Tots R Us Day Care

I can’t say enough about Tots R Us. My 3.5 year old son has been going there since he was about about 16 months old (off the heels of a pretty bad experience at another Alameda-​based day care). Every day it’s like dropping him at his grandparent’s house. Not only does Lumin provide a warm and caring environment, she’s also a gifted educator, and my son has benefited tremendously from her skills. She is warm and gentle, but also firm and consistent. I provide my highest recommendation for Lumin and trust her completely. We will be leaving Tots R Us to move across the country soon, and it most certainly feels like we’re moving away from family.

Lumin and her husband are very loving and caring. My little boy went in at 18 months and he was very fearful of being left and while he still is not happy I’m leaving he reaches for Lumin or her husband as he has grown very attached to them in a short amount of time. My little boy has really started to blossom from being in this wonderful music and activity filled day care facility.

I enrolled my 3 months old baby for 2 months approximately. It was a convenient choice because I lived just around the corner so did not have to drive.
I guess it was not the best match for me and my baby and overall I did not get a good experience. Even though — I think Lumin is a nice person and she provides good care to the children. But I would not say she is warm and inviting.
Here are some of the reasons why I was not convince by her services: Not enough structure as regards infants schedule, nap time, eating times (for the infants), bad communication with her (cannot barely understand what she was saying), tiny space, old toys and equipment, strong odor in the house, bottles are not even clean at the end of the day… I forgot bibs one day so she used the baby clothes to clean her face… The house itself feels dirty and not safe overall. I never felt 100% happy when dropping my baby.
I understand that parents my like the service but for my part, it was just not a good match for me and my baby.

We love teacher LUMEN! I brought my son to Tots R Us at 2 ½ to get some socialization and structure into his life since I am a work at home mom and haven’t «needed» to put him in school or daycare due to being gone at work during the day. He blossomed at Tots R Us and is now ready for big boy preschool when I move to a new job this next month.
Lumen is someone you can trust 100%! She is so warm and inviting, it was like having a relative care for my son plus she does so much more than just «watch the kids». She does circle time, reading, writing, ABC’s etc. my son learned so much and I can’t recommend her enough. Very accommodating to whatever schedule you may need.

This is an update to my previous review.
I recently enrolled my son under Lumin’s care when he was four months old, so now I get to pick up two happy kids each evening. (My children are 23 months apart.)
Because my daughter was accustomed to sharing her caretakers with other children and babies, she didn’t exhibit much sibling jealousy after the first week we brought her brother home from the hospital.
While I was pregnant with #2, Lumin taught my daughter to be helpful and gentle with babies. It’s very heartwarming whenever I see my daughter pop a pacifier into her brother’s mouth or when she runs to fetch his diaper for me.
As a parent of two, I find it both impressive (and enviable!) that Lumin can so easily provide gentle and effective instruction to toddlers. Her next trick should be to teach me how to do that too!

My oldest son started at Ms. Lumin’s when he was 3 ½. He learned how to write his name and his alphabet as well as his numbers. He really enjoyed playing with all the other children and really grew his social skills. Ms. Lumin is very kind, and warm, and caring. She’s like everyone’s favorite grandmother.
She has lots of experience with children having raised 5 of her own and was a Montessori teacher in the past. She draws from all different areas of learning and utilizes songs, playing, circle time, and lesson time to teach the little ones.
When my oldest started kindergarten, he was well prepared with his reading and writing and basic math. Ms. Lumin does a great job of teaching!
My 2^nd son also started at Ms. Lumin’s when he was 3. He was always a picky eater and his previous daycare would send home his lunch barely touched. Since being at Ms. Lumin’s house, he has started to eat everything! He loves Ms. Lumin’s cooking and thankfully, that has translated to him eating more than 2 bites at home as well!
Ms. Lumin was also nice enough to hold a holiday party at her house for all the families. Her lumpias were delicious. The children sang and danced. It was so cute. Everyone we met were super friendly. We’ve even gone to each other’s birthday parties!
My husband and I are very thankful to have found such a loving, caring, and competent caregiver and educator for our sons. If your toddler goes here, they will be well prepared when they start kindergarten.

After visiting several daycare facilities, I knew right away that this is the one I wanted for my daughter. I enrolled my daughter at age 6 mos into the home daycare with Lumin and I am so glad I did. (Now my daughter is almost 4 years old). She has a structured day for the children which includes circle time and an early start lesson. There are also lots of educational activities and toys in a clean environment. (She washes the toys and vacuums all the time.) She also provides healthy snacks and lunch. What more could I possibly ask for?
Lumin has been the best thing that has happened to my family. She is the greatest. I look forward to enrolling my newborn there…
And yes… she makes awesome lumpia!

As most parents have experienced, the quest for an ideal childcare provider can be utterly stressful. When my husband and I learned last summer our 1 year-old’s home care provider was retiring, we immediately went into stealth mode. We preferred home care environments over larger institutions, and we knew we had to find someone we could not only trust, but who is positive and fun. We were also limited with what we could afford.
Lucky for us, we found Lumin de la Cruz of Tots R Us. When I was pregnant, I used to take walks by Lumin’s home, where Tots R Us is located on 8^th and Central. I admired how all the kids seemed so energetic and engaged. Well, fast forward a year later and there I was, interviewing Lumin for the first time. She was referred to me by another daycare provider who was booked at the time. I called, I came by for an initial visit, and within the hour I had filled out the paperwork and signed Emma up for a July start. I was thrilled!
Lumin is a former Montessori preschool teacher and mother of 5 grown children. What is so appealing about her (and what I continue to marvel at) is how buoyant and welcoming she is when we arrive at 7:30 in the morning… EVERY morning! Cute little songs are always playing in the room and the TV is never on (for the record, I’m not anti-​TV –I grew up on lots of it– but I am a believer that it does not belong in a daycare).
Emma LOVES Lumin and her playmates. Lumin takes babies 0 – 1 year and kids up to 6 years. Right now, the eldest is 5 and will be leaving for school this summer; it’s nice to know Emma can stay there through that age instead of moving to a preschool because Lumin teaches preschool curriculum to the older kids. The younger ones are exposed to it of course, and we see how quickly Emma has learned her ABC’s counting, learning songs and movement… it’s really cool.
I feel so grateful that Lumin has introduced Emma to preschool learning because she is soaking it up like a sponge. Best of all, our daughter looks forward to her days there and has many giggles left for mommy and daddy when we come to pick her up. Thanks to her daily naps and healthy meals, we get these consistently. :)
I cannot say enough good things about Lumin and Tots R Us. All the families we have met are wonderful.