My Son started going to Sunflower Albany Daycare since he was 15 months old. Teacher Helen has always been kind and warm. My son has thrived and even learned how to speak Mandarin. My husband and I never had any problems and our son has been very well taken cared of. She fosters a very friendly environment so that my son has established friendships with the other children easily and the kids play well with each other. She also teaches tracing and how to color and count in Mandarin. It's bittersweet having to leave such a safe and happy daycare.

Jalen had an amazing time in his 2+ years at Albany Sunflower Daycare (ASD). Miss Helen, the primary caregiver and teacher is such a sweet, caring, and loving person. Although ASD is primarily a Mandarin speaking facility, Jalen had no problems learning and following directions. Jalen has also learned a good amount of Mandarin, which he also teaches us at home. The facility is clean and organized. The outside play area is quite large and padded and kids will have no problem finding something that they would like. Miss Helen was a major influence on Jalen growing into a sweet, caring, and curious boy. Over his 2 years at ASD, he’s learned to interact with other children of various ages and listen to adults. Some of the major things he’s learned and practiced at his time at ASD were sharing, following a schedule, writing, coloring and drawing, and eating on his own. ASD is very understanding of each child’s needs and try to cater each child’s development to their own speed. As we were potty training Jalen, ASD was very supportive and further helped his development while at daycare. Overall, we had such a wonderful experience with Albany Sunflower Daycare. As we transition Jalen to pre-school, we are confident that he has the skills and abilities to thrive and learn in his new environment. We are so thankful for Jalen’s time at Albany Sunflower Daycare. He loves Miss Helen and will miss her dearly.

Our child was 23 months old when he started Sunflower Daycare. It was important for us to find a Mandarin immersion preschool as we are a bilingual family. We were excited to learn the Helen had an opening and we were accepted. It is also in a very convenient location located close to Solano Ave. At first we were worried about sending him because he would cry at drop off but he soon adjusted. Ms. Helen is very caring, loving and focused on health and cleanliness. Our child did not contract any sickness when he was there. She continues to take COVID very seriously and the children get a lot of playtime outdoors. My son comes home singing new songs and even learned to count to 20 in both English and Mandarin (we don’t practice these skills a lot at home.) We have been very happy with Sunflower Daycare. Our child enjoys telling us about their day and all the yummy food he gets to eat there like different fruits, noodles/rice, meat and vegetables. He often is not very hungry at dinner because he eats so well. Ms. Helen is such a kind and generous person and appears to love her profession. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Sunflower Daycare to our friends and family.

My son started at Sunflower when he was 16 months old. He has been there for almost 4 months now and my husband and I are thrilled with the quality of care that he receives from Helen and her husband. There were some tears for the first week or so as my son got used to being at daycare, but he adjusted quickly. In no time, he began rushing in to join his friends at dropoff. And at pickup, sometimes he would be having so much fun he would be reluctant to leave! It has been a huge relief for us to know that our son loves his daycare so much. It is amazing to me how Helen provides such individualized care for each child. At pickup, Helen gives a little daily report and lets us know if there were any special issues that day. When we first started at Helen’s, our son was having eczema flare ups and Helen diligently applied the special lotion we brought for him every day. She also likes to point out aspects about my son’s personality that she finds charming, which makes me feel that she truly cares for my son. I am also impressed by the level of precautions they take regarding COVID and other illnesses. The inside space is well ventilated. And they have a large, shaded backyard full of toys and things to play with. I love that the children get so much fresh air and Helen always takes care to make sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather. Our son has very rarely gotten sick over the past several months, which we are so grateful for. Did I also mention that they provide homecooked food for the children and that my son has started to pickup Mandarin? I wholeheartedly recommend Sunflower to any parent!

Our 2-year-old has been attending Albany Sunflower Daycare for one year. We have had very positive experience, and we highly recommend it if you are looking for a loving daycare for your kids. We are lucky to find Sunflower during the pandemic because Ms. Helen and her family always keep the daycare clean and tidy and make extra effort to keep the kids safe. This is the first time our 2-year-old attended daycare, and she adjusted pretty well after the first two weeks because Ms. Helen is very calm and patient with the kids, and she really loves kids. Our daughter is happy about going to the daycare every morning. She talks a lot about her daily fun activities (drawing, reading, singing, counting, playing with toys) with her friends at the daycare. We value the diversity at Sunflower - the kids come from various backgrounds and speak different languages, yet they play well together. We mainly speak Mandarin at home, but our daughter naturally picks up words from other languages from the daycare, which surprises us. We are also excited to see her building close friendships with other kids there. We are delighted to see our daughter growing happily and healthily with the care and support from Ms. Helen and her family. We would recommend Albany Sunflower Daycare to any friend without hesitation.

Our son attended Albany Sunflower Daycare from 2018-2021, with a several months hiatus in 2020 due to COVID. He loved every minute of what he proudly called "going to Ms. Helen's school," always adding an interesting story about what he did during the day with the other kids there. He often did not want to leave at the end of the day and, on summer evenings, the kids would sometimes linger having races on the sidewalk in the nice residential neighborhood or meet up at a nearby playground for more fun. I believe this is due to excellent socialization and spirit of friendship that Ms. Helen encourages among the children during their days together. The primary caregiver is Ms. Helen, and she is supported throughout the day by her partner, Jeff, who prepares breakfast, lunch and snacks for the kids, and helps when one child needs additional attention. Their college-aged son, Brenden, handles the business paperwork and supports with English translation during tours and sign-up. He is not on-site during the day, but he is reachable by email to help with any questions. This was very helpful to us, since we do not speak Mandarin. The family provides a safe, clean and stimulating environment for the kids, and it's very obvious that Ms. Helen adores children. She makes each child feel special and celebrates their daily achievements. She is always positive and direct, and fosters a camaraderie among the children by immediately intervening in conflicts. Luckily, she seems to have an infinite amount of energy, patience and the perfect sense of humor, plus, exceptional redirection skills, and an impressive variety of indoor and outdoor toys, so there is always enough to go around! It comes as no surprise to me that Ms. Helen was a Kindergarten director in China for many years. She incorporates age-appropriate "studies" into the daily schedule, along with playtime, nap time, lunch, snacks and plenty of activities like songs, dances, coloring, etc. It was delightful to see our son pick up some basic Mandarin words (and to pick up a few ourselves!) and we believe that the exposure to a culture different than what he experiences at home is invaluable. The rates are very good, considering the quality of care, early education, socialization, free meals, and available hours. Although they are very flexible with pickup and drop-off times, I believe they keep a very regular schedule each day. In fact, my son only learned to nap (or taught us how to help him nap) after attending the daycare for a few weeks. All told, we were extremely happy with the care our son received at Albany Sunflower Daycare, and I highly recommend scheduling a tour! COVID UPDATE: For safety, the entire preschool moved into Ms. Helen's ample backyard area during the warm summer months. They have a very large and well-tended space with ample shade structure for lunch and snacks, as well as an outdoor nap camp and a potty chair. It relieved a lot of anxiety for us to know that our 4-year-old son could safely play with younger children, even those too young to wear masks.