My husband and I feel outrageously lucky to have found Melissa - our 10 month old daughter is thriving and our hearts are full! Melissa is very knowledgeable about child development, she fills days with fun and thoughtful activities, she is extremely nurturing, and she is conscientious of parents' routines or requests. Melissa clearly cares deeply about the children in her care and fostering the very best environment for them to flourish. 

We miss our daughter every moment we are not with her, but we feel so much comfort and confidence knowing we found the very best childcare provider for her. Our daughter gets lots of time outside, age-appropriate toys and play, and lots and lots of love. As a perk, we also get beautiful and thoughtful photos of our baby and updates throughout the day. Our daughter already has a big smile when we drop her off in the morning and her bond with Melissa and the other children is evident and heartwarming. Shining Light feels like an extension of our family and a place our daughter feels at home. How lucky we are!

-Nicole and Nick

We are so lucky that we found Melissa. She has the lowest caregiver to child ratio in Poway, doesn't use screentime and is very attentive to my son's needs. She frequently updates me with photos and texts me about naps and outdoor activities. He greets her every morning with a great big smile and I can tell he is having so much fun under her care. The babies get plenty of outdoor time whether it's in the yard, at the park or on trips to the library. I can see huge strides in my son's development since he started with Melissa and it's wonderful to see him making friends with another baby his age. I feel confident when I drop him off each day that he's going to have a great time and be babbling with joy when I pick him up. I heartily recommend Melissa for your childcare needs. 

-Andra and Thomas 

Our family first contacted Melissa in March 2020 when I was gearing to return to work after having our first daughter, Eden. Everything about Melissa on paper positively stood out to me- from her educational background, expertise with infants and toddlers, to her responsiveness when communicating. I knew from the start I wanted Melissa to be a part of our village in caring for our baby girl. While we were unable to have Melissa as our nanny for Eden (as she was committed to another family at the time) we kept in close contact during that first year and as her in-home daycare was taking off. Fast forward to today, Melissa has been a Godsend in caring for our second daughter, Emma, who started with Melissa at 3 months old. 

Melissa is dependable; she is able to care for Emma on a drop-in basis, which is a huge help with my work schedule. I know that Emma is in amazing hands while my husband and I are at work. I feel at peace each time I receive updates on my daughter's activities throughout the day. Melissa amazes me with all the hobbies she plans for the kids- trips to the library, park, and engaging backyard games. Her creativity is endless, and I love that my daughter is learning and encouraged to meet her milestones. I know every parent's wish is that they can find someone who can love their child and care for them as much as they do. Melissa has been that person for us and we are grateful.

-Holly & James

“I want to start by saying I was very worried about putting my baby boy in daycare.  Melissa has made the transition so easy for our family. We are never worried about his safety when he is with Melissa. She is also amazing at doing activities that encourage stimulation and development. Each day is jam packed with fun activities for the babies! Getting diaper/feeding updates on the app is also a very nice feature. Melissa makes sure to go over developmental milestones to ensure your child is on track. Melissa is the perfect person to care for little ones. You can really tell that caring for children is her passion. We can tell how much our boy loves being with Melissa every day when we pick him up. We are so grateful for Miss. Melissa! I cannot recommend Melissa and her services enough.”

  - Samantha And Erick

“I came to acquaint Melissa while searching for a childcare provider for our one year old daughter. This was her first experience being cared for away from home due to the pandemic and I was a worried and fearful mom. Melissa was an answered prayer as we were searching for a daycare with a small ratio and special detail to cleaning and disinfection due to COVID. We not only got that but so much more! Our daughter is in a nurturing environment where is genuinely loved and cared for. Shining Light Family Childcare is truly a home away from home where the physical wellbeing of the children is prioritized along with their social emotional health. My daughter engages in age appropriate play based learning daily with peers as well outdoor time and interacting with nature.

Melissa is very communicative and receptive to parent feedback. She offers constructive recommendations to facilitate good nutrition and sleep which is paramount for adequate growth and development. We consider it a stroke of good fortune to have Melissa care for our daughter and rave about her to our family and friends.”

  -Ireem & Joshua

“My daughter has been at Shining Light since July 2021 and we’re never leaving until she ages out to Kindergarten! Melissa is simply the best person to care for littles. She has a strong nanny and childhood development educational background. She treats them as if they were her own. She does educational activities with them all day long, holds special holiday events, crafts, and even field trips! The 3:1 ratio can’t be found anywhere else in Poway, and that also sets her above the rest. I know my daughter is getting full, undivided attention and top notch care. Her home is safe, inviting, and so clean. She provides live updates on the app and lots of pictures throughout the day. We are so lucky to have found our child’s “second home” at Shining Light!”

-Dayna & Jayson

“Melissa started caring for our baby girl when she was just 3 months old. As a first time mom, it was hard for me to be away from my baby for any length of time; however, Melissa made me feel so comfortable right off the bat. Her home is immaculate and is set up perfectly to care for and educate infants. I was amazed at how many different types of activities she had available, all with specific goals of training the mind and body of our little one. What has been the biggest pleasure working with Melissa is her level of communication. She gives us updates on naps, feedings, diapers and activities throughout the day! I always look forward to getting pictures and seeing the smile on our girl’s face. I can tell that our baby loves her time with Melissa and that Melissa takes care of her as if she were her own family. I have full confidence that my baby is getting love, attention, exercise and education throughout the day with Melissa. I wholeheartedly recommend Shining Light Family Childcare to any family looking for daycare or babysitting for your child.

-Tracy & Brian

”Words cannot express how thankful our family is to Melissa Lorenz for the years that she cared for our two young sons. To this day, we truly think of her as an extension of our family, and we give her the highest recommendation as a caregiver for any child. 

Melissa has such a strong bond with our children that, even when she wasn’t there (and still to this day), her name routinely comes up in conversation and our children mention her often in their nightly prayers of people they’re thankful for.  She provided our children with so much more than just safety and routine, we saw her as a mentor and a strong influence in our children’s lives.  Melissa spent in excess of 40 hours a week with our kids so it was important for us to know that she was providing an all-around great experience for them.  She went above and beyond in this way and often had fun and creative activities prepared that were tailored for their ages.

Melissa is extremely professional, punctual and reliable. She kept us informed by text and photos of their daily activities and how the children were doing throughout the day. While we were at work, it reminded us that our children were in great hands and getting the love and attention we hoped they would get when we were away. 

Really there are no words to describe how special Melissa is. She loves all children, of all ages, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the time she spent with our family. There is no doubt in my mind that if Melissa is caring for your child, you will feel the exact same way. 

If you need more information or would like to speak with us about our experience with Melissa, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are her biggest fans and would love to help in any way.”

-Andrea & Tim

”Melissa cared for my baby since she was 3 months old. Melissa has excellent experience, educational background specializing in child adolescence and development, and a genuine interest in caring for children and responding to their needs with a calm demeanor and patience. In addition to providing outstanding care, Melissa is responsible and honest.”

-Jenna

“It is with pleasure that we recommend Melissa Lorenz for the position of babysitter and/or Nanny. We have used her on many occasions as a babysitter starting when my infant was only 2 months old, as well as for my older children who are currently 7 and 8. Though we wish to continue to use her services, we want to share our good fortune of knowing Melissa with others who may need dependable and proficient childcare.

We moved to our house two years ago and became a neighbor to Melissa and her family. Melissa promptly made a point of introducing herself and welcoming our family into the neighborhood. She expressed her love of children and offered to care for our three children if ever the need arose. Though we did not need childcare at first, we became well acquainted with Melissa as she made every effort to acquaint herself with our kids. We immediately felt comfortable with her gentle character and generous, loving heart. 

Melissa has extended herself to us on many occasions and is extremely flexible and accommodating. She is always on time and has helped us tremendously in times of need on short notice. She genuinely cares about our children and follows instruction to the letter. She initiates conversations about any changes to routine that may have occurred in our children's lives to ensure structure is maintained as they grow. Not only does she follow instruction but Melissa goes above and beyond the job description; cleaning our kitchen,  loading and starting the dishwasher, and even keeping a watchful eye of the children's activity on our street even when they are not under her supervision. She is extremely helpful and we are blessed to have her in our lives.

Melissa is knowledgable and holds a degree in Child Development/Early Childhood Education. She is also current in First Aid and infant, child and adult CPR. Our baby adores her and my older two children grow excited when they learn they will be spending time with Melissa . They also respect her as an authority figure. We truly hope we have expressed how capable and reliable Melissa is and urge anyone seeking care for their children to consider Melissa for the position.”

-Melanie

“As a single mother of a young son I must find competent and caring individuals to assist me when I am away; for an evening or for several days at a time when I travel for business. I have been very fortunate to have Melissa Lorenz fulfill the role of primary caregiver for my son during these occasions. I have known Melissa for many years, and know her to be kind, patient, and very endearing. Most importantly my son is very comfortable when he is with her and looks forward to having her stay with him. She has built a very strong relationship with my son and has become a very important part of our lives.”

— Katie Z

“My family first met Melissa the summer before her senior year of high school, when my oldest was 2 1/2 years old and my youngest was a newborn. From our first meeting, it was obvious that Melissa was a person who loved children. We met when Melissa offered to hold my newborn while I ate dinner one night in a local restaurant. We exchanged phone numbers and her relationship with our family began. Melissa is a high energy young woman who has a heart of gold toward the children she cares for. My girls love to have Melissa babysit them. She gets on the ground to play with them, colors with them and engages them in age appropriate activities. Since Melissa has been helping care for my girls since they were little, she has done all facets of childcare from diapers & bathing to hair & homework. She is a responsible woman who I have also trusted to drive my children to and from schools and events. Melissa has always been very punctual, and very communicative to me if I ask for a text or update while I am out. I trust Melissa and am confident she will be a fine addition to your staff. I would highly recommend Melissa Lorenz in any position working with children.”

-Angela W.

“I am pleased to write on behalf of Melissa Lorenz who I employed for 3 years. During that time she was employed both full and part time as a nanny. She assisted in raising my daughter from ages 4 months to 3 years and my son from birth to 18 months. I was very pleased with her performance, care, and pride she took in her work. As an employee Melissa is bright and dependable. She has never failed to show up or communicate her schedule clearly. She was completely reliable. During her time with us she was constantly adapting to the changing needs of the children as they developed. When issues would arise with the care plan for the children she was quick to learn and open to growth of knowledge. She took her job seriously and on a personal level devoted her heart to the children. As a person Melissa is kind-hearted, gentle and patient. She truly enjoys working with children and has already devoted her life and education accordingly. She is clever and delights in discovering the world with children. She is an all-around outstanding young woman who makes a lovely role model.”

— Laura

“Please accept this letter as my personal recommendation for Melissa Lorenz. Melissa was employed full-time with us as a Child Care Provider between the dates of January 2016 and December 2016. During her time working with us we have known Melissa to be an exceptionally professional employee who, through her actions, displayed the qualities of self-motivation, punctuality, creativity, adaptability, capability, and many more. 

Her daily duties consisted of monitoring and supervising our child, preparing snacks and meals, helping our child maintain good hygiene through frequent diaper changes and baths as needed, planning and performing age-specific recreational and educational activities for our child. Melissa was also very proficient at the keeping individual records and logs of our child, consisting of: meals, clothing and diaper changes, activities performed, and other general observations. Melissa was also excellent at assisting us with pet care when needed and housekeeping such as laundry, cleaning, and dish-washing. 

As first time parents, Melissa quickly put our concerns at ease with her experience and excellent communication skills. She played a vital role in supporting our child's social and emotional development from 0 to 12 months. She also played an integral part in our family's transition across the country, helping us move, and acting as a live-in Child Care Provider for several months until we settled in. 

Melissa's relentless motivation, self-determination, and dedication to her profession made her an integral part of the daily family life. I am certain she would be a great and irreplaceable asset to any employer she should find herself working with.”

-Brian and Heather

“It is my pleasure to recommend Melissa Lorenz as a director, owner, colleague, and teacher to any childcare facility lucky enough to hire her. I have known Melissa since my daughter attended her daycare – Pacific Beach Early Learning Center in 2016. During this time, I have had the opportunity to see Melissa’s tremendous potential to succeed beautifully in all her aspirations. Not only could I see that Melissa is a hard worker, but that she also had the extraordinary qualities required of someone to lead a safe, successful, and loving school. Melissa has a gift for collaborating with parents to determine the developmental needs, action plans, and support placements for the children in her care. I witnessed Melissa lovingly care for my own daughter who required a tremendous amount of patience and attention due to her sensory processing sensitivity. Melissa was kind and gracious to not only my daughter, but to her frazzled and tired parents as well. It became evident that Melissa’s strengths came from her compassion and deep commitment to better the lives of those around her. Melissa has taken her experiences and challenges and turned them into a passion for loving and supporting children and their families. Every time Melissa has met a challenge, she has surpassed it with the grit and tenacity of someone twice her age. As you will no doubt recognize through her resume, she has dedicated herself from a young age to the service of children. As a professor of leadership and education, I wholeheartedly recommend Melissa to both lead and educate children.”

-Mara

“Melissa Lorenz has been the director of Pacific Beach Early Learning Center since our son Soren started at the school in January of 17 at the age of 13 months to the present. Melissa has demonstrated to be truly intrinsically driven by her passion and love for children. Her genuine care and knowledge has truly been a comfort and benefit to our child’s development. Melissa is very observant and thoughtful, providing age appropriate activities that enhance our son’s learning. Her creativity and enthusiasm is palpable in the activities she designs and the children clamor to participate. She has noticed things even us as parents have not and adjusted activities and routines to best fit the child. Melissa has shown to be the perfect balance of structure and discipline and comfort and love, and ALL the children love her...as do all the parents! Her commitment is clear—she even attends the children’s birthday parties on her days off which shows how devoted she is. Melissa also shows reliability, excellent communication and critical thinking skills as she balances running a business with keeping parents informed of day to day operations.
We would recommend Melissa to anyone—we trust her completely and she is a part of our extended family in San Diego! She has saved us from the inevitable parent guilt that comes with having your baby in full time childcare—we are so blessed to have found Melissa!”

-Erika and Mario

“The PBELC director, Melissa is so caring – everyday she greets the parents and says goodbye to them. She tells you all about your child’s day and is very responsive to calls and texts (when she has free time away from the kids). Oftentimes, we have long conversations about my daughter and I have never felt any hesitation about asking my daughter’s behavior, and whether there were any problems or issues with her. In fact, when we had our second child, our older daughter was having some trouble adjusting and they noticed right away that she wasn’t being herself. They told me immediately, monitored her, gave her special attention, and really helped us transition her to being an older sister by giving us great tips and coordinated with us how to consistently provide guidance and discipline to our daughter.“

-Sharon

“Melissa Lorenz is one of the care takers of our 21 month old at Pacific Beach Early Learning Center (PBELC). She is the Director of PBELC and is our main contact for all questions about the well-being of our daughter. Our daughter has been enrolled since January, 2018, approximately 5 months ago. When we first visited PBELC, Melissa gave us a tour of the facility and answered all of our questions about the program. She was very thorough and genuine and left us with a very good feeling about leaving our child in her care. We feel very fortunate to have found Melissa. Melissa communicates any and all concerns immediately with my husband and me. If our daughter doesn't nap well or has diaper rash, Melissa will send a text to provide us with real-time updates. It helps us feel very reassured that our daughter is being cared by someone who cares about her health and happiness. It is also very much appreciated when Melissa sends updates with 'fun news', such as a picture of our daughter playing with other children, especially when our daughter was new at the school. It helped us feel very comfortable that our daughter was enjoying her time away from home. Melissa seems to make the extra effort to make the children feel comfortable and happy. She genuinely cares for the health and well-being of the children there, like they were her own children. I have complete faith in Melissa's ability to care for young children and would highly recommend her to others seeking childcare services.”

-Alicia and Michael

“Melissa constantly amazes us. Our 3 year old has been in her program for a year and we saw a considerable difference in him in just the first two weeks. The way that she embraces these children and the love that she has for them warms our hearts and shows that she was made for enriching the lives of children. She has new and different learning activities for them everyday. It amazes us some days to see what they're doing on Class Dojo as she puts up multiple pictures everyday. She also puts up a schedule every Sunday of their activities for the week as well as what they'll be eating. She's very on top of things. I've never seen a more clean daycare and it always smells so clean and fresh. We're very happy that we decided to make the move to her daycare from our previous one as Melissa is paving such an amazing path for these children to excel. We can't thank her enough and we're so happy to have her and her program in our lives for our child. Oh and it blew our minds when he came home one afternoon and recited the days of the week in Spanish. How amazing is that?!”

-Monique

“My daughter started in her class at Little Sprouts May 1, 2019.  She had not been placed in child care until her start date at Little Sprouts. With this being her first time away from us and under someone else’s care we were nervous and very picky. Melissa has been amazing and we couldn’t have asked for a better mentor taking care of our daughter. She is very professional but also makes you feel right at home. Our daughter quickly became attached to her and found comfort with her. This absolutely made us feel more secure. Melissa gives the love and compassion she would give to her own children to ours and we appreciate this more than we can express. As a parent, you want to make sure the people that are interacting with your kids are teaching them the values and lessons you would like to instill in them as well as have people who will love your children and handle with care. Melissa is respectful and so sweet with all the kids she watches and gives personal attention to each kid’s personality and needs. We are very grateful to have such a reliable and amazing second mom help our daughter grow. She will be such a wonderful addition to your family helping your kids learn and excel in life with the positive attitudes and life skills she teaches. Melissa is extremely educated in child care and loves to work with our daughter on exploring the senses, colors, shapes and encourages her to explore.”

-Jessica

“My name is Angela Amoroso and I am the executive director for Scripps Performing Arts Academy. I have had the pleasure and blessing of knowing Melissa Lorenz in a variety of capacities for most of her life. First, as my student, she began her dance career as a 3-year old snowflake in our annual Nutcracker production. Fifteen years later she defied all odds and danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy with the grace and technical achievement of a professional ballerina. A remarkable young woman whose commitment to excellence, via the road less traveled has been my personal inspiration as an educator. 

As a teen and young adult Melissa has generously contributed her time and talents as a volunteer for Isabella's Giraffe Club, the philanthropic arm for Scripps Performing Arts Academy. Melissa's selfless contributions in volunteer hours have helped us to raise thousands of dollars for the premature babies at UCSD Medical Center's Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. 

Melissa possesses all the qualities that we find rare in young people today. Melissa is trustworthy, compassionate, disciplined, with a sound understanding of self-responsibility, consistent, strategic, incredibly organized, patient, gentle and kind. She brings a positive attitude, with love and respect for the children in her care that offers an optimum environment for growth and development. 

I have been in the business of education for over 40 years and it is with great confidence that I recommend Melissa Lorenz to be a worthy first choice to care for the children in your family. I am confident she will provide for you years of joy and loving care in a safe and nurturing environment.”

-Angela A