Our child has been enrolled at Darling Dolphins Childcare for a year and a half 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)980-0625
🐬Infant & toddler care ages 6 weeks through age 2 years old🐬
Open Mondays through Fridays
7am to 5pm
located in Lompoc, Ca
Small ratio of 1 teacher and 4 to 6 infants and toddlers
🐬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 and Enrollment 🐬
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 around September & October 2025.
🐬 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🐬
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!
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.
🐬About the Owner🐬
The owner and teacher is a married mom of two and has 20+ years working in the childcare industry.
She loves to teach, read and go on walks. She loves spending time with her family and they love going on adventures to the ocean together. She has a Masters Degree in Education. She loves running her small childcare business and teaching infants and toddlers.
She comes from very humble beginnings; her mom was a stay at home mom raising 3 girls and her dad worked as a roofer to provide for them all. She lost her dad when she was just 28 years old due to a heart attack. This had a profound impact on her life. She has worked very hard to provide for her family and get to where she is.
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 be future teachers, marine biologists and advocates.
🐬 Invisible Disability Statement 🐬
She has an invisible disability/ physical impairment that saved her life after going through health problems and many surgeries due to IBD in her early twenties.
She has a card from her doctor to always have access to a restroom and medical supplies. Please be kind always. Please use maturity and understanding.
This does not affect her ability to provide quality childcare, but It is imperative to have her family help as much as possible when they can between their own work and school schedules to help her maintain constant supervision.
🐬 Daily Reminder 🐬
Please remember she’s doing her best each and every day while trying to provide for her family and provide a service to our community. She is providing childcare by herself most of the time to 6 infants and toddlers, whom are the most vulnerable age group with lots of big feelings and need her undivided love and attention. It is not an easy job, but it is also very rewarding.
Her job first and foremost, is to make sure their needs are being met before activities and the curriculum. Everyday is different, each child will have good days and bad days just like everyone else.
🐬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.
Please remember this is also our home where our family lives. We have it clearly stated in our handbook who lives here. We are a kind and caring family and try our best to contribute to our community and care for our environment.
The privacy and safety of their family, home and the children they care for are very important to them so they do not post any personal information of the children or their family online. The faces of children are always covered for privacy of the families in our care.
🐬Our Symbolic Marine Mammal Adoptions
& Conservation Efforts 🐬
We adopted the Southern Resident Orca L25 named Ocean Sun from The Whale Museum, who is thought to be Tokitae’s mother. Tokitae was held is captivity for 53 years at Miami Seaquarium and passed away on 8/18/2023. She was a cherished and beloved orca from the Salish Sea.
We adopted a beluga whale from Beluga Whale Alliance, whom we named Coral. She lives in Alaskan waters. The little ones at Darling Dolphins Childcare voted for the name Coral for their adopted beluga.
We adopted a dolphin named Rocky from Ric O’Barry’s The Dolphin Project who was rescued from a life of captivity and performing tricks.
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:
Http://californiakillerwhaleproject.org
Http://happywhale.com
🖤🤍To learn how to help our beloved Southern Resident Orcas who are struggling to survive , please visit:
https://cetaceans.org/savethesouthernresidents
🤍Our Beloved Southern Resident Orcas in the Salish Sea and Pacific North West 🖤
The 2023 census identified 75 southern residents counted in the J, K and L pods. Since then, two adult males, K34 and L85, as well as the only baby born within the census period, the male calf J60, have died. A recently born calf, L128, was confirmed Sept. 16. L128 appeared in poor condition in the last sighting on October 5th, 2024. We are saddened and heartbroken to hear about L90 - Ballena's calf L128. They need our help. We cannot let them go extinct.
🐬We Love to Read!🐬
We believe reading builds confidence and character and helps children gain important cognitive and literacy skills.
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🐬
For all newly enrolled families, there is a non-refundable $500 enrollment fee due with the first week’s tuition. This covers the last two weeks of childcare.
*Weekly tuition is $250
This also allows us to purchase a folder for each child’s paperwork, to buy drinking cups to remain at school, ink for paperwork, diapers and curriculum supplies. It also allows for the wear and tear of toys and of our home to maintain a safe environment for each child.
* Please keep in mind everything for our business is paid for out of pocket.
This also will ensure families are serious about enrolling their child so we can run a successful educational environment and business.
*The $500 Enrollment Fee and $250 first week’s tuition is due before the child starts their first day.
*We send families our parent handbook and contract when they schedule a tour.
Only full time Monday through Friday care is provided
Diapers & wipes are provided by the facility
Food, formula and milk is provided by the families
🐬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.
🐬Qualifications & Expectations🐬
Being licensed helps our home and business ensure it is safe for the children we care for.
Everyone in our home is fingerprinted and cleared through the DOJ, FBI and CACI. We are all mandated reporters and CPR and First Aid Certified.
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.
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.
Because this is also our home, we will choose which family to enroll after we have completed tours for a spot opening.
🐬When to Keep your Child Home
& Illness Policy 🐬
Child is running a fever of 100 degrees or more
Runny nose that is green/ yellow
Constant runny nose and cough that lasts more than two weeks (and has not seen a doctor yet)
A new rash anywhere on the body (excluding eczema or psoriasis)
Child is vomiting or has vomited in the last 24 hours
Head Lice or Bed Bugs
Diarrhea (Child has 2 or more loose bowels in the last 24 hours)
An eye infection (red, yellow or white mucus and has not seen a doctor)
Unusually tired, lack of appetite, confused and cranky, in pain, or lethargic.
Sore throat or earache (and has not seen a doctor yet)
We understand common colds and runny noses happen. Please just be mindful, it is likely every child, teacher and child’s family may catch the cold. Exclusion from daycare is not required, but If the runny nose and/or cough lasts more than 2 weeks, please keep your child home and take them to the doctor though.
Please be aware it is very common for children to get sick once starting daycare because they are around other children in a group setting. This is with any daycare; home or a center. Eventually children build immunity over time.
Building immunity to illness while children are young can help prevent more illnesses when children start elementary school because they have been exposed to the germs and viruses already.
***ZERO TOLERANCE ***
This licensed facility and home has a zero tolerance for bullying, emotional, verbal, and physical abuse, inappropriate behaviors and communication, cruelty and any illegal conduct. The owner has the right to set boundaries and protect their peace, family and the children they provide care for. Her job as a wife, mother and childcare provider is to safeguard everyone’s well- being, as well as their emotional and mental health.
🐬Thank you for visiting our website.🐋
"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
🐬 License 426215921 🐬
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.