Our Story

La Casita began with family. After raising her own children as a stay-at-home mother and spending much of her life working with children, Tina found herself in a new season: her children were grown, starting families of their own, and looking for childcare they could truly trust.

She felt called to create the kind of place she would be proud to have her own grandchildren spend their days—a home where children would be known, loved, nurtured, and given room to learn and grow. What began as a response to her own family's need for childcare gradually grew into La Casita. Over the years, all four of Tina and Ricardo's grandchildren have attended the program.

The name La Casita—“the little house”—is also a nod to the enduring importance of home in Tina and Ricardo's own story.

When they immigrated to the United States in 2008, they invested their life savings in the Apple Valley home that would become their family's foundation. Soon afterward, as the economy weakened and the business opportunity that had brought them to the United States came to an end, they needed to find another way to support their family while holding on to the home they had worked so hard to build.

That home became the answer.

Over time, the same rooms where their own family gathered became a place where other families entrusted their children to Tina's care. La Casita grew from a practical need, but it endured because of something deeper: a belief in the power of home, family, relationships, and creating a place where children feel that they belong.

Today, La Casita is entering its next chapter. We are building on those roots by transitioning from a small home childcare operation into a more intentional early learning program—with dedicated staff, enriched curriculum, Spanish immersion, and greater consistency for families—while preserving the warmth and personal relationships that have defined La Casita from the beginning.

Small by Design

La Casita is intentionally small. With no more than 14 children in care at one time, we are able to create the kind of close-knit environment that can be difficult to replicate in a larger childcare center. Children become familiar with the adults caring for them and with one another. Caregivers have the opportunity to know each child's personality, interests, strengths, and needs. Families are not simply names on a roster—they are part of a small community.

Our goal is to offer the consistency and intentionality families expect from an early learning program while preserving the personal relationships and sense of belonging that make family childcare special.

Rooted in language, family, and culture 

Spanish, family, and culture have always been woven into life at La Casita. Tina and Ricardo raised their sons in Mexico before immigrating to Minnesota with their family in 2008, when their youngest son was 10. Spanish remains the language of their family and home, and La Casita grew naturally from that foundation. 

La Casita gives children the opportunity to experience Spanish as a natural part of everyday life. We welcome children from Spanish-speaking, bilingual, and English-speaking homes. No prior Spanish experience is required. 

We also believe children benefit from growing up with exposure to different languages, traditions, foods, music, celebrations, and ways of experiencing the world. At La Casita, culture is not treated as a special lesson or an occasional activity. It is part of the relationships and everyday experiences that make our little community what it is.