The Orange House family child care - Berkeley, California

Mahdieh J.

My son has been at Orange House for 3 years and soon he’ll be going to kindergarten. Helen has been a life line. Her small daycare provides much care, personal attention, and routine. When I take our son to OH in the morning I know he will be safe, seen and well taken care of. I specially like that the small group of mixed aged kids has gently thought him to be mindful others. And in the last year, as he has become one of the big kids in the daycare he got plenty of experience of being a teacher’s helper and feeling helpful and big before starting kindergarten. While son is pretty high energy and not easy by any standard, I’m genuinely proud of his manners and care and Orange House has played big role in that. <3

Lizzie H.

Helen cared for my kids (now 7 and 3) for 3.5 years. Though my son loves his preschool, he still loves talking about The Orange House and says Helen is his favorite teacher.
Ever since my daughter started going to The Orange House in 2014, Helen’s house has seemed like home. We are so glad that we found such an amazing place where our kids could make friends, learn, play, laugh, and bond with truly caring adults.
My kids have been both the youngest (14 months) and oldest (48 months) kids at The Orange House. No matter their age, they were always happy, safe, engaged, and attached to Helen and her wonderful assistants. To my daughter, who went to Helen’s from 25 months to 48 months, Helen’s home felt like a continuous playdate with her 10 best friends. But it also prepared her extremely well for pre-school. As she became older, she enjoyed helping the younger kids, which taught her both patience and compassion. It was also great training for her future role of big sister.
When it was my son’s turn to start at The Orange House (at 14 months), my daughter counted down the days. She was bursting with excitement for many reasons. She wanted to see Helen. She wanted to see Helen’s own children and her husband, because they were also like family to her. Finally, she wanted to see one of her favorite assistants, Emily, who had been working at The Orange House before we even started in 2014.
To me, Emily’s longevity at The Orange House epitomizes so much of what is wonderful about this daycare. Helen and her assistants truly care about the children and love interacting with them, and also seem to enjoy working with each other. Given the longevity of many of the assistants, Helen appears to be a great manager and The Orange House, a great place to work. Helen’s management skills extend to the many aspects of running The Orange House. Helen makes the whole operation seem painless and fun, while most parents have, on occasion, been secretly excited on a Sunday night to know that their little terrors will be in someone else’s care in the morning.
When I count my blessings, I often think of the positive starts my kids have had. Positive starts that are due in large part to the experiences both of them have had at The Orange House. While my kids have moved on to school, Helen and the rest of the OH team will always be family and we’ll forever be grateful.

Linh T.

We stayed in Berkeley for four months in 2024 and used Orange House for our daughter, who was 18 months old at the start. We were very pleased with our experience. Our daughter learned so much and would come home singing new songs, playing new games, using new words, and telling us about her friends and teachers. Helen is very detail-oriented and communicative. The transition to the childcare home was very smooth. Helen and her staff did an excellent job, and we are so happy that we used Orange House.

Maria C.

I cannot recommend the Orange House enough. It's the perfect environment for children: nurturing, caring, relaxed and fun. I am faculty at UC Berkeley and spending my sabbatical year abroad next year and my main concern is that my daughter will be away from the Orange House for a full year - she had such a wonderful experience there. My 2yo daughter would look forward to the orange house every morning and happily trot in there and wave me goodbye. What I really loved about Helen, Margaret and all the other teachers is that they all seemed to genuinely care about the kids and to provide a stress-free environment where the kids are nonetheless very engaged and stimulated. My daughter grew and learned a lot during her time at the orange house but without being sat in a circle and made to "learn" as it sadly (imo) happens in many daycares around the country. There is a lot of emphasis on play, but also on art, which I (and my daughter) really appreciated. Again, I can't recommend them enough.

Caterina V.

We loved it!
Our daughter Giulia (now 3 and a half) went to the Orange House while we were visiting UCB with an exchange program for a few months in summer 2019. We are used to a very high standard of childcare here in Italy and our daughter was only speaking Italian when we arrived…so we were afraid that it could be stressful for her to adapt to a new place and a new language.
However, Helen managed to make it natural and easy for her. Giulia enjoyed very much the time spent there and Helen’s care. She was appreciating the songs and playing in the garden. She loved the place and the warm and cheerful atmosphere. She still asks us to visit Berkeley to see Helen again and remembers her time there. Giulia was waking up in the morning asking to go to the Orange House. And we were very happy to know she was taken care of in such a good way while we were away.
We were extremely happy also with all the organization. Helen Alvarez is very experienced and professional. The rules that she applies are very standard and common-sense rules for running such a place.

Ayelet K.

We were so lucky to have found the Orange House during our Sabbatical in Berkeley in 2017! Our daughter Eleanor (now four) still speaks fondly of Helen, reminiscing of her time there. We found all of the staff to be super professional and caring. They welcomed us into their home, which was always clean and orderly, with lovely play corners and activities. We especially loved the outdoor garden, and the circle-time songs, which Eleanor still sings even as we live abroad. Helen’s advice was great on many things, especially potty training! We have only the kindest and warmest words for this excellent daycare. Highly recommended by us ❤️

Lina H.

Both my children went to Orange House and we had such a wonderful, positive experience. Helen is so loving, as are her staff members, many of whom are graduate students from UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education. I have a background in education and this was just who I wanted to hang out with my kids. 🙂

My son joined Orange House when he was about 1 1/2 and my daughter joined a couple years later when she was about 15 months old. They both stayed until they were 3 and started preschool. Here are some things that made for such a great experience:

(1) It is the perfect combination of a beautiful space and really loving people. Helen embodies the perfect balance of both a loving and firm teacher.

(2) Helen was very, very communicative with parents. She would let me know about relatively minor things (e.g., my son's poop being unusual) and she would also discuss more serious issues with me in both a professional and understanding manner (e.g., my daughter biting another child once).

(3) Helen does run a tight ship, but in ways that make for a positive and safe environment for all the children. For example, parents pick up the kids outside at 5:30 and they can't open the gate to the play area because she doesn't want any children to run off. Instead, parents have to wait for Helen or another staff member to open the gate. She was also very accommodating (and strict with families) about keeping the daycare a nut free environment when my son was diagnosed with his allergies. And, finally, she kept Orange House SO clean! We visited a number of home daycares and Helen's was hands down the cleanest.

(4) I completely disagree with the Ivi's statement about the kids not playing (and her entire review actually). My children were always happily playing at Orange House! They loved going there and enjoyed the friends they made.

(5) The outdoor space is on the smaller side, but my children got plenty of activity. They went outside in both the mornings and afternoons, and they easily napped and went to bed on time the entire time they were there. The outdoor space is also VERY thoughtfully laid out and includes toddlers' favorite things (e.g., a sand box, a wall with toy cars, small ride on vehicles, chalk, etc.).

(6) Both my children were more than prepared for preschool (The Berkeley School on Francisco). The transition was very easy and smooth, and I know the Orange House had so much to do with that.

(7) Helen was SO helpful and supportive when it came to potty training. She was communicative about what was going on at Orange House each day, gave us helpful advice as we navigated it for the first time, and constantly gave us positive reinforcement and encouragement as she sent us home with dirty clothes every day the first week.

(8) Helen was always warm, loving, and good natured. And she was always looking out for the kids there. My children still ask to visit her!

(9) Helen's family members are around at times, particularly after the school day. That is the nature of a home daycare and one of the things we loved about it! Her husband would build things for the outdoor area, the children would watch Helen's son skateboard on the sidewalk sometimes, and their youngest daughter would play with the little ones sometimes. It was lovely! It makes for a loving atmosphere that feels like family, rather than a sterile big-box daycare environment.

We loved our experience at Orange House and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for care for their toddler.

Mike M.

We loved Orange House. Our son was there for a year before moving to a preschool closer to our house, but we were sad to go. Helen and her staff were wonderful, she was full of insights about behavior and personality, and our son was always happy and content. He did lots of painting, loved the play yard, and learned so many songs. We still stay in touch with staff and students. If we ever had another child and were in the area, we would absolutely send them to Orange House again. Highly recommend.