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i think either a home based or center based can be great so you have to weigh the pros and cons.

our daycare is down the street from us, and it's soooooo convenient. it really makes our lives way easier (it's a center based daycare but feels like a home based one since there are only 10 kids and 3 teachers). convenience is definitely a huge factor to consider, and the food is a huge plus too.

but no outdoor play, that's tough. charlie's daycare takes them to the playground for an hour every day (unless it's too cold), and then they go on a walk around the block after naptime. toddlers really need that outdoor time i think. as important as convenience is for me, i think no outdoor time might be a dealbreaker!

@banana: Since he is going to stay there for a while, I would take the curriculum into high consideration since you do want him to be properly prepared for kindergarten. If you think the center might be better for that, then it would be worth going a further distance. And outdoor time really is huge. My LO's daycare takes them out twice a day. It does bum me out when I hear of toddlers in other places not going outside at all. Especially in the summer! It is so fun for them to do water play on the playground during the summer.

@banana: it is scheduled but it is still fun! glad to help!

Just wanted to weigh in since we went through this not too long ago. DS started daycare at 5 months, since my maternity leave ended just as DH got the summer of from teaching.

In NY state, it's law that any licensed day care (in home or center) provides at least 1 hour of outdoor time, except in cold/extreme weather conditions. Maybe double check the requirements for your location. It does seem odd to me that they wouldn't offer any outdoor time.

We looked at a day care center, which is about 10 minutes out of the way for both of us. I liked the structured routine, and the fact that there were a set of rules/policies. They did get outside for an hour a day. The daycare center had classes based on age.

We looked at about 6 in home places, and ultimately decided based on gut feeling and location. They provide food and have a more relaxed schedule. There are six kids there of all ages (but only 2 under 2 years old). At first I wasn't sure about the mix of ages, but it turns out that it's awesome! DS is the youngest (at 10 months now) and he spends ALL DAY interacting with the kids! They love him and play with him, making faces, talking, showing him how to do things, etc... He's really getting a jump on his verbal skills and is very social for a 10 month old. I love that it's like a second family. They do less structured, classroom type activities, but I like the free play for DS while he's younger. He's got plenty of time to learn classroom skills. I do expect that he will stay at this daycare for a while. She is flexible with our schedules, since I have 2 days a week that I work later.

In the five months DS has been in this daycare, she hasn't closed once. She has two back up "teachers" who can fill in if she has an appointment or is sick, but that hasn't happened. Both backups are licensed as well, and one is her adult daughter, who I've met and is very sweet. Two other in home places we interviewed also closed very infrequently. They had both closed or had a back up teacher fill in less than 2 days the prior calendar year.

@mrstilly: That is interesting about NY law. I didn't realize that it was law since I live in NY and I know of a local daycare that doesn't provide daily outdoor time.