Another Semillitas parent here. I too like the daycare. I find them to be very communicative and responsive.

The head teacher in the toddler class is very thoughtful and organized and leads the kids in lots of activities. They go to either Meridian Hill or other play parks everyday weather permitting.

As a non Spanish speaker, I find the staff to be easy to talk with. Language is not a barrier. They all are comfortable speaking English.

We enrolled our 7-month old daughter at the Semillitas day care program when it opened on Jan. 2, 2013. So far we have been very happy with it. The women (it's all women) who work there and care for the children seem to me to be very caring and kind. The room is big & spacious and well laid out. Lots of fun things for them to play with. Also, it is close to Meridian Hill Park, which I gather is a spot where they sometimes go on walks to during the day. It's located at 2100 New Hampshire Ave. NW, between V and W Sts. NW.

Note, it is a Spanish immersion day care, and so you should at least be open to that and/or consider it a plus. I speak decent Spanish and so I converse with the staff entirely in Spanish when I drop her off or pick her up. I think they all also speak varying levels of English as well, though I am not sure how fluently since I speak Spanish with them. I think they also sing in Spanish during the say, read books in Spanish, etc. so keep that in mind. I am aware and accept that infants who grow up hearing multiple languages may delay their speaking a bit, but when they do speak, they do so in the different languages that they have been hearing.

The cost of the day care is reasonable I think ($350 for full time), and the hours are pretty flexible, from 7 AM to 6 PM. The location is convenient for our family in Dupont. We have no complaints. As the other posted indicated, I think it is a plus that it is owner-operated, and that the women who actually provide the care are the owners of it, and came together in order to start it. I think they will have more invested in caring for the children and meeting the parents' expectations, and that can only be a good thing for the kids I think.

I would love to hear from more Semillitas parents. We are considering it for our toddler. Thanks!

Why yes, of course. Please be clear: the daycare has only opened this week. The daycare has only been caring for my children for now three days. However, the caretakers that were the most helpful with our kids were some of the individuals who conducted the tours and were in our interviews back in November. Thus, from my point of view, during the first week of January, they were at least faces and names that I had known and that I was happy to see when the daycare opened. The point I was trying to make, and I am not sure if I am communicating clearly, was that at our old daycare, which was much larger, the staff turned over very rapidly and that was a concern. It was specially jarring to me to leave my children in care at eight in the morning and return at five o'clock and see NONE of the same faces as is the morning or previous days. Does that make sense to you?

Anonymous wrote:Well, we are only on Day Two so I do not want to overstate things, but the second day was easier even than the first.

I mean, it is a brand new daycare, which has its positives and negatives, right? But personally speaking, I love the idea that the staff are the owners. Maybe it is just me - but the idea of a big franchise making money while it pays its workers the minimum allowed by law to care for my kids really kinda freaks me out. At least, I feel that my kids deserve the best - thar makes sense, right?

There are no other daycares like it in the area that I know of . . . Both of the other daycares that we had the twins in had very high turnover rates. It allways made me a little queasy to collect the kids at the end of the day and find strangers taking care of them . . .

I am sorry - am I answering your questions?

If it's only day two, wouldn't the teachers be strangers to you at this place as well?

Interesting concept. How does the center and performance/quality of employees compare to the daycare mills out there (ie Bright Starts,etc)?

Well, we are only on Day Two so I do not want to overstate things, but the second day was easier even than the first.

I mean, it is a brand new daycare, which has its positives and negatives, right? But personally speaking, I love the idea that the staff are the owners. Maybe it is just me - but the idea of a big franchise making money while it pays its workers the minimum allowed by law to care for my kids really kinda freaks me out. At least, I feel that my kids deserve the best - thar makes sense, right?

There are no other daycares like it in the area that I know of . . . Both of the other daycares that we had the twins in had very high turnover rates. It allways made me a little queasy to collect the kids at the end of the day and find strangers taking care of them . . .

I am sorry - am I answering your questions?

How is this place? Or any others like it near that area?

I am seeking other parents with children in the new daycare. Today was our first day and we were so pleased that the daycare staff and their facility was so organized and already so well run!

We are hoping to find other parents to have a loose knit group to talk about playdates, etc. And it seemed to us at least -- that most of the people walked their kids to the daycare this morning -- so we are guessing that the attendees are from the neighborhood.

Our toddlers just loved their first morning - Baby Girl loved all the musical instruments and her teacher, Senora Rosamaria, seemed to intuitively know that music is the way to her heart. And our son, Liam said his first words in Spanish! BONUS! Cutting that tuition check sure hurt a lot less knowing the kids are learning a new language.

Maybe you can just tell that this is a worker owned and operated facility -- but it sure has a better feeling in the air than any other daycare we have looked at . . . what were others' impressions?

D'Arcy
Mum to twins, Liam and Máire
18 months