Our child has been enrolled at Darling Dolphins Childcare for two years now. We appreciate them more than they will ever know. Our child has learned so much and has made so many memories and friends. Thank you for your hard work, dedication and kindness. We have nothing but good things to say about them and their family. Thank you for all you do!
1(805)801-3924
Open Mondays through Fridays
7am to 5pm
located in Lompoc, Ca
Small ratio of 1 teacher and 4 to 6 infants and toddlers
🐬 Our program is specifically designed and licensed for infants and toddlers; ages 6 weeks to 3 years old 🐬
🐬Waitlist & Tours 🐬
Please call or text to be added to our waitlist for our next infant openings!
The average infant waitlist is usually around 6 months to a year. It is important to get on our waitlist as soon as you know you will need infant childcare.
If you would like to schedule a tour of our facility, please call or text us to schedule a weekend appointment.
🐬Ratios🐬
4 infants total (under age 2) to 1 adult or 3 infants (under age 2) and 3 toddlers (age 2) to 1 adult
Little ones move on to a preschool program around age 3.
Our next infant openings will be in September & December 2025.
🐬 Enrollment 🐬
A tour does not guarantee a spot. Once it is confirmed a family is interested, the owner will reach out to offer the spot opening. An enrollment packet will be given to the family to review and complete. A meeting will be set up to review the paperwork and tuition and go over any questions or concerns. We will also discuss the child’s start date.
🐬 Philosophy & Mission Statement 🐬
To provide a loving, safe and developmentally appropriate environment for all infants and toddlers enrolled in our program.
We will work hard each day to create a collaborative environment with families to help each child learn and grow. We will respect each child’s individual needs, personality, learning style, interests, culture, and family background. We strive to treat everyone with respect and kindness, act with integrity in our daily actions, live our values through collaboration, find innovative ways to help serve our community and strive for excellence in all we do. We will use every experience to learn and grow and improve to keep helping families find quality and educated childcare.
🐬Curriculum Through Play! 🐬
We create a curriculum based on the child’s age, interests, and early childhood education. This will include fine and gross motor skills, sensory play, dramatic play, emotional and social skills, communicating emotions and feelings, learning to color with crayons, the alphabet, counting, reading books, flash cards, colors and shapes, singing songs, baby sign language, outdoor play, obstacle courses, building forts and free play.
We also make sure each infant meets important developmental milestones by having tummy time, space and time to learn to sit up, crawl, pull themselves up and learn to walk.
An infant and toddlers job and how they learn the most is through play. Play is learning; it is the work of childhood! Play builds attention spans, language and problem solving, emotional regulation, and lifelong learning.
We provide the materials, nurturing, toys, activities and environment and children will learn through experiences and exploration. We believe it is important to let infants and toddlers be little as long as possible since they are growing and developing every single day.
🐬 Outdoor Play 🐬
We spend a lot of time outdoors, especially in the Spring and Summer! We have an outdoor classroom and a large yard for the little ones to explore, learn and experience nature and fresh air. We do water play during the summer months including a splash pad, water table and sprinklers! 💦
'If children don't grow up knowing about nature and appreciating it, they will not understand it. And if they don't understand it, they won't protect it. And if they don't protect it, who will?”
~ David Attenborough
Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be Kind. Always.
~ Robin Williams
🐬About the Owner🐬
The owner and teacher is a married mom of two and has 20+ years working with children. Her family is her whole heart and what keeps her growing, learning and working so hard. She has a kind, sensitive heart and strong morals and loves animals and helping others.
She loves whales and dolphins and is excited to combine her love for them in her childcare business. She is an advocate for protecting and educating about marine mammals and the ocean. She hopes she inspires the little ones she cares for to work hard and find what they are passionate about and pursue their dreams.
She completed her Associates degree in Early Childhood Education while recovering from multiple surgeries and health issues in her early twenties and while taking care of her two children. When her own children started school, she worked as an infant and toddler teacher and nannied for many years while she completed her Bachelors degree in human services. She then worked in the social services field with young children and teens and volunteered as a CASA worker before deciding to pursue her Masters degree in education and open her own licensed small home daycare in February 2020.
🐬Their Home and Facility 🐬
Their facility is licensed and they are trained in CPR and First Aid. Their family are also all mandated reporters in Ca. Anyone living in our home age 18 and over is fingerprinted and cleared through the DOJ, FBI and CACI.
🐬 Why Dolphins? 🐬
Dolphins are known for their joy and playfulness! They remind us that life is meant to be enjoyed! Their playfulness has a way of lifting the spirit.
They live in close family pods and are known to help other ocean animals and humans. They remind us to have empathy and compassion for each other and to love and be kind. They symbolize and leave a legacy of strong family bonds, hope and resilience.
🐬Our Symbolic Marine Mammal Adoptions
We adopted the Southern Resident Orca L25 named Ocean Sun from The Whale Museum
We adopted a beluga whale from Beluga Whale Alliance, whom we named Coral.
We adopted a dolphin named Rocky from Ric O’Barry’s The Dolphin Project
Our next adoptions will be a Manatee and a humpback whale!
🐋Our Passion & Advocacy🐬
🐬🐋To learn more about whales and dolphins on the California Coast visit:
Californiakillerwhaleproject.org Oceanicsociety.org & Happywhale.com
🖤🤍To learn how to help our beloved Southern Resident Orcas who are struggling to survive , please visit: Cetaceans.org/savethesouthernresidents
🐬We Love Reading and Music! 🐬
We believe reading builds confidence and character and helps children gain important cognitive and literacy skills. Music brings joy to children and adults and we can all bond and have fun while singing, dancing and being silly together.
Reading helps children gain empathy and compassion for others and use their imagination.
Children learn important social - emotional skills by building bonds with their caregivers and exploring different topics such as friendships, emotions, spreading kindness and how to problem solve.
We learn about many different animals and subjects and read many types of children’s books but, our theme is marine life.
A picture of our ocean library, adoption certificates and ways we can help marine mammals are below
🐬🐋🦭🐠🌊🐙🐳🐢🦀🐟🦈🪸🦦
🐬Our Darling Dolphins 🐬
🐬Enrollment Fee and Tuition🐬
*5 days a week
$500 non-refundable enrollment fee and tuition is $250 a week
*4 days a week
$400 non- refundable enrollment fee and tuition is $200 a week
The enrollment fee and first week’s tuition is due before child begins their first day. The non-refundable enrollment fee covers the last two weeks of childcare.
* Please keep in mind everything for our business is paid for out of pocket and comes out of our income.
Families are paying for their spot and not attendance. This is non-negotiable as with most licensed childcare facilities. We cannot run our business and pay for the supplies we need to maintain a healthy and safe environment without a consistent income.
The enrollment fee also will ensure families are serious about enrolling their child so we can run a successful educational environment and small business.
Diapers & wipes are provided by the facility
Food, formula and milk is provided by the families
We accept Subsidy and are enrolled through The Santa Barbara County Education Office.
🐬Family Childcare Role🐬
Family childcare is not babysitting or being a nanny. It is not comparable to any childcare center. It is families in relationships with a professional childcare provider in a family home and small business. It is designed to be a second home environment and families who trust each other, care for each other, partner together and educate each other to provide the best care possible to each child. We consider all of the families enrolled as part of our family.
🐬Expectations🐬
Kindness, integrity, empathy, a good moral compass and building healthy relationships are very important to our family and business. It is very important we have families that we can trust with their words and actions and that trust us, knowing their babies are loved, nurtured and taken care of every day.
Please remember this is also our home where our family lives. We want our home and business to be a safe and happy place for each child and family enrolled. We want families who respect our rules and values, appreciate us, can communicate in a healthy and respectful way and will work together as a team to help their child thrive.
🐬 Disability Statement 🐬
The owner has an invisible disability/ physical impairment due to IBD and Ulcerative Colitis. This surgery saved her life. She has a medical card from her doctor to always have access to a restroom and her medical supplies.
This information is private and is only used to help others understand, educate and to advocate for herself. Please be kind always. She has a zero tolerance policy for bullying and cruelty in her home and business.
This does not affect her ability to provide quality childcare. Her physical impairment is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
🐬Thank you for visiting our website🐋
🐬 License 426215921 🐬
"Above all, we must realize that each of us makes a difference with our life. Each of us impacts the world around us every single day. We have a choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place – or not to bother."
~ Dr. Jane Goodall
🐬Testimonial🐋
🐬Testimonial🐋
Our child is attending this wonderful home childcare program. We are very grateful for them and all of the love and support they have given us. They are a wonderful asset to our community and provide excellent care. They go out of their way to make sure each child knows they are loved and special. We know our child is in great hands every single day.