Happy Garden Child Care
Community SubscriberEl Cerrito, CA
Bilingual Chinese Day Care
Both my children have attended Happy Garden and love it there. The daycare is mostly play-based, with lessons every day about seasonal topics (plant growing in the spring, caterpillars to butterflies, moon festival, etc.). My older child is now a first grader at a bilingual Mandarin public school, and he was well prepared to enter kindergarten because the older kids at daycare practice writing the alphabet, their Chinese and English names, and numbers. My little one is still at Happy Garden and thoroughly enjoys her time there every day. She loves the home cooked lunch, and all the teacher's aids who work there.
My daughter has been going to Happy Garden for the past 4 years and we feel lucky to have found this place! Eveline and the long term helpers truly love what they do and they have become an extention of our family. They are loving, caring, flexible, and safe. Last fall, our daughter "graduated" and started kindergarten at the West County Mandarin School, a public Mandarin Immersion elementary school, during Covid times and Eveline was able to host a small pod of Kindergarteners and help them with zoom, assignments, and homework. The teachers said that our pod was one of the most successful kindergarten pods, and Eveline would let us know what homework still needed to be completed. My daughter was well prepared for Mandarin immersion school and has become fluent in Mandarin and can write dozens of characters despite the fact that we don't speak Chinese at home. She also learned to read English and knows basic math and loves to learn about gardening. Happy Garden has really nurtured our daughter into a thoughtful, kind, and caring person. She loves to help others, help with chores at home, and has developed solid leadership skills. I couldn't be happier with our time here and our whole family will miss seeing Eveline and the teachers every day! As a Mandarin immersion daycare/preschool, Happy Garden goes above and beyond to provide a caring and nurturing environment with a diversity of children. I highly recommend them!
Our little girl Alina attended Happy Garden for 3 years (2~5yrs). This place is truly Happy place. She went from youngest kid to oldest kid when she left Happy Garden. As a younger kid she learned to play with older kids and take directions. As older kid she learned to take care and play with younger kid. Her development in 3 years was outstanding. We she her social skills around new kids and she never seems to have any trouble adjusting. Ofcourse main reason we sent her there was bilingual Mandarin program, which after 3yrs we are very happy about the her mandarin language skills. Eveline and rest of the teachers are very caring, genuine and excellent human beings. Eveline has always been very kind and flexible. She never has made us feel like her school is a business. We never in 3yrs had any concerns, only appreciation for what a great she did with our girl. Our little girl still misses her teachers and can't wait to go back during school breaks. We are truly grateful for the job they did.
Noman/Louisa.
If you are looking for a place that provides personalized care for your kids, happy garden is a great choice. They offer a bilingual Mandarin program, lots of craft and garden projects to keep your little ones busy. Warm food and healthy snacks, friendly caregivers. The main teacher is Mandarin and English bilingual, she is very experienced and a professional caregiver and mom of two. She always gives us good advice and information on not only child care, but also kids' activities outside her daycare. Whenever you have a question, she always has an answer. Please contact Eveline @ 510-388-1534 for more information.
Try Happy Garden 510-9659461. Eveline is great with the kids.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Sept 2014
I want to recommend Happy Garden Child Care. This is a Mandarin immersion day care. There are a few things I really like about this day care. The teacher and assistants are lovingly, caring and experienced. My kids like them and they even taught my child how to write number before he turns four year old. They also accommodate other small request such as applying eczema cream to a tiny spot on my child's arm so he can recover fairly soon. My kids were also potty trained there. The day care has a formal class schedule including story time, music time, and play time in the back yard or nearby park. My kids learn a lot of Chinese songs and English songs there. Many kids there are bi-lingual so they learn both Chinese and English from other kids and teachers too. The food and snack are healthy and tasty. My kindergartener still asked me if he could have more lunch there instead of at the school aftercare. The day care is also very flexible with schedule. I saw full day kids, half day kids, and a few days' kids too. If you need more info, please feel free to contact Eveline at 510-965-9461 or happygardenchildcare [at] gmail.com.
anon
Sept 2014
My 3yo son attended an excellent Mandarin daycare in El Cerrito for two years. My 5yo daughter graduated two years ago but still went for after school care. My kids adore the head teacher, Eveline, and all the assistants. They are warm, loving, energetic and creative. They go for neighborhood walks to the park, play in the safe and fun home and backyard, read books, make art projects and sing. My kids have learned a great deal of Mandarin at daycare, and Eveline had been teaching my older child to write and read Mandarin characters. Eveline is credited with potty-training both my kids--even without me asking her to do so! The rates are very reasonable and include a heathy lunch and snacks. We found a very special place for my kids and couldn't have been happier. Please contact Eveline at 510-965-9461 or happygardenchildcare [at] gmail.com to find out more.
DT
April 2014
We love this home-based Mandarin speaking daycare. Our family is on our 2nd child here! The caregivers really care about the kids, the price is reasonable, they are flexible and this is one of the few home daycares that doesn't take long vacations. Moreover our kids have always been happy here. They don't even have a television, so tha is not an issue for screen-free families. Yes, the yard is small, but the kids are happy and eating good meals/snacks too.
March 2014
Thumbs Up for Happy Garden Child Care
For those of you interested in daycare, especially Chinese- immersion, I am posting a recommendation for Happy Garden Child Care. My son has been there for the past two years and has thrived. He's four now and can understand about 90% of the Mandarin that the daycare providers use. Many of the graduates attend the Mandarin-immersion charter school Yu Ming that serves K+. The director, Eveline, and her two assistants are wonderful, nuturing, and energetic daycare providers. They even potty-trained my son within a few weeks after he started attending the daycare when he just turned two. Eveline is very good about giving me details regarding out-of-the-ordinary occurences that might have taken place during the day. The daycare is located in a quiet, family- friendly neighborhood where they can take walks to the park, library, and even fire station on nice days. I highly recommend this daycare.
Helen
March 2014
My 3yo son has been at an excellent Mandarin daycare in El Cerrito since he turned two. My 5yo daughter graduated two years ago but still goes for after school care. My kids adore the head teacher, Eveline, and all the assistants. They are warm, loving, energetic and creative. They go for neighborhood walks to the park, play in the safe and fun home and backyard, read books, make art projects and sing. My kids have learned a great deal of Mandarin at daycare, and Eveline has been teaching my older child to write and read Mandarin characters. Eveline is credited with potty-training both my kids--even without me asking her to do so! The rates are very reasonable and include a heathy lunch and snacks. We found a very special place for my kids and couldn't be happier. Please contact Eveline at 510-965-9461 or happygardenchildcare [at] gmail.com to find out more.
dtom
June 2009
My son just graduated from an excellent home daycare where he has been for almost 2 years. Evelyne Peterson (Chinese name Wen-Hsiang) runs the Happy Garden Daycare out of her home on Everett Street in El Cerrito. She and her helpers are enthusiastic, caring and attentive to the children. The day is structured with storytime, craft activities, nap and lots of playtime. Evelyne has always been flexible the few times when we had to be late. Our son speaks fluent Mandarin now, a language that neither my wife or I speak. He also became potty trained there. Evelyne is bilingual. Some of her staff only speak Chinese and our son can understand my Mandarin speaking coworkers. He outgrew this daycare and is now in a preschool. Evelyne's home has a small backyard which ideally would be larger, but it is very safe with a high wooden fence around it. Her phone #s are 510-388-1537/510-965-9461. She accepts part time/full time.
Josh
Sept 2008
My son's home-based, Chinese (Mandarin) language daycare now has openings for 2-5 year olds as he and another student are leaving for pre-school. My son has been there for 1.5 years and has grown very close to the main teacher, Eveline, and the two assistants, who are all very competent, warm, energetic, and wonderful with the children. As the children have grown, Eveline has done a great job adapting the daily activities to keep them interested, including gardening, going for walks, art projects, etc. They recently moved to a very nice, spacious new house. The kids have all learned a lot of Chinese, even those who don't speak it at home. Please contact Happy Garden at 510-965-9461/message or happygardenchildcare [at] hotmail.com, or email me if you have questions.
Sophie
Oct 2008
My son's home-based Mandarin/English daycare now has openings for 2-5 year olds as he and another student are leaving for pre-school. It is located in a very nice, spacious house in a safe neighborhood. My son has been with HappyGarden for 1.5 years and has grown very close to the head teacher, Eveline, and the two assistants, who are all very competent, warm, energetic, and wonderful with the children. As the children have grown, Eveline has done a great job adapting the daily activities to keep them interested, including gardening, going for walks, art projects, etc as well as teaching them Mandarin. My son is now 100% fluent even though we do not speak Mandarin at home. He can even read some Chinese. Eveline speaks both English and Mandarin and is VERY easy to communicate with. She has been a preschool teacher for many years and has a lot of experience. I cannot speak highly enough of her and her daycare. She is a very special teacher and we feel so lucky to have found her. Please contact Eveline at Happy Garden at 510-965-9461/message or happygardenchildcare [at] hotmail.com, or email me if you have questions.
Melissa
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