If you are still looking, I know that Love of Learning, LLC, at 601 Kennedy St. NW has at least one opening available right now.

It's an in-home daycare with 6 kids, bilingual (Spanish/English), ratio of teachers to kids is 3:1. Hours are 7am-6pm. They do not provide food. Contact Maria at 202-604-4520 or just stop by at a time that is before noon or after 3 (that's naptime/quiet time). Plus Maria is very competitively priced, particularly for a small place where each kid gets lots of individual attention.

Maria and her staff are very knowledgable, experienced, and loving and children learn a ton while in her care.

Maria doesn't have much of an online presence, so it's hard to get info on the place. I'm happy to provide a review, and I can point you to other parents who have or have had kids there. My email elysepa@gmail.com.

Anonymous wrote:My excellent, licensed home daycare provider is going to have a couple of spots open up very soon due to children entering preschool. My daughter has been with Gail since she was an infant, and I don't know what I would have done without her! Gail was a volunteer EMT for many years, currently trains EMT's, and follows every safety protocol to a T! I felt that my daughter couldn't have been in safer hands!

Gail Manner is located off of Plyers Mill Road in Kensington, very close to Silver Spring (where we live). Her phone number is 301-942-2048. Feel free to contact me flulli at verizon.net if you have any questions. I talked to several of Gail's current and former parents before I enrolled my daughter, and they all had glowing reviews! I will be happy to provide my phone number if you email me.

Thanks so much for the Kensington tip, I'll email you!

And thanks to all for the differentiation between licensed and accredited and how common accreditation is in the area. It's always hard to find infant spots, but doing so from another state and on a tight deadline is extra stressful.

Anonymous wrote:Home daycares do not need to be accredited by a national organization - they need to be licensed and reputable. It is a long and expensive process to become accredited - this is why many providers are not. I wouldn't make it a priority personally.

I am state licensed (in MD it's illegal to not be), and for me it's not a priority to become credentialed or active on EXCELS because there is no need. My clients know me based from recommendations and word of mouth. Most MD providers who are on EXCELS are there only so they can accept voucher families. If that was not a requirement they would just drop it.

My excellent, licensed home daycare provider is going to have a couple of spots open up very soon due to children entering preschool. My daughter has been with Gail since she was an infant, and I don't know what I would have done without her! Gail was a volunteer EMT for many years, currently trains EMT's, and follows every safety protocol to a T! I felt that my daughter couldn't have been in safer hands!

Gail Manner is located off of Plyers Mill Road in Kensington, very close to Silver Spring (where we live). Her phone number is 301-942-2048. Feel free to contact me flulli at verizon.net if you have any questions. I talked to several of Gail's current and former parents before I enrolled my daughter, and they all had glowing reviews! I will be happy to provide my phone number if you email me.

NAEYC does not accredit home day cares, only center-based programs. NAFCC accredits home day cares but there are very few in this area. If you are looking for a home day care you need to verify that they are licensed by the state at a minimum, ideally then also visit to observe and do reference checks.

You can also try Monday Morning Moms, a clearing house for licensed in-homes and parents to find each other. Infant spots are hard to find! MMM does cost you a bit extra in weekly tuition, I think, but if you're desperate, it can be a lifesaver.

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the pp- licensing is the norm, but I've never heard of an accredited in home daycare.

Use this to look for in home daycares: http://www.checkccmd.org

It's totally free and has more functionality than carelulu because you can search by where you live and see the locations of the daycares.

The NAFCC (National Association for Family Child Care) is an accrediting agency. You can do a search for programs on their site. When I plugged in 20904 (where my kids are in a home day care) it only gave me 2 results, so I guess it's not super common.

I'm not sure if NAEYC accredits home daycares.

Agree with the pp- licensing is the norm, but I've never heard of an accredited in home daycare.

Use this to look for in home daycares: http://www.checkccmd.org

It's totally free and has more functionality than carelulu because you can search by where you live and see the locations of the daycares.

Home daycares do not need to be accredited by a national organization - they need to be licensed and reputable. It is a long and expensive process to become accredited - this is why many providers are not. I wouldn't make it a priority personally.

What do you mean by accredited-licensed, NAEYC accredited, etc? My home provider in Silver Spring is rated 5 stars on Maryland's Excels program and is accredited but not sure if by Naeyc or another org. She is also licensed. Did you check out http://www.checkccmd.org ?

I am relocating my family from Boston to DC-area (looking for a place in Silver Spring) Oct. 1st. We're having trouble finding fulltime daycare for our six month old son. We're currently in a great, state accredited home daycare, but there don't seem to be many of those in Silver Spring or NW. I looked at carelulu and found some providers, but none are accredited. Has anyone used such a place? - we're getting desperate here.

thanks,