Our son has been with Mari's Place for over 6 months. It was a difficult decision to begin the daycare, but Mari made this transition so easy for us. Mari took a great interest in learning about our family and our son's routine before he even started the care.
Mari keeps us informed about our son's day, appetite and napping schedule, we receive multiple pictures and videos updates during the day (it brings so much joy to my day). Mari also provided many advices that helped us to navigate difficult toddler times.
But the most important thing is that my son seems to be so happy and excited to go to Mari's Place. He has grown so much since starting with Mari: he learned how to make friends and to share. She helped his personality shine.
The children in Mari's Place are always busy; busy with preplanned or spontaneous activities. Mari is very organized, the facilities are always clean and neat.
I will never find enough words to describe how much we appreciate to have Mari in our life. I am happy we found her family daycare.
I would recommend Mari's Place Family Daycare 10/10.

Thank you Mari and your family for welcoming our sweet boy to your home!

Mari is seriously one of those rare caregivers who is constantly trying to learn more about children, whose mind is as open as her arms! She is wicked smart, brings a ton of fun creativity into her lessons / play sessions / arts and craft sessions with the kids (my cute little 18 month old brings home adorable little artwork that she made herself all the time), and you can just tell that the kids are so happy and are really great friends with each other. Several times my husband or I have dropped off our daughter and the other kids have hugged her and smiled and said "Hi, Winry! We missed you!" And as a parent, what could be better than that??? Also, when Winry first started coming back in november, she couldn't walk but was right on the cusp, 14 months and for some reason seemed hesitant to try. But around the other kids, who were just a year older, running around and playing is part of- I think- what gave her the motivation to really try. Within a couple of weeks all she wanted to do at home was try to walk, and since she's been there she's learned so much. Also, she's a covid baby and we were so worried that she wasn't getting enough social interaction with kids her age, but since Mari started taking care of her she's grown really close with the others. When we ask about them, and say her friends'(!) names, she laughs! We are so happy we found Mari!

Aunty Mari (as we call her) is the best! Her daycare has been such a supportive and nurturing environment for our son. He has learned and grown so much emotionally being in her care, in only a short amount of time. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a smaller/personal in home day care.

We found Mari's's daycare after moving to the area last end of summer. This was our first experience dropping off our two year old full-time and we can't say enough amazing things about the growth seen in my daughter over this period. Her ability to now share, verbalize how she feels and the excitement she comes home with every day to share things she has done fills our hearts with joy (and happy tears!). It pains my family to have to leave at the end of summer. Therefore, want to provide the highest recommendation as we experienced the most loving, thoughtful, heartfelt care we could have ever wished for. Her hugs, songs and family are part of our lives .Thank you so much.

we were lucky enough to get both of our children into Mari's place at the beginning of the summer, and couldn't have been happier. Mari clearly loves her job, and the connection she makes with all of the kids under her care is truly special. The kids still talk about her, and we will always be grateful for their time there. 10/10 would recommend

Our son started going to Mari's Place at 2 years old. It was his first daycare, and a bit nerve wracking to send him during the pandemic, but I am so glad we did! Mari does such a great job making health and cleanliness a priority, and our son grew so much during his time there. Every day he would be excited to tell us about what he did, and the new things he learned. We really couldn't have asked for a better experience for our son, and to be able to go to work fully trusting the person caring for our child was so comforting. We love Mari's Place!

My son and daughter absolutely love Mari. I couldn't ask for more in a care provider. Mari is loving, kind, thoughtful, fun and truly gifted with children. My son was in her care from the time he was 2 until he went to pre-k this year. I saw him grow so much emotionally and cognitively. My daughter went to Mari on school holidays and during the summer; she had so much fun there and still asks when she can see Mari again. Mari has been amazing during the pandemic with keeping the kids safe and healthy (small number of kids, focus on hand washing, lots of outside play, etc.) We truly love her and can't wait for school days off and summer so they can spend time together again!

Our son was with Mari from age 3 months to 2.5 years full time. He loved every second of his time there! Mari's place is warm, nurturing, open and accepting. It is open to people of all cultures with an open and curious manner. Mari is using a positive approach to behavioral development. She has the right mix of structure and free play. The atmosphere is fun and nutures friendships. It would be tough to find a better open for childcare.

My three daughters were under Mari's care for three years until we moved away from Old Saybrook. Their ages ranged from infant to third grader. She is a phenomenal caregiver and I highly recommend her. She is extremely caring and treats each child as if he or she were her own. The children receive consistency, educational enrichment, and support. Mari is a native Spanish speaker and spoke to my children extensively in spanish. Introducing children to a foreign language when they are young is extremely beneficial - and I have seen the long term benefits as my children are learning language, math, and music more easily than many of their peers. She has a small group that provides for wonderful opportunities for outings around town and extra enrichment. She noticed physical symptoms in my children that I missed when they were sick. She is very responsible and has outstanding judgment. She is patient, kind, and a genuinely good person. I can't recommend her highly enough!!

I placed my two kids with Mari over a year ago. My oldest is in kindergarten now but youngest is still with her. Mari has been an amazing influence in all of our lives. She has an excellent system with the days that makes them fun and well structured. She also is bilingual and speaks spanish to the kids as well as English which has been amazing for my kids because they understand spanish now. She is kind patient and communicates well. Anyone will be very blessed to have their kids in her care!!

Our daughter was with Mari for 3 years. She is the best caregiver we could have asked for! Mari is loving, patient, and fosters a great learning environment. She encourages independence and getting along well with others. Our daughter learned a lot of Spanish with her also!

Mari 's Place provides children with a wealth of age-appropriate developmental play opportunities. There is morning circle time where the children learn colors, letters, animals and animal sounds, and numbers. They have story time, board games where they learn to take turns, building games for fine motor skills, imaginative play, and outdoor play. She also takes the children on mini trips to the local library, recreation center and playgrounds. My four year old has the opportunity to do jigsaw puzzles, practice letter and number writing, set identification, listening skills and object classification exercises. Mari partners effectively with parents on introducing new foods and encouraging healthy eating. She treats the children with kindness and respect and they follow her lead when interacting with each other. I feel extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful loving, nurturing caretaker for my boys.

Mari's Place has everything we were looking for in a daycare: love, learning and language. Mari clearly cares for each child as an individual and delights in nurturing them as they grow. Our daughter comes home signing songs in Spanish and in English, bursting with new words in both languages, and telling stories about experiences at Mari's place, in town and at the park or beach. Most importantly, she is excited to go to Ms. Mari's each morning. We are as glad as she is to know that she is safe, happy, healthy and enjoying a range of routines and experiences. Pictures sent throughout the day help us stay in touch and communication in person and via text/phone is always clear and easy. We trust, appreciate and couldn't be happier with Mari's Place as our daycare.