childcare Center (549-3989) (not to be confused with Cedar Creek Montessori) has been a wonderful, small, stable place for my daughter since she was 5 months old. The teachers are warm, professional, and have a genuine love and delight for all of the children. CSCC serves age 3 months - 3 1/2 years. The facility is in a church basement, but not affiliated. Parents are expected to work a certain number of ~4 hr weekend workdays/yr (a common requirement at daycare centers) to do routine deep cleaning or other sprucing up projects such as painting. There are also occasional potlucks so parents can get to know each other...something I didn't quite get until I realized that my kid was with their kid all day and it would be useful to know where their kid was coming from....

Anyway, I appreciate CSCC more and more for what it is and what it isn't. My daughter is now 2 and with the exception of one caretaker in the ''Baby Room'' leaving after she graduated to the ''Waddler Room'', all the same staff people are there since she was 5 months old. My husband and I really value the stability, and the genuine community of people who know and love our dear daughter. It's also a smaller center than any other of the institutional (not family) day care centers I've heard of -- only about 25 kids total accross all age groups.

One of the questions I was advised to ask when I was checking out day care centers was did the staff receive health benefits. The implication being if they did, the staff would be more stable. The answer at CSCC is yes, but in the form of a stipend via which they can purchase health care for themselves. i.e. the Center is part of a group plan.

When starting my daughter there at 5 months, I had many concerns as most 1st time mothers who are transitioning for the 1st time from their 24/7 contact with their babies. The biggest one for me about CSCC was that the building was dark and small. Now after more than a year and a half, I am totally comfortable with the space and know that the kids get a lot of outdoor time in the small play yard (kids this young don't need huge spaces) and they take regular outings to parks or around the neighborhood in strollers or a special 6-toddler cart.

I guess I could go on and on about the ways I appreciate CSCC and what the ground rules there are like, but you can also schedule a tour and get a good sense of what it's like beyond this personal testimony. (It must be noted that I almost didn't respond to your request for a recommendation even with such positive feelings about it because I have child #2 due soon and had momentary feelings of hoarding the limited baby spaces so that we're sure to gain a slot....:-) )

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June 2003

Re: summer childcare
We have a couple of toddlers leaving this month in our daycare, why don't you give them a call?Cedar Street Daycare 510-549-3989. We've been there 2 1/2 years and love it. Paula

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1999

I am writing to recommend my son's childcare center, Cedar Street Childcare. It is located on Cedar Street, between Oxford and Walnut, within walking distance of UC Berkeley. Infant, waddler (ages 1-2) and toddler (ages 2-3 1/2) programs are available. My son is now three, and has been at Cedar Street since he was a baby. This has been a truly wonderful experience for us. The director and teachers are warm, loving, and generous toward each child. I have many memories of their kindnesses. My son has flourished there, and has made many close friends, and we are part of a wonderful community. There are currently a few openings in the toddler classroom, and perhaps in the infant and waddler rooms as well. Please call the director, Anna Lee, at 549-3989 for more information. Elaine

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I do not know if they have part time space for a 9 month old at Cedar Street Childcare Center, but I recommend that you call them to find out (FYI for others - they may soon have openings for a couple of 1 year olds). My 4 yr old daughter was there from 6 months to 2+ years. My 14 month old daughter is there now. The Center is located at Cedar and Walnut under the Grace North Church. We like it because it is a small center with loving staff. We like the fact that there are both men and women teachers.

The infant room has two staff for 6 babies maximum. The 1 year old room has two staff for 8 kids maximum. There is also a room for 2 year olds and young three year olds. They have a small play ground behind the building, and a large play room inside. (It is not bilingual. They do know the few signs that my 14 month old uses).

The director, Anna Lee, is wonderful. For more information you can call the Center at (510) 549-3989. From "Suzanne"

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Just wanted to chime in with Suzanne in support of Cedar Street Childcare. My now 3-1/2 year old daughter went there for about a year. Admittedly she was rather older than 9 months when she started, so she was only in the toddler group while there, but the teachers in the baby and waddler rooms always seemed extremely sweet and nurturing to me. And I liked Anna Lee, the director, a lot as well. -Jean M

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My daughter (6 months now) started Childcare at Cedar Street about a month ago. During the first weeks I spent a lot of time there, maybe even more than my daughter. I am very enthusiastic about the staff and the director of the center. They will pretty much do anything to make the little ones happy. There is a very good atmosphere among the staff members as well. Catharina

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My 5 1/2 month old has been going to Cedar Street for over two months and I have spent a lot of time there because I nurse him when I drop him off and pick him up. The experience has been wonderful. The teachers are very warm with the children and always attentive to the children's needs. I have never seen a child crying unattended; instead the teachers work hard to figure out what is going on with the child. Additionally, my goddaughter attended Cedar Street for a year, age 6 mos to 18 mos prior to moving back East. It was amazing how much she learned from and enjoyed her days there. Also, as a first time mom with most of my family on the East Coast, it has been nice for me to interact with people who are knowledgeable about children and are very interested in my son's well being. Abby

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One of my sons went to Cedar St. Childcare and we were very happy with it. It's not the most beautiful building in the world, and the outdoor playspace is not huge, but the caregivers are very loving and attentive. One of the teachers is still dear to my now 5 year old son and we see her pretty often. I also found the families who were at Cedar Street to be quite wonderful. I always looked forward to the occasional evening pizza and popsicle parties. Good luck. Elizabeth

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My child was at Cedar Street Childcare from age 4 mos to 2 1/2 years. We liked it pretty well. We found the care to be pretty good, although turnover in staff was pretty high. But I'm not sure it was any higher than "average" around here. They were pretty reasonable in price (although they raised their prices right before we left). The thing I liked least was the work detail--4 times a year there would be a work party for 4 hours, and you had to make 3 out of the 4 or you were charged for the missing hours. I found it difficult to schedule sometimes. But overall I was happy with Cedar Street. They are one of the most conveniently located, within walking distance of the campus--which was great, since I left at lunch to nurse my child till after she was a year old. They also didn't fuss about cloth diapers, which can also be an issue. Dawn

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After a long string of colds at my son's previous childcare, we moved him to Cedar Street Childcare where there were fewer kids, and more careful attention. There were also fun activities for waddlers and toddlers.

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My daughter (51 weeks old) has been in Cedar Street Child Care 20 hrs/wk since September. I think it's a great place. The workers are competent (as day care providers), wonderful (as people), and genuinely love the babies. There are usually about 2 adults to 5 babies, and they get tons of attention. The center is small, so you must be patient with its ups and downs: In January, our baby was out sick for half the month. Whenever we did bring her in, we saw a few confused substitutes and many unhappy babies (who were probably sick, but didn't run a temperature). But this was just a transitional period. Since then she hasn't been sick once and it's been great. I would definitely recommend Cedar street. I'm sure it's one of the best. One more piece of advice: Don't go in before 9 am. Between 8 and 9 the waddlers and infants are crowded together. Many times (like this Tuesday), a staff member is late or they've not yet found a substitute for someone who's sick, and so there are 11 kids to 2 workers. This, I think, is when the less assertive babies get bitten or catch germs, or at best, the early workers get frazzled. We are leaving Cedar street this month, because we are moving across town (and don't have a car). We will miss it, (but are happy about the $430/month saved!) Lara